The Candy Mafia by Lavie Tidhar, Daniel Duncan
Release: September 1st 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company
Source: Netgalley
Synopsis:
In a city where candy is a crime and sugar is scandalous, Nelle Faulker is a 12-year-old private detective looking for her next client.
When notorious candy gangster Eddie de Menthe asks for her help to find a missing teddy bear, Nelle Faulkner is on the case. But as soon as the teddy turns up, Eddie himself goes missing! As a seemingly innocent investigation unravels into something more sinister, Nelle and her friends quickly find themselves swept up in a shady underworld of sweets smugglers, back alley deals, and storefront firebombs.
If Nelle has any hope of tracking down her missing client, first she’ll have to unmask the true faces behind the smuggling ring. Can Nelle and her friends find a way to take the cake? Or will they come to a sticky end…?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Bugsy Malone in this page-turning mystery from World Fantasy Award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. With moody spot illustrations by Daniel Duncan, readers will be sucked into the action-packed narrative as Nell pulls the curtain back on the black market candy rings.
The Candy Mafia Review:
A BIG Thank You to Netgalley and Peachtree Publishing for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of “The Candy Mafia” for my review.
I always love reading something completing new in the middle grade genre. Being a fan of old film noir movies, I simply loved reading this book. The author plotted and paced the story very well. What starts off as the mystery of a missing bear soon leads to a bigger conspiracy that Nelle wouldn’t have imagined. I read quite a few mysteries and even I couldn’t figure out where the story was heading. I loved the reveal in the end as to what happened to Mr. Farnsworth and how everything fit together.
Moreover, Nelle is great as the private detective. She is willing to solve the case and will stop at nothing in the process. I also liked the supporting characters, Waffles, Sweetcakes, and even Bobbie. The villains were also well written, where they are menacing and scary, but also a bit ridiculous at times.
The only downside to the story was the way it ends. I am not going to give away the ending, but I wished things had turned out better. Honestly, I expected a happier ending. However, I was glad that the ending felt realistic. Also, some of the themes, particularly with the violence, felt too mature to be mentioned for younger readers.
However, apart from that I loved everything about this story. The author wrote the story very well and you actually feel like you are watching an old film noir movie. Moreover, the illustration by Daniel Duncan are amazing and brings the book to life in a new way. Overall, I personally enjoyed reading “The Candy Mafia” and hope it turns out to be the beginning of a series.
