While this easy, beginner chapter book geared to kids in 1st through 3rd grade, touts itself as a detective story about solving mysteries in the third grade, it disappoints when the mystery gets solved too soon and the answer is revealed not once but twice. The Clue of the Left-Handed Envelope is the first in the series, and even the title gives away a crucial part of the detective work. The premise is that new third-grade teacher Mr. Merlin is a former spy, who encourages the class to work on solving "mysteries" and deciphering "secret codes." The mystery in this book is who sent class gossip and know-it-all Amber Lee a secret admirer letter, and Noelle and Todd are determined to beat her to the answer. They manage to do so with a few clues from Mr. Merlin and some good observational skills, and reveal the admirer's identity to the class, but then the author puts the entire class through DNA testing for verification. Apart from the illustrations, which are satisfactory in depicting important scenes, the entire book feels forced and the mystery is disappointing. I would not recommend this series to kids who really want to solve mysteries or puzzles. ( )

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