Vraiment, another standout.
A 10-year-old who’s “mainly interested in murders. Solving murders, that is” finally gets a crack at a mystery that unfolds in a classic country house setting.
In this third series entry, Bonnie Montgomery arrives at Adderstone Manor disguised as pint-size detective Montgomery Bonbon, complete with a “wobbly” foreign accent. She’s accompanied by Grampa Banks and her friend Dana Hornville. Infamous criminal Fergus Croke, who owns the manor, invited Monsieur Bonbon to referee a game—the prize is a diamond and the chance to be named Fergus’ heir. His apprentices, notable for their dubious talents, will participate in the scavenger hunt: pickpocket Daniel Devant, picklock Frankie Novak, and bank robber Naomi Igarashi. When Fergus is found murdered in the monkey house, the housekeeper calls the police, but Bonnie is sure they’ll botch the investigation. There’s monkey business afoot, but the exotic pets loved Fergus and shouldn’t take the fall for the murder, no matter what Bonnie’s rival, Inspector Prashanti Sands, believes. Meanwhile, the apprentices want that diamond! Powell’s lively illustrations capture key moments in the story, and humor, misdirection, and explosions add color. The girls’ friendship endures a blowup, too, when Bonnie feels threatened by Dana’s intellect. The answer? Working together. Between Grampa’s crime-scene photos, Dana’s undercover work, and Bonnie’s deductions, the murderer—and the diamond—are soon in hand. Bonnie and Grampa present white, and the supporting cast contains racial diversity.
Vraiment, another standout. (map, cast of characters, author’s note) (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9781536241686
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Contagiously goofy and fun.
Area 51 gets its first new resident in 5 years—and a new mystery.
When her grandma moves into a kid-free retirement home, 12-year-old orphan Priya “Sky” Patel-Baum and Spike, her pet hedgehog, relocate to Area 51 to live with Sky’s eccentric Uncle Anish. At 51, humans and Break Throughs (government-speak for aliens) live together off-grid in harmony. Unfortunately, several Zdstrammars (one of many Break Through species) mysteriously disappear, disrupting the base’s harmony and contributing to feelings of suspicion. Despite being deputy head of the Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations, Uncle Anish becomes a prime suspect. Can Sky and Elvis, her alien classmate, prove Uncle Anish’s innocence and find the missing Zdstrammars before it’s too late? YA author Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose. The cast of Break Through species—like Audiotooters, Galzorian, and Sanitizoria—have hilariously creative on-the-nose names with illustrations to match. Sky is coded biracial, with a White dad and Indian mom. Aliens appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; Elvis shape-shifts but looks like a brown-skinned boy to Sky. Though the main mystery is neatly wrapped up, the cliffhanger ending promises more laughs.
Contagiously goofy and fun. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42946-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans.
Only children, rejoice! A cozy mystery just for you! (People with siblings will probably enjoy it too.)
Debut novelist Cornett introduces the One and Onlys, a trio of mystery-solving only kids: Gloria Longshanks “Shanks” Hill, Alexander “Peephole” Calloway, and narrator Paul (alas, no nickname) Marconi. The trio has a knack for finding and solving low-level mysteries, but they come up against a true head-scratcher when the yard of a resident of their small town is covered in rubber ducks overnight. Working ahead of Officer Portnoy, who’s a little on the slow side, can Paul, Shanks, and Peephole solve the mystery? Cornett has a lot of fun with this adventure, dropping additional side mysteries, a subplot about small businesses, big corporations, and economics, and a town’s love of bratwurst into the mix. Most importantly, he plays fair with the clues throughout, allowing astute readers to potentially solve the case ahead of the trio. The tone and mystery are perfect for younger readers who want to test their detective skills but are put off by anything scary or gory. The pacing would serve well for chapter-by-chapter read-alouds. If there are any quibbles, it’s the lack of diversity of the cast, as it defaults white. Diversity exists in small towns, and this one is crying out for more. Hopefully a sequel will introduce additional faces.
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3003-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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