Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels is the first entry in Beth Lincoln’s The Swifts series of middle grade mysteries. The 2023 novel introduces readers to the series’ mischievous main character, Shenanigan Swift, and her older sisters, Felicity and Phenomena. The resolution of the first book identifies the culprit who attempted to murder the family’s matriarch, Aunt Schadenfreude, but some mysteries remain. Although Shenanigan learns that the family’s centuries-old treasure is hidden in the lake on Swift House’s grounds, she has yet to recover the fortune. Lincoln published the sequel, A Gallery of Rogues, in 2024. The second book continues the plot thread of Shenanigan’s search for Vile’s Hoard. However, her treasure hunt is put on hold when a group of art thieves called Ouvolpo steals a painting from Swift House. Uncle Maelstrom, a wise and caring figure from the first book, joins Shenanigan, Felicity, and Phenomena as they travel to Paris in pursuit of the thieves. The three Swift sisters have to work together to solve another murder mystery when a body turns up at one of Ouvolpo’s heists.

During her time in the City of Light, Shenanigan meets the Martinets, the French side of the family that the ill-fated Pamplemousse from the first book belonged to.