Mystery

Click Here to Start by Denis Markell

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Published by Delacorte Press 

Summary:  During 12-year-old Ted’s final visit with his somewhat mysterious great uncle, Uncle Ted extracts a promise from young Ted to not give up and keep looking for answers.  Shortly afterward, his great uncle dies, and Ted inherits his apartment and all its contents.  He and his friend Caleb are psyched to dig into the mess, but disappointed when Ted’s father invites his boss’s daughter, Isabel, to join them.  Isabel turns out to be a brain, which is helpful as the three are drawn deeper and deeper into a search for lost treasure.  Ted is an expert an online escape-the-room games, and it turns out his great uncle created a hunt perfectly honed to his skills.  The only problem is there’s at least one bad guy racing to find the same treasure, and it’s hard to tell who he is.  With plot twists on practically every page, the three kids finally end up victorious, with a few ends left loose to pave the way for a sequel.  320 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros: Fast-paced and funny, this is sure to engage reluctant readers with its non-stop action and humorous dialogue.

Cons:  Plan on suspending your disbelief by chapter two and keeping it suspended up until the last page.  The solution to this puzzle is way beyond the capabilities of any mortal mind, and there are a few too many coincidences to be believable.  Don’t think too much…just enjoy the ride.

Inspector Flytrap by Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell

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Published by Amulet Books 

Summary:  In a literary first, a Venus flytrap with dreams of becoming a detective pairs up with a goat named Nina, who pushes Flytrap around on a skateboard and eats everything in sight.  The opening book in the series has the two of them solving three mysteries.  In the first, an art museum hires the pair to identify a mysterious orange blob on a famous painting (hint: it involves a sneeze on the part of the artist); next, they figure out how a giant stinky shoe got on top of a cookie store; finally, they solve the mystery of a missing rose, which leads to a surprise romance for both Flytrap and Nina.  All stories are generously sprinkled with Bell’s black, white, and green illustrations.  112 pages; grades 2-4.

Pros:  Quirky author Angleberger (Origami Yoda) and his Newbery honoree wife Cece Bell (El Deafo) team up for a wild, crazy, and hilarious new mystery series.  Readers will be as helpless as a bug in a Venus flytrap to resist the second installment, Inspector Flytrap in the President’s Mane is Missing, released the same day as this one.

Cons:  Nina the goat is pretty annoying.

Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by Beth Fantaskey

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Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 

Summary: Isabel Feeney is a newsgirl in 1920s Chicago. One night, she sells a paper to one of her favorite customers, Miss Giddings, who then walks off with her boyfriend. A few minutes later, shots ring out in an alley. The boyfriend is dead, and Miss Giddings is arrested for murder. Isabel’s sure she’s innocent, and sets out to prove it. She gets the reluctant help of her hero, Maude Collier, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune who covers Murderess’s Row at the Cook County Jail. There are red herrings aplenty—mob connections, an angry ex-husband, a jealous sister—and Isabel finds herself in real danger. As a key witness, she’s called in to testify at Miss Giddings’s trial, and it’s there that she finally realizes (and dramatically reveals) the true murderer’s identity. 352 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros: Historical fiction meets mystery in this tale of gangster-ridden Chicago. Isabel is a funny and feisty heroine, and the 97 short chapters, many with cliffhanger endings, keep the action going.

Cons: I wasn’t exactly shocked to learn the identity of the murderer.

The Mysterious Moonstone (Key Hunters series) by Eric Luper

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Published by Scholastic 

Summary:  Cleo and Evan miss their favorite school librarian, Mrs. Hilliard.  After she mysteriously disappeared, the strange Ms. Crowley took over.  One day, Ms. Crowley is acting odder than ever.  The two kids follow her, and discover a secret underground library.  They find a note from Mrs. Hilliard telling them she’s trapped in a book, and they need to solve the mysteries in the other books to free her and avoid getting stuck themselves.  Entering one of the books, they find themselves in 19th century London, where they help a teenage Sherlock Holmes-like detective figure out who stole a diamond from a wealthy family.  Ms. Crowley makes an appearance in this mystery, and after it’s solved, the three of them return to their school.  More mysteries await, however, as they work to free Mrs. Hilliard.  128 pages; grades 2-4.

Pros:  The mystery was surprisingly good, with a cast of suspicious characters and a bumbling, yet charming detective.   The story-within-the-story structure is a fun way to move the series along.

Cons:  The beginning was a little slow.

The Gold Medal Mess (MVP) by David A. Kelly

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Random House 

Summary:  Nico, Kat, Max, Luke, and Alex can’t wait for their school’s upcoming Olympics.  So they’re worried when they find a note threatening to sabotage the games.  Their principal doesn’t seem too concerned, but when the events begin, a series of mishaps confirms the kids’ suspicions that someone is out to ruin the fun.  The kids decide to take matters into their own hands and figure out who is behind the evil plot.  128 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  The first in a new sports-themed series, this will be welcomed by fans of A to Z Mysteries and David A. Kelly’s other series, Ballpark Mysteries.

Cons:  Five detectives is a little unwieldy and doesn’t allow for much character development in such a short story.

Friday Barnes, Girl Detective by R. A. Spratt, illustrated by Phil Gosier

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Published by Roaring Brook Press 

Summary:  Friday’s parents are busy scientists, so she’s been on her own for most of her childhood.  A curious and intelligent child, she’s taught herself more in eleven years than most people learn in a lifetime.  After she cracks a bank robbery case, she decides to use the reward money to pay for a year at the exclusive Highcrest Academy.  Her plans to blend in fail miserably, and she soon finds herself in demand as a private investigator, solving everything from missing homework to the identity of the big hairy monster in the swamp behind the school.  The book ends with her unexpected arrest; readers will have to wait until the sequel comes out in August to learn what that’s all about.  272 pages; grades 4-6.

Pros:  This Australian import features offbeat humor, a quirky but spunky protagonist, and a colorful cast of supporting characters, illuminated with plenty of cartoon-type illustrations.  I’m not always a big fan of “quirky”, but this was done in a way that kept me chuckling until the end.

Cons:  This might not work for a mystery book report, as it is a series of small mysteries rather than one big one.

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands

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 Published by Aladdin 

Summary:  Apothecaries around London are being murdered.  Christopher Rowe, apprentice to apothecary Benedict Blackwell, isn’t too worried…until his master sends him on a wild goose chase errand, and he returns to learn that Blackwell has become the latest victim.  Overwhelmed by grief, Christopher discovers an encoded message in the shop’s ledger and sets out to decipher it.  When he realizes Blackwell has named his killer in the message, Christopher knows he is in great peril.  Slowly, he uncovers the dangerous secrets of the Cult of the Archangel, and learns of his master’s involvement in activities designed to unleash the power of God.  Ultimately, Christopher must make certain that these powers don’t fall into the hands of the evil men who are seeking them…and rapidly closing in on Christopher himself.  Grades 5-8.

Pros:  Set in 17th-century London, this murder mystery/historical fiction thriller is a DaVinci Code for kids.  It took me awhile to dig into a book about an apothecary from the 1600’s, but Christopher is given a humorous, modern voice, without taking away from the historical authenticity.  With an escaped evildoer, uncertainty about Christopher’s next master, and the plague pushing against London’s borders, a sequel must surely be in the works.

Cons:  The final showdown gets pretty gory.  Someone loses half his fingers, a couple eyes are put out, and two characters will move into the next installment with a good portion of their faces gone.

The Friendship Riddle by Megan Frazer Blakemore

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Published by Bloomsbury USA 

Summary:  Ruth considers herself a lone wolf as she starts middle school minus her former best friend Charlotte.  Charlotte’s still around, but she’s hanging out with the popular Melinda these days.  When Ruth finds a mysterious origami envelope with a riddle inside it tucked into a library book, she wishes she could work on the mystery with Charlotte.  Instead, she tries to solve the first puzzle, and the subsequent ones it leads her to, by herself.  Slowly, reluctantly, she finds herself connecting with some of the other smart quirky kids in her class, and revealing the mystery she is working on to them.  A subplot about a school spelling bee pits Ruth against some of her new and former friends, with an exciting spelling showdown near the end.  By the time the mystery is solved and the spelling bee concluded, Ruth finds herself in the center of a close-knit group of new friends.  Grades 4-7.

Pros:  More of a middle school friendship story than a mystery, this story provides a good dose of sixth-grade angst liberally laced with humor, interesting characters, and some fun riddles to solve.

Cons:  Not so much of a con as a heads-up that both Ruth and Charlotte have same-sex parents; Ruth mentions her sperm-donor father.  There’s a funny, but lengthy, bra-shopping scene, and a few other middle school topics to be aware of if recommending this book to an elementary school student.

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

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Published by Henry Holt

Summary: Emily’s parents have a plan to live in all 50 states, and this year’s move is to California. Emily has learned not to put down roots, knowing that she’ll have to move again before long.  In spite of her resolve, she finds herself in a friendship with her neighbor James, who shares her love of books and puzzles.  She introduces him to Book Scavenger, the online book treasure hunting game created by San Francisco publisher Garrison Griswold.  About the time of her move, Griswold is shot in a BART subway station.  Soon after, Emily and James find a mysterious copy of The Gold-Bug by Edgar Allan Poe, and soon discover it’s the first clue in a new game Griswold was about to debut when he was attacked.  As the publisher’s life hangs in the balance, Emily and James race to solve the Poe puzzles before Griswold’s enemy can discover the whereabouts of his book.  Grades 4-7.

Pros: A fast-paced mystery for fans of ciphers, codes, and puzzles. Emily and James are endearing characters, and there are a couple of interesting subplots about Emily’s family’s unusual goal to live in all the states, and a rivalry between James and a fellow cipher fan.

Cons:  At 343 pages, the intricate plot occasionally becomes a bit unwieldy.

The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake by Robin Newman, illustrated by Deborah Zemke

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Published by Worzalla Books 

Summary: Detective Wilcox and Captain Griswold call themselves the MFIs, Missing Food Investigators. As mice working on a farm with over 100 hungry animals, they have plenty to do.  In this story, they’re called by Miss Rabbit to investigate the disappearance of her carrot cake.  After interviewing a number of suspects (Fowler the Owl, Porcini the Pig, and Hot Dog the Dog), they get the brilliant idea to plant a new carrot cake in Miss Rabbit’s kitchen, then set up a camera to record what happens.  After a couple of hours, the cake disappears and the film reveals the surprising culprit.  Grades 1-3.

Pros:  At 37 pages, this would make a perfect book for kids just transitioning from easy readers to chapter books.  There’s plenty of humor in both the text and the illustrations, and the action moves along swiftly.  Includes a carrot cake recipe at the end.

Cons:  The recipe requires four bowls, which is three too many for my culinary abilities.