Three Times Lucky

“Trouble cruised into Tupelo Landing at exactly seven minutes past noon on Wednesday, the third of June, flashing a gold badge and driving a Chevy Impala the color of dirt.  Almost before the dust had settled, Mr. Jesse turned up dead and life in Tupelo Landing turned upside down.” – Three Times Lucky, Sheila Turnage

This is the first sentence of Three Times Lucky written by Sheila Turnage a mystery for students in 5th grade and up.  The story is told by Mo (Moses) LeBeau a rising sixth grader who can get into trouble almost as fast as she can talk her way out of it.  When a murder occurs in the small town of Tupelo Landing, Mo decides that she can solve it and with the help of her best friend Dale Earnhardt Johnson III she starts to gather clues.

The best part about this story were the characters, the author created a small town setting where everyone knew everyone else’s business and that’s exactly how you feel reading this novel.  Even the secondary characters have a rich background, full of details that you don’t normally find in a typical novel.  The story is a straight-up mystery, but throughout the author also adds other issues that aren’t typical in a middle school mystery novel – and the best part is, she can do it without taking away from the story.  This story is full of action, adventure, mystery, suspense, and friendship – a great read!

Check out the author’s website for more information about her!  Hopefully, we’ll see another novel from her soon!

Title: Three Times Lucky
Author: Sheila Turnage
Publisher: Dial
Publication Date: 2012
Page Number: 256 pgs.