SOME SECRETS CANโT STAY LOCKED AWAY.
After the incredible events of the last official Winterton Bee, Hope and Gordon Smith have discovered that having an extended family isnโt so bad ... and maybe their famous relativesโ lives arenโt so charmed. But Hope is still hiding a secret, and itโs a big one.
When Elizabeth Springer goes missing just before the Wintertonsโ big Thanksgiving celebrationโtheir first reunion since the spelling beeโHope knows itโs time to come clean. Especially if it means saving Ms. Springer. But none of the Winterton clan wants to hear it. Worse, they accuse Hope of making up the whole story for attention.
Ready to give up on her newfound family, Hope gets a cryptic coded letter with instructions on how to find James Wintertonโher long-estranged grandfather.
Whatโs more, the letter hints that Jane Winterton hid away much more than a simple treasure. Now Hope and Gordon face the impossible task of convincing their family to follow a shifty clue to find the man they want to see least, in order to save the woman whoโs been lying to them for years.
With even more family intrigue and peppered with delicious literary what-ifs, the second installment in the middle grade The Winterton Deception series delivers another twisty, electric puzzle mystery young sleuths will eagerly devour.