This book was okay. The first half of the book dragged its plotline. The characters were mostly not interesting. I even forgot who a few of the main characters were because they tended to blend. The action did get interesting toward the resolution of the case and I wanted to find out what happened. But the ending was anti-climactic. I'll probably read another in the series just to give the author another chance, but I won't be rushing it on my TBR. ( )

After the success of their first case, the Red Blazer Girls get wound up in a mystery about a missing violin. The girls encounter multiple puzzles as they race to crack the case.

RESPONSE: This book was quite witty and interesting. The girls speak in a natural way, and the banter was both familiar and hilarious. The puzzles were also pretty neat, though I must admit I skipped some and just went to the end of the book for the answer. I really didn't feel like putting the book down and grabbing pen and paper to work a pig pen code. I could see the codes being popular with children, though. Kudos for having the answers at the back for us sleepy college students!

THEMES/CONCEPTS: Mystery, adventure, New York City, contemporary life, puzzle solving, friendship, girl power

This was a great book. I had the privilege of reading a great tween detective book that was full of puzzles. I found myself stopping to try them out. This is something I believe most students will really enjoy. I was well written and kept me turning pages. This is the second book in the Blazer Girls series. In this book the girls have already solved one mystery and have formed a detective agency. Their next case involves finding out who has broken into their school and is "fixing" things. Little did they know that solving that mystery would help them solve an even bigger case, a case involving a valuable violin, that has been stolen. This book will capture the attention of a lot of middle grade girls as it deals with "first boyfriends" and other changes that happen in the middle grade years. Definitely one I recommend. ( )

Seventh-graders Sophie, Margaret, Rebecca, and Leigh Ann follow a trail of cryptic clues to locate a rare violin, catch the person sneaking into St. Veronica's School for late-night cleaning and redecorating, and outsmart a conniving classmate. ( )

Seventh-graders Sophie, Margaret, Rebecca, and Leigh Ann follow a trail of cryptic clues to locate a rare violin, catch the person sneaking into St. Veronica's School for late-night cleaning and redecorating, and outsmart a conniving classmate.