The Tontine Caper
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Apr 22, 2025
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- $11.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Clue meets Knives Out for the younger set in this twisty-turny middle grade mystery-comedy with delightfully dry humor and impeccable plotting.
Eleven-year-old orphan Nico Lombardi has been unfairly indentured at a remote mountain inn for five years now.
Just as he gathers the courage to escape, the inn gets booked by the remaining members of a “tontine,” an investment scheme where a cash prize is awarded to whomever lives the longest. In other words, every guest wants access to the fortune. Preferably as soon as possible.
During their stay, a chaotic race to control the fate of the tontine takes over the normally sleepy inn. Nico watches in horror as a series of comically disastrous events unfolds—some of which might aid his escape, and some of which might get him in big trouble. Before he can even put the right clues together, three unexpected revelations change the course of everyone’s future!
Arch humor and an incredible cast of strange and calculating characters keep the pages turning in this Wes Anderson-esque mystery filled with funny mishaps and misunderstandings.
With illustrations, a hotel map, character dossiers, a personality quiz, and a test to see how YOU would fare in a tontine caper, this read is perfect for fans of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and The 39 Clues series.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Salerni (The Carrefour Curse) utilizes an omniscient POV and remote mountain setting to recount 11-year-old Nicodemo "Nico" Lombardi's attempts to flee his unfortunate living situation—efforts derailed by a comedic murder mystery. Ever since his beloved artist grandfather died five years earlier, indebted to Gunther Hogg, pompous owner of the Precipice Inn in the Pocono Mountains, Nico has been locked in indentured servitude. As Nico plots his departure, three parties arrive, hoping to settle their long-standing tontine, a scheme that awards a cash prize to the final living investor. The theatrical Deetlebaums want to end the tontine early and divide the $150,000 pot three ways, though the Von Topp family's two teenagers are keen on instead acquiring half by removing feeble-looking Mr. Ames from the running. The topsy-turvy plot deftly balances guffaw-inducing humor and shocking revelations, and guilt-ridden Nico's thieving from guests to finance his escape makes for an emotionally propulsive read. Stark ink illustrations by Schu (Star and the Maestro) elevate the suspenseful atmosphere. Nico has an "olive complexion"; the rest of the cast cues as white. Ages 8–12. Author's agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary.
