Mystery in the Mansion (Case Closed Series #1)

by Lauren Magaziner

Overview

Pick-your-own-path and puzzle-packed mystery collide in the first book in Lauren Magaziner’s hilarious and high-stakes four-book middle grade series in which the reader must help Carlos and his friends put together the clues to save his mom’s detective agency.

In this wildly entertaining and interactive adventure, YOU pick which suspects to interview, which questions to ask, and which clues to follow. You pick the path—you crack the case!

Carlos Serrano has never solved a mystery in his life. But when Carlos’s mom gets sick with a flu on the morning of an investigation that could save her failing detective agency, Carlos takes on the case.

With the help of his best friend, Eliza, and her wild little brother, Frank, Carlos must uncover a mystery involving an eccentric local millionaire, anonymous death threats, and a buried treasure. But with tricky riddles, cagey suspects, hidden secrets, and dozens of impossible choices, they need your help!

Can you help Carlos and his friends find the culprit and save Las Pistas Detective Agency? Or will it be case closed?

Middle grade readers will enjoy all four books in this favorite series: Mystery in the Mansion (#1), Stolen from the Studio (#2), Haunting at the Hotel (#3), and Danger on the Dig (#4)!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062676283
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/26/2019
Series:	Lauren Magaziner's Case Closed Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	34,383
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lauren Magaziner is the author of the Case Closed series, Wizard-match, Pilfer Academy, and The Only Thing Worse than Witches. She is originally from New Hope, Pennsylvania, and she currently lives in Philadelphia, where she writes full-time. On Lauren’s Pairing Day, she bonded with her purrfect familiar: a warm, cuddly, and charmingly cantankerous cat. You can visit Lauren at www.laurenmagaziner.com.

Editorial Reviews

"The characters are real kids dealing with real worries. Carlos is so concerned about money that he takes on the near-impossible task of solving a case for his mother, but it’s this concern that makes him endearing. The various options mean the story takes on a new flavor with every reading. The puzzles are based in learning, so readers work to solve each clue before moving on to the next. Magaziner blends the fun of interactive stories with a suspenseful mystery and delightful characters."

Booklist

"The characters are real kids dealing with real worries. Carlos is so concerned about money that he takes on the near-impossible task of solving a case for his mother, but it’s this concern that makes him endearing. The various options mean the story takes on a new flavor with every reading. The puzzles are based in learning, so readers work to solve each clue before moving on to the next. Magaziner blends the fun of interactive stories with a suspenseful mystery and delightful characters." — Booklist

“The ‘choose your own adventure’ format adds a fun twist, offering readers different options, like whom to interview, what to examine, and which clues to follow. An entertaining romp that will appeal to fans of humorous mysteries.” — School Library Journal

"The mystery becomes an interactive choose-your-own-adventure: readers can help interview suspects, find clues, close the case, and save Carlos’ mom’s career." — Booklist

From the Publisher

"The characters are real kids dealing with real worries. Carlos is so concerned about money that he takes on the near-impossible task of solving a case for his mother, but it’s this concern that makes him endearing. The various options mean the story takes on a new flavor with every reading. The puzzles are based in learning, so readers work to solve each clue before moving on to the next. Magaziner blends the fun of interactive stories with a suspenseful mystery and delightful characters."

Booklist

04/01/2018
Gr 4–6—Carlos knows his mom's detective agency is in trouble; the agency has lost clients and money after several failed cases. But a major case has just been handed to his mom and her partner, and their money problems may soon be over. When his mom comes down with a terrible case of the flu, Carlos decides to step up and take on the case himself. Along with his best friend Eliza and her little brother Frank (short for Frankenstein's Monster), Carlos meets the client, Guinevere LaCavalier. Guinevere has been receiving death threats that are getting scarier and more specific. The three children must follow a winding set of clues to figure out culprit. Plenty of toilet humor and silly puns will keep younger middle grade readers engaged and giggling, though the death threat notes may prove too scary for some. The "choose your own adventure" format adds a fun twist, offering readers different options, like whom to interview, what to examine, and which clues to follow. The strength of the book is in the riddles that readers must solve in order to move forward in the mystery. VERDICT An entertaining romp that will appeal to fans of humorous mysteries.—Corey Hall, Manheim Central Middle School, PA

School Library Journal

2018-05-23
The "choose your own adventure" genre gets another reboot in Magaziner's (Wizardmatch, 2018) newest.Protagonist Carlos lives in a run-down house with his single mom, who owns a down-and-out private detective agency. When his mom wakes up ill on the morning she is to meet with a wealthy new client, Carlos takes matters into his own hands. Accompanied by his best friend, Eliza, and with her distractible younger brother, Frank, in tow, the amateur sleuth sets off to discover who has been sending death threats to well-heeled widow Guinevere LeCavalier. The adventure is told through first-person narrative rather than the second-person common to the genre, so readers see the story through Carlos' eyes as they assist in solving puzzles, mazes, and other brain teasers to get to the bottom of the mystery. Pitfalls are everywhere, with over two dozen possible endings, and only a few of them are happy. Most of the endings are sillly and clearly intended to be humorous hyperbole, but the endings that result in financial ruin for Carlos and his mom border on ridicule. Readers who themselves know the anxiety of an unemployed or underemployed parent and the reality of living paycheck to paycheck are unlikely to find much humor in these catastrophes. Carlos is Latinx, while Eliza and Frank are white.Mildly amusing, though a sudoku book might be a better investment. (Adventure. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews