Sammy Keyes is usually pretty cool but currently she's reeling at the teen scene at a New Year's Eve party. She has to find out who burned down Moustache Mary's pioneer-era cabin and a series of puzzles before she can regain her self-confidence.

"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" —Midwest Children's Book Review When Sammy and her friends meet Lucinda Huntley walking her 200-pound pig down the middle of the road, their quiet weekend in the country quickly becomes an adventure. Lucinda tells them a true tale of the Wild West, her great-grandma Moustache Mary, and a century-old family feud. But this feud is hardly ancient history. Past and present collide—and combust!—when Mary's pioneer cabin burns to the ground. Sammy thinks the cause of the fire may be a hundred years old, but still, the gas can she finds near the scene of the crime is shiny and new. . . . The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.

"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" —Midwest Children's Book Review What Sammy should have done was put the binoculars down and call 911. What she does instead is tighten up the focus on her right eye to get a better look. There's something very familiar about this thief. But when Sammy eventually spills her story to Officer Borsch, he doesn't believe her. He treats her like some snot-nosed little kid. Well, Sammy's not going to stand for that. She's a snot-nosed seventh grader now, and she knows what she saw. And somehow she's going to prove it. The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.

A stash of easy money makes for some hard choices for Sammy Keyes. "An exceptionally good entry in an already remarkable series."--Booklist Sammy Keyes has three wads of cold hard cash in her hot little hands. An old guy gave them to her. Well, actually, he told her to throw them away. With his last dying breath. Which he was taking because Sammy had just scared the life right out of him. So . . . she's got to get this man some help. She's got to do it without being seen herself. And she's got to figure out how to stash that cash. (Aw, c'mon! You'd keep the money too, right?) But it turns out other people are after that money--and now they're after her. Crooks Sammy can handle. The thing that's scaring her to death is Brandon's pool party--and the thought that her crush Casey will be there...

“The hottest sleuth to appear in children’s books since Nancy Drew” (The Boston Globe) is back! Don’t miss the eighth book in the series that’s been described as “a combination of Carl Hiaasen’s Flush and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books” (School Library Journal) and hailed as “nonstop whodunits” (Kirkus Reviews)! The artsy crowd thinks Sammy Keyes has a lot of nerve showing up at a fancy reception in high-tops. But when she tackles a robber who’s brandishing a gun with one hand and pulling paintings from the wall with the other, they’re glad she has nerve. Or are they? Sammy may have stopped one criminal, but the real crime at this show has yet to be discovered. The real crime is more subtle, more artful, than anything Sammy’s ever seen. Who knew art could be so dangerous? Praise for the Sammy Keyes series: “If Kinsey Millhone ever hires a junior partner, Sammy Keyes will be the first candidate on the list. She’s feisty, fearless, and funny. A top-notch investigator!” —New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton “The sleuth delights from start to finish. Keep your binoculars trained on Sammy Keyes.” —Publishers Weekly “The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)” —Midwest Children’s Book Review

"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" —Midwest Children's Book Review When Sammy finds out that her mother has changed her name, dyed her hair, and shaved ten years off her age, she knows it's time for Lady Lana to get reacquainted with reality. Sammy hops a bus to Hollywood and finds her mother in deeper trouble than she imagined. Lana's phony persona is crumbling just as she is being considered for the part of a lifetime. So when one of Lana's competitors for the big role is found dead in the room next door, Sammy can't help wondering: Is her mother the next likely victim . . . or the prime suspect? The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.

"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" —Midwest Children's Book Review In this pivotal book in the Sammy Keyes series, Sammy tackles the persistent mysteries of her own life. Mysteries like: Who is her father? And why has her mother kept it such a secret? How long can she manage to hide out in Grams' seniors-only building before someone catches on? Is her mother really planning to marry her boyfriend's father? (Ew.) And why, why is Heather Acosta so nasty? During one crazy weekend in Las Vegas, with the help of an entire army of Elvis impersonators, Sammy finally gets some answers. But of course knowledge comes at a price—and solving the mysteries of her own life will cost Sammy more than she ever meant to pay. . . . The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.