Literature / Scarlett Undercover

Scarlett is a fifteen-year-old Private Detective who finished high school early. Nine-year-old Gemma Archer comes to Scarlett, worried that her brother Oliver Archer killed a boy, Quinn, who was thought to have committed suicide. When Scarlett investigates, she finds that Oliver and the dead boy were part of a cult, and that Quinn's death was part of a much larger conspiracy. This book by Jennifer Latham was published in 2015.

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This book contains examples of:

• Action Girl: Scarlett is a competent fighter. She practices Muay Thai and frequently takes out opponents larger and stronger than herself.
• Ambiguously Human: Mook claims to be Scarlett's guardian angel. Due to the book's Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane setting, it's not clear whether he is actually an angel or just a normal human. He often seems to know things without being told, but there's never any definite proof.
• Apocalypse Cult: The Children of Iblis seek to open a portal between human and jinn realms, and may actually be jinn themselves.
• Deadpan Snarker: Most of the cast qualifies, but Scarlett is the most prominent example.
• Fakin' MacGuffin: When Gemma is taken hostage, Scarlett brings a fake Shubaak and ring to trade, hiding the real ones.
• First-Person Smartass: Scarlett often makes snarky asides in her narration.

Delores and I went way back. The first time I'd visited, she'd ignored me. When I rang the desk bell in front of her, she'd ignored me even harder. It had not been an auspicious start.

• Friend on the Force: Detective Emmet Morales is Scarlett's friend, and tries to keep her out of trouble.
• Heroic Dog: Manny's dog Jones helps to protect him and the others.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Played with. Manny has a way with animals, including dogs. Scarlett is wary of Jones, but cares enough to bring her to the hospital when the dog is stabbed.
• Incredibly Obvious Tail: Lampshaded when two of the Children of Iblis are sent to tail Scarlett.

(She) was either lousy at her job or didn't care if I spotted her.

• Kid Detective: Scarlett is a teenage version.
• MacGuffin: The Children of Iblis spend the book trying to find Solomon's ring and a possibly magical bottle called the Shubaak.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's ambiguous whether the artifacts were magical and the Children of Iblis were actually jinn, or just normal humans who thought they were.
• The Mole: Nuala seems good at first, but is actually part of the Children of Iblis.
• Murder by Suicide: Quinn killed himself because the Children of Iblis threatened to kill his younger brother Sam if he didn't.
• Private Detective: Scarlett is an unusually young example.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: The Children of Iblis have gold rings around their irises, though it's ambiguous whether or not it's supernatural.
• Teen Genius: Scarlett graduated high school by age fifteen and solves crimes for a living.
• Trespassing to Talk: Oliver breaks into Scarlett's office to threaten her. She is unimpressed by it.

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