Publishers Weekly
03/11/2024
Queer teen romance blossoms during a homicide investigation in this kindhearted whodunit from Winans (The Otherwoods). Sixteen-year-old Gigi Ricci knows that her math teacher, Mr. Ford, was murdered. The Cleveland police might believe he fell off a ladder while hanging a punny cat poster, but Mr. Ford disliked both cats and puns and wouldn’t have stayed late on a Friday to decorate. Furthermore, the school’s Mystery and Thriller Literary Scholars—comprising Gigi’s best friend Sean, and her secret crush, Mari—received an anonymous email summoning them to Mr. Ford’s room within moments of Gigi discovering the body. Mr. Ford was always supportive of Gigi, who catches a lot of flak regarding her financial precarity and her identity as a queer martial artist with IBS and “anger issues.” So, since no other adults seem interested in seeking justice for Mr. Ford, and Sean and Mari need more club members to merit a meeting space, Gigi agrees to sign up in exchange for the puzzle-savvy duo’s help in investigating his death. The campy central mystery is half-baked, but Gigi’s nuanced emotional arc and candid first-person-present narration buoy Winans’s inclusive, empowering tale. Most characters are queer and cue as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Patricia Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary. (June)
From the Publisher
One Killer Problem is a fun, endearing, and delightfully quirky murder mystery, with a sleuth whose hilarious voice leaps off the page and fantastic IBS representation that will make kids living with chronic stomach pain feel SEEN.” — Diana Urban, award-winning author of All Your Twisted Secrets
“Punny, thrilling, and oh so charming, One Killer Problem weaves suspense and queer feels into a heart-pounding, laugh-out-loud mystery that proves why Justine Pucella Winans is a must-read name for all queer YA fans.” — Emery Lee, award winning author of Meet Cute Diary
“Voicey and immersive, this witty, fast-paced YA mystery was a one-sitting read. With its cast of lovable, well-rounded characters and emotionally charged mystery, it kept the pages turning long into the night.” — Wendy Heard, author of She's too Pretty to Burn and We'll Never Tell
“This book slays—an emotionally complex and queer cast, an edgy murder, and loads of campy banter. Winans has once again cunningly crafted a laugh-out-loud mystery.” — Page Powars, author of The Borrow a Boyfriend Club
“Somehow both spit-out-your-drink hilarious and surprisingly tenderhearted, the 'killer problem' I had with this book was a total inability to put it down. Gigi Ricci is a stellar protagonist for the ages.” — Dahlia Adler, award-winning author of Cool for the Summer and Home Field Advantage
“My lawyers will be in touch with Justine Pucella Winans for the damages caused by this book. My abs hurt from laughing, my throat hurts from screaming, and my heart hurts from melting. None of this is okay. Five stars.” — Sonora Reyes, National Book Award Finalist and bestselling author of The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
“Gigi’s nuanced emotional arc and candid first-person-present narration buoy Winans’s inclusive, empowering tale.” — Publishers Weekly
“Appealingly wry... A snarky, queer, character-driven twist on cozy mysteries.” — Kirkus Reviews
A twisty mystery with crushes, queerness, insecurity, dark humor, and cat puns that will both keep readers guessing and desperate for more adventures with Gigi and her friends. Missing this one would be a cat-astrophe. — Booklist
“A funny, inclusive, and queer whodunit that teens will be dying to read.” — School Library Journal
School Library Journal
06/01/2024
Gr 9 Up—A queer high school murder mystery packed with raunchy laughs and tender moments. Italian American Gigi Ricci is not exactly excelling at school. Her hot temper and jiu-jitsu prowess land her in detention for starting fights and give her a formidable reputation. Her IBS has been acting up, and her love life is nonexistent (she's harbored a years-long unrequited crush on her brother's best friend). Things only get worse when Gigi and her friends, members of the Mystery and Thriller Literary Scholars club, stumble upon their math teacher dead in his classroom after school. It's ruled an accident, but the facts don't add up. The teens tackle the mystery themselves, even as they're followed by ominous threats and violent near-misses. The mystery unfolds at a satisfying clip, though some of the codes and clues are too convenient and are solved with no trouble from the sleuths. Poop and penis jokes abound; Gigi's sense of humor will be refreshing and relatable to many teens. The cast of characters is some racial diverse with lots of facets of LGBTQIA+ representation. Gigi is bisexual, her mom is queer and uses they/them pronouns, her brother is gay, and two close friends are lesbians, one of whom identifies as asexual and aromantic. VERDICT A funny, inclusive, and queer whodunit that teens will be dying to read. Recommended for school and public libraries.—Allison Staley
Kirkus Reviews
2024-04-05
An Ohio teen becomes a sleuth when her favorite teacher is murdered.
Sixteen-year-old Gigi Ricci’s reputation as a troublemaker with a penchant for getting into fights precedes her, especially after she broke a queerphobic bully’s nose. But despite her record of detentions and jujitsu training, her math teacher, Mr. Ford, believes she’s more than her abrasive exterior suggests. So Gigi is horrified to discover his corpse—especial since it seems his death was no accident. This looks like a job for the Westbridge High Mystery Club, helmed by Gigi’s best friend, Sean, and her crush, Mariela, who’ve honed their sleuthing skills by reading cozy mysteries. But it doesn’t feel very cozy when the killer starts targeting the club members. Gigi’s nemesis, Cedar, also joins the case, adding verbal barbs and romantic tension to the suspense, since Gigi views Cedar as a rival for Mari’s affections. While readers might quickly peg whodunit, the mystery feels secondary to the exploration of Gigi’s relationships and emotional issues. Though her anger is largely unexplained, her struggles with expressing her emotions are sympathetic. Her working-class, “seventy-five-percent-queer Italian family”—Gigi is bisexual, her brother is gay, and her mom is nonbinary—is heartwarmingly supportive. While the dialogue is sometimes stilted, Gigi’s narration, which is peppered with quips about her sexuality and her irritable bowel syndrome, is appealingly wry. Most characters read white; there’s diversity of ethnicity and sexuality among the cast.
A snarky, queer, character-driven twist on cozy mysteries. (Mystery. 13-17)
