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| Cora Flash and the Diamond of Madagascar - mystery book review |
Cora Flash and the
Diamond of Madagascar
Tommy
Davey
Thomas
Brown
2012
This is the first book in the Cora Flash mystery
series.
Eleven-year-old Cora Flash is
on the train headed for Topaz Mountain to spend time with her uncle. Although
it's an over night trip, she's travelling as an unaccompanied minor and feels
perfectly safe. After all, what can happen on a train? Much like the
traditional English cozy, she meets a full cast of characters, all traveling in
the same direction. Being stuck on the train forces them to share meals and
conversation. Then, a third of the way through the story comes the mysterious
disappearance of the priceless Diamond of Madagascar. Each traveler becomes a suspect,
but which one of them took the valuable gemstone? And how? More important,
where is it now?
While I really like the idea
a kid's cozy mystery, and kids will love the clever outcome of Cora's detective
skills, I wish there could have been more kids and fewer adults in the story.
Cora is the only real kid the reader gets to know. The story is set in modern
times, but carries the flavor an older time period. Advanced readers will
probably be charmed by the mystery.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
Grades 5-7
MYSTERY/SUSPENCE: Clever premise
KID APPEAL: Higher level readers
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