In a modern twist of noir private detective mysteries a middle school boy and his younger sister travel in time between the present and 1939 Los Angeles while investigating a seventy-five year old crime that sent an innocent man to the gas chamber. Jake and his sister, Darlene, are new to L.A. They discover a skeleton key that acts as a sort of time machine and introduces them to the ghost of Archer Wolfe (mystery aficionados will understand the significance of these names), a 1930s private detective who was framed for a murder he didn't commit. Wolfe now wants the two kids to find out who framed him and why. There is a ticking clock element as Wolfe needs to have his name cleared before his corpse can be laid to rest. From its title to its period slang and references, this novel is a literary feast for fans of hardboiled fiction. The time travel element is imaginatively utilized, the mystery is a clever homage to Hammett and Chandler, and the author has fun with the very contemporary Jake and Darlene trying to pass themselves off as '30s private dicks to a motley crew of mobsters and molls. Those who know L.A. will appreciate the shout-outs to Coles, the Fred Harvey House at Union Station, the Aztec Hotel on Route 66, and other local landmarks.