The Parker Inheritance

Juvenile mystery

     "Thus I have created an opportunity for Lambert to earn back everything I took from the city--a fortune totaling $40 million at my last reckoning.  I've created a puzzle mystery that will take you deep into the city's past.  The person who finds this 'inheritance' will receive a tenth of the money; the remainder will be allocated to the city.  In return, the winner must share what he or she learns through the puzzle with the world."

     Candice, protagonist of Varian Johnson's The Parker Inheritance, is anticipating a terrible summer.  Her divorced mother is having their family's Atlanta home renovated to sell it.  So they're temporarily staying in her recently deceased grandmother's home in Lambert, a small town in South Carolina.  She'll miss out on so many fun events with her friends.  Here the only potential friend is a younger boy book snob.  She can wait until she gets back to her Atlanta friends...

     ...until a box with her name on it turns up in the attic of her grandmother's home.  The box 📦 contains a mysterious letter addressed to her grandmother detailing a historical injustice the writer is striving to rectify.  It reveals the first in a series of clues.  The letter ends on this ominous note:

     "Your predecessors failed to protect the Washington family, at great cost.  This is you chance to make right what once went so utterly wrong.  This is your chance to create a better world for your grandchild.  But do not delay.  These clues, like Siobhan, will not be of this world forever."

     Soon after the chapters begin to alternate: the present day ones following Candice and Brandon's progress in solving the mystery; the backstory ones narrating racist events in Lambert's history.

     Since Candice will be returning to Atlanta at summer's end the two detectives are under serious time pressure.

     Puzzle loving kids will enjoy trying to solve the mystery before the book's end while learning about the manifestations of racism in our nation's not so long ago past.  The Parker Inheritance is an excellent acquisition for school and public libraries.

On a purrrsonal note, my visit to my urologist was not to be the final one I anticipated.  There seems to still be a piece of the stone in my kidney.  So in nine months I have to have another ultrasound: that torture that involves drinking 32 ounces of liquid and holding it in while a technician pokes your abdomen.  Weirdly the prospect (and that of seeing a medical care provider which tends to bring out my anxiety) don't bother me because I have an awesome doctor who treats me like I'm an Intelligent human being.  We have some great conversations.  I actually look forward to them.  The only other time I've looked forward to medical appointments was during my three pregnancies when I'd get to hear the fetal heartbeat 💓 💗💖💕.  (Jules)

Well as long as the human vet knows what she's doing.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Dr. Laura Leddy, urologist extraordinaire.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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