Review: Fun and Entertaining
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 7, 2013
I received a free copy of this book from the author, through LibraryThings; an honest review was requested."The Mystery of the Missing Money" by Paul Moxham is a cleverly crafted story for middle grade readers, similar to The Hardy Boys Mysteries of my youth. Three siblings, Joe, Sarah and Amy are spending summer break in the village of Smuggler's Cove, where they befriend a local boy, Will. The four youths share a naturally inquisitive nature and a strong sense of adventure, which leads them into several mysteries during their vacation. "Missing Money" is just one of the adventures in which the four friends become involved, ultimately solving it for the local police.Growing bored with exploring an old castle outside the town, our intrepid explorers soon decide to go build a sand castle on the beach instead. While at the beach, Will shares a local legend about a pair of twins who committed a robbery, and allegedly hid the money before they were captured and sent to prison. Most of the locals believe the money is hidden somewhere on the old castle grounds. No one has ever found it, but not for lack of looking. The four youngsters decide they could find the money if it really was hidden at the castle, so they return to search for it.Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a prison transport vehicle carrying prisoners, including the twin robbers, is involved in a minor accident on a slick road. Police quickly round up all the prisoners, except the two robbers, who make an immediate bee-line for the old castle.As you might well imagine, the two groups meet up, and the children are forced to run for their lives... but not before they manage to get the money away from the robbers. The two groups lead one another on a merry chase, with both groups intent on keeping the money away from the others. In the confusion, Will slips away and reports everything to the local constabulary, which quickly mobilizes to apprehend the escaped prisoners. Once again the four children have helped solve a local mystery, and earned the further respect of the local police.This story is well developed, and the participants remain true to character throughout. I heartily recommend this story for not only middle grade readers, but also for older youth and adults who just want to relax with a short, entertaining mystery for a while. Paul Moxham has written several engaging mysteries starring these four children in Smuggler's Cove; all of them provide fun entertainment, and are well worth reading.