Frankie Jackson Mysteries

Twelve-year-old Mary Frances "Frankie" Jackson has been sent to California for the summer to live on a houseboat with her Aunt Roxy. There's one catch-she can't get in trouble, or it's back to New Jersey and juvenile detention camp. Too bad that days after arriving at the houseboat community, Frankie is accused of animal cruelty (killing a cat) and has two weeks to prove her innocence. In the process, she gets to know all the eccentrics on the dock. There's Forgetting Michael, a young disabled man who forgets things whenever a loud noise goes off; Alice, an eighty-two-year-old activist who loves birds and hates cats; Margie Britt, a washed-out 70s TV star; and Butch, an exceptional German shepherd who shows affection in unexpected ways. This is the first of three books in the Frankie Jackson mystery series.

As far as 12-year-old Frankie Jackson is concerned, mermaids are like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny-stuff made up by grown-ups so that they can sell movies and toys. At least that's what Frankie's dad once told her. But one day, while staying on a houseboat for the summer, Frankie finds herself face-to-face with a mermaid. Convinced that it is a dream, Frankie can't shake the vision of the blue-haired sea creature. Meanwhile, the town of Sausalito is buzzing with rumors about a wealthy woman who disappeared into the Bay wearing a million-dollar necklace (shaped like a mermaid). Are the missing woman and Frankie's dream related? That's what Frankie has to find out! With help from her houseboat friends and Roxy, her host and confidant for the summer, Frankie proves her innocence. But more importantly, she learns that dreams and real life can sometimes merge... and that people are not always who they seem to be.

Crazy things are about to happen to 12-year-old Frankie Jackson after she signs on to compete in a reality TV show. Not only does she have to win a televised pitching competition, but she also has to figure out who burned down an abandoned houseboat and how come a 15-year-old con artist wants to become her BFF. And weirdest of all-why is she getting phone calls from someone claiming to be the "real" Frankie Jackson?