Book cover of The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln and Claire Powell
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln and Claire Powell

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln and Claire Powell

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Ages: 8–12 years

#1 New York Times bestseller!

The critically lauded, wickedly smart whodunit with a “Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket,” now in paperback.

On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match.

Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker.

Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s excited to finally meet her arriving relatives—until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.

So what if everyone thinks she’ll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she’s determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer.

Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A celebration of words and individuality, it’s packed with games, wordplay, and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and define herself in a world where definitions are so important.

Beth Lincoln is the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Swifts series, which was inspired by her love of etymology, the gleeful gothic, and classic murder mysteries. Her debut novel, The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels was the winner of the Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Award and the Nero Book Award for Children’s Fiction.

Raised in a former Victorian railway station in the North of England, Beth’s childhood fears included porcelain dolls, the Durham panther, and wardrobes that looked at her funny. She grew neither tall nor wise, and never learned to play an instrument—but she did write stories, a bad habit that has persisted to this day. When she isn’t writing, Beth is woodcarving, or making a mess of her flat, or talking the nearest ear off about unexplained occurrences. Her favorite things include ghosts, crisps, and weird old words like bumbershoot and zounderkite.

She lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with her partner and hopefully, by the time you are reading this, a dog.

Claire Powell is a New York Times best selling children’s book illustrator who got her first book deal in 2016 and has never looked back. Her ongoing collaboration with Beth Lincoln on The Swifts has twice become an instant New York Times bestseller, and the first book in her debut series – Marty Moose in First Class Mischief – was published in February 2025 with Walker Books to rave reviews.

After spending many years in London, Claire now enjoys a quieter life in the rolling hills of Derbyshire with her partner Stefan (who may not agree that living with Claire is quiet).

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