The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
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#1 New York Times bestseller!
“Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket…This archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever as its heroine.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review
“The suspenseful denouement is positively writhing with twists.” —Booklist, starred review
On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match.
Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker.
Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s excited to finally meet her arriving relatives—until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.
So what if everyone thinks she’ll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she’s determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer.
Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A celebration of words and individuality, it’s packed with games, wordplay, and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and define herself in a world where definitions are so important.
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4.5 out of 5 stars 505
4.6 out of 5 stars 153
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Read the whole series:
The critically lauded, wickedly smart whodunit with a “Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket,” now in paperback. Shenanigan Swift is headed to Paris, where new mysteries await in the hilarious, quick-witted sequel to Beth Lincoln’s #1 New York Times bestseller, The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels.
Publisher : Dutton Books for Young Readers (February 7, 2023)
Language : English
Hardcover : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593533232
ISBN-13 : 978-0593533239
Reading age : 9+ years, from customers
Lexile measure : 810L
Grade level : 3 – 7
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.81 x 1.13 x 8.56 inches
13 reviews for The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
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Original price was: $18.99.$7.98Current price is: $7.98.
L. Carter –
fun and different
A bit of a mystery, a fun and interesting story, and fun characters. It manages to have murder and suspense without being creepy or very dark. There is a non-binary child which is dealt with in a very gentle way, and I felt the main character’s reaction to it was quite sweet and realistic. (Something to the effect of, oh, I didn’t realize that was an option, and then moves on with life.) Probably best for middle school+ or advanced late elementary kids. Also, adults like me that enjoy a good “kid’s” book.
K. Kieser –
Great time reading with my son
I love reading to my son. He’s eight. He doesn’t always want me to read to him – he prefers to read alone. I made him sit with me for the first couple chapters and within a few, he was hooked. It also help to start a conversation about gender, which was really nice. Mostly though, he enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery as we read. It really captured his imagination.
CBajo –
Cute ideas and premise for this middle aged book
I rated this four stars, because quite honestly as an adult reading this book through the eyes of a middle grades student, might have trouble. The book is cute and entertaining, but a lot of the words are a bit above the recommended age. If you’re looking for a quirky fun book this is it just make sure your, child or students are reading at a fairly high level.
Kristina Palmer –
Came in on time, love the hardcover!
This book was great for my sixth grade reader who is slightly advanced. In recent year, she liked the dork diaries, And seems to love this I will be getting number two shortly! Great story
Judi Easley for a thoughtful reveal –
Living up to your name, literally!
Shenanigan is a misfit in a family of misfits. In the Swift family, when a baby is born, the family dictionary is consulted for a name. The family honestly believes that the dictionary will give the new baby the appropriate name, and the child will grow to be what its name means. Yes, the definition of its name. Aunt Inheritance is obviously meant to be the family archivist. Just as Shenanigan is expected to cause trouble and always be a problem. Aren’t you glad you aren’t Cousin Atrocious? Ones with almost normal names, such as Flora and Fauna, are pittied as they aren’t expected to make much of a mark in life. What happens if the dictionary gets it wrong? Or what if there’s more than one meaning to a name? Could a person turn into something unexpected?In the Swift family, they have family reunions at which they search for the Hoard. The Hoard is the long-lost treasure of their ancestor hidden on the estate. The estate is typical of any other old family property in that it has been added on to, and things have been torn down. Change with time and needs. No one knows just where all the old passageways are or lead to. At this year’s reunion, one of the family members is willing to go further than just searching to find the Hoard. And he wants it all for himself. He’s not willing to share with the family. Will he go all the way to murder? Find out! Recommended.
Terry D –
Easier to read and fun
This is a great book for young people. The story is engaging and funny.
MelMcL –
Such a fun book.
We read this as a read-aloud and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it! Very well written, excellent characters!
J Duncan –
Great Concept – mediocre execution
As you’ll easily see from the synopsis, the book is about a family who gets names from a dictionary and then assumes everyone will live up to those names — good or bad. There’s some clever word play, but younger kids will often need a dictionary. Now, here’s the stuff I didn’t notice in other reviews:* Many parents check these reviews for content and trigger warnings, so let’s get those out there first. The book contains violence and murder including dead bodies, but descriptions are certainly not gruesome. What’s more alarming is that none of the characters seem to find the deaths gruesome or disturbing. It’s all very desensitized, but maybe that’s what folks expect from this type of mystery.This book is very LGBTQ+ affirming. There’s a male character who refers to his husband, a child who questions their gender, and an adult who is trans. The strangest thing about this, in this book, is that the plot is all set up by saying that the family names someone and then a person can never break out of that identify. That’s totally unsupported in terms of gender in the story though. Is the audience supposed to accept that Fauna was allowed to transition in gender but didn’t need a name change? Or that Uncle Maelstrom literally takes time to define matriarchy and patriarchy and then say he hopes the next family leader is neither gender and they’ll figure out what to call them? It just doesn’t make sense in the novel. The transitional/ gender fluidity theme could even have been carried out better without these additions. I realize this info may affect some buyers, so it should be in an honest review.* At times, the author gets too caught up in her own cleverness and the wordplay overtakes the story. An example of this comes in a very unnecessary and strange prologue to the US edition that basically talks about the differences between British and American spellings. It’s in no way relevant to the story and doesn’t even really affect the books’s editing.* It’s a long read for kids and doesn’t move at a particularly quick pace. The actual sentence structures and word choices often make reading aloud difficult. The pacing is also strange. Chapters are too short to just read one if doing this as a read aloud book, but you could potentially read 2 and literally make no progress in the plot. (I guess on the positive side, even when we didn’t read it for a week, the plot repeated so often the kids could easily remember what had happened.)This isn’t one I’d recommend largely because the troublesome aspects outweigh the fun of the book and could not down early chapter book readers, but the tone is far too young for more advanced readers (say Harry Potter fans, for instance).
Amazon Customer –
Great book, my daughter loved it.
Andrey –
Book contains a modern vision of the family institution, relationships between the same genders, and multi-gender agenda. In some countries such a content is inappropriate and even forbidden. Be ready and informed well.
Margot –
A quirky, funny mystery. Think kids would love this.Even as an adult, I enjoyed it.
Beth –
My 9 year old is loving this book! Have to prise it out of her hands when getting ready for school 🙂
Ria Thornhill –
My 10 year old daughter loved this book, it was her first murder mystery book so I wasn’t sure what she’d think but she read it really fast and can’t wait for the second book.