A charming, old-fashioned–feeling romp
A parentless, put-upon kitchen boy is accused of murdering a magical hotel guest.
Seth Seppi cooks brilliantly, but he’ll never be a chef. Instead he’s the overworked help at the Last Chance Hotel, abused by his “nasty bosses.” Sometimes he sadly recalls the hotel’s popularity in the dimly remembered days before his father’s mysterious disappearance. Mostly, however, he washes dishes, even on nights like this, when some very special guests are due at the hotel. Tiffany, the daughter of Seth’s employers (and Seth’s chief tormenter) blackmails Seth into making a splendid dessert for the guest of honor, Dr. Thallomius, for which she’ll claim credit. When Dr. Thallomius drops dead from poison, Tiffany promptly snitches: Seth made the dessert, so he must be the murderer! Seth’s quest to clear his name is complicated by his realization that Dr. Thallomius and all the other guests at this bizarre party hail from a magical world. One of these odd people—Professor Papperspook in her multicolored, tentlike dress; tiny, scarred, dark-skinned Master Darinder Dunster-Dunstable; glamorous Angelique Squerr with her magical cane; or one of the others—murdered the kindly doctor and pinned the blame on Seth. Thornton’s prose can get clunky and characterization resorts to types, but the plot itself is a nifty, magical spin on the classic locked-room mystery. The book subscribes to the white default for characters not otherwise described.
A charming, old-fashioned–feeling romp . (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: May 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-32362-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
High-energy high jinks in a multicultural, or at least multispecies, setting.
Young sleuths stumble on a demonic conspiracy to blow the lid off Slick City’s new sports arena. Just for a start.
Goblin Fizz Marlow and troll gearhead Tank Wrenchlin are convinced that slimeball schoolmate Rizzo Rawlins’ supposedly homemade battle bot illegally incorporates professional-grade code and components. Their search for proof leads them and elven trainee wizard Aleetha to several puzzles. Who is the mysterious “Codex,” and why is he (or she) supplying Rizzo as well as hacking Slick City’s computer systems to threaten disaster if the just-finished Slurp Stadium is opened for the upcoming Battle Bot Cup? How did the stadium come to be built over a magic stone that could, as old maps hint, serve as a portal to demon worlds? What can a trio of fourth-graders do, opposed by corrupt officials, a bully with a pair of hulking hench-ogres, and a local business tycoon with—as it turns out—a high-tech hand-held demon controller? Well, plenty, though not without a few missteps, help from a surprising temporary ally, and lots of climactic bot-smashing. In a slick mix of narrative blocks and panels of nonscary monsters delivering punch lines in dialogue balloons, the exploit careens along to a triumphant close.
High-energy high jinks in a multicultural, or at least multispecies, setting. (Graphic/mystery/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4598-0813-3
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A shelf below Blue Balliett’s art- and code-themed mysteries, but Encyclopedia Brown fans will enjoy following the detective...
In his third caper, a young New York sleuth with a photographic memory finds himself a target for revenge.
The appearance of fake bombs with cryptic—encrypted, as it turns out—messages for him at landmarks around the city tells Eddie that Lars, the international art thief stymied in Mystery on Museum Mile (2014), is back for a new heist and a spot of payback. And, rather than keeping Eddie in the loop, both his gorgeous new FBI bodyguard and surly police contact are steadfastly stonewalling him in order, they insist, to keep him safe. It doesn’t work, as, enlisting his ADHD computer-whiz sidekick, Jonah, to hack police files, Eddie gathers clues, solves codes, and by the climax has sketched out photorealistic portraits (supplied by Calo) of Lars and his entire gang. As with Volume 2, Mystery in Mayan Mexico (2015), Wells spins both a heavily contrived body of evidence and a coincidence-driven plotline. Since both the theft and subsequent arrests take place offstage, the actual crime fighting seems almost incidental to Eddie’s personal dramas. Still, the lad uses skills and smarts in credible ways to nab the bad guys, and the climax’s drama is enhanced by some narrowly averted violence. A new character, possibly Lars’ daughter, slips through the net to set up future cases.
A shelf below Blue Balliett’s art- and code-themed mysteries, but Encyclopedia Brown fans will enjoy following the detective work. (cryptography note) (Mystery. 9-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-58260-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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