Agent: Sally Apokedak, Apokedak Literary. Well-placed red herrings and clues will have readers guessing until the truth comes out. Even though it could be murder, it's something different and exciting. When a body is unearthed during the building of a new playground, Coop wants to investigate.

Delightfully quirky townsfolk and details of small-town life create the perfect backdrop for this deftly plotted mystery by Souders ( How to Ruin Your Summer). Coop's father died while serving in the military, and while the loss is still felt, Coop is glad to have the presence of his grandfather, who served the town as doctor for many years. When his grand-father becomes a person of interest, Coop, an avid mystery reader who has just come into his father’s old Hardy Boys books, becomes determined to find out whoĬommitted the crime, even if that person is Gramps. Harley Goodman, in bucolic Windy Bottom, Georgia. After his Marine hero father died five years ago, Cooper Steven Goodman and his mother, Delilah, took up residence with his paternal grandfather, Dr. Sourcebooks Young Readers, 7.99 paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-4926-4018-9 After his dad died five years ago, 13-year-old Coop and his mother moved to Windy. Not necessarily because it is difficult to read (it isn’t) but because it does deal with some relatively heavy themes (death, betrayal) that I think might go over the head of a younger reader. A middle-grade mystery set in the American South serves up murder and mayhem with a side of hot mustard. Suspects begin to emerge, from the town funeral director, who bakes muffins that reek of formaldehyde, to a family that has long hated Coop’s. Coop Knows The Scoop was published in July of this year, and I would say is for the advanced middle-grade mystery reader. Everyone assumed she had abandoned the family-a terse note from the fashionable woman said she had to get away from small-town life-but it now seems that she was murdered. Construction at the local playground unearths a skeleton that is soon revealed to be that of Coop’s grandmother, who left when Coop’s dad was young. Until now.Īnd somehow, Gramps is taking all the blame! It seems like there are a lot of secrets that were buried in their small town after all.After his dad died five years ago, 13-year-old Coop and his mother moved to Windy Bottom, Ga., to live with the boy’s paternal grandfather. Windy Bottom is full of all kinds of interesting people, but no one has ever caused a problem. When mysterious remains are found beneath the local playground and foul play is suspected, Coop jumps to solve the case The morning human bones turned up. Coop helps his mom at her café and bookstore, hangs out with his grandpa, bikes around with his friends Justice and Liberty, and is determined to live up to his dad's legacy.

Windy Bottom, Georgia is usually a peaceful place. The whole town is talking about what's buried beneath the playground. 2021 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Juvenile Mysteryįrom award-winning author Taryn Souders comes a charming, southern middle grade mystery perfect for fans of Stranger Things and the Masterminds series.

Coop knows the scoop book