Have you ever sat around a table filled with relatives talking over one another, with a hundred conversations going a hundred different directions? That is how the novel, The Law of Finders Keepers by Sheila Turnage feels. It’s comfortable. It’s comical at times. But it is also a fast-paced novel, not because of action taking place, but because it’s going 20 different directions at once. It is worth noting that The Law of Finders Keepers is the 4th book in the Mo and Dale Mystery series and I have not read any of the other books in the series. This is probably why I felt confused a lot of the time. I would suggest starting at the beginning of the series.

That being said, The Law of Finders Keepers is a great example of friendship, courage, and love of family. Mo is a strong willed 12-year-old girl who leads her own detective agency with her two best friends. In this novel they are trying to solve two mysteries: one of a personal nature as they try to find Mo’s long-lost mother and the second of historical importance to the town. This novel has it all: mystery, intrigue, danger, comedy, a little romance, and most importantly friendship, devotion and love. Like previously stated, it’s going a hundred different directions, but the ride is worth it and will leave you feeling a little happier in the end.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Penguin

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  1 religious exclamation; 1 mild obscenity. 

Violence/Gore:  2 characters push each other and one ends up being pushed off their feet; character head butts another person in the stomach and knocks them off their feet; 2-page scene where a character is being sucked under by quicksand; 2-page scene where two characters are trapped under water that rushed into the hole they were digging. 

Sex/Nudity:  Boy and girl kiss.

Mature Subject Matter:

Imprisoned parent; death; abandonment.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Mention of someone making moonshine; poisoned Ink used that makes people sick.