Beauvais’ narrative zips breezily along and gets to the end with several moments of laugh-out-loud cleverness—and that’s...
Young Sesame Seade returns for a second round of detective work around and about the colleges of Cambridge University (Sleuth on Skates, 2014), this time aided by friends Toby and Gemma.
As Sesame’s classmate Gemma points out, though the irrepressible Sesame has billions of connections in her brain, so does everyone else—and Sesame’s rejoinder is yes, but few use them “to save the galaxy as regularly as I do.” Oddities abound. A mysterious thief is stealing gargoyles from the rooftop of Gonville & Caius College. An influx of mice comes through the window of Sesame’s room, and Peter Mortimer, Sesame’s large and aggressive cat, has suddenly become sleepy and limp. And Jeremy, Sesame’s older friend, a university student and ally, has a girlfriend. Beauvais’ voice for her young gumshoe is wisecracking and clever, conferring on Sesame moments of sleuthing prowess as well as discomfort. The several threads of the current mystery are whirled and knotted together briskly with the inclusion of pharmaceutical experiments, a marsupial, hidden treasure, rooftop capers, and a bit of perfidy on the parts of both a visiting student and Sesame’s mother. The pleasure here, as with many mysteries, is not so much with the plotting as with the interactions among the characters.
Beauvais’ narrative zips breezily along and gets to the end with several moments of laugh-out-loud cleverness—and that’s enough to grab readers. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: May 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3205-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
A smart, fresh take on an old favorite makes for a terrific series kickoff
A modern Sherlock Holmes retelling brings an 11-year-old black John Watson into the sphere of know-it-all 9-year-old white detective Shelby Holmes.
John's an Army brat who's lived in four states already. Now, with his parents' divorce still fresh, the boy who's lived only on military bases must explore the wilds of Harlem. His new life in 221A Baker St. begins inauspiciously, as before he's even finished moving in, his frizzy-haired neighbor blows something up: "BOOM!" But John's great at making friends, and Shelby certainly seems like an interesting kid to know. Oddly loquacious, brusque, and extremely observant, Shelby's locally famous for solving mysteries. John’s swept up in her detecting when a wealthy, brown-skinned classmate enlists their help in the mysterious disappearance of her beloved show dog, Daisy. Whatever could have happened to the prizewinning Cavalier King Charles spaniel? Has she been swiped by a jealous competitor? Has Daisy’s trainer—mysteriously come into enough money to take a secret weekend in Cozumel—been placing bets against his own dog? Brisk pacing, likable characters, a few silly Holmes jokes ("I'm Petunia Cumberbatch," says Shelby while undercover), and a diverse neighborhood, carefully and realistically described by John, are ingredients for success.
A smart, fresh take on an old favorite makes for a terrific series kickoff . (Mystery. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68119-051-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
More escapades are promised in this improbable but satisfying series starter
A smart kid foils big-time thieves in the nation’s capital—and joins the FBI.
Using a method he invented called the Theory of All Small Things, white seventh-grader Florian Bates solves mysteries by piecing together seemingly trivial clues in this engaging, humorous, but not always logical caper. When Florian easily helps the FBI recover three masterpieces stolen from the National Gallery of Art, the dazzled feds supply him with an alias and train him at Quantico. Collaborating with his African-American best friend, superbright, athletic Margaret, Florian finds that even with TOAST, sleuthing gets dangerous when the pair, working undercover, come up against a European crime syndicate—and another spectacular art heist in the form of a forgery substituted for an iconic Monet. Exciting adventures ensue, and clues accumulate until the culprit is revealed and the genuine painting located. Missteps intrude, though: a few lapses in logic may leave readers puzzled; some clues seem contrived; and a subplot involving Florian’s discovery of the startling identity of adopted Margaret’s biological father falls flat. The solution is also a letdown: the thief is a minor figure, and the means by which the painting was stolen and the forgery set in its place aren’t explained. The real draws here are the two resourceful leads’ solid, realistic friendship, bolstered by snappy dialogue, brisk pacing, and well-crafted ancillary characters—not to mention behind-the-scenes glimpses of the FBI.
More escapades are promised in this improbable but satisfying series starter . (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3630-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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