The weird sisters. A robin, a ribbon, and a lawn mower

Summary/Review: "It’s summer, and the weird sisters are bemoaning the lack of customers to their pet emporium and newly opened detective agency. They believe Covenly residents think they’re too strange, so the sisters decide fitting in better will gain them business. The plan? Nine-year-old Jessica will teach them how to swing—an everyday, commonplace activity in Covenly. But they arrive at the big chestnut tree only to discover the town’s beloved tire swing lying on the ground with its rope severed in the middle. Who would do such a thing? And why? Jessica and the sisters are determined to solve the mystery. As they search for clues, they stumble onto a second mystery: the robin that nests at Chelsea Oh’s house has gone missing. They wonder if Graymalkin, the sisters’ cat, has scared the robin away. So they plan to find both the robin and the swing vandal by brewing a love potion that when splashed into Graymalkin’s eyes will cause the cat to be kind to the bird. Of course, their plans go awry. Jessica’s goat runs off with a wand that controls an enchanted lawn mower, which zigs and zags behind him. As the sisters and Jessica try to secure both goat and lawn mower, the potion is knocked from Hildegurp’s hands, missing the cat, and landing in Chelsea Oh’s eyes instead, causing her to look at Rupert with amorous interest. And Cosmo Keene, who happened to purchase a sharpening stone for his lawn mower blade, is accused of being the swing vandal since he possesses the perfect rope-cutting tool. But Mayor Bombast has commissioned a new swing and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Sharp-eyed Jessica notices that the cut ribbon has a sharp, clean edge, whereas the swing rope is frayed. Cosmo couldn’t be the vandal. Putting clues together, the clever sleuths soon determine the robin is to blame. The grassy field near its home was recently paved and a warehouse erected, so the bird, no longer able to find long grasses for its nest, pulled off bits of the tire swing’s hempen rope instead. The author has woven hints of Shakespeare into his plot, this time from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which also features a love potion that lands in the eyes of the wrong people and rearranges their relationships. Dynamic, humorous, and expressive illustrations by Kari Rust will be in black and white with roughly two per chapter. End matter includes a recipe for seedcake for robins.--