The Usual Suspects

Thelonius is tired of getting blamed for everything.  He and his best friend Nehemiah have been placed in special education because of their behavior problems, and anytime something bad happens, they are the first suspects.  Thelonius figures if he's going to get the blame, he might as well enjoy the chaos, and he's really good at creating chaos.

When someone finds a gun in the park bordering the school, Thelonius and the rest of the special ed class are the first ones called in.  But this isn't a normal prank, and Thelonius is not going down for this one.  He knows no one is going to look much further, so he decides to solve this mystery on his own.

Thelonius only wanted to save his own skin, but his investigation uncovers some pretty sketchy activities going on at Persons Crossing and puts him on the radar of some seriously nasty kids. 

Can he solve the case, keep from being labeled a snitch, and maintain his friendships before the school administration pins the crime on him?

Maurice Broaddus's middle grade debut is in the style of a hardboiled detective novel with a twist.  I appreciate he is choosing to focus on the special ed kids and the students who always get blamed when something goes wrong, but in my experience, no one is placed in sped for being a classroom disruption.  There is a lot of testing, and some students who could benefit from services don't qualify.  I don't think kids will realize this, so it will just bug education professionals.  He does accurately portray the mix of invested and burned-out teachers.  This is a strong mystery that reminds me in tone of The Fourth Stall.  Highly recommended!