A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga
This is the same author who wrote A Rover’s Story! I loved that book!
Rami’s mom works at the museum, so he spends a lot of time there when he is not in school. One of the paintings goes missing, and soon after, Rami starts to see a ghost. This ghost bears a striking resemblance to the girl in the painting. Is she connected to the painting?
There is also a turtle that lives on the grounds of the museum. Agatha the turtle sees a lot that happens, but she can’t really tell anyone what she saw. I mean, she’s a turtle. But I adore the fact that there are chapters about Agatha! She sees so much! She even knows who took the painting, but again, she can’t tell anyone.
Rami and a friend from school, Veda, are on the case. They start to investigate who could have possibly stolen the painting and what, if any, connections it may have to the ghost girl whom they name Blue for the time being. Veda is quite the investigator; she has them taking the bus across town to visit with the artist, and she is looking up former employees of the museum. She also happens to love true crime podcasts, which is why she has all these ideas.
The two of them do a really great job of investigating. It turned out to be a very sweet story.
Three Out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
Literary Coffee 