The Impossible Crime

November 1, 2018
This young spy does not suffer from the sophomore slump!Barnett and Lowery team up again in this second outing of international espionage mystery with royal overtones. In 1989, the queen of England once again calls on young Mac after she receives a letter threatening the theft of the crown jewels. Neatly interwoven with Mac's caper is the true story of Col. Thomas Blood, a 17th-century thief of the aforementioned jewels. Barnett combines mystery, riddles, a lot of humor, an engaging first-person narration, and nostalgia for all things 1980s into a (mostly) smooth whodunit for young readers. Readers of Chris Barton and Don Tate's Whoosh! (2016) or kids who've written a report on Lonnie Johnson will notice one anachronism: The Super Soaker may have been invented in 1982, but it was only released in 1990 and branded under that name in 1991. Lowery's believably childlike cartoons, done in black and white with bright yellow and green highlights, are amusing but don't always correspond with the text (partly due to this color choice, explained in a prefatory note young readers might well ignore). Quibbles aside, this is a nifty mystery for young readers and a worthy sequel to the first. Here's hoping No. 3 will get all the details right and add some characters of color to diversify the white-presenting cast.This romp will definitely find an audience. (Mystery. 7-10)

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November 15, 2018
Grades 3-5 Having revealed in Mac B., Kid Spy #1: Mac Undercover (2018) that, long before becoming a world-famous writer, he was a secret agent for the Queen of England, Barnett opens his casebook again?this time to solve a classic locked-room mystery. It seems that Her Royal Highness has received an unsigned letter threatening justice for an old grievance, and she naturally assumes that the Crown Jewels are in danger from a descendant of Colonel Blood, who tried to steal them in 1671 (this part, at least, is actually true). When indeed the scepter, orb, and crown vanish from a Tower lockup, despite the vigilance of Mac and surly beefeater Holcroft, it's off to Ireland in search of the (presumed) culprit. Almost every page contains Lowery's illustrations, loosely drawn and garishly colored in green and orange, which give the whole affair a zany feel that is much enhanced by the narrative with its running gags. Kudos to a pint-size Poirot, pre-Mustache! (2011).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2019
Child spy Mac (Mac Undercover) quickly finds himself in the middle of a "howdunit" when the Queen of England's Crown Jewels are stolen from right under his nose. Barnett's signature dry wit and snappy back-and-forths keep this second offbeat installment steadily moving forward; Lowery's cartoony spot art in black, green, and orange provides additional historical and cultural information and frequently supports the narrative.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2019
In Barnett's second offbeat installment of his true account of time spent as a child spy for the Queen of England in the 1980s (Mac Undercover, rev. 9/18), Mac quickly finds himself in the middle of a howdunit when the Crown Jewels are stolen from right under his nose. The Queen is convinced that the perpetrator is a vengeful descendent of Colonel Thomas Blood, a (real-life) seventeenth-century Irishman best known for his infamous attempt to steal the jewels. Barnett's signature dry wit and snappy back-and-forths, particularly between the ingenuously sincere Mac and the standoffish Queen, keep the story steadily moving forward; a convoluted historical account of Colonel Blood's attempted robbery, as well as some gimmicky page-turns (e.g., Mac counts from 1 to 223 in written word form?over the course of five whole pages), may try some readers' patience. Lowery's cartoony spot art, in black, green, and orange, provides additional historical and cultural information and frequently supports the narrative?except when the depicted colors differ from those stated in the text (an issue humorously addressed in an introductory art note). patrick gall

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)