The Swifts

🚪🫆🪦🕵🏻‍♀️

by Beth Lincoln

At a glance

Things I loved:

✍🏼 Author: Beth Lincoln

🎨 Illustrator: Claire Powell

📅 Release Date: 4th January 2024

📚 Book type: Chapter, 450 pages

🌟 Reader level: very confident

🕵️‍♀️ twisty whodunnit mystery
🏰 secret tunnels & hidden rooms
📚 quirky dictionary-named characters
😱 shocking family secrets revealed
😂 humour throughout the chaos
🧩 satisfying clues come together

Dive Deeper

My Thoughts...

I picked this up after a recommendation from a fellow bookworm (thanks Amy!) as I was on the hunt for a new UKS2 class read with a strong murder mystery at its heart. The Swifts absolutely delivered with a super fun, fast-paced read packed with intrigue, humour and just the right level of darkness to hook young readers.

I love a classic whodunnit, and this absolutely didn’t disappoint. In fact, it had more twists and turns than I expected, with two cleverly woven storylines that come together right at the end. It’s one of those mysteries where you’re constantly second-guessing yourself - perfect for reading aloud and pausing to let children predict what might happen next.

One of my favourite aspects was the concept of the Swift family naming their children using a family dictionary (hence Shenanigan!). Every character seems to grow into their name - from Phenomenon to Maelstrom to the truly awful Atrocious - which adds lots of humour and personality. It also make this a brilliant book for discussions around vocabulary too!

The book also includes a non-binary character, Erth who is presented as part of the story rather than a central focus which is something to consider for discussions in class!

🌟The opening chapters are quite dense, with a lot of characters introduced quickly (and their unusual names definitely add an extra layer of challenge!). Because of this, I think it would work beautifully as a class read where you can support children in keeping track of who’s who, or as an independent read for more confident readers.

I’d recommend this to UKS2 classes who enjoy mysteries, humour and slightly gothic settings, especially fans of clever, clue-filled stories where everything links together in the end.🌟

Plot

When Shenanigan Swift, a rebellious young girl living on her sprawling family estate with her parents away and her two very different sisters (Phenomenon and Felicity), suddenly finds the house filled with her extended (and very eccentric) family, she’s given a near-impossible task: map the entire house — secret tunnels, spyholes, chutes and all — and locate the hidden family treasure before anyone else.

But things take a sinister turn on the very first night when someone attempts to murder Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude. With the culprit trapped inside the house, Shenanigan and her sisters must put aside their differences and work together to uncover the truth before the attacker strikes again.