The Case of the Absent Answers by R.L. Fink
There are middle-grade mystery classics like Harriet the Spy and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. There are the eternally reinvented teen sleuths Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. Then there are the modern kid detectives, like the quirky Baudelaire orphans from A Series of Unfortunate Events. And now a new name enters the ring: Mickie McKinney, Boy Detective … or as some of his Maple Ridge Middle School classmates would describe him, “the kid with the weird hat.”
In book one of the Mickie McKinney: Boy Detective series by R.L. Fink, The Case of the Absent Answers, we find our Mickie beefing up his resume by solving petty mysteries in exchange for candy (who wouldn’t want to know what goes into the school cafeteria’s Mystery Meatloaf, after all?) when he becomes witness to an actual injustice at the school.
The new girl has been accused of swiping the answers to an important test. Our man has suspicions about who the true culprit could be, and he isn’t one to let sleeping dogs lie. So, armed with the sole clue of a mysterious orange smudge and the wits of his mad scientist pal Jamie “Burners” Burns, Mickie will stop at nothing to solve this case … even though the new girl insists she doesn’t need or want his help.
But why would he persist nevertheless? For crying out loud, he doesn’t even know the new girl’s first name. Maybe he’s doing it for justice. Maybe it’s because she saved him from a whupping from the school bully, so he feels he owes her one. Or maybe it’s just because this is the biggest challenge he’s ever stumbled across in all of his investigations. One worthy of following in his father’s footsteps.
Regardless, Mickie’s viewpoint of the world is full of a mix of imaginative hard-boiled P.I. bravado, Sherlock Holmes quotes and hilarious observations. His interactions with others — his sidekick Jamie, the new girl, the school bully Tommy Tubbins — are peppered with witty dialogue and sassy dynamics that betray his true nature: an inveterate butterfingers (especially in Jamie’s lab), who’s not above hiding in a garbage can full of half-eaten tacos when threatened. That is to say, he’s completely relatable to anyone who’s ever experienced the awkwardness of adolescence.
The Case of the Absent Answers is a short, fun and fast-paced read for children, teens and adults young at heart. It’ll leave you wanting more of our boy detective and his quirky friends. Fortunately, readers can satisfy that craving — whether through the Mickey McKinney podcast or the next book in the series, Troubles with Teamwork, with plans for many more to come.
About R.L. Fink:
R.L. Fink grew up in Topanga, California as the eldest of three. An avid listener, then reader of detective stories, the only thing better than writing detective novels would have been to become a character in one. But since that never happened, R.L. Fink chose to write a detective series based on a middle school experience that never happened, but would’ve been fun if it did, with friends that never existed, but would’ve been fun if they had.
Ruby studied Film Production at Chapman University’s Dodge College, with a minor in Narrative and Dramatic Literature. She has enjoyed producing many audiobooks over the last several years, and manages a small staff of freelance illustrators, audio engineers and voice actors, who make up the close-knit group that is Faux Fiction Audio.
