With doughty sidekick Marissa in tow, resourceful, fast-talking Sammy sets out for Tinsel Town, to pay a surprise visit to her wayward, star-struck mother, Lana. It’s a surprise all right: her mother, passing herself off as a 25-year-old, is living with 11 other aspiring actresses in the palatial home, and firmly under the thumb, of aging but legendary agent Max Mueller. The very morning after the young folks’ unwelcome arrival, one of those actresses is found dead—in circumstances that, to Sammy’s dismay, strongly implicate her mother. Or was Lana actually the intended victim? Max’s home, filled with Egyptian antiquities, makes a properly oddball setting into which Van Draanen throws a fine array of suspects and complicating side plots, from stolen jewels and a hidden burial chamber to a fiery young Jamaican housemaid’s appalling discovery that she is Max’s daughter. Sammy puts the pieces together just in time for a (literally) explosive climactic rescue, as she hurtles into a crowded, trendy restaurant to force the old salt-and-coffee purge down her mother’s throat to keep her from swallowing poisoned wine. Sammy’s sixth high-energy whodunit keeps up the breathless pace of its predecessors, and by the end, Sammy has gone a long way toward forgiving Lana for deserting her. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80266-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Maynard (Quiet, Wyatt!, 1999) makes fire the pivotal plot element in this short, episodic action novel. In the small village of McIntosh, Jed, the fire chief’s son, is branded a fire bug for a past transgression in which he accidentally burned down the family garage. Now, when a local swamp catches fire, he is the first to be blamed. Norm Dempsey, wannabe fire chief, is first to point the finger. Through a freak accident, Jed’s father lands in a coma in the hospital. A series of fires, a swamp fire, brush fire, barn fire, and school fire in the sports equipment room, forms a string of actions that make up the story. Toss in a few boyish pranks and some not-so-subtle clues and the story builds to its natural climax—an even bigger fire. This time, a monster train wreck sets the whole pond ablaze. Not surprisingly, Jed takes charge and steps in to rescue the day, the nursing home and surrounding houses, with a little help from his recuperating father, all in the name of saving face and proving that Norm Dempsey is behind the arsons. This fast-moving, predictable fare has some great action sequences, with appeal for mystery fans. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-399-23439-X
Page Count: 149
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
Policeman Jack’s cat and dog team, Kitty and Belle, are an unusual crime-busting duo: Kitty is a shrewd mouser, while lazy Belle would rather sleep. When a wily burglar picks the lock and breaks into Policeman Jack’s house, Kitty jumps on top of the thief’s head, while Belle rouses from a nap to growl and chase the burglar out the door. They are rewarded with a TV appearance on the nightly news. In a tale told entirely in verse, the entrance of the burglar functions more as a device to break up the monotony than for building suspense or creating comedy. O’Malley saves the day with his portraits of the highly personable pets, including one picture of the appropriately sleepy Belle, bloodshot eye open amidst folds of fur. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8167-4952-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
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