An original novel based on the bestselling BOOM! Studios comic series by Hope Larsen and Brittney Williams. Goldie, a biracial, queer 16-year-old, lives at the Crossed Palms Resort Hotel in Florida in the 1960s. Her dad is the hotel manager; her mom works at the nearby Mermaid Club; and Goldie is the valet and aspiring hotel detective. When a Hollywood studio comes to the resort to shoot a movie, everyone is swept up into the excitement and glamour until a diamond-encrusted swim cap goes missing. Goldie’s mom is implicated, and Goldie must call on all her detective skills to find the real thief.
There’s a beautiful film star, a bigwig producer, and a newspaper reporter actually named “Scoops”—but the story leans into its kitchiness in a way that is delightful rather than clichéd. Mystery fans will love the tale. And while this is a text-based story, there are two eight-page mini-comic inserts by Elle Power as a nod to the original comic medium.
Goldie’s queerness is canonical in the comics and clear here; there are several mentions of a girl she is interested in dating, but that isn’t part of the main plot. Rivera is planning a second volume in the series, however, so we can hope this romance evolves.
