Footer Davis is on the case when two kids go missing after a fire in this humorously honest novel that is full of Southern style.

"Bless your heart" is a saying in the South that sounds nice but really isn't. It means, "You're beyond help." That's what folks say about fifth grader Footer Davis's mom, who "ain't right" because of her bipolar disorder. She just shot a snake in Footer's yard with an elephant gun, and now she's been shipped off to a mental hospital, and Footer is missing her fiercely yet again.

"Bless their...