Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb -- Kirsten Miller

Need a Pink Book Antidote? Searching for something to counteract The Great Big Glorious Book for Girls?

Look no further.

Kiki Strike is back.

In The Empress's Tomb, the girls face (among other things):

Giant, thieving squirrels
Smugglers
Suspicious parents
An angry ghost
Secrets

Big secrets:

There are many lessons in life that can be unpleasant to learn. Don't dry a hamster in the microwave. Flip-flops aren't appropriate cocktail party attire. And mayonnaise shouldn't come with a crust. But for a girl detective, there's one lesson that's hardest to learn. No matter how hard you try, you can never know everything about the people you care for the most. Even if you've shared countless adventures and faced death side by side, there may still be secrets between you.

They also continue to explore the Shadow City, plant lots and lots of bugs (listening devices, not creepy-crawlies) and make use of some extremely potent stink bombs.

Remember how I said that this book could counteract books like The Great Big Glorious Book for Girls? Here's (one of the many ways) how: Most of the chapters end with a How To section. And I'm not talking "How to Make Daisychains" or "How to Choose The Sexiest Thong for your New Lowriders". I'm talking practical, girl detective tips like: "How to Detect the Presence of an Intruder". I'm talking "What To Do If Your Secret is Revealed". I'm talking "How To Know if Your House is Haunted", "How to Summon a Poltergeist" and "How to Crash a Party".

I'm talking a book made of awesome. Made. Of. Awesome.

Kiki Strike, Ananka Fishbein, Luz Lopez, Betty Bent, Deedee Morlock and Oona Wong are all made of awesome. You'll wish you were one of them, regardless of your age. Heck, if it meant I could join them, I'd be willing to become a fourteen-year-old again -- and that's saying something. 

Don't miss out.