Vanishing Acts

February 1, 2012

Gr 4-6-Madison Kincaid is the daughter of famous attorney. Her best friend went to Europe over the summer and hasn't contacted her since, and she isn't in school on the first day. When Madison tries to get in touch, she discovers a neglected house and yard and an untouched Facebook page. The seventh grader sees these details as sinister and worries that harm has come to her friend. A second mystery involves Madison's second-grade teacher, who has also gone missing and, it appears, has been murdered by her husband. When Madison's father is retained by the husband for his defense, Madison becomes involved in the case in the guise of "helping" her dad. This is a straightforward mystery with just the right number of twists and turns for younger and reluctant readers. Fans of "Nancy Drew" (Grosset & Dunlap), "The Red Blazer Girls," and "Sammy Keyes" (both Knopf) will enjoy the sleuthing.-Tina Martin, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, IL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2011

Cardboard characters and an unbelievable plot make this contemporary mystery feel like a Nancy Drew knock-off minus the nostalgic charm.

Presumably veteran suspense author Margolin contributed the fast-moving action while his daughter Ami added the local color of the Portland, Ore., setting. Unfortunately, their efforts just don't jell into a cohesive tale. Distraught by the unexplained absence of her best friend at the start of seventh grade, soccer fanatic Madison Kincaid tackles two very different disappearances with the help of a new (boy) friend. The second investigation centers on a missing woman whose husband is being represented by Madison's defense-attorney dad. That only Madison would notice a particular observer in the courtroom (one who just happens to resemble the missing woman, who just happens to be Madison's second-grade teacher) seems unlikely in the extreme. That Madison would enter the home of an accused murderer is both improbable and frighteningly foolhardy. Superficially drawn characters do little to strengthen the formulaic plot's appeal. Madison, an excellent athlete and student, yearns for her distant, workaholic father's attention. His elderly receptionist Peggy is Madison's comforting confidante. Jake, the new friend, has no personality at all, while Ann, the other "missing" person, described as friendly and easygoing, seems to exist mainly as a foil for Madison and as a problem for her to solve.

Disappointingly dull. (Mystery. 9-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011
Grades 4-7 Best-selling adult author Margolin teams up with his daughter in this youth debut that pulls a few Nancy Drew parallels into a wholly contemporary story. Like titian-haired Nancy, 12-year-old Madison Kincaid lost her mother in early childhood and lives with her well-known, highly successful attorney dad. And, like Nancy, Madison is a well-rounded high-achiever: a strong student, she is also a precocious force on the soccer field. In this series starter, Madison has two missing-persons mysteries to solve: Was her former teacher murdered? Is her best friend still in Europe, where she spent the summer? Why hasnt she contacted Madison? Setting the story in Portland, Oregon, the authors work in realistic emotional tensions as they thread their way through the two central plot strands. Unlike sunny, independent Nancy Drew, for example, Madison occasionally feels resentful toward her distracted, workaholic dad, especially as she works through her first junior-high jitters. A budding romance and vivid court scenes (Margolin is a former trial lawyer) give readers more reasons to hope for future installments of Madisons adventures.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)