Knives Out meets Finding Orion in this funny and heartwarming middle grade mystery by award-winning author Kristin OâDonnell Tubb about a girl investigating the recent death of her uncle only to find the healing power of family.
Chloe Alvarez has never been to the reading of a last will and testament before, but she hopes it is just like the movies. Lies! Intrigue! The reading of her Uncle Willâs will is standard, until he announces his gift for Chloe: his African grey parrot, Charlie.
Uncle Will was Chloeâs best friend. Without him, sheâs left with only her memories of them togetherâwhich come to her in snapshotsâand her new friend, Charlie. The parrot has a vast vocabulary, and soon Chloe hears her say something odd: It was murder, followed by homicide and cyanide. Chloe becomes convinced her uncle Willâs death was foul play. Why else wouldnât he have told anyone in the familyâespecially Chloeâthat he was sick?
With the help of her family, Chloe begins the investigation to uncover Uncle Willâs murderer. The suspects: His nosy neighbor. An ex-girlfriend. A rude landlord. A loan shark. But it all leads to more questions than answers. Did someone really kill Uncle Will? Or could this journey help reunite Chloeâs grieving family?