Return of the Gypsy Witch Book

It all started with one mysterious briefcase....

When Allie's father dies, her half sister, Kat, is left in charge of his detective agency -- and of Allie. Despite the many changes in her life, Allie can't help being excited by the possibility of being close to some real private-eye adventures, the kind she is always daydreaming about.

So when a man comes to the agency asking Kat to guard his briefcase, it looks like Allie will get her chance to investigate. But when Allie breaks into the briefcase, she makes a shocking discovery. And when she begins asking around, she realizes she may have taken on more than she bargained for. Whoever wants the briefcase kept safe desperately needs the agency's help, and whoever wants them uncovered will do anything to find them....

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-Allie, 12, longs to work on cases with her 28-year-old half sister, Kat, who runs their recently deceased dad's detective agency. When a mysterious man employs the private investigator to hold his briefcase for him, Allie is suspicious, and when he becomes a hit-and-run victim, she tries to convince her sibling that something is fishy. The fledgling sleuth secretly opens the briefcase and finds five issues of Gypsy Witch. With friend Mei in tow, she questions the proprietor of Comics Galore, who tells her that the comic books are rare and she deduces that they are worth a fortune. The rest of the case unfolds as the sisters pursue clues, learn that the hit-and-run was no accident, and find themselves in peril. This fairly fast-paced mystery has trendy writing and lots of dialogue and will entertain readers not yet ready for Wendelin Van Draanen's "Sammy Keyes" novels (Knopf).-Karen Hoth, Marathon Middle/ High School, FL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.