Truly Devious meets Turtles All the Way Down in critically acclaimed author Katie Henry’s YA contemporary comedic mystery, a hilarious send-up of the hardboiled detective genre that spotlights family, friendship, and love.
Gideon’s short-lived run as a locally famous boy detective ended when middle school started, and everyone else—including his best friend, Lily—moved on while Gideon kept holding on to his trench coat, fedora, and his treasured film noir collection. Now he’s sixteen and officially retired. That is, until Lily shows up suddenly at Gideon’s door, needing his help.
He might be mad at her for cutting him off with no explanation, but Gideon can’t turn down a case. As a cover, Gideon joins Lily on the school paper. Surprisingly, he finds himself warming up to the welcoming, close-knit staff . . . especially Tess, the cute, witty editor-in-chief.
But as the case gets bigger than Gideon or Lily could have anticipated, Gideon must balance his black-and-white quest for the truth with the full colors of real life—or risk a permanent fade to black.
* A Junior Library Guild Selection *
* A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten Title *
- Teen Detective: Gideon Green is officially retired from the detective game. But when his estranged best friend shows up with a case he can’t refuse, he has to dust off his trench coat for one last job.
- Film Noir Parody: A hilarious send-up of the hardboiled genre, complete with a hero who sees the world in black and white, a dame in distress, and a school full of suspects.
- Estranged Best Friends: He’s mad she cut him off without an explanation. She needs his help, desperately. To solve the case, they’ll have to figure out what went wrong with their friendship first.
- Slow Burn Romance: His cover is a spot on the school paper, but Gideon finds himself drawn to the witty and welcoming editor-in-chief, Tess. The case isn’t the only thing getting complicated.