Opal Watson: Private Eye

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Opal Watson, Private Eye introduces an exciting new middle grade mystery series based on the popular original Pinna podcast that feels like a modern-day version of Harriet the Spy.

Opal Watson loves being a detective. When her neighbor’s cat goes missing or her grandmother loses her cherished cookbook, Opal is on the case. And there is no mystery she cannot solve.Returning home to Chicago after spending the summer with Meme Augustine in New Orleans, Opal is nervous to begin school. Despite her parents’ confidence, they worry about her making new friends and dealing with her retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease. When Opal gets paired with a new student, Ivy, to work on their history project together, she is hesitant—after all, she only needs her cousin, Frank, and her best friend, Madison.But school quickly becomes the least of her worries. Madison has heard disturbances in the apartment building she and Opal live in, the Crescent. Renovations are being done, but it’s unclear where the noises that are upsetting all her neighbors are coming from. Even worse, the old building is the target of developers wanting to tear it down. As Opal begins to investigate, she realizes this will be her toughest case yet.Can Opal solve the mystery at the Crescent and save her home? And what hidden truths will she uncover along the way?

About the Author

Brittany J. Thurman is the author of the picture books Fly and Forever and Always, the middle grade mystery Opal Watson, Private Eye, and the coauthor of the middle grade novels Fearless: Boulevard of Dreams and Fearless: The Takeover, both written with Mandy Gonzalez. She is a former children’s specialist, dedicated to ensuring children’s literature truthfully reflects the world in which we live. Brittany holds an MFA in dramatic writing from Carnegie Mellon University and a BA in theater from Kingston University, London, England. She is an avid traveler and has lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but now resides in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.