I love a good mystery. I enjoy historical fiction. And I really dig hep-cat lingo. So it's no wonder that I got so caught up with this title.
Summary:
It's the fall of 1942 in New York City and Iris is dying to help out at her father's detective agency, especially when she discovers that one of Pop's cases involves a boy at her new public school. But when Pop adamantly refuses her help, Iris quickly realizes that it's much easier to lie than to ask permission. Suddenly, this once-obedient former private-school girl is sneaking out of the house, double-crossing her friends, and dancing at the Savoy till the early-morning hours. There's certainly never a dull moment in the private-eye business.
Here's a sample - Iris (our main character has joined a group of friends headed to Harlem's Savoy Hotel) - "But it wasn't just the dancing that grabbed my gut and held me solid. The music was different. This wasn't Benny Goodman rocking the airwaves from the parlor radio. These musicians worked their instruments like they were part of themselves - trumpets grown in places of arms, pianos where there should've been legs. Instruments didn't sound like instruments here: they were animals that growled, hooted, and barked in four beats to a measure. I don't know how the musicians got them to sound that way, but it was more alive than any music I'd ever heard before."
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