Pepper’s Rules for Secret Sleuthing [MG Review]

Pepper’s Rules for Secret Sleuthing by Briana McDonald

Review ✍🏻

Pepper considers herself an amateur detective – she strives to follow the rulebook her deceased detective mother left. So when her great aunt passes away unexpectedly and Pepper sets out with her dad to pack up said aunt’s grand estate in a small town, Pepper sees this an opportunity to put her skills to the test even though the adults around her insist there’s nothing to be investigated.

But there is! Pepper’s suspicious of her estranged aunt and cousin, who are also packing up the estate, and the story develops into a true murder mystery. The plot doesn’t hinge on the protagonist’s naivety of adult matters. Three cheers for a middle grade mystery that has a real mystery and not just some child’s misunderstanding of a grown up situation! The story builds to high stakes danger and explores the question of what it means to do anything for your family.

The pace picks up around 100 pages in. Until then, I was uncertain whether the story would feature a geniune mystery. But I found the latter half of the book a gripping read and I blazed through it. The mystery’s legit. The story builds into a page turner.

Pepper’s Rules also has LGBTQ+ content: Pepper’s recently realized she may have a crush on a girl from school. She wonders how that might affect her relationship with her dad. Jacob, a local boy Pepper befriends who helps with her sleuthing, is transgender. Both of these facts are incidental to the primary plot. I’d say Jacob worrying about the impending birth of his little sister (because maybe she’ll be the daughter his parents always wanted) receives more significant page time than Pepper’s crush. (I will say I was a wee bit disappointed when great aunt was not revealed to be a lesbian.)

The Bottom Line 💭

Compared to classics Harriet the Spy and Nancy Drew, Pepper’s Rules for Secret Sleuthing is a welcome addition to the genre of middle grade contemporary mysteries.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Read an excerpt
🍂 Author website
🍂 Reviews: Karen @ Ms. Yingling Reads, Laurie @ Bit About Books
🍂 Related: For more contemporary middle grade with LGBT+ characters, check out Too Bright to See and All You Knead is Love.

What’s your favourite middle grade mystery?