About

Carly Piper and the Mystery of the Ruby Ring is written by Shirley Gilmore.

Carly Piper and the Mystery of the Ruby Ring book cover

Blurb

Ten-year-old Carly Piper grew up in her grandfather’s antique store in the St. Louis suburb of Brentwood, but when she moves to the peculiar town of Turn Back, Missouri, she discovers some antiques hold messages from the past.

Uprooted from her home in the city when her grandfather decides to open a new bookshop/antique store in Turn Back, Carly finds herself alone in the strange little town famous for its weekly labyrinth prayer walks. With her grandfather busy preparing for his grand opening, Carly is left to explore her new home with only her imaginary friends for companions.

An offer to assist her grandfather in his preparations brings her in contact with an antique ruby ring. Powerful, disturbing images from the past assault her mind when she touches the ring. She hesitates to tell her grandfather of her experience, but she will need his assistance and the help of others if she is to unlock the secrets of the ruby ring and right a wrong committed decades ago

Review

I haven't read the main series yet. I picked this up based on a recommendation for cozy mysteries.

Overall, I enjoyed this short book about ten-year-old Carly, her imaginary friends, her visions when touching significant objects (in a magical realism way), the slice-of-life events, etc. The main mystery felt like just another sub-plot, which was fine by me. The writing and characters were well done. Illustrations were neat.

If I had to nitpick — I'd have enjoyed the book more without the presence of Carly's father. I was looking for a comfort read and some of the scenes involving him left a bad taste.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆

What others are saying

From Wanderinglad's review on goodreads:

This is an interesting story, I especially enjoyed the part about hunting for arrowheads. A good mystery with engaging characters!

From Kat's review on goodreads:

I absolutely adored this lovely middle grade mystery set in the Missouri Ozark Mountains. Ten-year-old Carly Piper has recently moved to Turn Back, Missouri from St. Louis with her grandfather, who owns a book and antique shop. Carly doesn’t have many real-life friends, and instead has imaginary friends, or perhaps sees ghosts(?) who she converses with, including one absolutely adorable imaginary horse. There were so many amazing descriptions of small-town life, from a trip to the grocery store pulling a red wagon to thump watermelons, to cheeseburgers, milkshakes, and French fries for dinner with grandpa.

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2022 bingo categories:

  • Name in the Title (HM)
  • Self-Published OR Indie Publisher (HM)
  • Family Matters (HM)