Goldie Vance (Lilliam Rivera) Books in Order

Goldie Vance is the kind of young detective who walks into a room already convinced she can crack the case, and most of the time she is right. In Lilliam Rivera's prose novels, Goldie lives and works at the Crossed Palms Resort Hotel in Florida, where her father, Art, manages the place. She valets cars, knows the staff, and spends most of her free time trying to prove that she belongs beside the hotel's detective, Walter Tooey, not just out front with the guests.

That setup gives the series a lot of its charm. A hotel is always full of strangers, gossip, missed connections, and people who would really prefer not to answer questions. Goldie has an advantage because she already knows the rhythms of the place. Her best friend Cheryl hears things at the front desk, Walter knows how a case should be handled, and Goldie's mother Sylvia works nearby at the Mermaid Club, which opens up another whole corner of the resort world.

The mood is light on its feet.

In The Hotel Whodunit, a movie production takes over the resort, complete with a glamorous star and a diamond-encrusted swimming cap. When the cap vanishes and suspicion lands on Goldie's mother, the mystery stops being a fun puzzle and becomes personal. Goldie has to follow the clues, read the adults around her, and clear her mother's name before the wrong story sticks.

The Hocus-Pocus Hoax keeps the same busy setting but changes the flavor. This time a magic convention rolls into town, props start disappearing, and a famous magician may cancel his big performance. Goldie is trying to help Walter solve the case, stay ahead of an annoying rival kid detective, and salvage a long-awaited date with Diane. Rivera makes room for all of that without losing the clean, classic shape of a whodunit.

Goldie herself is the engine of these books. She is confident, nosy, funny, and sometimes a little too pleased with her own detective skills. That is part of what makes her so enjoyable. She notices details, asks the awkward question, and refuses to back off when adults tell her to leave things alone. At the same time, the books never forget that she is a kid with family worries, friendships, and a crush that can scramble her focus at the worst possible moment.

So if you want middle grade mysteries with a sunny Florida backdrop, a retro hotel atmosphere, and a heroine who meets every problem head-on, this series is an easy pick. The cases are standalone enough to enjoy one at a time, but reading The Hotel Whodunit before The Hocus-Pocus Hoax lets you watch Goldie's world, and her relationships, click into place.