The eclectic Swift kin reunite at their remote estate, where a murder mystery distracts from a treasure hunt in Beth Lincoln's The Swifts, a quippy and charming debut with beguiling illustrations by Claire Powell.
The Swifts, with an abundance of Marys and Johns at their table, began naming their children from "an ancient, leather-bound monster" of a dictionary opened at random. Fourteen-year-old Felicity (so mundane) and her younger sisters, Phenomena (a curious prodigy) and Shenanigan (such mischief!), live in Swift House, a "quirky seventeenth-century manor" whose hidden passages conceal a fortune stashed centuries earlier by dastardly Grand-Uncle Vile. At the family's decennial reunion, someone shoves Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude (born in Germany) down the grand staircase. An investigation points the children (and cousin Gumshoe) to suspects as chaos continues. "Most people's family reunions didn't have a body count, but... most people's libraries didn't require a helmet."
Lincoln's love of lexicon shines with nimble and darkly comedic prose. Personalities play into monikers to make a prolific cast of characters memorable, but the author underpins the frivolity of names with thoughtful consideration of how, like language, they might evolve. Well-paced chapters feature witty dialogue and a bemused tone that respects readers. Powell (At the Heels of History series) punctuates the novel with boisterous spot and full-page line drawings. Chapter headers and character portraits are particularly exuberant and hint at plot twists and turns to come.
A delightful pick for sharp readers enamored of gothic sensibilities and clever prose. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf