The Tontine Caper

by Dianne K. Salerni, Matt Schu (illustrator)

Eleven-year-old orphan Nico Lombardi has been unfairly indentured at a remote mountain inn for five years now.

Just as he gathers the courage to escape, the inn gets booked by the remaining members of a “tontine,” an investment scheme where a cash prize is awarded to whomever lives the longest. In other words, every guest wants access to the fortune. Preferably as soon as possible.

During their stay, a chaotic race to control the fate of the tontine takes over the normally sleepy inn. Nico watches in horror as a series of comically disastrous events unfolds—some of which might aid his escape, and some of which might get him in big trouble. Before he can even put the right clues together, three unexpected revelations change the course of everyone’s future!

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Historical, Drama

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2025

About the author

DIANNE K. SALERNI, a former fifth grade teacher, is the author of YA and MG novels.

Her upcoming dark MG fantasy, THE CARREFOUR CURSE, explores gothic themes in a story Publisher's Weekly calls "genre-bending" in a starred review.

The EIGHTH DAY fantasy series follows the adventures of Jax Aubrey, who discovers a secret day between Wednesday and Thursday. ELEANOR, ALICE, & THE ROOSEVELT GHOSTS portrays an alternate historical reality where ghosts are known to be real and threaten the future of a famous family. JADIE IN FIVE DIMENSIONS is an adventure in geometry, physics, and conspiracy theories.

Reviews

[Carrie]

A solid mystery with a satisfying ending that surprised me. I kind of wish it had a different name though, since kids don't know what a Tontine is, and it's always harder to sell a book when you have to explain the name.

[Ms. Yingling]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss

In 1901, Nicodemus Lombardi finds himself working for Gunther Hogg at his Precipe Inn in the Poconos after the death of his grandfather, Nonno. Nonno was a painter who died suddenly, and since Nico’s parents had perished when he was younger, Gunther claims that he is owed money, and puts Nico to work, along with his daughter, Agnetha. The inn struggles, since there are only five rooms, so when lawyer Arnold Hawes convenes a group of investors wishing to dissolve a tontine, there is a lot of work to do. The tontine, an investment scheme, involves shares in the Carbon County coal mine. There are only three remaining survivors, which means that the investment can be divided and distributed, although there has to be a vote to see if members would rather wait until there is only one survivor who would get the entire sum. The elderly Beuregard Ames and his granddaughter Beatrice arrive, followed by Diana Von Tropp and her two sons and the Deetlebaum family with Lottie and her mother, grandmother. The lawyer is late in arriving, so we see the different schemes of those hoping to profit. Nico serves all of the guests, appreciating the ones who aren’t cruel to him, as Gunther is, and is making plans to break free of his servitude, feeling (rightly so) that he will never be able to repay his debt. With so many people trying to get the money, and so much drama, who will finally get the fortune from the tontine?
Strengths: I always enjoy learning things I don’t know, and the idea of a tontine (which has been effectively illegal in the US since about 1906) is an intriguing one. I’m also a fan of English manor house mysteries a la Agatha Christie, so setting this story at a small inn in the Pocono Mountains (which I’ve always wanted to visit), was an intriguing choice. There is an art related mystery that leads to a very satisfying conclusion, but which I don’t want to spoil. Nico’s situation is one that more children in the early 1900s would have experienced; this of the orphaned Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery, 1908) or Understood Betsy (Fisher, 1916). The characters are quirky and interesting, and Schu’s illustrations are fantastic. I’d love to see more illustrations scattered through middle grade books, reminiscent of Joe and Beth Krush’s or Hilary Knight’s mid century work.
Weaknesses: My bloodthirsty students are more interested in gruesome murder mysteries than ones that involve cons or scams, and when this was compared to Knives Out, I sort of hoped for a cozy style murder. (Nico does suspect that his grandfather was killed.)
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like mysteries like Guterson’s Winterhouse or Eagle’s The Pear Affair. This author's Eleanor, Alice and the Roosevelt Ghosts and The Carrefour Curse are also good mystery choices.

[Mary Hanna Wilson | Read with Ms. Mary]

Thank you to Holiday House and Peachtree Press for an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun, twisty tale in the spirit of old mansion mysteries, where everyone in the house is a suspect as the events unravel. One big difference is that this book doesn't involve a gruesome murder, but is a mystery more appropriate for the intended audience.

Nico Lombardi is an 11-year-old boy who was left without a guardian when his grandfather unexpectedly died. He has been working (unfairly) as an indentured servant for several years at the inn where he and his grandfather were staying. We join Nico on a weekend when the inn is booked by family members linked as potential inheritors of a "tontine" (an investment scheme), who have gathered to discuss the details of their inheritance and cashing out early. During their stay, it becomes clear that many guests have something to hide, and more is going on than meets the eye.

I thought this was a fun middle-grade mystery book reminiscent of stories like "The Westing Game," but for a younger audience. Nico was a likable protagonist and, although the narration is in third person, we spend most of the time following Nico in the story. He is resourceful, observant, and hard-working, even as he's trapped in an unfair situation he doesn't understand. He is focused on solving the mystery of his grandfather's death while other mysterious events are unfolding around him. As readers, we are privy to moments, conversations, and clues he doesn't witness.

I enjoyed the ending, and it was satisfying to watch the clues fall into place during the reveals. It was satisfying to see the story pan out well for the characters I was rooting for.

I love a book that teaches me something new, so I appreciated the history of a tontine in the back of the book. While chapter two explains enough to understand the general idea, I enjoyed learning more at the end. The tontine is one of those concepts that makes the book feel intended for an older reader, even though it feels like a younger audience would enjoy it more.

One difficulty I had with this book was determining the intended age range. The illustrations and some plot moments seemed geared toward the lower end of the range (8-9 years old), while the vocabulary and other plot events seemed more appropriate for an 11-12-year-old audience. My guess is somewhere in the range of 9-11 would be a good fit and it would make a great family read-aloud for multiple ages, so you could discuss different characters and events along the way.

[Mickayla Reyes]

Quick short read and interesting throughout. I didn't see the ending coming. The way it is narrated threw me off for a bit. It is a third person narrator and is mainly focusing on Nico. But it will occasionally jump to one of the other kids and I'd have to recognize who is having said thoughts. The interactions between Nico and the girls was endearing having one family want to take him in and the other wanting to focus on their own plan.

[YSBR]

An early 20th century puzzle-box story with eccentric characters, a remote hostelry, and a substantial cash prize. An orphan named Nico lives at the Precipice Inn, indentured to the awful Gunther following the death of his beloved grandfather, a landscape painter. When Nonno died after a two month stay (leaving behind outstanding bills), Nico remained trapped as an overworked servant, trying to work off his “DEBT”. One weekend, three families arrive, all attempting to collect on a long-ago established tontine, a primitive life-insurance contest in which the oldest surviving signatory finally gets to collect the pot of $150,000. All the families consist of what we are told are elderly contestants and their grandchildren, although because of multiple hidden identities, much of that information turns out to be untrue.  Over one weekend, the characters (and young readers) proceed through the inn’s multiple floors (neatly mapped out in a diagram), trying to unravel the mystery, which includes lockpicks, disguises, valuable artwork, bumbling amateurs, and sneaky professionals. Droll chapter headings, humorous small illustrations, and neatly labelled black-and-white family portraits will help guide upper elementary chapter readers through the book’s twists and turns. Nico turns out to be an appealing and resilient character, as do two of the young granddaughters, and the plot resolves in virtue rewarded and evil doers being handed their just desserts. Back matter includes more information about the history of the tontine, an entertaining personality quiz in which readers get to see which character they most resemble, and a choose-you-own-adventure style extension of the mystery. Nico (an Italian- American) is described as having olive skin; all other characters cue as white. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Murray]

Set in an inn in Pennsylvania and the turn of the 20th century Nico Lombardi is an indentured servant at the that he has been living in for the last 6 years. He is paying off is debt left by his grandfather, who died at the inn six years ago. The inn's owner keeps adding on to Nico's debt. The only thing his grandfather left him was a few paintings and a sketchbook. Currently at the inn are three subscribers to a tontine (a financial arrangement) and they must decide if they want to split the $150,000 or wait until there is only one surviving subscriber to collect it all. The characters are unique in their own way and Nico has his own dilemma and he has stolen items from various guests to exchange in the near future for money so he can run away from the inn and make a life for himself. The are various secrets and underhanded wheeling and dealing with the various guests around the tontine. The ending is a bit predictable but a fun mystery that is reminiscent of children's mysteries written in the 60s and 70s. Recommended for middle graders who like humorous cozy mysteries. The book ends with a quiz to find out which character you most resemble in the story and a how the reader would you fare in a tontine caper. There is an author's note about the history of tontines and that Alexander Hamilton suggested using one to raise funds for the United States after the Revolutionary War.

[Brenda]

The Tontine Caper has been described as Clue meets Knives Out, and it really is a lovely blend of mystery and suspense, with a quirky cast, and the perfect setting for intrigue. I love old manors they always make me think of dark halls, hiding spots, and multiple rooms to search. The heirs were entertaining with their scheming and sneaking around at night, and their underhanded tactics to try and gain the fortune for themselves. The dynamics between Nico and the innkeeper added an emotional layer to the story, and the painting added a nice element of mystery too. The black and white illustrations by Matt Schu depict the various characters from the story, I just wish there were more of them. Included at the back of the book is a quiz to determine which character you resemble, and an author's note explaining that the inspiration for the book was an episode of The Wild Wild West that included a tontine. Read this if you enjoy mysteries, old houses, books like Winterhouse or you enjoyed the authors Carrefore Curse. **A huge thank you to Holiday House for the review copy in exchange for an honest review**

[Lyon.Brit.andthebookshelf]

✨ Gifted by the publisher—thank you so much for the copy! ✨

Swindled by Dianne K. Salerni 🕵️‍♀️🔎🍂

Younger Brittney would have absolutely loved this book📚 Give me a well constructed puzzle mystery…a quirky cast of characters and a setting full of secrets and I’m in!

Nico has spent years working at a remote inn in the Poconos when a very unusual group of guests arrives. They’re all part of a tontine …a strange investment where the last person standing gets the fortune. Needless to say…things get chaotic very quickly and Nico finds himself caught up in a mystery that is much bigger than his plans to escape.

I loved how this one kept me guessing. There were twists…clues…mishaps and revelations and I genuinely wasn’t sure where everything was headed until the very end🔍✨ The characters were so much fun and I especially loved the Poconos setting…it gave this such a cozy…autumnal feeling that made me want to curl up with a blanket and keep reading🍁

Plus…the interactive extras…character dossiers…maps…quizzes and more…make this such a fun reading experience…especially for younger mystery lovers.

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...

[Liz]

It's 1900. Eleven year old Nico is an indentured servant at an inn and works for a cheap, grouchy innkeeper. He's been stuck in his position for 5 years, ever since his only living family member, his grandfather, died while they were staying at the inn. Nico has to work there to pay off his grandfather's bill (page 61 goes into detail--good to use for a booktalk) that is ever increasing due to Nico needing new uniforms as he gets taller. His plans of escape are paused when 3 groups arrive at the inn in the off-season to settle a tontine. A tontine is a scheme where interested people contribute in hopes they are the last living contributor and will take all the money. This tontine is worth $150,000, but if the remaining 3 contributors agree to split it evenly now, each will only take $50,000. What would you do? Everyone is keeping a secret though. Is anyone telling the truth? Some drawings of the characters are included. For fans of The Greenglass House and Lemony Snicket.

[Rebecca]

Like every good benighted orphan, Nico has a hard life. He lost his parents young, then lived with his painter grandfather, until his grandfather died when Nico was six. They were living in a remote hotel at the time, and the owner basically indentured Nico to pay what his grandfather owed. And the amount just keeps rising. One weekend, an ill-assorted group of people arrive with the goal of (possibly) winding up a tontine that their parents signed them up for as children. Of course, everyone has something to hide, and there are misunderstandings and mistaken identities and mishaps and chicanery and just about everything else you could think of, complete with illustrations.

This was a lot of fun, especially if you're fond of the kind of humor in A Series of Unfortunate Events or Matilda. It's not entirely my sense of humor, but because there was also a lot of heart, I did really enjoy it. I was not surprised by the ending, which is kind of a bummer with a mystery, but there were several other surprises along the way that I did not see coming, so that was great! A fun, lively mystery.

[Darlene]

I always learn something new when I pick up a book by Dianne K Salerni. In this case, I discovered what a tontine was. Many of you out there may be familiar with the money scheme, but I was not. Told with wit and humor, this escape to the Pocono mountains in PA in the early 20th Century has a delightful surprise in every chapter. The players gather at the Precipice Inn for what is supposed to be a chance to cash in on the tontine fortune. But nothing is as it seems. In this fast-paced madcap story of money, mayhem, and deception, readers learn not to trust first impressions. Or even believing what is seen with our own eyes. Back matter includes a choose-your-own-tontine adventure kids will enjoy.

[The Page Ladies Book Club]

This is a fun, fast-paced mystery full of quirky characters, sneaky schemes, and unexpected twists. It follows young Georgie as she dives into a wild adventure involving an old tontine, a secretive group with a hidden fortune and plenty of surprises.
Dianne K. Salerni’s storytelling is clever and lively, making this a great pick for readers who love mysteries with humor and heart. It’s like a treasure hunt mixed with a puzzle, perfect for kids who enjoy solving riddles and uncovering secrets.

[Susan]

I enjoyed this quick, entertaining MG mystery. It's written in an old-fashioned, "on a dark and stormy night" type style that makes it feel like a classic tale. The book's tone is upbeat and engaging, Salerni's prose is clever and funny, the characters are colorful and interesting, and the plot is complex and surprising (although I saw the big twist coming). Is THE TONTINE CAPER the kind of novel modern kids will enjoy? I don't know, but I liked it. It made me laugh.

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for violence

[Kathy]

This had many of the elements I always loved in Agatha Christie: an isolated setting, twists and turns and red herrings, and a surprise ending. It isn't very long, either. The main character isn't a detective searching for clues, but the author several times repeats the same time but from different POV so the reader knows more of what's going on than any one character (but still doesn't know everything).

[wade]

A tontine is an inheritance and four groups of people meet at a large country estate with all of them trying to finagle getting the money. The are many twists here that should interest the author's targeted young readers.In a way this is like the game Clue without the murder. The "surprise" ending is satisfying and exactly what the young readers are hoping for.

[Angie Quantrell]

Aha! Now I know what a tontine is! This was such a fun book to read. Clever words, believable characters, motives, money, inheritance, mystery! Lightly illustrated pages interspersed throughout added to the story, as did the chapter title subtitles. I enjoyed The Tontine Caper from beginning to end. Fun mystery for middle grade readers (and adults like me).

[Sarah]

EARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
I love a good mystery that’s a little different from the rest, and this one does the job. Not knowing what a tontine was, I was instantly intrigued. There are lots of twists and turns that will keep readers hooked, and this mystery still felt exciting while avoiding scary or gruesome events.

[Panda Incognito]

This is a marvelous middle-grade mystery that will also appeal to adults. The author did a wonderful job capturing the turn-of-the-century time period, and I enjoyed the wry humor and suspenseful story. The author also uses an omniscient narrator to great effect, and the little vignette illustrations are delightful.

[Cassidy Kinman]

Though my hopes for this book weren’t as high as a skyscraper, they were maybe as a tall as a giraffe. The “Clue meets Knives Out” description drew me in, but the actual book did not. I do believe it would be better to physically read than listen to. But I only have time for audiobooks right now, so I’m setting this one aside.

[Keeley]

A quick, antic mystery in the tradition of Greenglass House, The Westing Game and Clue. Enjoyable characters. The art doesn't seem particularly well suited from my perspective--the drawings seem like they would appeal to 2nd and 3rd graders when the vocabulary and plot require at least 5th grade level of sophistication to figure out.

[Kristen Moore]

I won a copy of the Tontine Caper from a Goodreads giveaway.

I absolutely loved this style of mystery when I was a kid. This was a really fun read for me. I can’t wait to pass it along to a friend’s child

[Jess]

A fun, light caper - coming in at under 200 pages, with some fun illustrations, this would make a good pick for a young mystery reader. Greenglass House vibes, but pitched younger and lighter (and plenty of twists but no ghosts).

[Victoria B.]

Good, clean mystery for kids. Characters are relatable, and the little twists and turns keep you reading without being *too* scary.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for my honest review.

[Rachel]

I wanted to love this but I ended up liking it. I think the language was a little fussy for a middle grade novel. The story was fun, but felt a bit complicated toward the beginning due to the fussy language and character names.

[Libby]

A middle grade mystery with quirky (and many also disreputable) characters and one poor, orphaned boy as the main character. I enjoyed it but I kept thinking that I'm not sure most kids will. Too much of the action revolved around the adults in the book.

[Jessica Zimmerschied]

The Tontine Caper wasn’t as good as the other books I loved by Dianne K. Salerni, but I enjoyed the ending enough to make up for some lackluster moments. 3.5 stars, rounded up since I’m not the target audience. Cute, basic mystery with some slapstick comedy. I’ll be recommending this one.

[Lorie]

A fun historical mystery in which no one is who they seem to be as a fortune is up for grabs by the last member of a tontine for 150,00o dollars. I would recommend this for readers who enjoy a good guy winning for the right reason story as well.

[Lisa Schmid]

A clever, quirky mystery filled with unforgettable characters, laugh-out-loud moments, and plenty of twists. Nico is an easy hero to root for, and the chaotic antics kept me smiling until the very end.

[Rebecca]

A fun mystery for kids! Honestly, felt sort of along the lines of Only Murders in the Building, but for a young crowd. There were perhaps a few too many characters to keep up with, but I still think kids would enjoy it.

[Sydney Paige]

A fun and enjoyable middle grade read!