Saturday 27 May 2017

The Artsy Mistake Mystery - Sylvia McNicoll - The Great Mistake Mysteries Book 2

The Artsy Mistake Mystery 
The Great Mistake Mysteries Book 2
Sylvia McNicoll
Dundurn Press
ISBN 9781459738812
eISBN 9781459738829
ASIN B01M7YWXNS


This book is the second in the Great Mistake Mysteries Series. It is another wonderful read from Sylvia McNicoll. This is a wonderful book in an amazing series. Currently it is book 2 of a planned trilogy but after reading the first two I hope it goes well beyond the three planned volumes. In my review of volume 1: The Best Mistake Mystery I stated that in some ways it reads like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon but written for kids. And that feeling in many ways is even stronger after reading this volume. The story is wonderfully written and the pace of this volume is a little quicker than the first book. Again one of the greatest strengths of this book is our main characters; Stephen Nobel and Renée Kobai. It is great to watch them grow and mature.

In this book both Stephen and Renee are still working on growing their friendship. And finding ways to deal with the stress they each have in their life. Family stress, school stress, and stress from just being kids goring up. Local art starts disappearing. From painted mailboxes, to fish on the kindergarten wall.  But more than that is going on. Stephen has a run in with kids in black caps. A gun is found in the school and the whole neighbourhood soon seems to be on alert, and more than a little anxious and nervous. But Being a little obsessive compulsive Stephen cannot just let it go. And as more things go missing life becomes more complicated, for Stephen is accused of the thefts and someone even claims to have video evidence. Throw in a little blackmail, interrogations from the police and you have a mystery with a bit of everything. 

This story has a number of themes, first is the theme of friendship. Second t deals with Stephen's obsessions in a great way. There is also the theme of the value of art. And also the importance and impact that art can have on people. 

Can Stephen and Renee figure it out again, or will then end up taking the fall for something they did not do? To find out you will need to read the book.

I absolutely loved this book and am anxiously awaiting the third instalment. It is an excellent read, and my younger two children loved it. My son could not stop talking about the book for about a week after we read it, so the art of Sylvia's words also leave an impact and have an influence on the readers. An excellent read it a great series so give it a try I am sure you will be entertained!

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







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