Murder at the Hotel Hopeless / John Lekich.

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Title:

Murder at the Hotel Hopeless / John Lekich.

Author:

Lekich, John, author.

ISBN:

9781459833494

Physical Description:

116 pages ; 19 cm

Series:

Orca soundings

Orca soundings.

General Note:

Place of publication from Google Maps.

Abstract:

Helping his mother run the family hotel doesn't usually offer Charlie much excitement. The only other people around are Penny Price, the spoiled child actor from the hit TV series Little Miss Murder, and Mr. Ignato, an elderly resident at the hotel. When Mr. Ignato dies from a fall down the stairs, Charlie suspects foul play. Nobody believes him except for Penny, who jumps at the chance to solve a real murder. The two of them discover that Mr. Ignato has been hiding a criminal past. Could this be related to his untimely death? Charlie and Penny are determined to prove it wasn't an accident.

Subject Term:

Hotels -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Actors -- Fiction.

Hôtels -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Meurtre -- Enquêtes -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Acteurs -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Young adult fiction

Jewel thieves

Murder -- Investigation

Hotels

Actors

Genre:

Detective and mystery fiction.

novels.

Thrillers (Fiction)

Juvenile works

Detective and mystery fiction

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Teen Fiction Book Hardback	120791003091049	T LEK	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Charlie Hope was not expecting to spend his summer trying to solve a murder.

Helping his mother run the family hotel doesn't usually offer much excitement. The only other people around are Penny Price, a spoiled child actor and star of the hit TV series Little Miss Murder being shot in town, and Mr. Ignato, an elderly resident at the hotel. When Mr. Ignato dies from a fall down the stairs, Charlie suspects foul play. Nobody believes him except for Penny, who jumps at the chance to solve a real murder. The two of them discover that Mr. Ignato was once a famous international jewel thief who stole a million-dollar diamond that was never recovered. Is Mr. Ignato's criminal past related to his untimely death? And can Charlie and Penny prove that it wasn't an accident?

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 6 Up--A comedic hi-lo cozy mystery. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Hope is tasked with keeping his mother's struggling hotel afloat. This means he must serve at the beck and call of Penny Price, a 14-year-old chain-smoking child star who is on leave from her popular mystery show with a broken arm. When one of the tenants is found dead, Charlie and Penny must team up to solve the mystery of a cursed jewel. The length requirements of the hi-lo format do not serve this story well. Multiple important story beats occur off-screen or are rushed past. For example, Charlie reads the femme fatale character's diary, which reveals her involvement with the crime, but readers receive a mere one-sentence summary from Charlie's point of view. This story may also struggle to find an audience, since the smoking and age of the main character implies an older reader, but there is not the expected maturity of theme that older hi-lo readers gravitate toward. VERDICT An additional purchase. Save for younger readers looking for a tidy mystery with hi-lo requirements who may enjoy this story.--Jeri Murphy

Kirkus Review

A teenager hooks up with a young detective--or at least a kid who plays one on TV--to solve a murder. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Hope willingly does what he can to help his single mom keep their small Vancouver hotel afloat, but his latest task, tending to thoroughly spoiled 14-year-old star Penny Price and her pampered Chihuahua, Baby, has him at about the end of his rope. At least he can unwind by playing chess with elderly resident Mr. Ignato…until, that is, Iggy winds up dead at the bottom of a staircase shortly after fretting to Charlie that his life might be in danger. The death is ruled accidental, but Charlie isn't so sure--particularly after discovering that the old man has left him a massive stolen diamond. Going more for comedy than complexity, Lekich concocts a lightweight whodunit featuring two wrangling amateur sleuths, hidden pasts, a small pool of possible suspects, glittery MacGuffins both real and otherwise, a dognapping at gunpoint, and quick progress to a climactic scuffle in (where else?) an abandoned warehouse. The end brings just deserts to surviving members of the all-White-presenting cast, and for Charlie and Penny, a relationship that at least looks more like friends than adversaries. Tailor-made for reluctant readers who prefer their noir on the lighter side. (Mystery. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.