This review first appeared in Booklist on January 1, 2026.

There are few things Olive Oakes loves more than solving mysteries with her cousin and best friend, Eli. She feels they’re cut out for far more than the small-scale cases they’ve been tackling all summer, though. Figuring out which neighborhood dog keeps pooping in their front yard is a sort of win, but it’s hardly thrilling detective work. When they tag along with her parents on a real estate job in the small town of Whispering Woods, Olive isn’t exactly expecting much. But soon they start hearing strange stories about missing children and a supposedly haunted carousel at the annual carnival, and Olive can’t help but feel she’s finally found a mystery worthy of her considerable sleuthing skills. Witty, whimsical, and wonderfully cozy, this first entry in a new middle-grade detective series delights from the very first page. Bayron has a particular knack for dialogue, bringing to life two exceptionally lively and charismatic central characters whom readers will be eager to follow. This clever, contemporary take on the classic Nancy Drew formula is sure to charm.