RESCUING SENECA CRANE

Adventure compels despite a slow start with too much exposition as the two girl detectives from The Mystery of the Third Lucretia (2008) leave the art world behind and befriend a classical pianist, Seneca Crane, at the start of her concert career. Explanations about the previous episode, home backgrounds and preferred slang of the two is necessary to orient readers but drags on too long. The action starts in Edinburgh, where, at a music festival, Kari and Lucas find the teen virtuoso both awe-inspiring and pitiable for the lack of normalcy in her life—but that’s before she’s kidnapped. As events get rolling, the girls’ attempts to foil the kidnappers and rescue Seneca keep the pages turning. These girls are newly discovering the appeal of the male sex, which supplies much of the humor. It’s all more than a bit unrealistic, as much of their independence is based on their free use of a wealthy, indulgent parent’s credit card. While the mystery will puzzle no one, the clues and the choice of rescue plans are both eminently logical. Tepid fair for fans of safe mysteries. (Mystery. 8-12)