Best to start at the beginning, but the whole’s an enjoyable ride. (Mystery. 8-14)
Librarians, a train, a murder, and the end of an apprenticeship.
Young Lemony Snicket’s chaperone, S. Theodora Markson, has crept out in the middle of the night. Following her, he receives an origami message from one of his associates (a word that here refers to the people around his age with whom he shares the goal of stopping the villainous Hangfire from destroying the ink-manufacturing town of Stain’d-by-the-Sea). The message leads Snicket to the railway station, where a train is about to depart Stain’d-by-the-Sea for the city. The train’s taking both Snicket’s former associate Ellington Feint and librarian Dashiell Qwerty (the latter unjustly accused of arson) to the city to await trial. With no ticket, it takes a feat of derring-do to get aboard. When he does, Snicket nearly witnesses a murder…which he then must solve while attempting to keep Hangfire from obtaining the statue of the Bombinating Beast, the final piece in his dastardly plan. With a train half full of suspects, Snicket’s lucky the other half are his associates. Can they trap Hangfire and catch a murderer? Author Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) closes his quartet of smart, noirish mysteries detailing the early training of the chronicler of the woes of the Baudelaire children with several bangs (and a poison dart or two). Most questions (wrong and right) are answered by the satisfying close.
Best to start at the beginning, but the whole’s an enjoyable ride. (Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-316-12304-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2015
A promising fiction debut.
Family secrets, an unsolved bank robbery, summer on a lake, a treasure island and a first romance are the ingredients for this inviting middle-grade mystery.
Unhappy with his new life and new stepfather in Southern California, 13-year-old Trav runs away to the small town in Minnesota where his dad grew up and his grandmother lives. He quickly learns why his mother won’t talk about his father, who died before he was born. Suspected of having robbed a local bank, the man disappeared in a storm, his boat washed up on an island in the lake. Everyone figures Trav knows where the money is, a theory confirmed when some of the burgled money turns up in local stores after his arrival. Trav manages to convince neighbor kid Kenny and his hot cousin Iz of his innocence, and together, they try to figure out where the loot might have been stashed and who has sent Trav a threatening note. Careful plotting and end-of-chapter cliffhangers add to the suspense. The first-person narration suggests that Trav’s imagination has been fed by too much television, but the imagined threats become frighteningly real as the story progresses. Trav’s voice is believable, Bullard’s Minnesota setting full of convincing detail, and the boy’s hesitant romantic efforts add a pleasant embellishment.
A promising fiction debut. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-544-02900-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Splendiferous—and sure to lead readers back to previous puzzle adventures.
Luigi Lemoncello gets inspiration from a master showman.
After writing five successful adventures starring legendary billionaire Prof. Lemoncello, Grabenstein looks back in time to 1968, when young Luigi, the seemingly talentless middle child in a large Italian American family, realizes that his love for puzzles and games is his personal gift. When the 13-year-old successfully solves the rebus puzzle and attracts more customers to the Balloon-centration booth at a summer carnival, barker Prof. Marvelmous offers him a job. Marvelmous becomes a mentor; his niece, Maggie, a friend. She and Luigi visit the library regularly, follow treasure hunts offered by a local radio station, and work together to discover the secrets of the elaborate puzzle box Marvelmous has created. The author offers hints and instructions for solving the puzzles and has left one more (plus his email address) for readers to solve on their own. The fast-paced narrative includes good reading suggestions, popular music from the ’60s, and occasional solid advice. As in earlier books, there’s stress on the importance of teamwork and empathy—young Luigi is as thoughtful and caring as a teenager as he is later as the donor of a splendid library and instigator of brain-teasing contests. Luigi’s bullying blond nemesis, Chadwick Chiltington, is likely the father of Charles from previous series entries.
Splendiferous—and sure to lead readers back to previous puzzle adventures. (excerpt from Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library) (Fiction. 8-14)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48083-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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