L. M. Falcone

The Magic Box, the first in a new series of mystery chapter books starring Max Monroe and his ghost of a great-uncle, is an easy to read chapter book for young readers. The story is broken down into several chapters, and each chapter is then split into smaller sub-sections, making it easy for kids to read in short segments. Black-and-white illustrations break up the text.

I liked the concept, of a ghost who's a hopeless detective solving cases with his clever great-nephew, better than the execution. The titles of the chapter sub-sections gave away plot elements before they occurred, and they were sometimes difficult to tell apart from the text itself, as they aren't numbered or separated from the text by any extra spacing. The plot itself was a bit overly simplistic and left me with a bunch of questions: Why hadn't Max ever heard of his grandfather's brother before? Why hadn't he ever seen or heard his great-uncle's ghost before? (We're given the impression Max has been to his grandfather's house before, but he doesn't know anything about his great-uncle.) How can the ghost hold a phone, wear clothes, eat food, and drive a motorcycle, but pass through walls and be invisible to everyone except Max? And what's with the dog?

The illustrations are a nice addition, though. They give more personality and depth to characters and events that otherwise fell a bit flat. The book's target audience, early independent readers, will probably still enjoy The Ghost and Max Monroe series, however, as it is an intriguing concept with some funny scenes and enjoyable artwork.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.… (meer)

This is the third book in the series, although the first I have read. It is a beginning chapter book for young readers and I think it will be a hit. Max is a ten year old detective who is assisted by the ghost of his Uncle Larry, a failed detective who now has a chance at redemption as Max's invisible assistant. Uncle Larry is able to help Max by going through walls to save Max time, but otherwise is there to cause trouble (i.e. eating food so it looks like it is floating in the air, then disappearing).

In this story, Max gets a phonecall from an author who is up for admission into the Mystery Writer's Hall of Fame. She has found a note saying someone is going to play a dirty trick on her. She is worried this will cause her to lose the contest to enter the Hall of Fame. Max heads off to the contest to solve the mystery. There are 3 suspects who all have motive and opportunity to "Play the Dirty Trick". As the night moves on, Max and Larry snoop, listen and deduce who the culprit is. The trick still gets played, but it does not ruin the contest as they are going to do it again.

This is a cute mystery that will engage young readers. The chapters are short and the story moves along at a good pace. There are just enough illustrations (black & white) to add to the story, but not overwhelm it. A good book and hopefully series for kids.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kids Can Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.… (meer)

Will Trenom and his parents live in a B&B across the road from a cemetery. In the cemetery is a house with a new tenant, a woman who live there alone. There is also a new guest in the B&B, a weird young man who says he's a magician, but secretly tells Will he's actually the Devil's nephew. That he's a trickster who can do amazing and scary things makes Will try to stay far from him until a wailing Banshee begins showing up every night outside the cemetery gates and Will discovers that the woman who lives inside isn't alone.… (meer)