Monday, August 27, 2012

MMGM: Madhattan Mystery by John J. Bonk


Published by: Bloomsbury Kids
Released on: May 22, 2012
Ages: 9 & up
Source: Book from author/publisher to review
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

All set to spend their summer in New York City with their aunt while their father is honeymooning with his new wife, Lexi and her younger brother Kevin’s snoozy summer plans turn into high-stakes adventure when Lexi overhears a plot to steal Cleopatra’s famous jewels from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Joining forces with budding investigative journalist Kim Ling Levine, they ditch day camp to track down the thieves and rake in the reward money. Can Lexi, Kevin, and Kim find out who’s behind the jewel heist without getting into too much trouble themselves?

For fans of the classic From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler comes a hilarious whodunnit that will keep readers guessing to the very end.


Tour the big apple with a group of unlikely friends as they try to solve the mystery of Cleopatra's missing jewels!

A mystery set in the heart of New York City, Madhattan Mystery will take readers on a wild goose chase with it's characters Lexi, Kevin and their new friend Kim. During a visit with their Aunt, Lexi over hears two men talking about jewels and where they're going to bury them at. Unsure of what to think about it, Lexi doesn't know what to do until the following morning when it's reported that Cleopatra's Jewels are missing. What's a group of preteens to do when you have no evidence and a little to go? You go in search of clues and find out where those jewels are hidden. 

Lexi and Kevin stand out like sore thumbs in NYC, and luckily for them they meet a girl, Kim, who lives next door to their aunt. Kim is a say how it is, blunt, fearless girl who's lived in NYC all her life. Taking Lexi and Kevin under wing forms an unlikely friendship between the more reserved Lexi. Lexi was a fun character to get to know. She's layered, little complex and as the story unravels John allowed me to see different sides of her, making it easy for me to sympathize with her. She's still coping with her mother's death, dealing with her father's new wife, aka her stepmom whom she despises, and visiting a city she knows little about. 

NYC itself is a great setting, and though I've not been there, based on everything I've heard about it, I felt like John gave me a personal tour of the good, the dangerous and the hidden parts of the city. The mystery that the kids are trying to solve literally takes them all over the city and it was really cool as a reader to see the different aspect of it. It's a very detailed setting, and one that fit perfectly with this story. While I enjoyed the setting and the mystery part of the book I had a hard time staying focused with the story the entire time. I felt that because there were so many other things going on outside of the mystery, the story lost it's focus at those times for me. BUT, I'm also an adult reading a middle grade book, and this is one mystery, adventure book younger readers may really enjoy. 



Want to check out this book for yourselves? Then enter to win an ARC of the book! To enter, please fill out the form below. Open internationally and you must be 13 yrs of age to enter. Under 13 yr of age is required to have an adult/guardian's permission. Good luck!




Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is a weekly feature started by MG author Shannon Messenger and is a weekly post featuring an upcoming MG release, a MG Author Interview or a MG review. You can find out more about this series posts, and find links to author authors and bloggers who are taking part in this feature here. You can also my Must Have Middle Grade Reads feature on Mundie Moms
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~