One False Note

February 1, 2009
Grades 4-8 The multipronged attack (books, playing cards, online games, prize sweepstakes) of the 39 Clues extravaganza dashes onward in this second book. Korman takes the reins from Rick Riordan, responsible for series opener The Maze of Bones (2008), with barely a hitch as Amy and Dan Cahill continue their quest to solve the mystery of their wide-ranging and powerful extended family (a tree that branches from Mozart to Picasso to Snoop Dogg). The siblings bickering increases as they hunt down the next clue, but so do their successes as they manage to be always one step ahead of their various cutthroat cousins. Korman dutifully moves the plot from point B to point C but only advances the wider story a smidge, which is hewing closer to the TV reality show The Amazing Race than the puzzle-studded mystery that sleuths may be anticipating. But, if the creators have bet correctly, it matters little that the story is already threatening to become repetitive and only mildly satisfying in itself, as kids will already have too much attention invested in the whole conglomerate to consider bailing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)