Guilt of the Brass Thieves (Penny Parker #13): The Penny Parker Mysteries

"Penny Parker starred in a series of 17 books written by Mildred A. Wirt Benson and published from 1939 through 1947. Penny was a high school sleuth who also occasionally moonlighted as a reporter for her father's newspaper. Benson favored Penny Parker over all the other books she wrote, including Nancy Drew. Her obituary quoted her as saying, "I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is," Mrs. Benson said in 1993"--Amazon Mr. Gandiss and his son, Jack, ask Mr. Parker to help them stop the theft of brass from their airplane factory. While Jack and Penny visit the factory, a piece of brass is found in the possession of Sally Barker, and she is fired. Sally maintains that she has no idea how the brass came to be in her locker, and Penny believes her. With Jack and Sally's help, Penny brings the thieves to justice and clears Sally's name.