Useless Bay by M. J. Beaufrand (review)

The Gray siblings may appear to grateful lost children as four giants and a princess, but they are really just tall blond quintuplets who have, with the help of a bloodhound named Patience, taken upon themselves the job of search and rescue on their island in Puget Sound. When Grant, the young son of neighbors, goes missing, the quints begin their search. Grant’s brother, Henry, is attracted to Pixie, the only girl of the quints, and he knows that they are Grant’s best chance of being found safe and sound. When Pixie and Patience turn up the body of Henry’s stepmother, however, and then Patience is brutally killed, the mystery turns grim; clearly, there is more afoot here than a boy playing hide and seek. After a nearly fatal encounter with a Portuguese man-of-war, Pixie begins to see apparitions that alternately frighten, guide, and comfort her as she and Henry unravel the mystery. This trim, taut page-turner features a compelling cast of characters; the Gray siblings and their harried single mom are truly endearing as the quints engage in a longstanding competition for mischief and injury. Pixie has a refreshing matter-of-factness that renders her hallucinatory visions believable even if she herself distrusts them; she and her brothers share a pragmatic curiosity that results in humorous observations surfacing in the midst of the gripping suspense and grotesque crime scenes in which they all find themselves. Fans of process crime drama that has a strong sense of place and of characters you want to be friends with should not miss this one.