If you’ve read any of Ally Carter’s other books in her YA series Gallagher Girls or Heist Society, you’ll know the flavor of this first book in her first middle grade series: it’s fast-paced intrigue, family secrets, and the triumph of the underdog with engaging characters who coalesce into a team of brave children determined to solve all of the mysteries and fight for justice. This isn’t a YA novel, however. No romance, but there is some rather nasty violence, with swords and knives and blood and all that jazz.

The main character is April who has been in the foster care system all her life. She sees herself as different from all of the other kids, however, because she has a solid clue that her mother is going to come back to get her soon—a key that April hangs around her neck and a promise that she barely remembers. Instead of a parental rescue, April has to be rescued from a museum fire by a stranger, and somehow she ends up in the mansion of the mysterious Gabriel Winterborne, who disappeared almost ten years ago. Is he still alive? What does April’s key have to do with the Winterbornes’ fortune? Can April claim the five million dollar reward for information leading to Gabriel’s whereabouts? And why are five orphans gathered together and given the privilege of living in the Winterborne mansion?

The tone of this novel is snarky and kind of jerky. Events happen suddenly, sometimes without enough build-up or preparation to make them understandable or even believable. April is a cynical kid with a chip on her shoulder, but of course, she really has a heart. It’s just buried beneath all the bad stuff that’s happened in her life to make her unwilling to trust anyone. And I should warn you that the ending is a little less than satisfying. It’s an ending, not a complete cliffhanger, but there are obviously more secrets to be uncovered in the next book in the series.