Fun fact: The first book establishes that the Capital Mysteries universe has the same Presidents as ours until it replaces the younger Bush with the fictional Zachary Thornton. This means that Mary Kincaid, who is introduced in the second book as a middle-aged black woman, is both the first female and the first African American to become the Vice President of the United States. So that's pretty awesome.Unfortunately, the rest of the book isn't. It's nowhere near as outlandish as the first, but still doesn't meet my expectations of Ron Roy.I just... I don't get this series. A to Z Mysteries and even Calendar Mysteries both made sense in their plotlines; there were reasons for the kids to be the only ones investigating the mystery, or else the kids weren't the only ones investigating the mystery. And in the situations when they weren't the only ones, the adults didn't flail around ineffectually; they at least were implied to be handling themselves properly in the background. This is totally different. The children are out fighting crime for no apparent reason--doesn't anyone watch these kids?--and the people who should be doing the job are nowhere to be seen!Allow me to *sigh* again. In the context of Ron Roy's children's books, these are sub-par, and that's exceptionally disappointing to me. I was very much looking forward to reading and loving this series, and yet here I am with this weird sci-fi, pseudo-mystery series staring the only two people in this fictional parallel of D.C. with the remotest competence. And yet they're fourth-graders!*grumbles* So I'll just be over here, waiting for the next A to Z Mysteries Super Special.
In book one of the Capital Mysteries series, KC and Marshall uncovered an evil plot to replace the President with a clone and saved the President and the clone. In book two, they've been invited to meet the President at the National Mall for the Cherry Blossom Festival, but when KC and Marshall leave KC's mom and the President to buy some ice cream, the two adults are gone when they return. KC and Marshall soon discover that things are not exactly as they appear. Despite assurances that the secret service and FBI are searching, KC and Marshall are not content to stay home and wait. They begin their own search of the National Mall that leads them into danger and discovery.Kidnapped at the Capital was pretty far-fetched and unbelievable. I've been assured that kids like this series, and it was fast paced and kid oriented. (Grades 2-5)
