> Skip to content
Read an extract
Play sample
  • Published: 3 January 2024
  • ISBN: 9780241536452
  • Imprint: Puffin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 464
  • RRP: $16.99

The Swifts

  • Beth Lincoln




A hilarious mystery adventure perfect for fans of Robin Stevens and Lemony Snicket.

On the day they are born, each Swift is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name and a definition, and it is assumed they will grow up to match. Unfortunately, Shenanigan Swift has other ideas.

So what if her relatives all think she's destined to turn out as a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can be whatever she wants - pirate, explorer or even detective.

Which is lucky, really, because when one of the Family tries to murder Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude, someone has to work out whodunit.

With the help of her sisters and cousin, Shenanigan grudgingly takes on the case, but more murders, a hidden treasure and an awful lot of suspects make thing seriously complicated.

Can Shenanigan catch the killer before the whole household is picked off? And in a Family where definitions are so important, can she learn to define herself?

  • Published: 3 January 2024
  • ISBN: 9780241536452
  • Imprint: Puffin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 464
  • RRP: $16.99

Praise for The Swifts

A mystery that is as clever and impish as its heroine

Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

An absolutely delightful debut

Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

A witty confection of highly colourful characters

The Horn Book

Discover more

Teachers' notes
penguin pop image
penguin pop image