Shenanigan Swift flits across the English Channel for a theatrical adventure with French relatives in The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues, Beth Lincoln's quick-witted, eccentric, and wholly satisfying sequel to her celebrated debut, The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels, paired once again with the delightfully dramatic illustrations of Claire Powell (Octopants).
Having survived a tumultuous family reunion and nabbed a murderer in their midst, Shenanigan refocuses on finding the fabled lost treasure in their family's estate, Swift House. When a valuable painting is nicked from the manor, the family launches a diplomatic envoy to reconnoiter with the Martinets, estranged French relatives, who are equally eager to locate the painting. The Parisian adventure strives to "heal the rift" between the feuding branches but sparks "the sting of competition" in Shenanigan, whose cousins are equally intelligent and idiosyncratic. Even Shenanigan's faith in beloved relatives waivers as the mystery exposes the girl's vulnerabilities--and reveals an odd proliferation of both clowns and murders.
Droll humor combined with sophisticated and playful wordsmithing (which showcases Lincoln's obvious adoration of etymology) delivers engrossing results. Lincoln makes elegant use of French words subsumed into English vernacular (relatives have names like Mélee and Ennui), crafting a twisty plot with fresh characters that ring familiar to fans of her repartee. Powell's sharp black-and-white art highlights the battered Hôtel Martinet, home of the Martinets, as deftly as its eclectic residents and charming chapter headers hint at plot revelations. This unconventional heist story is another madcap masterpiece of language and mystery and an absolute delight for middle-grade readers. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf