An Engaging, Easily Readable Early-Middle Grade Adventure Mystery This is the second book, of twelve, in the Casebusters series. It is now available as a Kindle reissue, (old hardcovers are available from third parties). Originally titled the "Disney Adventures Casebusters" series these were first published in the late 90's. The author, Joan Lowery Nixon, (who passed away in 2003), wrote over 100 books, almost all of which were mysteries or historical fiction for middle graders and young adults.This particular book series is pretty clearly intended for a younger reader within that age range. As is the case with all of the Casebusters books, it has a good but basic mystery, a touch of adventure, a hint of ghostiness, and a clear linear plot. The heroes, Brian and Sean, are brothers who work well together as "detectives", and who are sometimes helped and/or hindered by other neighborhood kids, (or in this case, by fellow dude ranch campers). Their Dad is an actual private investigator and he encourages the boys to develop their detecting skills.In this case, a valuable stud horse from a neighboring ranch has gone missing. Although the boys are supposed to be vacationing at the Austin Dude Ranch they can't resist the call of a mysterious unsolved crime. The boys have to use reason and their powers of observation to figure out the identity of the culprit. There is a bit of computer research, which was way ahead of its time, which is sort of cool. The book plays fair with the evidence and the red herrings and is almost as good, in a stripped down fast paced manner, as many books that pass as adult mysteries.A great appeal of this series is the good relationship the brothers, (ages 13 and 9), have. The different ages of the brothers allow for appeal to readers of different ages, who may prefer one brother over the other. Mom and Dad are usually strong presences, although not in this book. The stories reflect a world where adults are helpful and reliable, hero kids are adventurous but careful, and usually all ends well. (Think "Hardy Boys" for the younger crowd.)These are fine books for readers moving beyond chapter books who want a bit of imaginative adventure. Sometimes, as here, there are caves and fun things like that, and often there is some sort of potential menace and some hint of scary stuff, (here there is a question about a ghost miner and some other campfire scary tales). The writing is clear and forthright, but not childish, and so presents a bit of a challenge without being daunting.I don't know if you'll want a lot of Nixon books on the family shelf, since they do tend to blend together a bit, but the Casebusters series is particularly sharp and interest is sustained from book to book by the recurring characters and the amiable heroes.Please note that I found this book while browsing kindleunlimited freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
Do You like book The Legend Of Deadman's Mine (1995)?
