Olive Oakes and the Haunted Carousel

Olive Oakes #1

by Kalynn Bayron

Full of hijinks and heart, New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron's new cozy mystery series introduces a modern-day Nancy Drew for kids.

Olive Oakes loves a good mystery. She keeps a notebook with her at all times, ready to jot down observations about anything that seems out of the ordinary. Along with her cousin Eli, Olive is always looking to follow the clues.

When Olive and her family visit a town called Whispering Woods, she uncovers a strange backstory to the traveling carnival that comes through the area once a year. With rumors of missing kids and ghost sightings, it's the perfect opportunity for Olive to investigate! The people of Whispering Woods are very secretive, but Olive is ready to solve the mystery of the haunted carousel.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Middle Grade

160 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 7, 2026

Reviews

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olive is determined to be a detective and carries her notebook everywhere in the hopes of seeing something suspicious that needs her attention. But so far, the only two mysteries she’s solved are determining which area dog is pooping on their lawn every morning and where all the home delivery boxes are coming from when extras keep being found in a neighbor’s trash can and that turned out to be his wife who has developed a little shopping problem! But when her parents are asked to look into a potential house for their real estate business and it is rumored to be haunted, she is certain her luck is about to change. With her cousin Eli at her side, investigations begin and lead to a creepy carousel with the ghosts of two long missing children at the annual carnival.

Olive and Eli are 11 years old and except for the level of independence they are allowed, behave and speak in a manner consistent with most kids that age and the book seems to be geared to readers who around that age and a bit younger. At about 160 pages and with a very straight forward plot, will appeal to mystery lovers aged 9-11. There are some ghostly figures both in the featured house and carousel, this is not a scary book at all. The closeness of Olive and Eli is admirable and if this turns into a series, will be a solid duo to watch. The storyline is simple and will be easy to follow for struggling readers but may not have the excitement that most kids seem to be looking for in their books.

Text is free of profanity, sexual content and violence. The mystery does contain involve any deaths and there are no jump scares or similar. Representation: Olive and Eli are pictured as Black on the cover but there is nothing to indicate race outside of that. Eli’s parents were killed about a year ago and he now lives with Olive and her parents.

Thanks for the eARC, Edelweiss and Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

[Cathy Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot! The characters are genuine and easy to care about, the prose is well written, and the mystery is truly engaging (and mildly creepy, a level appropriate for a middle-grades story). The book ends a little abruptly, but the story is tied up well and doesn't leave us hanging. Overall a very fun middle-grades book that readers interested in mysteries are sure to devour!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.