Ten-year-old Max Monroe discovers the house behind his grandpa’s home used to be the office of the Monroe Detective Agency. Max finds out that his grandfather had a brother, Larry, that ran the agency, but Larry died years earlier. However, Larry’s ghost still exists in the agency house, yet he is sad because he never solved a case. When a magician calls with a problem, Larry gets another opportunity to solve a crime. Because Larry is a ghost, he relies on Max to help him finally crack a case.

This is book one of “The Ghost and Max Monroe” series. With occasional black and white illustrations, this is a good early chapter book.