The Curious Cat Spy Club by Linda Joy Singleton

She's sure she can hear kittens meowing.  Where could they be?  She's in an alley and doesn't see them anywhere.  Then she realizes they are in the dumpster...

Albert Whitman and Company and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so you can find a copy now.

This is written for middle graders and manages to cover a lot of issues besides rescuing pets.  Kelsey's father is unemployed.  Becca's Mom runs an animal sanctuary and is dating a boy that is a bully.  Leo is geeky and his parents are getting divorced.  But they have each other and their club.  They're going to go after the person that dumped those kittens!

The story moves well and is easy to read.  It's interesting and exciting all the way to the end.  It won't take them long to read it.  You better buy the next book in the series, too.

They trace down who has koi fish in ponds because that was part of the food purchased on the sales slip in the bag the kittens were in.  Then they begin spying.  Each person has his or her technique of doing the investigation and it's quite a hoot watching how it all works.  It takes a lot of effort but they do finally solve their case.  Now they're ready to take on another case...