Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Milo is looking forward to some peace and quiet over his winter vacation.  He lives in Greenglass House, an inn frequented by smugglers.  But now that it's winter, Milo and his family finally have the place to themselves, as no one stays at the inn this time of year.

But on his very first day of vacation, a visitor appears!  And then another....and another.....and another....and soon the inn is almost full of people.  And these visitors are all a bit odd.   What brought them to Greenglass House, especially in the winter?  Bit by bit, Milo and his friend Meddy begin to discover that every guest has some sort of connection to the house itself.

When the visitors' personal items start to go missing, it's up to Milo and Meddy to find the objects, and determine who the thief is.  In the process, they learn many secrets about Greenglass House, and each other.

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford is a very well-constructed mystery with an "I-never-saw-that-coming!" plot twist at the end.  An underlying theme of the book is Milo's desire to understand his identity.  As an adopted child, he sometimes feels guilty for wondering about his birth-parents, even though his mother and father both tell him they understand his feelings.   Milo and Meddy attack solving the mystery as a role-playing game, which allows Milo to create an alter-ego for himself, and imagine who he might be had he not been adopted.   It's an interesting theme, and adds many layers to an already fascinating mystery!

Greenglass House was the June selection for The Council of Readers, and everyone agreed it was outstanding!