Jack lives in the small town of Norvelt. A town that is slowly dying right along with its population. It is his job to type out the obituaries dictated by founding resident Miss Volker. Typing obituaries isn't exactly how Jack had planned to spend his summer, but after the unfortunate incident in which he listened to his dad and NOT his mom, he is grounded. He is only allowed out to assist his elderly next door neighbor. Helping Miss Volker turns out to be anything but boring as her inquiries require breaking and entering, underage driving, and inspecting the newly dead. Could there be a murderer in Norvelt? Could it be Miss Volker? A fictional account based on the true story of the author, Jack Gantos.