The Night Raven is a sweet but dark middle grade novel about an adolescent orphan in Sweden who ends up on the trail of a serial killer. 

You're thinking, "How could that be sweet?" and I hear you. There are some amazing main and side characters here that shine through the dark, mysterious setting and plot. You'll just have to pick it up to discover the sweetest unlikely friendship I've read in a long time. 

My only complaint is that I would have liked a little more at times, but I recognize that it's the first in a series of (currently) six books so I just have to keep reading. This book is perfect for a middle grades reader who wants to fly through a book and wants a little bit of edge and darkness with their lovable orphan trope.