This mystery soars while the feathers and fun fly.
In the second eco-mystery in the Cooper and Packrat series, Cooper and his friends are on the trail of eagle poachers.
Nature-lover and critter-defender Cooper Wilder works at his family’s business, the Wilder Family Campground, where he does odd jobs and, to his chagrin, cleans cabins and toilets. With the help of his best friends, Packrat and Roy, he also hides geocache boxes throughout the campground for the campers to track and uncover. On a routine check of one of the boxes, Cooper finds himself pursued by two goofy suit- and tie-clad goons bent on stealing it from him. After losing them, he and Packrat open the box—but they don’t find the usual logbook and pencil. Instead, it contains a real eagle’s head adorning a ceremonial stick along with a pair of eagle claws and a handful of feathers. Knowing that the birds are a protected species, Cooper dives into the mystery. Wight ratchets up the threat level when the two men—as well as a series of additional suspicious-looking guests—check into the campground. The well-plotted story with spot-on kid dialogue will have readers alternately laughing and puzzling out the mystery; DiRocco’s simple black-and-white illustrations neatly highlight both funny and serious moments. Alas, going without depiction is one hilarious scene in which one of Cooper’s friends attempts to distract the bad guys by burping through the alphabet.
This mystery soars while the feathers and fun fly. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-939017-35-2
Page Count: 175
Publisher: Islandport Press
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Breathless action and engaging puzzles make this a page-turner.
In this follow-up to The Mystery of Locked Rooms (2024), young escape artists rashly accept a mysterious game designer’s offer to get a sneak peek at a challenging new set of escape rooms.
Worried by announcements of a new, high-tech fun house that might drive their employer, the Delta Game, out of business, middle schooler Sarah and her friends Hannah and West jump at the chance to give Mystery Mansion a try before it opens to the public. More’s at stake than they suspect, but Currie dispenses with the backstory in a perfunctory way at the end. Her real focus—and the chief appeal here—lies in the set of fiendishly clever escape rooms that she’s devised for the trio and the team dynamics that carry them through: Hannah is the reckless thrill seeker, West is the observant brainiac, and anxiety-prone Sarah has a knack for making correct choices. The story cranks up the suspense, and the Deltas call on all the courage and smarts they can muster, sweeping readers along as they work urgently against the clock to complete the course. Hannah is cued white, West is described as dark-haired, and narrator Sarah isn’t physically described.
Breathless action and engaging puzzles make this a page-turner. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781464234941
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans.
Only children, rejoice! A cozy mystery just for you! (People with siblings will probably enjoy it too.)
Debut novelist Cornett introduces the One and Onlys, a trio of mystery-solving only kids: Gloria Longshanks “Shanks” Hill, Alexander “Peephole” Calloway, and narrator Paul (alas, no nickname) Marconi. The trio has a knack for finding and solving low-level mysteries, but they come up against a true head-scratcher when the yard of a resident of their small town is covered in rubber ducks overnight. Working ahead of Officer Portnoy, who’s a little on the slow side, can Paul, Shanks, and Peephole solve the mystery? Cornett has a lot of fun with this adventure, dropping additional side mysteries, a subplot about small businesses, big corporations, and economics, and a town’s love of bratwurst into the mix. Most importantly, he plays fair with the clues throughout, allowing astute readers to potentially solve the case ahead of the trio. The tone and mystery are perfect for younger readers who want to test their detective skills but are put off by anything scary or gory. The pacing would serve well for chapter-by-chapter read-alouds. If there are any quibbles, it’s the lack of diversity of the cast, as it defaults white. Diversity exists in small towns, and this one is crying out for more. Hopefully a sequel will introduce additional faces.
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3003-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
