Audacity Jones Steals the Show, by Kirby Larson (Scholastic, January 31, 2017), Audie is once again taken on as a detecitve's sidekick. "Cypher", the mysterious gentleman responsible for Audie's first outing, now has been hired by the Pinkerton Detective Agency and needs a set of young eyes and some quick wits to help him on another case. Accompanied by her best friends, a fellow Wayward girl and a most unusual cat, they set off for New York.
There Harry Houdini is about to pull off his biggest magic trick yet-he plans to make an elephant disappear! But someone is trying to sabotage him, and its up to Audie and her friends to make sure that the absent-minded genius who's the brains of this trick isn't "taken care off" by a jealous rival before she can complete her work for Houdini. And in the meantime, there's the elephant himself--a young and mistreated animal, who must be saved!
It's fun visit to turn of last century New York. There's enough historical detail to make it convincing, without weighing the story down. The highly intelligent and highly unusual cat brings a touch of fantasy to the mix, which makes it all the more intriguing; that being said, it's subtle enough so that those who are looking for more realistic fiction won't be bother, but those who are looking for full blown cat fantasy will be pleased but might perhaps want more!
Animal lovers, magical cat lovers, and fans of upper elementary level detective stories with strong girl leads will love it. It's not a long or dense book, so it's good for the third to fifth grade set.
disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.
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