Lindsay Currie

The Mystery of the Locked Rooms has a plethora of locked rooms -- in addition to twists and turns right to the very end. Written for middle graders, this well-written book by Lindsay Currie features 3, 12-year old best friends who spend their free time in escape room adventures. All seems well until Sarah learns she may have to move because of her family’s financial difficulties.

Channeling the average12-year-old mindset, Currie sets up West and Hannah to help their friend. How? Of course, we can find a treasure! Of course, we can sneak into a boarded-up old funhouse and go through all the locked rooms! So sweet, really.

There is some eeriness due mainly to claustrophobia and darkness, lots of riddles to solve to obtain the keys to the locks. Personally, as an adult, there were too many rooms and thereby the plot seemed a bit repetitious. And the ending tied up too many pieces. But since each room has a different set-up and different puzzles, and the progression shows emotional growth of the three youngsters, I think the target audience will stay the course. Middle grade readers have stamina.

I received a copy of this book from Sourcebook Kids via NetGalley. This is an honest review.… (més)