The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues, #1)

by Rick Riordan

It's Rick Riordan, if that doesn't tell me it's good what will?

This was fast paced and action packed and it was wickedly good. Unlike Alex Rider it's not overly sad and unlike Cherub - I like the main characters. As a reader, I relate to Amy but I love Dan's way of looking at things. They're a great team. Nellie, the au pair, is hilarious. She's laid back and loyal and can speak a seemingly million different languages. The rest of the Cahill family kind of suck, but what's an adventure story without a villain? Or ten? The plot is riveting - the mix of fiction and history is fascinating and I flew through this and the next one in the series. They're not particularly long - but then this kind of book never is - or at least never feels like it is. I can't wait to read the rest. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.


This was a great start to a new series. I love Amy and Dan. I felt for them at having lost their parents and then their grandmother and having only Aunt Beatrice to look after them. I felt even worse for them as they struggle to trust everyone they meet. It's kind of like A Series of Unfortunate Events in a way, everyone's out to get them. At least they have Nellie (which in itself reminds me of Alex Rider and Jack) - although she is kind of absent in a lot of their adventures. As a child reading this I wouldn't think much of it - as an adult I can't help but thinking those poor children. Grace kind of seems like a jerk having palmed them off to Beatrice. Plus it's not like she actually looks after them - she hires nannies. It's kind of ridiculous. And she could've provided them some sort of security - I mean it's not like Beatrice is going to continue to look after them when she was forced - why would she when Grace isn't around anymore to keep her in line?

Anyway. I like the mystery of the 39 clues - what they are, what the ultimate goal is, etc. I like how they work to gain the first clue and how their different skills play a part.