"If you are reading this, then I am gone and this manuscript, per my instruction, has been delivered to the writer Chelsea Cain for publication as she sees fit…"

In this delicious and affectionate parody, narrated by literature's most beloved teen sleuth, a certain titian-haired girl detective speaks out to set the record straight. According to our heroine, she was not in fact a fictional character. And the famous series of books she starred in were not by a hard-working team of writers, but a nosy college roommate who shamelessly plagiarized her tales from real-life exploits-and, in the process, got a whole lot wrong.
Here are the daring escapes, brilliant hunches, and dependable stock characters, including interlopers from numerous other beloved series, that have delighted generations of fans. And here, also, are the details of teen-sleuth life that you never saw: the secret romances, reckless driving, minor drinking problems, political action, and domestic drama that have, up till now, remained hidden from these brave detectives' adoring public.
Chelsea Cain is a longtime teen sleuth enthusiast and the author of The Hippie Handbook and the memoir Dharma Girl. She edited the anthology Wild Child, about daughters of the counterculture. She has written for a wide variety of publications and is currently a humor columnist for the Oregonian. She lives with her husband in Portland, Oregon.
"As many of you know me only as a character in a series of books written by a former friend of mine, let me make one thing clear: she used my name without my permission, and made a career for herself telling stories of my adventures. I feared that if I revealed myself, details might come to light that could embarrass my husband and child. I have lived with that fear too long. Now, in the twilight of my life, I feel that it is time to set the record straight." -from Confessions of a Teen Sleuth