The Big Splash, Jack D. Ferraiolo

He approached me as I made my way into the caf for lunch. He was small and wiry, with a face that would've been more at home on a rodent. His jaw moved slowly and with great purpose as it worked over a piece of fruit gum, the kind that gave off a sickeningly sweet smell but lost its flavor after three chews. His name was Joey Renoni, a.k.a. "the Hyena," and I knew who he worked for. 


The main character of this funny middle school mystery is Matt Stevens, a private eye at Franklin Middle School. He just accepted a job from Vincent "Vinny Biggs" Biggio, the kid behind every deal, from black market candy to forged hall passes. If you get on the wrong side of Vinny, then you get sent to the Outs club, the least popular club, by being shot with a squirt gun. Nicole Finnegan a.k.a. Nikki Fingers, a feared squirt gun assassin, is sent to the Outs, Matt is determined to find who did it. The problem is, Nikki had countless enemies. Matt is going to have to tread very carefully.

Though this book was kind of silly in a way, it was funny too. It used a lot of the language associated with hard-boiled detective stories, but it's set in a middle school. And of course, no one actually gets killed, just humiliated. There was a sort of love triangle-ish thing going on in the story, and a few surprising twists at the very end of the mystery.

Read The Big Splash:

• if you like mysteries
• if you like books set in middle schools

277 pages.

Very Good! I would recommend this book!