A Dictionary of Scoundrels (The Swifts)

by Beth Lincoln (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: The Swifts

"Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket...This archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever as its heroine." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The suspenseful denouement is positively writhing with twists." --Booklist, starred review

On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match.

Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker.

Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile's long-lost treasure. She's excited to finally meet her arriving relatives--until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.

So what if everyone thinks she'll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she's determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer. Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A celebration of words and individuality, it's packed with games, wordplay, and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and define herself in a world where definitions are so important.

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ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
The suspenseful denouement is positively writhing with twists.

Kirkus

Starred Review
An absolutely delightful debut with heartwarming character growth and a clever, genre-savvy country-house mystery. 

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

A gothic novel of corrosive values that's centered around a family reunion, Lincoln's manor-set murder mystery maintains a Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket. As the story opens, scores of relatives are poised to descend upon Swift House for the event, which is also a family-wide hunt for the treasure hoard that Grand-Uncle Vile once secreted on the estate. Named fatefully from the Family Dictionary, dauntless 13-year-old Shenanigan longs to find the treasure, and keeps a list of the idiosyncratic home's possible hiding places, including suspicious paintings. She dreads the family gathering, but when an attempt is made on Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude's life, Shenanigan, frustrated with her adult relations' inadequate sleuthing, enlists the help of sister Phenomena and nonbinary cousin Erf. The initially whimsical story takes a darker tone as murders ensue and the family begins to close ranks, but crackling puns outpace the body count as this archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever and impish as its heroine. The family's members have varying skin tones. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Agent: Zoë Plant, Bent Agency. (Feb.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Hornbook

Lincoln whips up a witty confection of highly colorful characters, dynamic wordplay, and a plot dense with action, suspense, double-dealing, innovative murder weapons, and a well-orchestrated eleventh-hour reveal.

Review quotes

An absolutely delightful debut with heartwarming character growth and a clever, genre-savvy country-house mystery.... The narrative voice includes jokes and viewpoints that will be appreciated by sophisticated younger readers as well as those who are older than Shenanigan; overall, the humor and action are spot-on for middle-grade audiences." — Kirkus, starred review
Beth Lincoln
Beth Lincoln was raised in a former Victorian railway station in the North of England. Her childhood fears included porcelain dolls, the Durham panther, and wardrobes that looked at her funny. She grew neither tall nor wise, and never learned to play an instrument--but she did write stories, a bad habit that has persisted to this day. When she isn't writing, Beth is woodcarving, or making a mess of her flat, or talking the nearest ear off about unexplained occurrences. Her favorite things include ghosts, crisps, and weird old words like bumbershoot and zounderkite.

A #1 New York Times bestseller, The Swifts is Beth's debut novel. It grew out of her love of etymology, the gleeful gothic, and classic murder mysteries. She lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with her partner and hopefully, by the time you are reading this, a dog.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780593533239
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Dutton Books for Young Readers
Publication date
February 07, 2023
Series
The Swifts
BISAC categories
JUV047000 - Juvenile Fiction | Books & Libraries
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
Library of Congress categories
Fiction
Magic
Families
Mystery and detective stories
Detective and mystery stories
Detective and mystery fiction
Fate and fatalism
Fantasy fiction
Private investigators
Action and adventure fiction

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