The Big Exoneration

An homage to noir detective mysteries of the 1930s, this is a story of two middle school kids who discover a skeleton key to an office in a century-old building in downtown Los Angeles. When they enter the office, they are transported back in time to the year 1939. Here they find the ghost of Archer Wolfe trapped in a picture frame. Wolfe tells them he was condemned and executed for a murder he didn't commit. Hoping the kids can exonerate him, he sends them off to roam 1939 Los Angeles...
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An homage to noir detective mysteries of the 1930s, this is a story of two middle school kids who discover a skeleton key to an office in a century-old building in downtown Los Angeles. When they enter the office, they are transported back in time to the year 1939. Here they find the ghost of Archer Wolfe trapped in a picture frame. Wolfe tells them he was condemned and executed for a murder he didn't commit. Hoping the kids can exonerate him, he sends them off to roam 1939 Los Angeles for the real murderer. The kids, dressed in the fashions of 1939, oddly passed themselves off successfully as '30s private dicks to a motley crew of mobsters and molls.However, there is a ticking clock element. The kids have only one week to uncover the murderer, get his written confession, and return with it to modern day before Wolfe's ghost vanishes forever.From its title to its period slang and references, this novel is a literary feast for fans of hardboiled fiction and the mystery is a clever homage to Hammett and Chandler. Those who know L.A. will appreciate the shout-outs to Coles, the Fred Harvey House at Union Station, the Aztec Hotel on Route 66, and other local landmarks.