The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing

by Sheila Turnage. 352 p. Kathy Dawson Books/ Penguin Group (USA)., February 4, 2014. 9780803736719. (Reviewed from a gifted arc)

Mo LeBeau and Dale Earnhardt Johnson III are back. They need to form a paranormal branch of The Desperado Detective Agency after Miss Lana finds herself the owner of a haunted inn. When their sixth grade teacher, Miss Retzyl, agrees to have her students interview Tupelo Landing's elder population to celebrate the town's 250th anniversary, Mo decides to interview the town's "oldest" resident, the inn's ghost, Nellie, much to Dale's horror.  

Readers of Turnage's Newbery Honor-winning debut, Three Times Lucky, will be thrilled to reunite with plucky, plain-spoken Mo, timid Dale, and all the quirky denizens of Tupelo Landing. I had a hard time not swallowing this one whole just as I did in Three Times Lucky (see review here). Lovely language, perfect pacing, and laugh-out-loud moments on nearly every page. Sure, there's a mystery to solve, but there are also secrets to uncover and a possible love interest for Mo? 

This sequel can stand alone, but encourage students to read both. They won't be disappointed and may, like me, hope that there will be more visits to Tupelo Landing.