The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing

Starred review from November 11, 2013
After solving a murder in their small North Carolina town over the summer, the heroes of Turnage’s Newbery Honor–winning Three Times Lucky “went famous for about a week until the gravity of habit pulled our lives back into regular orbit,” says narrator Mo LoBeau in this equally hilarious sequel. Sixth grade is starting, but who has time to worry about interviewing elderly residents for a history project to mark the town’s 250th anniversary when the dilapidated inn that Miss Lana, Mo’s guardian, just acquired at auction is obviously haunted? One mystery per book is not enough for Turnage, so there’s also buried treasure, a missing moonshine still, impending financial ruin, and strange goings-on in the woods. Not every thread is fully tied off, but the residents of Tupelo Landing are so companionable and Mo so indefatigable (and funny) that readers can only hope those loose ends mean another installment is in the works. The budding detective has clearly taken to heart something her foster mother always emphasizes: “All the world’s a stage, sugar, so hop on up there.” Ages 10–up. Agent: Melissa Jeglinski, the Knight Agency.

Lauren Fortgang delivers Southern accents as thick as Spanish moss for the host of quirky characters who inhabit Tupelo Landing, North Carolina. With customary impulsiveness, Mo LoBeau volunteers herself and her best friend, Dale, to interview the ghost who is haunting the Tupelo Inn. If they can't interview the ghost, they may fail sixth-grade history. Fortgang sometimes rushes Mo's first-person commentary, but her youthful, no-nonsense delivery is true to Mo's plucky character and is a perfect contrast to her huskier, unhurried presentation of Dale's amusing dialogue. Droll humor abounds, delivered with top-notch comedic timing, as Mo and Dale, the Desperado Detectives, uncover small-town secrets. It's hard to top the late Michal Friedman's award-winning rendition of Mo LoBeau in THREE TIMES LUCKY, but Fortgang makes a strong effort. Listeners will be won over by Southern charm and eccentricity. L.T. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine