THE CASE OF THE MISSING MUSIC

In Moss’ middle-grade novel, a girl who’s about to start middle school must solve a mystery while visiting New Orleans.

The story opens in 1965 with 8-year-old Brigette Davies finding her grandfather, Papere, in his basement adding “snow” to a photograph with a special tool. Fifty-seven years later, in 2022,a girl named Morgan Draca is sad to leave her best friends behind right at the end of summer, but she’s delighted to find out that family friend Sheila will spend time with her, her brother, and their mother during their visit to New Orleans, where Sheila’s family has a long history. Sheila’s almost concluded her search for her great-grandfather Papere’s missing sheet music, and Morgan loves a good mystery almost as much as she loves history. Sheila’s breakthrough in the search for the missing music has ended at Café Du Monde, where Papere’s diary indicated the music was kept safe, but nobody there seems to know anything about it. Morgan is desperate to continue the search; however, Sheila and Morgan are forbidden from doing so, as it’s caused too much disruption and disappointment for Sheila’s family. On a later visit to Café Du Monde, though, Morgan notices a photo that reignites the investigation. Later, Sheila takes the group to her great-grandparents’ final resting place, where Morgan notices another key clue. The New Orleans visit, with Sheila as a tour guide, is rich with historical tidbits regarding the French Quarter, the World War II Museum, and the bayou—all of which are connected to Sheila’s great-grandparents’ lives. The descriptions of local political and social history, jazz, and geographic phenomena are as enticing as the characters’ search, and Moss tells the story with prose that never talks down to young readers. Morgan’s sense of curiosity and love of reading (“She looked for her phone, curious how long she had been reading; she hadn’t even noticed how far the sun had fallen in the sky”) are utterly inspiring.

A compelling narrative with plenty of local detail.