The Virginia Mysteries, Book 12 - Conspiracy at the Launch

When I picked up the first couple of books in this series years ago, I never expected it to actually last as long as it has. It has been nearly 10 years since I started reading this series, and we are now up to book 12, which in today's book market, is quite an accomplishment.  Most series I see on the shselves, particularly "mystery" series for young adults, never seem to last more than three or four books, possibly five or six if they are lucky.  So, for a series to make it to book 12 is an achievement for which author Stephen K. Smith should be very proud.  He has created a series with some fun, engaging characters, some great mysteries grounded in a lot of historical fact, and some stories that are entertaining for audiences of all ages.  Plus, I have enjoyed that Smith's characters have been aging, maturing, and learning as the series progresses, and I hope he has the opportunity to continue beyond this 12th mystery.

 

Conspiracy at the Launch takes the kids into some dangerous territory,  and takes readers into some new areas of Virginia.  This has been a huge plus about this series, in that Smith sets each of the books in a different part of Virginia, so those readers unfamiliar with the state and its history (such as me!), it's an opportunity to learn some geographical and historical facts about Virginia while enjoying a great fictional mystery.  Such as Wallops Island Space Center.  I was not aware, before reading this book, that Virginia had its own space center from which rocket were sent into space - yet, it is a real place (Wallops Island Space Center), found on Virginia's eastern shore, not far from the Virginia/Maryland border.  Surprisingly, there have been more than 16,000 launches from there since it was founded back in the 1940s!  So, as with all of his previous books in this series, Smith manages to integrate real Virginia history into the story, while still providing readers with an exciting mystery for young readers to enjoy.

 

This time around, Sam, Derek, and Caitlin find themselves entangled in a rather topical mystery for this day, involving conspiracy theories, whistleblowers, and tech billionaire who believes the ends justifies the means, no matter the cost to human life!  It is definitely a dangerous adventure, as the villain is pretty clear from the get-go - the question is, how can the kids go about proving that Aiden Hart is more concerned about getting a government contract than he is about the safety of the people involved in the space project.  But did he really kidnap a whistleblower to keep him from revealing the insufficient safety protocols?  Did he threaten a former partner in order to keep her quiet?  And what will he do to three kids who just happen to be in the wrong place at the right time to overhear the truth about what is really going on?  

 

Now, as is the usual thing with these mysteries, one must suspend their disbelief that adults would allow children this young to have such unsupervised freedom, or that they would allow them to go off with total strangers to solve a mystery - otherwise, there is no way they would be able to make their way stealthily past security and into a billionaire's private tent or  sneak into a billionaire's private estate in the hopes of getting the proof they need to prove their theories.  Setting that aside,it is a fun ride, and I am enjoying watching the kids grow and mature - Sam no longer takes his brother's ribbing, Derek is not so childish in his antics (and he is actually starting to consider what he wants to do when he grows up!), and Caitlin is becoming somewhat more adventurous in terms of digging to the bottom of the mystery.  Smith writes the children with a bit more growth with each book, which must come from his own experience in watching his own children grow and mature.

 

The climactic scene in Washington, D.C. as the kids, with the help of a young reporter, make heir way into a closed Senate hearing on whether the government will contract with Aiden Hart's company feels almost cinematic as they create an outburst to stop the proceedings, with the proof they nee to convict Hart showing up at the most appropriate moment!  I could easily visualize the scene in my head, and I must say, it would make for a great conclusion to a movie or television episode.  It's a shame Smith can't option this out for the small or big screen. 

 

One thing I must mention is Smith's reference to the Challenger explosion back in 1986.  That was truly a sad day, and like Colonel Banks in the story, I remember sitting in my science class at school, as we all watched the lift-off, and the shock everyone felt when the shuttle blew apart.  I remember the teacher immediately turning off the television, and we all just sat there, trying to comprehend what we just witnessed.  It is a bit hard for me to imagine that even took place nearly 40 years ago and is now considered just another piece of history... 

 

I was a bit worried when the book started that this would become another soap box (especially when the term "conspiracy theorist" was thrown around when their neighbor started talking about drones and the government watching him), but Smith took it in a different direction, for which I was grateful.  The book was a very satisfying read, and I hope we don't have to wait another two and a half years for the next book!

 

RATING:   8 silver pins in the shape of a rocket out of 10 for a good mystery that explores a different part of Virginia and offers up a new kind of mystery for the kids to solve.