Mystery in the Mansion (Case Closed, #1)

by Lauren Magaziner

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)!

• ISBN10: 0062676288
• ISBN13: 9780062676283
• Publish Date: 2 May 2019 (first published 14 August 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Katherine Tegen Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Initial thoughts:

I have mixed thoughts on this one. I enjoyed the story, and I enjoyed the writing. Magaziner's work has always been quirky, so connecting with it will always be a taste thing for readers, but I think I liked it even better in this, her fourth book, than in some of her previous work. There are crazy things like ball pits and gross dogs, but it was all fun quirky and not over-the-top or too "trying hard to be quirky," which is a vibe I sometimes get from other middle grade.

So, as a novel, this is possibly my favorite book by Magaziner yet. She just gets better and better. However, as a choose-your-own adventure, I'm not sure. At the beginning, it didn't seem to matter which path I chose because I had to cover all the choices anyway. Once the choices diverged, I think I finished the book and solved the mystery in like 10 minutes. From flipping around, it looks as if I could have taken a different path to solve the mystery...but I'm not sure I would find this interesting if, in either case, I have solved the mystery and the outcome isn't really different.

Perhaps my reading is colored because I just read the adult choose-your-own-adventure romance, My Lady's Choosing, which has tons and tons of really very different paths and outcomes.

Either way, I'm sure this is a book that will be a big hit with the target audience.