The Monkey Island Murder

A Tourist Trap Full of Crazy Monkeys . . . and Murder! Sure, Sparky's boss Bookie is a crook, but he's no murderer! Eleven-year-old, plucky amateur super-sleuth Sparky stops at nothing to convince the police that Bookie was framed for the murder at Monkey Island, a ratty tourist trap in downtown Los Angeles, 1932. On this, the worst day of her life, Sparky must also survive going back to school. Forever in trouble, Sparky is forced to "volunteer" for top cop Mug and grumpy Detective Bernie. Will the station's police bunny give Sparky an important clue? Meanwhile, at the Creepy House mansion, Sparky's home, onetime silent movie star Tootsie and her assistant Gilbert, aka the goblin, are in a tizzy preparing for an audition that could revive Tootsie's career. Will Sparky's detecting antics disrupt her guardian's big break? Sparky even considers gravedigging to find clues to help Bookie. . . . But if he's freed from jail, with Prohibition on its way out, will Bookie need to figure out a new line of work? Crime-solving is a lonely business, but thankfully, Sparky has Tootsie's stuffed pet leopards for company. It's all that and a barrel of monkeys in Sparky's next adventure! The Monkey Island Murder is the third in author Rosalind Barden's hilarious, historical 1930s cozy take on Los Angeles noir, Sparky of Bunker Hill Mystery series with a most unlikely amateur sleuth, Sparky, an 11-year-old street punk who's a bit of a little criminal herself! The first in the series, The Cold Kid Case, is a Firebird Book Award Winner for Best Cozy Mystery. Follow more of Sparky's crime-solving misadventures with The Cannibal Caper: A Sparky of Bunker Hill Mystery, The South Seas Shenanigans: A Sparky of Bunker Hill Mystery, and coming in 2025, The Catalina Cahoots: A Sparky of Bunker Hill Mystery.