If Jan Sutton, the heroine of Mystery of the Scowling Boy, were in her later teens instead of being twelve, I'd recommend she read Trouble in the Brasses by Alisa Craig (Charlotte MacLeod). I'm sure she could relate to Madoc Rhys, a Detective Inspector with the Royal Canadian Mounties. He's the tone-deaf member of a famous musical family.
Jan Sutton is the only member of her immediate family without a talent. Her maternal grandfather isn't musically inclined, but he is a famous woodcarver.

Mr. & Mrs. Sutton are both performing over Christmas -- and not even in the same place. Jan and her older brother Mike, would be stuck in New York with Mrs. Abbey, the housekeeper, but they're getting to stay with their Clausen grandparents in their Poconos Mountains home. Gram gave up being a singer to be Mrs. Clausen, but she's a very talented cook, so we know the grandkids will be eating well.

What luck! Jan wants to become an actress and her absolute favorite actress, Alanna Graham, happens to be Anna Oliver Nelson, the granddaughter of Burton Oliver, the man who owns the mansion below the Clausen house. If Alanna Graham thinks she has talent, perhaps Jan's parents will stop thinking her ambition is foolish.

The scowling boy of the title is Alanna's son. One of his legs is shorter than the other, but he has two talents in which that's no handicap. When he's not scowling, he's handsome. His parents are separated because his father, Bruce, was on drugs. Steven is furious because his mother won't let him see his father.

Jan is only twelve, so it's not surprising that she's eager to meet Alanna to get her help. She doesn't meet Alanna on her first walk to the mansion, but she does meet Steven (and his big, black Doberman, Thor). The meeting doesn't go well.

Luckily, things go better when Jan finds a way to meet Alanna when both go skiing. Jan pretends that all she wants is Alanna's autograph, which the actress graciously agrees to give to her when Jan comes to her house at 4 o'clock. ( )