The Secret of the Summer Sweetheart - a Britannica Junior Detective mystery

I can't remember where I first saw this book - whether it was on Amazon or whether someone on a Facebook group mentioned it.  I just know that when I saw it and heard the description, I knew it was something I needed to read.  A mystery set in the 1950s, filled with UFO theories and nuclear bomb scares, with a female sleuth, a tough guy on a motorcycle, men in black, a secretive scientist, and a town that honors its teenage detectives - I mean, seriously, who could possibly pass this up?

The Secret of the Summer Sweetheart is the story of the Britannica Junior Detectives - a two-member detective team consisting of Danny "Britannica" Oxford and his younger protege, Mary-Sue Welles.  It is their last year of Junior High, and the prom is in full swing. But Danny and Mary-Sue have anything but dancing on their minds - oh, no, they are intent on unmasking the phantom of the prom (which just so happens to be the title of the first chapter in the book!).  Through diligence and prime deductions, they set out a trap for the culprit, and in front of the entire school, they unmask the creep who was determined to ruin the prom for everyone - the janitor!  

And so sets the stage for the turmoils that are about to face our dynamic duo (no, not THAT dynamic duo - this one!).  After all, it is the 1950s, and despite the fame of the Britannica Junior Detectives, everything is about to change.  Junior High is about to be behind them, and it is time they grow up. While author Gregory R.E. Gallagher (and Corey Hickenbottom, as listed inside on the copyright page - not sure which names are real and which aren't!) definitely pokes fun at our favorite children's mystery series, throwing in some outlandish ideas, some crazy characters, and some over-the-top foibles, there is also a bit of realism thrown into the mix - such as the scare of nuclear threat that everyone believed could happen at any moment ... the idea of what a woman's place is ... and the coming of age of the "beatniks" who had a very different outlook regarding life, the government, and the world around them.  Gallagher manages to use each of these things to further his story in some rather well-played ways.

Danny meets up with a beatnik - a young woman who causes him to question everything about his family, his beliefs, and his own childhood obsession with solving mysteries.  Mary-Sue, in the meanwhile, meets a rebel on a motorcycle who is an outcast, but who may be the only one that can help her solve the "The Mutant of Mercury Marsh" (where there have been accounts of strange happenings, and Mary-Sue is determined to learn if it is a sasquatch, a mutant, or even an alien from outer space). Danny and Mary-Sue clash, and they end up going their separate ways.  Will Danny begin to question his father's loyalty to his country?  Will Mary-Sue uncover the truth about what is going on in Mercury Marsh?  Will Danny's father complete that top secret project he is working on day and night? And will that man in black who keeps appearing all over town reveal his real reasons for being in Bonnifeld?  And when he does, how will it change Danny and Mary-Sue's lives forever?

And something that adds some spice to the tale is the artwork by Jazz Miranda.  You get a mix of mystery and '50s sci-fi on the front cover, with a bit of Archie meets the nuclear war on the back cover.  And the internal illustrations are a nice nod to the children's series of yesteryear, when every mystery had pictures throughout the story that helped bring the mystery to life for young readers.  The book even has its own unique endpapers (which include magnifying glasses, cameras, keys, notebooks - everything a good young sleuth would need to help solve a mystery!).  And if all that weren't enough, Gallagher throws in a little "next book" blurb at the end, promising readers another mystery to come their way: The Curious Case of the Clairvoyant Cult!  Now, I'm not sure whether that is simply intended to be a joke, to keep the parody faithful to the books upon which it is based, or if the author truly intends to provide readers with a follow-up mystery starring the Britannica Junior Detectives.  I, for one, would be thrilled if that second book were to come out!

Overall, this was a really fun read and definitely worth the time!  I would most definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good read - whether you are a mystery fan or not!

 

(Oh, and one final note - although this appears to be self-published, the author does give a nice nod to the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books with his faux publisher name on the bottom of the title page - Dixon & Keen, Ltd!)

RATING:  10 true stories of the weird and mysterious out of 10 for taking all of the things that make the '50s so unique and mixing it with some Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys-style mystery telling to create a fantastic read!