Casey Lyall Knihy

“[it lands] in new territory, and the characters interact realistically and have real kid problems . . . . young mystery fans should be glad. — Kirkus Reviews“The dialogue between Howard and Ivy continues to be delightfully witty and clever.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books “My partner scanned the message and a slow grin took over her face as she said our four favorite ‘We have a case.’”HOWARD WALLACE IS BACK! Middle-school detectives Howard Wallace and Ivy Mason are itching for a juicy case. But when their friend and cohort Marvin hires them to prove his nephew— über-bully Carl Dean—didn’t pugnap the school mascot, they’re less than thrilled. To succeed, not only must Howard and Ivy play nice with Carl, they’ll have to dodge a scrappy reporter and come face-to-face with Howard’s worst enemy, his ex-best friend Miles Fletcher.Can Howard deal with all these complications and still be there for Ivy when her life is turned upside down? Or will he once again find himself a friendless P.I.?

“What’s with the get-up? Is that the company uniform or something?” “This? All P.I.s wear a trench coat.” “Dude, that’s a brown bathrobe.” I shrugged and straightened out my sleeves. “First rule of private investigation, Ivy: work with what you’ve got.” Twelve-year-old Howard Wallace lives by his list of rules of private investigation. He knows more than anyone how to work with what he’s got: a bathrobe for a trench coat, a makeshift office behind the school equipment shed, and not much else—least of all, friends. So when a hot case of blackmail lands on his desk, he’s ready to take it on himself . . . until the new kid, Ivy Mason, convinces him to take her on as a junior partner. As they banter through stakeouts and narrow down their list of suspects, Howard starts to wonder if having Ivy as a sidekick—and a friend—is such a bad thing after all.