Book Review: Scarlett Undercover

Book: Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Description:

Meet Scarlett, a smart, sarcastic, kick-butt, Muslim American heroine, ready to take on crime in her hometown of Las Almas. When a new case finds the private eye caught up in a centuries-old battle of evil genies and ancient curses, Scarlett discovers that her own family secrets may have more to do with the situation than she thinks -- and that cracking the case could lead to solving her father's murder.

Jennifer Latham delivers a compelling story and a character to remember in this one-of-a-kind debut novel.



Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

This was a real page turner, I really didn't want to stop reading it. I just love it when a story is so good that I have to know what's going to happen next.

Scarlett thought taking a case for her nine year old client Gemma Archer was going to be something simple. Gemma had hired her to find out why her older brother Oliver was acting strange and to find out if he had anything do with his friend Quinlan Johnson's death. Quinn's death was ruled a suicide but Gemma thinks her brother knows the reason why.

As soon as Scarlett started to investigate she was finding this case was taking her into a world of mythology and cults. Scarlett also found this case had a connection to her father's unsolved murder. This simple case was putting her and those she cared about in danger which includes her older sister Reem and her boyfriend Decker but Scarlett was going to see this through to the end.

This was a fast paced story with a very fascinating mystery. I like how the story didn't really confirm whether there was magic or not. Despite being a good detective, Scarlett does seem to find herself in a lot of dangerous situations but I guess that goes with the job.

The only problem I had with the story was it lacked a few details such as what was Scarlett's last name? and how old was she (I thought maybe she was 18)?. Other than that I enjoyed reading this.

I like that the author made Scarlett a well-rounded character who seemed like a typical teen who just so happened to graduate high school early and then opened up her own detective agency. She's also a little conflicted about her religious beliefs, her feelings for Decker as well as still dealing with the death of both of her parents and trying to stay connected with her sister. She's also very keen on being independent. Scarlett is pretty cool. She's smart, cynical, doesn't always like to show her softer side but she usually does and did I mention she's a good detective.

This was a very good read.