Another eerie escapade in a delightfully quirky series.
Twins Alexander and Theo, 12, speculate about what awaits them—good or bat—at the Sanguine Spa in the Little Transylvanian Mountains.
Aunt Saffronia drops them off along with 16-year-old sister Wil and vague directions to look closer and find what was lost. When she left them at a water park the previous week, Aunt Saffronia issued equally imprecise instructions that led them to root out a couple of villains and be gifted an antique brass stopwatch. They’re starting to suspect each destination is part of a bigger scavenger hunt, but they have more questions than answers. Who is Aunt Saffronia? Where are their parents? It’s all quick-moving, tongue-in-cheek, gothic fun. The banter between Alexander and Theo sparks, highlighting the differences in their personalities: Alexander is cautious; Theo charges ahead. Wil is so engaged in her cellphone she seems unaware of the spa hostess yelling at the ceiling, the spa guests laid out on tables like corpses, and the cave full of bats. Meanwhile, Alexander and Theo suspect the spa is really a vampire hotel. Weirder still, a villain from the water park arrives and steals something. Children should have read Wretched Waterpark (2022) to fully appreciate and follow the entertaining story threads, characters, and clues about the larger puzzle. Next stop: summer camp!
Another eerie escapade in a delightfully quirky series. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37908-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
Breathless action and engaging puzzles make this a page-turner.
In this follow-up to The Mystery of Locked Rooms (2024), young escape artists rashly accept a mysterious game designer’s offer to get a sneak peek at a challenging new set of escape rooms.
Worried by announcements of a new, high-tech fun house that might drive their employer, the Delta Game, out of business, middle schooler Sarah and her friends Hannah and West jump at the chance to give Mystery Mansion a try before it opens to the public. More’s at stake than they suspect, but Currie dispenses with the backstory in a perfunctory way at the end. Her real focus—and the chief appeal here—lies in the set of fiendishly clever escape rooms that she’s devised for the trio and the team dynamics that carry them through: Hannah is the reckless thrill seeker, West is the observant brainiac, and anxiety-prone Sarah has a knack for making correct choices. The story cranks up the suspense, and the Deltas call on all the courage and smarts they can muster, sweeping readers along as they work urgently against the clock to complete the course. Hannah is cued white, West is described as dark-haired, and narrator Sarah isn’t physically described.
Breathless action and engaging puzzles make this a page-turner. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781464234941
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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
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