The North Hollywood Detective Club in the Case of the Hollywood Art Heist by Mike Mains

Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery

Source: Purchased

 

Jeffrey Jones is one of the smartest kids in his school. He has a knack for figuring out mysteries. He really doesn’t have to try very hard. His mind just works that way. His parents are proud of him, but would really like him to stop. You might wonder why. His most recent case almost cost him his life. Jeffrey’s math teacher tells his class about a recent break-in and burglary of his apartment. One thing that was stolen was his teacher’s stamp collection worth a lot of money. The police have told him it was probably stolen for drugs or by gangs. The first thing everyone in the class does is looks at Jeffrey because he has asked about clues. They tease him about wanting to solve the case. His teacher finally agrees to let him check out the scene which resulted in catching the thief and almost killing him in the process. Now his parents aren’t sure they should go on their trip and leave him home alone. He and his best friend Pablo have formed a detective club. While sitting in his basement bedroom they hear sirens and screaming. They go outside to see the neighbor’s son hauled off in handcuffs.  Jeffrey and Pablo help stop the distraught mother and get her back into the house. This is how we are introduced to the next case.

 I love mysteries. I have since I was a young girl in elementary school.  I am always looking for that book that will hold me on the edge of my seat all the way through. This author has done that. I have just a handful of mystery authors that I recommend on a regular basis to my students. I now have a new one to recommend when the school year begins. This was a quick read for me. This was the first of two books I read on this day. I hope to read the next two books in this series tomorrow. I highly recommend this to all lovers of middle-grade mystery.