The eclectic Swift kin reunite at their remote estate, where a murder mystery distracts from a treasure hunt in Beth Lincoln's Kids Indie Next List title, The Swifts, a quippy and charming debut with beguiling illustrations by Claire Powell.
The Swifts name 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. Lincoln's love of lexicon shines with nimble and darkly comedic prose, and personalities play into monikers to make a prolific cast of characters memorable. 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