Weird. Weirdly funny. The reveal at the end was incredibly strange. But awesome.

2021: I read this again because somehow I forgot I'd already read it? This short, punchy, detective story really packs a sassy punch. And the end...

Spoiler

the butler is a cat, which

really resonates with that lawyer cat video.

Hard-boiled with a sense of humor, this book is delightful. Little girls will LOVE it and want to be just like the girls in this story.

The book opens with a newly orphaned girl staring out a window and remarking on how much she hates life. We learn that her name is Mary Branwell and that she is being assigned as a partner to another girl "Pop" Popowski. The nun in charge of the orphanage says that Pops is a weird kid and needs socialization. Oh yeah, and they're kid detectives. Kid detectives that are going to solve the murder of Mary's parents.
This was an odd book. I liked the premise and the illustrations. The ending was just a bit too weird for me.

Funny, fast read with tons of references that will go over kids' heads, but be appreciated by adults.