Chicken Girls Mystery 1 - Rhyme and the Runaway Twins

Chicken Girls. That is definitely an unusual name for a mystery series, and I likely would have never picked up the book had the cover not paid homage to the classic Nancy Drew mysteries, with the yellow border across the top of the front cover, the yellow spine, the stylistic font, and the image of a young girl holding a flashlight in what appears to be an attic. Any book or series that honors the timeless Nancy Drew series in such a fashion has to be picked up and read. So I did.

Rhyme and the Runaway Twins turned out to be a really great mystery! I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect with the story, particularly when I discovered that the Chicken Girls is a web-series that can be watched on YouTube – a soap opera of sorts about these young, just-turned-teenage girls in a dance troupe at school. However, this book was far from sappy, nor was it over-the-top drama. Instead, it was a classic mystery of a missing relative, a hidden inheritance, a greedy uncle, and a young detective determined to help her new friends.  Sound like a true-to-heart Nancy Drew mystery? Well, it’s clear the author was a big fan, as the story and writing follow the standard formula of the classic Nancy Drews.  (More on the author a bit later…)

The story focuses on only one of the Chicken Girls, Rhyme McAdams, who remains behind in the summer of 2018 due to her need to re-take the “Test Test” (which appears to be a standardized test given in most schools before passing a student on to the next grade). Stuck at home while the rest of her friends are away at summer dance camp and the boy she likes is off in California, Rhyme anticipates a long and boring summer. But then her parents have to leave town with her younger sister, who is cast in a new television series, leaving Rhyme to stay with their neighbor. Then two strangers show up in town – twins, a boy and a girl (Conrad and Meg) – and with them comes an unexpected mystery that draws Rhyme, as well as Matilda Higgins (more on her later…), into a search for an old Vietnam war hero and a possible secret inheritance that could be hidden somewhere in the house where Rhyme is staying for the summer.

The characterization in this book is absolutely beautiful – the reader gets a full grasp on each of the various characters, their personalities, their eccentricities, and other aspects, such that the deeper you get into the book, the more you begin rooting for Rhyme to be able to help Conrad and Meg (and the more you keep hoping that Meg will lose that chip on her shoulder and Matilda will lose the attitude she sports). Rhyme is a normal thirteen year old, with normal problems, anxieties, and drama for a girl of that age; but once she gets involved with the twins’ search for their grandfather and their possible inheritance, she shows a determination and mindset that would make Nancy Drew proud.  The author also knows how to keep the reader hooked with chapter endings that make you want to turn the page right away and find out what happens next!  I can honestly say it did not take me long at all to read this book, as I could not put it down until the mystery was solved.

There are some surprises along the way, along with some red herrings; plus, there is a great mix of old-fashioned sleuthing, along with the use of modern technology (cell phones, computers, etc.), that adds a measure of realism to the book. The big revelation at the end, however, does come as a bit of a curve ball; but the final confrontation with the villainous uncle is definitely well worth the wait and read.  With some ingenuity and some determination, Rhyme, Matilda, Meg, and Conrad manage to outwit their devious uncle and find the answers they were seeking when they first came to town.

Now, about that author … the book is written by Matilda Higgins (or so the cover and inside title page say). Yet, reading the book (which is a book of fiction, mind you), Matilda Higgins is a major character in the story. In fact, at one point, Rhyme tells Matilda that she should write about their adventures solving this mystery. Which begs the question – who, exactly, is the real author of the book?  The copyright page reveals nothing, and the author bio at the end of the book provides information about the fictitious Matilda Higgins, leading me to believe that the producers of the show are utilizing ghostwriters for the books (and I do say books, plural, as this is advertised as a series, and this first mystery is labeled as book 1 on the cover, so I can only hope more will be forthcoming!).

I would most definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves Nancy Drew, who enjoys mysteries, and who wants a fun, easy read.

RATING:  9 slow-turning ferris wheels out of 10 for offering an enjoyable new mystery series in the classic tradition of everyone’s favorite teenage sleuths!