The name is Faulkner. Nelle Faulkner. And if you have a case and you need looking into, she’s your person. Don’t be fooled by her age. She may only be 12, but she’s been in the investigating game since she was just a kid. That’s why Eddie de Menthe came to her.

Eddie was the leader of one of the local candy gangs. Ever since the new mayor made candy illegal and closed the local chocolate factory, the gangs have been running candy, selling to the local kids. And now one of the leaders is in Nelle’s office, in the back garden of her mother’s house. Eddie is there, needing help. His Teddy bear was stolen from his office, and he needs someone like Nelle to find it for him.

Nelle starts her investigation at the scene of the crime, and gets a first-hand look at how Eddie and his crew sell their candy on the old playground. She starts to think this case is bigger than just a stuffed bear and starts asking more questions about the candy gangs. She knows Sweetcakes from her last case. Mary Ratchet is something of a bully at school, but as Sweetcakes, she and her Sweetie Pies rule the library. And Waffles supplies the back room of Mr. Singh’s shop, where his son Bobby sells chocolates and gum.

Nelle finds that even after all that, she’s no closer to finding the Teddy bear when she finds out that Eddie himself has gone missing. Add in a break-in to Nelle’s office and her home, a couple of Prohibition officers who don’t seem opposed to breaking laws themselves, and an arson, and Nelle will need all of her wits and smarts to figure out who’s really behind the crime spree.

The Candy Mafia is a witty, fun middle grade novel written with whimsy and intelligence. It’s Willy Wonka meets Sam Spade, and it’s just big fun for everyone. Author Lavie Tidhar brings this story to life, using tropes from hard-boiled crime fiction (but soft-boiled for the younger readers) and the stories from Prohibition as a backdrop to this mystery novel. Illustrator Daniel Duncan adds playful drawings that emphasize the personalities of these characters and add extra sweetness to the story.

I loved every page of The Candy Mafia. I grew up on a series of hilarious mystery novels* that made me an early lover of the genre. I think The Candy Mafia can offer that same experience for today’s kids. If I were still a kid, I would love this book and read it over and over. Now I’m an adult, and I still loved this book. If I didn’t have a TBR pile that could topple and kill me, I’d probably read this one more than once, and love it every time. I strongly recommend this one for kids and for kids at heart!

(*The McGurk mystery series by E.W. Hildick. No longer in print, but you can still find used copies of the old paperbacks if you look hard enough.)

Egalleys for The Candy Mafia were provided by Peachtree Publishing Company through Edelweiss, with many thanks.