Today's read fits so perfectly to the season! At least, the cover is giving me Autumn vibes. Add the mystery, and I'm excited to dive into this read. Plus, I'm now pumpkin patch dreaming...gosh, I hope this one involves a pumpkin patch.
This is the 2nd in the series. I read the first one around this time last year and enjoyed it. (You can see that review here).
THE GRIMTHORPE GRAVE
The A&A Detective Agency, #2
by K.H. Saxton
Union Square Kids
Middle Grade Mystery
32 pages
ages 8 to 12
COMING...
SEPTEMBER 17th!!!
"It’s a delight to see Asha and Alex solve clues and help some clueless adults right a wrong. I can’t wait for the next book!” —Margaret Peterson Haddix, New York Times bestselling author of the Greystone Secrets series on The Fairfleet Affair
How do you save a witch who’s been dead for centuries?
Alex and Asha of the A&A Detective Agency are on the case! Summer is over, and Asha and Alex haven't had a decent case in months. But just as a chill begins to stir the air, and the autumn leaves start to turn, Dr. Wright from the Fairfleet Institute comes to them with a cryptic note, signed by “The Witch of Waverly College,” about Hannah Grimthorpe, the notorious witch from Northbrook’s colonial past. This is the perfect case to reinvigorate Alex and Asha's interest in keeping up the agency, but distractions come their way as school activities divide their attention. When more clues appear and Dr. Wright is forced out of the Institute, the two detectives decide they are going to need help from their classmates to solve the mystery.
With sneaky adults out to thwart the kids' mission, shadows lurking in corn mazes and cemeteries, and a Halloween deadline looming to uncover the truth about Hannah Grimthorpe, it's a race against time and a lesson in who to trust for the young detectives of Northbrook.
The A&A Detective The Grimthorpe Grave is the perfect autumnal read for kids ages 8 to 12.
MY TIDBITS
Ghosts, unidentified skeletons and the witch trials come together to form a mystery with more than a few surprises.
Alex and Asha are getting settled into the new school year, both busy with school activities and wondering if the A&A Detectives will ever have a mystery to solve again. But when a self-declared Witch of Waverly College leaves threatening notes surrounding a legend of the death of a supposed witch during the colonial era, Alex and Asha's friend and head of the institute's job is in danger. Although the institute wants to keep the secret past under wraps, Alex and Asha promise to discover who this witch is and what they truly want.
This is the 2nd book in the series, and while the first book does add a little background, this can be read as a stand-alone.
After seeing the cover, I was expecting a bit more of a Fall Fair atmosphere, which this read doesn't have. It's about unidentified skeletons, creepy mausoleums, ghosts, grave robbers and more. While it doesn't grow super creepy, it does carry grim tones, at times, and has the sleuths on an eerie trail with unknown villains and criminals in the background. Even with new found friends and a growing detective group (this mystery is challenging enough to need to add a few more heads to their gang), it's not an easily solved mystery. They have to do plenty of research, figure out codes and clues, and wonder about more than a few very suspicious entities. It's a well-laid mystery which takes thought, and the solution isn't clear until the end.
Despite the darker scenes and more dangerous situations, this stays nicely set for the middle grade audience. It's not gruesome but tends toward clever. And there's a weave of history tossed in to give it a thought-filled feel. There is some back-and-forth on the friendship end to add a little character depth, but it's the mystery and clue-solving which keep this plot going. Every moment reveals something important, even subtle points, which weave into a larger picture, bit by bit. It's a grabbing read with a lovely pacing and a group of detectives to root for until the end.
And here she is...
K. H. Saxton is an English teacher and boarding school administrator in Connecticut. She is also the author of The A&A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair.
TTHE FAIRFLEET AFFAIR
The A&A Detective Agency, #1
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