The House of Found Objects - (A Bea Bellerose Mystery) by Jo Beckett-King

About the Book

"Bea and her cousin Celine must locate their grandmother's precious painting and the mysterious individual leading them from clue to clue."--

Book Synopsis

For fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix's Greystone Secrets series comes a mystery that's "delightful, charming, and full of unexpected twists" (Shelf Awareness, starred review) and packed with cryptic clues and wonderful word puzzles as two cousins search for their grandmother's missing portrait.

Twelve-year-old Bea from Passaic, New Jersey, is visiting her family in Paris for the summer when her grandmother's most precious heirloom--a drawing by Henri Matisse--goes missing. After a cryptic clue arrives on Bea's doorstep suggesting its whereabouts, Bea is determined to pursue the lead.

Without the French skills to navigate her way around the landmarks of Paris, she teams up with her cousin, Céline, whose clear-eyed French directness makes her a perfect partner for curious, problem-solving Bea. The girls embark on a city-wide search, deciphering riddles, solving puzzles, and cracking codes as they try to locate the Matisse, find a thief, and identify their mysterious benefactor.

Review Quotes

Beckett-King whisks readers into a Parisian summer alongside Bea Bellerose on her vacation to visit her French family. Bea and her inconsiderate cousin Cèline must work together to save their grandmother's antique shop, The House of Found Objects, after a family heirloom is stolen. The girls follow mysterious clues around the city, and learn, alongside with the readers, new skills in code-breaking and sneaking around. Bea and Céline's relationship, central to the plot, develops into a satisfying conclusion as the two deepen their understanding and appreciation of one another while mending family rifts, breaking rules, and exploring the city. While the plot comes off as a bit jejune, the happy ending sweeps the entire family into a closer relationship. Main characters are cued white. VERDICT Kids interested in developing their sleuthing and French skills will benefit from encountering Bea's journey in this series debut. A general purchase for the fiction shelves--School Library Journal "8/8/25"

Newly acquainted cousins must solve a cryptic, puzzle-filled scavenger hunt to rescue a family heirloom in the gutsy middle-grade mystery The House of Found Objects by debut author Jo Beckett-King.

Twelve-year-old American Bea Bellerose is staying with her Aunt Juliette in Paris while her parents are away at a conference. Unfortunately, Aunt Juliette is working a lot more than planned and Bea is spending most of her time alone in the apartment or downstairs in her grandmother's antiques shop, La maison des objets trouvés. Bea has been in France for a week when the first letter (addressed to "La jeune fille") is slipped under the door. She doesn't know why she has received the letter but is excited by the prospect of solving the riddle it contains. That same day, Bea meets her cousin Céline in Mamie's store. Céline is 13 and "so grown-up" that it seems to Bea they have little in common. When a treasured family painting by Henri Matisse goes missing, Bea is certain the letter is connected. But she's on a clock--the riddle writer gave her just four days to find the drawing. Bea convinces Céline to help her navigate the city and the girls race through the streets of Paris to solve the puzzle.

Beckett-King fills this fun mystery with the sights and sounds of Paris, as well as brain teasers readers can solve along with Céline and Bea. The girls are fantastic foils, each bringing skills and qualities the other needs. This first installment in the Bea Bellerose Mystery series is delightful, charming, and full of unexpected twists. --Kyla Paterno, freelance reviewer--Shelf Awareness
STARRED REVIEW "8/1/25"

Twelve-year-old Bea Bellerose (from New Jersey) is spending her summer vacation in Paris. Bea longs to explore the city's landmarks, but, alas, she is confined to Aunt Juliette's apartment while her aunt works long days. ?e only place Bea is permitted to go is her grandmother's antique store, the titular House of Found Objects. When a sketch of her great-great-grandfather drawn by a young Henri Matisse goes missing and a clue to its whereabouts appears under her aunt's door, Bea decides to take up the case. She and her French cousin, Céline, travel all over Paris, from the Jardin des Plantes to Sacré-Coeur, searching for mysteriously placed clues and solving puzzles. ?ough they are hardly friends at first sight, Bea and Céline learn to work together to find the missing heirloom. ?e story is lighthearted and entertaining, with the sweetness of self-discovery sprinkled throughout as Bea becomes more confident and more proud of the person she's becoming. Readers with an eye for puzzles and a knack for code-cracking will enjoy this first entry in a projected new mystery series.--Hornbook "September/October 2025 Issue"

While visiting family in Paris, a 12-year-old from New Jersey embarks on a treasure hunt to find her grandmother's missing Matisse--and help save her antiques shop.

Red-haired mathlete Bea's parents have sent her to stay with Aunt Juliette, a busy journalist, but Bea is stuck at home with little to do, until someone slips a mysterious note containing a riddle under their apartment door. Methodical Bea and her spontaneous 13-year-old cousin, Céline, work together to solve the clues, hoping they'll lead to the family's treasured Matisse sketch, which has gone missing from their grandmother Mamie's shop, the House of Found Objects. The precious artwork was collateral for the loan Mamie needed to carry out much-needed repairs; without it, the landlord could force her out. As the girls visit Parisian landmarks, they become close, discuss why their dads (who are brothers) are feuding, and break rules in the name of saving Mamie's shop. Through their adventures, Bea gains the courage to reveal a truth to her parents that she'd been covering up out of fear of disappointing them and uncertainty over what she really wanted. The metamorphosis of the cousins' relationship, which starts off prickly and softens into mutual respect and affection, is realistic and relatable, and the explanation behind the mysterious notes is a pleasant surprise. The family is cued white.

Codebreakers and mystery fans will want to read this fun adventure, tout de suite. (Mystery. 9-13)--Kirkus "05/15/2025"

While 12-year-old Bea's parents are attending an out-of-town conference, Bea flies from New Jersey to Paris to stay for three weeks with an aunt who is too busy with work to show her around the city. One morning, Bea finds a cryptic letter addressed to her. She spends the day helping her grandmother, Mamie, at her failing antique shop. There, she meets her cousin, Céline, who is one year older but vastly more sophisticated and preoccupied with her friends. When Mamie discovers that a family treasure, a portrait painting by Matisse, has been stolen from the shop, Bea links the crime to the clues in her puzzling letter. Soon, Bea and Céline follow the clues to solve the mystery. Young readers will sympathize with Bea and her convincingly tween-age dilemmas, but only devoted cryptography fans will attempt to decode the clues delivered to her. Still, readers who know a little French will enjoy the occasional use of common phrases, which are explained within the text. A relatively quiet mystery story with a surprising solution. --Booklist "05/01/2025"

About the Author

Jo Beckett-King is the author of the Bea Bellerose Mystery series. Originally from the north of England, she spent several years in Paris after graduating from university. Following several recent years in New York, she now lives with her husband and son in San Francisco, where she writes and works as a French-to-English translator. In addition to her middle grade fiction, Jo writes for adults; her short stories have been listed for the Bridport Prize and the Bristol Short Story Prize in the UK.