While her mother completes a university fellowship in Mexico City one summer, biracial Paloma gets a chance to dive into both her Mexican roots and an intriguing mystery. While there, she meets a pair of siblings who ask her to help them find a stolen ring that originally belonged to Frida Kahlo. Luckily for them, Paloma is up for the job, but as she learns more about the individuals involved, it becomes harder to know whom to trust. As Paloma gets caught up in the increasingly complicated scheme surrounding the ring, following her own instincts becomes just as important as tracking down the thief. Paloma is a clever heroine who genuinely wants to do the right thing by everyone she cares about, and young readers will likely relate to her struggle in balancing her sense of justice with her feelings of responsibility to her mother. Naturally, Cervantes includes plenty of Spanish words and phrases, which are either defined in the narrative or easily understandable with context clues. Hand this to fans of art-based mysteries.

On a trip to Mexico City, Mexican American tween Paloma Marquez and her new friends attempt to solve the mystery of the missing peacock ring, a (fictional) ring that belonged to the intriguing and beloved Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. This fast-paced mystery is full of opportunities to learn Spanish vocabulary, gain insights into the art of Kahlo, and glean a small sampling of Mexican culture.

Join Paloma Marquez as she solves the mystery of Frida Kahlo's missing peacock ring.Biracial Paloma Marquez is a 12-year-old half-Mexican, half-white girl from Kansas City, Kansas. Paloma possesses almost no memories of her deceased father but hopes to reconnect with her Mexican heritage during her first trip to his homeland. While staying in the Coyoacán neighborhood of Mexico City, Paloma explores Casa Azul, artist Frida Kahlo's childhood home-turned-museum, and instantly becomes a fan of Frida's artwork. Paloma is supposed to take Spanish classes and art history classes, but there's a mystery unfolding in Casa Azul. Kahlo's peacock ring is missing, and it is imperative that Paloma and her new friends, local siblings Gael and Lizzie, find it before it is too late. But Gael and Lizzie, who pose as Paloma's Spanish tutors from the university, are not who they seem….Paloma is a fan of fictional teen supersleuth Lulu Pennywhistle, who inspires her to try to solve the mystery of the missing peacock ring. The mystery, while engaging, is not particularly intricate. Readers will have little trouble solving it before Paloma and her friends do, making it more an introduction to the genre than one for readers accustomed to it. Spanish is used throughout the text with translations following almost immediately. A fun read for any sleuths-in-training. (author's note) (Mystery. 8-12)

Gr 4-6 Paloma Marquez isn't too excited about her first trip to Mexico. Her mom has a fellowship and has dragged Paloma along to introduce her to her father's heritage. Paloma is annoyed that she has to study Spanish in summer school instead of heading to the beach with her friends. Despite her low expectations, she quickly makes some intriguing friends and gets involved in a mystery allowing her to emulate her favorite protagonist, Lulu Pennywhistle. Although the secondary characters are somewhat underdeveloped, the plot moves along at a good pace and young mystery fans will want to keep turning pages. The mystery revolves around Frida Kahlo, so readers learn quite a bit about Mexican art and culture. VERDICT A well-paced mystery plot and a rich exploration of the art of Frida Kahlo make this a good purchase for most middle grade collections. Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR