Sherry (short for Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin is spending spring break in California with her best friend, Junie. She can't wait to hang out in the sun, hit the mall, and spend time with cutie-pie Josh.

Then . . . a freaky change of plans. Sherry's mom, a cop killed in the line of duty, contacts her. Not only is she a ghost, she's a ghost in danger of flunking out of the Academy of Spirits, and she needs Sherry's help. Unless she solves an important mystery in San Diego, she'll be banished to an afterlife for ghost failures

If Sherry wants to be a normal seventh grader (as in, one who doesn't communicate with ghosts), she can't tell anybody about her mom--or what she has to do. Not her brother, not Junie, and especially not Josh. It's up to Sherry alone to save the day. Except . . . she so doesn't do mysteries.