The Wig in the Window

by Kristen Kittscher

Genre: Realistic fiction/mystery
Age group:10/11+

Sophie Young and Grace Yang are—almost—spies. Well, they're trying to be. They're erring on the old-fashioned side, and use walkie-talkies rather than smartphones, and they like to sneak out in the middle of the night to spy on any of their neighbors who might still have their lights on—you never know who in your neighborhood might be a serial killer. But they're not really serious about it. It never escalates to anything more than a fun game... until they peek inside the window of Charlotte Agford, the middle school guidance counselor.
Sophie and Grace always knew there was something up about Agford. What's with the weird wig, and her posse of students who are always ready to do her bidding, S.M.I.L.E.? When they see an unsettlingly red liquid spattered all over her kitchen counter, and overhear a suspicious phone call, they know something's up. The police dismiss it after they find evidence to show that it was just beet juice, Sophie and Grace think there's more to it, especially when a mysterious blue car and a strange man with a unibrow show up. There's more to Agford than meets the eye... And it's up to Young & Yang to figure out what's going on.

This was a really great read. It was entertaining, and kept me completely on my toes (not literally). I think it's an excellent mystery book. Usually when I read mystery books, every time I get a new clue I guess who the criminal really is, and then at the end I see if any of my guesses were right. This book has so many red herrings that partway through the book I just gave up trying to figure out who was the bad guy. It's not confusing, though. It's just really, really hard to point fingers because there are multiple situations which would work. Besides the main plot, where Sophie & Grace are trying to solve the mystery of Charlotte Agford, there are also some friendship problems which makes it more relatable (and slightly more believable) for middle-grade readers. This book is intense, exciting, and sometimes even scary, and the story is not only a great idea, it's written really well. My only problem is the cover: it doesn't really fit the characters the way they're described in the book. But that's just a cover.