BOOK REVIEW: SLEUTH OR DARE: PARTNERS IN CRIME

SLEUTH OR DARE: PARTNERS IN CRIME

Kim Harrington

Scholastic

2012

Available: Paperback, Kindle

Seventh grade best friends Darcy and Norah have a big class presentation in less than a week. They have to create a business to present to the class complete with a logo and everything. After a few rejected ideas, they come up with a great idea. A detective agency called PARTNERS IN CRIME. They take it a step further and instead of gluing things on a poster board like everyone else, they build a web page to showcase it like a real business. It's only been online for one day when someone emails them with a case. A missing person case. Even though they aren't a real detective agency they decided to try their luck cracking the mystery. After all, it's intriguing and gives them a chance to help someone in need. Plus, they think the anonymous client could be one of their schoolmates. They need more information and will have to discover that person's identity before they can even begin to locate the missing person. Once they start making headway on the case, it seems as though there is someone trying to stop their investigation. Has their sleuthing put them in danger?

This was a great middle grade mystery and I look forward to reading the next book in the series. Darcy and Norah's friendship is endearing because they are so different from one another and at the same time best friends. The mystery is good and it's solution unexpected. Nancy Drew would be proud of these two junior detectives.

Target audience: Grades 5-7

Mystery/ suspense: excellent
kid appeal: definate