Summer Camp Trouble by Max Elliot Anderson

Genre: Adventure, Middle Grade, Mystery

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Kurt and his friends can’t wait to go to summer camp. It is a Christian based camp. When a spoiled rich kid flies into camp in his father’ s helicopter, Kurt and his friends pray the kid doesn’t end up in their tribe. They see right away that Rudy is going to be trouble. He has suitcases full of candy to buy anything he wants. No matter what happens, or what havoc Rudy causes, Kurt is determined to be nice to him. When a fire starts, the question that the counselors asked one night becomes very real. “Would you be willing to lay down your life for another?”   The action never stops in these books.  I felt sorry for Kurt’s parents. It seems like no matter what he does, trouble just seems to find him.

The Secret of Grandmother’s Grandfather Clock by Max Elliot Anderson

The Accidental Adventures of Kurt Benson and His Friends, Riley and Jordan Series

Genre: Adventure, Mystery

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This author knows how to write stories that kids, especially boys, will love. They are just as popular with my girls.   I was familiar with his Sam Cooper series, but not this one.  The author graciously sent me books three through 6. Kurt Benson is the main character.  When his family receives a call one day telling them that Kurts grandfather has died.  Kurt soon learns that something may have caused his death. His grandfather had been a pilot and Kurt belongs to a flying club. The way he uses clues to help solve the mystery of what is going on in his grandfather’s town and what truly happened to his grandfather will keep you reading.

First Review of the New Year: The Phantom Vale by Alfred M. Struthers

Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Nathan Cole and Gina McDermott are quickly becoming two of my favorite book characters. Nathan's family inherited a bookcase full of old book from his grandfather. Each book is an old unsolved mystery. In the first book, "The Case of Secrets" we are introduced to Nathan and Gina and this special bookcase. After Nathan and Gina solve a 150 year old mystery in the first book, they and their families are hounded by the media. Their parents decide they need to get away from them all. They head up to a cabin owned by Nathan's uncle.  Before he can get everything packed a book from his dresser falls to the floor. Nathan tries a variety of things to get the book to stay. It isn't until they are in the car that he sees the book in the window and rushes back in to grab it. For some reason the book is letting him know he needs to take it with them.

His first night in the cabin he reads part of the book and discovers that the town they are staying in has its own mystery. In the late 1800s a railroad car went missing.  Nathan and Gina set out to figure out what has happened to the car. Along the way they are given clues by an old man named Wynn. What is his connection. Why does the city officer constantly follow them and Wynn around?  How can they solve this mystery when everyone in the world is looking for them and thinks if they find them they will become famous?  The clues are give through the research the kids conduct. Gina is a fan of puzzles and this mystery is a great puzzle. I wasn't as quick to make the connections as some may be.  Once I started the book I could not let it go.  This is a series you must read. I just hope the author can pop them out fast enough.