Genre:
Middle
Grade/Young Adult/Mystery
Description:
“The sudden and unexpected arrival of a mysterious package interrupts
Hat Tintersmoot’s twelfth birthday. Where did it come from? Who left it? Once
she discovers that the small cardboard box is a gift from her Grandpa Gordon,
the mystery deepens...considering the fact that he passed away three years ago.
The handwritten note reads, ‘Inside this box is an impossible mystery
that only the purest of hearts can ever hope to uncover. Solve it, and you will
discover the answer to one of the greatest secrets ever.’
It’s another perfect job for the owner of The Marshmallow Hammer
Detective Agency. With the help of a new best friend, and her first official
employee, Hat must uncover the truth behind five difficult clues in order to
find the answer to the greatest secret ever.”
Author:
An author of primarily mystery and suspense for adults, Ernie Lindsey
has at least ten novels and numerous short stories available. His book Sara’s Game was on the USA Today
bestseller list and reached #2 on the Kindle Bestseller list. A native of the
Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, Lindsey and his family now make their home
in Oregon.
For more, visit the author’s website or follow Mr. Lindsey onFacebook.
Appraisal:
Twelve year-old Halcyone Acasia Tintersmoot, known as “Hat” (her
initials and the thing you wear on your head). She has this nickname for the
obvious reason that her real name is a mouthful. She’s the owner of “The
Marshmallow Hammer Detective Agency.” You won’t find it in the phone book, but
it is as real as it gets, at least to Hat. Although this is the first book in
the series, Hat mentions other cases she’s worked on and sometimes solved. “The Case of the Disappearing Toothbrush,” is
one. You’ve probably worked a case like that one yourself. “The Mysterious Case
of the Cute Boy on the School Bus” is an open case that Hat manages to solve
while working on the current case.
When I read and review children’s books, I’ll sometimes draft The
Princess, my now eleven year-old granddaughter, to assist. Our process is for
her to read a book first, then tell me what she thought, with likes, dislikes,
and a letter grade, just like a report card. I’ll then read the book so I can
add my impressions while watching for the things The Princess has mentioned. I
think The Mysterious Case of the Golden
Egg received the most accolades of any book we’ve done this with. Her
report to me started with “I liked this a lot” and ended with, “I’d give it a
grade of A plus, plus, plus …” I finally told her I got the idea so she’d stop
with the pluses.
The mystery to be solved was set up by Hat’s grandfather, who died
three years earlier. Before he died, which he knew was coming, he’d arranged
for Hat to receive the first clue on her twelfth birthday. Grandpa Gordon was a
private detective and liked to talk to Hat about his cases, which was Hat’s
inspiration to become a detective. One of the comments The Princess made was
that the mystery wasn’t like some, where you found out the solution, and felt
cheated that the clues weren’t there to solve it while reading. She felt the
clues were tough, but also liked that many of them she was able to figure out.
The mystery hit the right balance for the age the book is aimed for. The
Princess also thought the book would be fun to read aloud to younger kids and
although it would be an easy read for an adult, she thought “even a grownup
would like it.”
The Princess was right. I was surprised at how much I liked this book.
The clues were fun to try and figure out, and not too easy, even for someone
several times older than the target reader. As Hat works her way through the
clues she meets and helps several of her Grandpa’s friends (an aspect of the
book The Princess also thought important enough to mention) and in doing so
learns a lot of life lessons that Grandpa knew he wouldn’t be around to teach
her in person. The Princess and I both hope the author continues this series.
It’s off to a great start.
FYI:
Added for
Reprise Review: The
Mysterious Case of the Golden Egg was the winner in the Children's/Middle
Grade category for B&P 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran
September 23, 2014.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl with input from The
Princess
Approximate
word count: 60-65,000 words
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