A Dictionary of Scoundrels

In her family, Shenanigan Swift has always been synonymous with mischief. As Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude always says, "She can't help her name." When a family reunion suddenly turns into a murder mystery, Shenanigan is determined to catch the perpetrator. A celebration of words and individuality, this remarkable debut is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. shenanigan, noun 1. Tomfoolery, skulduggery, mischief of all varieties 2. A devious trick for an underhanded purpose On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred family dictionary. They are given a name and a definition, one it's assumed they will grow up to match. Unfortunately, Shenanigan Swift doesn't much like being told what to do. Troublemaker and mischief enthusiast Shenanigan rattles around the grand old Swift house rehearsing Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude's funeral with her older sisters Phenomena and Felicity, plotting future crimes, and wondering whether she is herself by choice or design. When the Family Reunion floods the house with people, Shenanigan is excited to meet her rogue's gallery of relatives--until one of them gives Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs. Shenanigan had planned to spend the reunion hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile's hidden treasure. But more murders and an awful lot of suspects--from newcomers Daisy and Atrocious to beloved Uncle Maelstrom--keep complicating Shenanigans plans. With some help from her sisters and their newly befriended cousin Erf, can Shenanigan catch the killer? And in a world where definitions are so important, how will she define herself?