Monday 9 January 2017

The Best Mistake Mystery - Sylvia McNicoll - The Great Mistake Mysteries Book 1

The Best Mistake Mystery 
The Great Mistake Mysteries Book 1
Sylvia McNicoll
Dundurn Press
ISBN 9781459736252
eISBN 9781459736269
ASIN B01EH0XWI0


This book was an excellent read! In some ways it reads like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon but written for kids. The story is very well written and progresses as at great pace. The characters are amazing, the two main characters are Stephen Nobel and Renée Kobai. 

Stephen Noble is not your typical kid. He can get a little anxious, and he replays events in his head again and again. He also things a lot about what might happen. And he is stepping up his responsibilities in helping his father’s business, Noble Dog Walking. He also seems to hit it off with Renee at school, after getting paired up in school. But strange things start happening, someone runs a car into the school building, there is a bomb threat. And life for Stephen gets much much more complicated. For soon two of Stephen’s favorite dogs are dognapped and he is being threatened and blackmailed. 

Renee wants Stephen to go to go to the police to clear he big brother. But he fears for the dogs safety. Together they come up with a plan to try and rescue the dogs even if it means giving in to blackmail.

The book is written in a very interesting way. Stephen counts his days by how many mistakes he makes. So the chapters are Day One Mistake One, Day One Mistake Two … to Day Three Mistake Ten. 

As someone who grew up with a learning disability, and spent a lot of time with other students with special needs this book was a fascinating read. It really captures friendship, and learning to live with your differences. It also has a strong message about turning your differences into strengths. It is also about loyalty, loyalty between Stephen and Renee and also with the dogs Ping and Pong. 

I loved this book tremendously and really look forward to reading the next in the series when it becomes available. The characters and endearing, the story is engrossing. I hope we get many more adventures with Stephen and Renee. I also look forward to reading this book with my children which is the highest praise I can give. Well done Sylvia, thank you for a great read.

Books by Sylvia McNicoll:
Blueberries and Whipped Cream - 1988
Jump Start - 1989
The Tiger Catcher's Kid - 1989
Project Disaster - 1990
More than Money - 1990
Facing the Enemy - 1992
Bringing Up Beauty - 1994
The Big Race - 1996
Walking a Thin Line - 1997
Double Dribble - 1999
Smoky and the Gorilla - 1999
Grave Secrets - 1999
Caught in a Lie - 2000
A Different Kind of Beauty - 2004
Beauty Returns - 2006
Last Chance For Paris - 2008
Slam Dunk Robot  2007
crush. candy. corpse. - 2012
Dying to Go Viral - 2013

Body Swap - 2018
...

The Great Mistake Mysteries:
The Best Mistake Mystery - 2017
The Artsy Mistake Mystery - 2017
The Snake Mistake Mystery - 2018
The Diamond Mistake Mystery - 2019
...

Books Written as Geena Dare:
Stage School Series:
Dan Clowning Around #5 - 1998
Matt Heartbreak Hero #6 - 1998
Lauren Dating Dreams #7 - 1999
Abbi Secret Stranger #9 - 1999
Jenna Standing Tall #10 - 1999
Dan Double Drama #11 -1999

Book Ghostwritten as Sharon Siamon:
The Spellbound Sleepover 1999

Nonfiction:
Mom and Dad's Guide to Martial Arts 1999

Foreign Editions unavailable in English to date:
Zannas vanskelige valg  2007 (Alpha Wolf)
Zanna - mellom barken og veden 2007 (River of Ice)
Snøras   2008 (Avalanche)
Zanna i fare 2008 (Victim's Impact)
Redningsaksjonen  2009 (The Nine Minute Disaster Zone) 


Author Profile and Interview with Sylvia McNicoll








1 comment:

Sylvia McNicoll said...

Thanks, Steven! I am working on The Snake Mistake Mystery now and hoping Stephen, Renée and Ping and Pong solve the crime soon!