Eleven year old Philippa Bath has an exciting and unconventional life, having grown up on the magnificent cruise ship S.S. Excalibur. When she finds a friend in the captain’s handsome son Philip, her life becomes infinitely more interesting as a mystery comes to the surface. Philippa soon finds herself involved in a tangled web involving diamonds, royalty, mechanical birds, and a meddling duchess. On top of that, her friend Philip is not all that he seems—guarding some secrets of his own. The more clues she unravels, the stickier the situation becomes and she and Philip find themselves drifting slowly and surely into danger. Will Philippa be able to save the day, or is this bon voyage to life as she knows it? Mystery lovers will enjoy this bright and breezy splash through the seas, and the illustrations by Mordicai Gerstein add nice visual appeal. 160 pages.

Recommended by Molly Crumbley, Librarian.