School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Max Finder and his friend Alison often work together to solve mysteries that happen in and around their Canadian hometown of Whispering Meadows. Ten of the stories are in comic form, and three are straight narratives, but they all have the same basic structure: a crime is committed, the kids collect clues and interview suspects, and Max or Alison announces that he or she knows who the culprit is. Readers then turn the page to see whodunit and why. Because the short stories originally appeared serialized in Owl magazine, the episodes can be somewhat repetitive, an issue that may be solved simply by not reading the book cover to cover. The mysteries also seem a bit too easy to solve-sometimes readers can successfully intuit the guilty party without the benefit of any of the clues at all. Still, they're a lot of fun, and the addition of visual clues to the familiar minute-mystery format enhances the enjoyment. The good news is that for fans of Max Finder, there are three previous volumes to devour.-Jason M. Poole, Webster Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In this volume of stories, middle-school detectives Max Finder and Alison Santos investigate cases, most in comic-book format and a few in prose. They help to find a missing painting, discover who stole a rare collectible game card, investigate who's perpetrating pranks on the school's master prankster, and more. The book asks the reader to solve each case before turning the page to reveal the mystery's solution. The colorful, cartoony art provides visual clues, and the stories set in the school and neighborhood feature a multicultural cast. Young mystery readers, especially Encyclopedia Brown fans, will have fun with this book.--Kan, Kat Copyright 2010 Booklist
