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For nearly a century, young readers have gotten caught up in the mystery and suspense of stories about young sleuths like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. But today’s readers have more options—like the quirky kids of James Patterson and Keir Graff’s MK’s Detective Club, who have new mysteries to solve in The Double Trouble Puzzle.
The story follows 12-year-old Minerva Keen as she teams up with her brother, Heck, their friend, Santos, and the school’s new girl, Zoe, to try to solve a mystery at their school. It’s bad enough that Zoe showed up at school and immediately took over the school’s detective club. But when Minerva’s favorite teacher, Ms. Voyant, suddenly starts treating Zoe like her favorite student, Minerva is convinced that there’s something very suspicious going on. And what she discovers in her investigation could put her in danger of more than just detention.
When the situation at school gets out of hand, Minerva and the other detective club members can’t agree on how to move forward—or if they should even have a detective club. Minerva is convinced that Ms. Voyant has been replaced by pod people from another planet. Zoe just wants to read classic detective novels. And Heck is distracted by the fact that their globe-trotting parents seem to be hiding something very important from them. There’s a lot going on here—from middle school kid issues to bigger, more serious situations—but they’re all tackled in a lighthearted way that kids will enjoy.
Of course, for grown-up readers, who may end up reading with their kids, some parts of the story will seem a little…extreme. Not everything here works perfectly—and you definitely won’t want your kids following in the characters’ footsteps by confronting suspected criminals or breaking and entering. But young readers will enjoy the action and suspense—and the mystery-solving characters. Minerva and her friends are smart and generally adventurous kids who are eager to take on anyone from the school bully to a tattoo-faced tough guy. And these smart kids and their adventures are sure to inspire a love of mysteries in their young readers.
With its mix of action, adventure, and middle school laughs, The Double Trouble Puzzle is a fun-filled book for kids. Even reluctant readers will enjoy following the characters as they set out to solve their latest case—and they might just want to go back and read the first book in the series, too.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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