The biggest concern we worried about when we first saw this book and its plot wasn’t there, but at the end of the day, this is still about solving a murder. The author is about as cautious with that as she could be, but we wanted to make sure Christian parents understood that when considering this title for their young readers. Related to this, the very end when the bad guy is revealed is a bit more intense than the whole rest of the book.
Overall the book content is relatively clean. The most concerning aspects of the book come early on when we read a few “lighter feeling” lines that still reference a bit of a darker subject matter. While these lines are more of an exception to the rest of the book, it is still unfortunate they are there.
“No, it’s still not haunted. Not yet at least.”
“All that place needs now is a restless soul wandering around moaning… I still think it would be kind of cool if it was haunted”
“I bet it looks something like a horror movie”
“Maybe there’s even a body hidden in the walls”
“That’s some seriously bad mojo… if her house wasn’t haunted before, it is now”
Here are the other items we found to share:
While not glorifying it, the book does have a bit of a lighthearted view on gossip. A solon is said to “specialize in gossip, nails and hair”. A woman is said to be “in a serious relationship with gossip for 45 years”. This is a good reminder to talk to our children about the importance of avoiding this (it isn’t a small thing to God).
The kids eavesdrop quite a bit while investigating, sometimes going to elaborate extents to do it.
When caught discussing a potential suspect, one character lies and another commends her for it (“That was fast thinking. Good job”). Similarly a character says, “I hated lying, but it was for a good cause”.
A good character is said to have a “devious grin”
A friend thinks his shirt is “lucky”
A bad guy is said to curse
Champagne is mentioned (reference to breaking a bottle on a boat hull)
A pastor is said to utter “something that didn’t sound like it was from the Bible”
The following are used flippantly: “speak of the devil”, “thank God”, “good Lord”, “Lord, save us”, “like a nun on a tightrope”.
The following terms are used: jerk, santa clause.