A review by nothingforpomegranted
A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

The Swift family is an ancient family with generations that have been named by opening to a random page in the revered family dictionary. The idea is that the name speaks to the character and destiny of the person, so Shenanigan Swift, the youngest of three daughters, is constantly getting into trouble and irritating her siblings. When Inheritance, the family archivist, arrives just after the latest rehearsal for Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude's funeral, with an announcement that it's time for the next family reunion, relatives appear from all across the globe to search for ancestor Vile's treasure. Suddenly, Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude is found at the bottom of the stairs, victim to a suspected attempted murder, which kicks off the exciting mystery element of the story. Shenanigan and her scientist sister Phenomena, along with their non-binary cousin Erf and twin relatives Flora and Fauna, investigate every clue, much to the disdain of Inheritance, who is concerned with the implications for the family archives and treasure. The sisters initially suspect Daisy, the hopeful fiancee of cousin Candour, who had been denied Matriach Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude's blessing of marriage, and plenty of clues point in her direction throughout the book. Ultimately, though, it turns out that Candour himself was the guilty party, and his shame is revealed at the end of the book, complete with Shenanigan's analysis of the definition of his name.

This was fun and adventurous, and I loved the wordplay, which was reminiscent of The Phantom Tollbooth. I thought some of the gender stuff felt a bit forced, but most of it was natural and important representation. I likely won't go out of my way to read the next book in the series, but I definitely enjoyed this.