Fifteen-year-old Christine is visiting her eccentric great-aunt in historic Witcombe, where a pickpocket has been victimizing tourists.
Aunt Maude owns an antique store and also runs the town’s ghost walk, which allows Christine to meet all the visitors, including a mysterious young man who seems to know far too much about the rash of recent thefts in the area. When the pickpocket targets the customers in Aunt Maude’s store, Christine is determined to find out who is behind the thefts. Her search takes her through the nooks and crannies of the quaint town full of stories, and she unearths more than one surprise.
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Kristin Butcher is the author of several books for young readers, including Cheat, Cabin Girl and Winter Road in the Orca Currents line. Kristin lives in Campbell River, British Columbia.
"The plot is fast-paced, the characters are extremely likeable, and the clues about the burglaries provide the reader with enough information to solve the mystery before the conclusion. Readers who enjoy a good 'whodunit' will appreciate this story."
"A very well-written mystery young readers will enjoy as it is filled with suspense and adventure...Butcher uses dialogue to move the plot forward. The language’s straight forwardness and simplicity allow reluctant readers or readers learning English to easily comprehend and immerse themselves in the story. Highly Recommended."
"A breezy pseudo-Scooby-Doo vibe whisks readers forward as Christine does clumsy surveillance and suspects are considered, until a humorously unlikely culprit is unearthed. Butcher has just scratched the surface of her likeable and entertaining cast, whose future adventures would be welcome."
"Once again, Kristin Butcher has created a protagonist teen readers will readily identify with. Christine is curious, attentive, and logical, but still sometimes can misinterpret her world...Christine doesn’t learn an important “life lesson,” but she grows in self-awareness and understanding of the world around her, both necessary qualities on the road to adulthood."