The Game Is Afoot

In Bryant’s exuberant sequel to It’s Elementary, divorced mom Mavis Miller throws herself into an investigation of multilevel marketing schemes. After quitting her job at a teen mentoring nonprofit when her annual review comes without a raise, Mavis flings herself into the joys of being a full-time mom. Before she knows it, her calendar is full again: she’s running her second grader, Pearl, to a host of after-school activities, managing a PTA turf war at Knoll Elementary, and spending time with her new boyfriend, school therapist Jack Cohen. As if that weren’t enough, Pearl’s soccer coach drops dead during a Saturday morning game, and the autopsy reveals he was poisoned. When police set their sights on Mavis’s ex-husband, Corey, who helped prepare the game’s snack table, Mavis decides to uncover the real culprit. Her most promising lead prompts her to take a close look at the “wellness” products being hawked by Knoll moms looking to learn a little extra cash. Mavis’s witty, freewheeling narration is filled with barbs (she notes that the duties of a “team mom” include “sending out surveys about team colors and then choosing what she wanted all along (aquamarine)”), and Bryant stuffs the plot with keen observations about contemporary parenting and school politics. This is a breezy good time. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary. (July)