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Summary
Summary
There has been a shocking crime at Mary Todd Lincoln Middle School.
In a glass case in the front hall, a trophy--the trophy, the first trophy ever won in the school's lackluster competitive history--has been stolen.
Even more horrifying, an outraged Principal Van Vreeland has canceled everything fun until the trophy is back, including the eighth graders' long-awaited, once-in-a-lifetime field trip to Taproot Valley. Rock climbing, ropes courses, ecology hikes, s'mores . . . all gone!
Luckily, Bethesda Fielding is on the case. As self-appointed sleuth extraordinaire, Bethesda's confident she'll be able to track down the culprit in no time and save her class trip! Except it seems like the more she searches for answers, the more mysteries she reveals. . . . Can Bethesda solve this baffling mystery--or are the eighth graders doomed for a Week of a Thousand Quizzes instead?
Author Notes
Writer Ben H. Winters graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1998. He is a journalist and playwright as well as an author, and he co-wrote the New York Times bestseller Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Bethesda Fielding, previously featured in The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman (Harper, 2010), is now an eighth grader at Mary Todd Lincoln Middle School. She relishes solving a good mystery and gets the chance to do so when the school's lone sports trophy is stolen from a glass case near the office. Principal Van Vreeland, portrayed in broad caricature, overreacts to the theft by canceling all school trips, even the popular week of outdoor education at Taproot Valley. In response, Bethesda determines to solve the crime, and the plot moves along in a humorous and engaging style while the mystery seems to expand in several unforeseen directions. For instance, someone tries to thwart her investigation by flattening her bike tires and filling her locker with silly string. And her friend Tenny Boyer, whom she recruits to interview suspects, won't divulge why he has returned to MTLMS after beginning the year at another school. Noises in the school's ductwork and the letters "IOM" inscribed on the wall of the smashed trophy case add further puzzling details. Ms. Finkleman gets involved by seeking funds for the eighth grade's "Save Taproot Valley" Web video. At an assembly, she fingers Tenny as the culprit in a dramatic effort to catch the real thief. Winters differentiates his large cast of characters by providing insights into a variety of adolescent vulnerabilities, making this a case that will interest both solid and reluctant mystery readers.-Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Now an eighth grader, aspiring detective Bethesda Fielding reprises her semi-successful sleuthing in The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman (2010) to tackle Mary Todd Lincoln Middle School's latest mystery.A few weeks before the long-awaited eighth-grade trip to Camp Taproot, Pamela Preston's gymnastics trophy mysteriously vanishes from the school Achievement Alcove, prompting diabolical Principal Van Vreeland to overreact by cancelling the trip, unless the culprit confesses to the theft of the school's only trophy. Equipped with a new notebook to track the scanty clues (broken glass, empty trophy case, suspicious red specks and the initials IOM written on the wall), Bethesda's instantly "on the case," promising everyone she will solve the crime and save the class trip. Bethesda's stymied as the trip approaches, though, and Principal Van Vreeland vindictively threatens students with a week of quizzes if the crime isn't solved. Blaming Bethesda for letting them down, classmates orchestrate a desperate "Save Taproot Valley" video project, and she learns a painful lesson in not jumping to wrong conclusions. Featuring the same cast of eccentric teachers and eclectic students, this zany sequel offers another fast-moving middle-school puzzler, lots of pre- and early teen humor and one relentless sleuth who's willing to admit when she's wrong.Fans will cheer more mystery and mayhem at Mary Todd Lincoln Middle School. (Mystery. 8-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In this sequel to The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman (2010), Bethesda has barely started eighth grade when Principal Van Vreeland, enraged (and, really, a case could be made for deranged) by the theft of the school's only trophy, cancels all extracurricular activities. Bethesda turns sleuth again, working to discover the thief while attempting to solve a second mystery about her partner-in-detection, Tenny. Readers unfamiliar with the previous book may have a bit more trouble sorting out the many suspects, but they'll find it relatively easy to enter Bethesda's world and enjoy Winters' accessible writing style.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
