Reviewed by annieb123 on
The Crown Heist is the third Lost Art Mystery for middle grade readers by Deron Hicks. Released 16th Nov 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on their Clarion imprint, it's 303 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well told action-filled art and history mystery for middle grade readers. The story reminded me in some ways of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler with a dash of Archibald Finch and a pinch of Dan Brown's Langdon mysteries (although both the kids in The Crown Heist strike me as a lot more intelligent and well organized than Langdon ever did).
The previous books were set in Washington DC, and this installment sees them traveling to London and soon involved in a dangerous centuries old mystery. The story contains QR code links throughout which lead to museums and historical buildings throughout London with background historical information for keen readers. It's a cool feature.
Although the mystery is self contained in this volume, I recommend reading the series books in order to get the necessary backstory.
Four stars. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition and home use.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 2 June, 2022: Reviewed