Gr 5–8—Runholt's second mystery starring 14-year-old best friends Kari and Lucas offers readers light intrigue in a lush Scottish setting. When Kari's mother, a magazine reporter, is sent to Edinburgh to interview Seneca Crane, a 15-year-old piano prodigy, the girls get to tag along. Upon meeting Seneca, they realize that the young pianist is not only talented, but also very lonely. She is under the constant tutelage of her mother, stepfather, and overbearing tutor. The three girls quickly become friends despite Seneca's hectic rehearsal schedule. When she is kidnapped after a performance, Kari and Lucas sidestep some shady characters and supersleuth their way to a daring rescue. Readers will admire the girls' independence and tenacity, even if Kari's narrative voice is a bit silly at times. (She uses the word "meep" as a substitution for foul language.) Reluctant readers will enjoy the pacing, which neither rushes the mystery nor drags out the clues. The author skillfully weaves facts about Scottish culture and geography into the narrative while the rainy Highlands setting offers a bit of drama to a somewhat tame mystery.—Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ
Adventure compels despite a slow start with too much exposition as the two girl detectives from The Mystery of the Third Lucretia (2008) leave the art world behind and befriend a classical pianist, Seneca Crane, at the start of her concert career. Explanations about the previous episode, home backgrounds and preferred slang of the two is necessary to orient readers but drags on too long. The action starts in Edinburgh, where, at a music festival, Kari and Lucas find the teen virtuoso both awe-inspiring and pitiable for the lack of normalcy in her life-but that's before she's kidnapped. As events get rolling, the girls' attempts to foil the kidnappers and rescue Seneca keep the pages turning. These girls are newly discovering the appeal of the male sex, which supplies much of the humor. It's all more than a bit unrealistic, as much of their independence is based on their free use of a wealthy, indulgent parent's credit card. While the mystery will puzzle no one, the clues and the choice of rescue plans are both eminently logical. Tepid fair for fans of safe mysteries. (Mystery. 8-12)
Second in a series, this action-packed mystery is full of adventure, travel, music, and resourceful female protagonists. During a trip to Scotland, best friends Kari and Lucas, both 14, befriend Seneca Crane, a sheltered teenage pianist whose talent is expected to be highly lucrative in the future. Narrator Krista Sutton creates realistic, likable adolescents and hits the mark with a variety of adult characters. Scottish accents are nicely handled as Sutton differentiates the various characters in a way suggestive of full-cast audio. After Seneca is kidnapped, Sutton increases the pace and intensity of the narrative, keeping the listener fully engaged. M.H.N. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
Second in a series, this action-packed mystery is full of adventure, travel, music, and resourceful female protagonists. During a trip to Scotland, best friends Kari and Lucas, both 14, befriend Seneca Crane, a sheltered teenage pianist whose talent is expected to be highly lucrative in the future. Narrator Krista Sutton creates realistic, likable adolescents and hits the mark with a variety of adult characters. Scottish accents are nicely handled as Sutton differentiates the various characters in a way suggestive of full-cast audio. After Seneca is kidnapped, Sutton increases the pace and intensity of the narrative, keeping the listener fully engaged. M.H.N. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
