Shenanigan Swift is part of a very special family. When you are born a Swift, your mother is passed The Dictionary of the House of Swift soon after birth. They are to close their eyes, open the book at random and slide their finger down the page to a random spot. Where they stop is their child’s name.

Shenanigan has two sisters, Felicity and Phenomena. Felicity is pitied a little with such a plain name, but she makes up for it with her fashion flair. Felicity hopes to be a designer one day, constantly styling and sewing her own clothes. Phenomena is incredibly smart and spends most of her time in her own laboratory, working with bunsen burners and scientific experiments. She blows things up… but only sometimes. Shenanigan lives up to her name in every way possible. She is constantly up to mischief, particularly making Felicity’s life difficult. They are always at war.

The girls live with their Great Aunt Schadenfreude (unfortunately she was born early abroad, and only a German dictionary was handy) who is also the Matriarch of the entire Swift family. This is a very important job indeed. She is the official owner of Swift House which despite some disrepair over recent years is also very special.

Originally built in 1602, Swift House has had later additions over the years. It’s isolated, huge and is hiding a hoard of treasure! This was hidden years before by a particularly dastardly relative, and members of the Swift family have been looking for it ever since.

Shenanigan has been working on a new map of Swift House, looking for the many tunnels, secret rooms and hideaways built through the centuries of Swift ownership. She has this map with her at all times, just in case she finds something new, and also as a means of escape after another bout of mischief.

The girls soon receive news there is to be a Swift Reunion. These have been held over the years to bring the family together from all over the world, and to work together to find the hoard of treasure.

Swifts arrive from everywhere. There is Aunt Inheritance who is the family historian and archivist, identical twins Flora & Fauna, a very loud Fortissimo with a baby called Finicky, and Doctor Candour Swift with his wealthy fiance Daisy DeMille. There are cousins, and aunts, uncles and even more cousins – until every room in Swift House is full. All is well and chaos and fun until…. Great Aunt Schadenfreude is found at the bottom of the stairs. Did she fall or was she pushed?

A hilarious Whodunit set in a house full of family members from far and wide. Throw in a few murders, jealousies, secrets, ambitions, secret tunnels and a missing treasure hoard, and you have a marvelous mystery.

The naming of these family members brings a whole new spin to this mystery, as main character Shenanigan tries to unravel the clues with her sisters, and also tries to work out whether their given names really do determine the sort of person they will grow up to be. She has lots of examples right in front of her, but she’d like to think she isn’t just all mischief and mayhem.

If you love words, then this is the story for you. The family dictionary is very important in this caper and many words are pondered and explored throughout. There is a delicious feel of Agatha Christie and Cluedo all mixed in as clues are compiled and the villain finally revealed.

Do they find the treasure, you ask? Grab a copy to find out!

Author – Beth Lincoln

Illustrator – Claire Powell

Age – 8+

(2024, Penguin Random House, Dictionary, Family, Murder, Mystery, Crime, Sibling Rivalry, Secret, Historical, Growing up, Action, Betrayal, Dictionary, Word Meanings, Crossbow, Duel, Bodies in the freezer, Private Investigator, Secret Tunnels, Map, Library Booby Traps, Sisters, Mischief, Becoming your name, Funny, Humour, Young Scientist, Young Fashion Designer)