Goldie Vance, Book Two - The Hocus-Pocus Hoax

BOOM! Studios' popular little sleuth is back in her second prose novel, once again written by Lilliam Rivera with illustrations by Elle Power and Mel Valentine Vargas.  The comic books published by BOOM! have been a lot of fun to read, and I am absolutely thrilled that they expanded the character from the comic page into full-length prose novels.  The first book, The Hotel Whodunnit, captured the spirit of Goldie Vance, and so I had no doubt this second novel would be just as good.  And I was right!

The Hocus-Pocus Hoax (they really like their "h" alliterations, don't they?) presents Goldie with a magical mystery.  The Crossed Palms Resort Hotel, where Goldie's father works as a manager and Goldie works as a valet and assistant hotel detective, is hosting the League of Magical Arts Convention!  The owner of the hotel, Mr. Maple, has worked very hard to convince the League to hold its convention at his hotel, and he's determined that absolutely nothing will go wrong while the guests are at his hotel!  This, of course, means that anything that can go wrong, will.  And, with Goldie Vance around, you can bet your bottom dollar that a mystery is bound to rear its ugly head.

It stars off with a simple silver ring (one of the magician's tricks) misplaced.  Then another magician's Chakra Cards are not where they are supposed to be.  Then some flash paper goes missing.  Then three rabbits mysteriously disappear!  What at first seemed to be forgetfulness turns into a full-fledged mystery that Goldie has to solve before the star attraction - Dr. Von Thurston, magician extraordinaire - suffers a set back of his own.  Of course, not only does Goldie have to contend with the fact that she must do her investigation on the "hush-hush," since the guests cannot find out crimes are being committed at the Crossed Palms, but she must also deal with the persistent interference of Von Thurston's son, Derek, who is a self-professed part-time detective.  Goldie actually gets a taste of her own medicine (just ask the hotel's real in-house detective, Walter Tooey!) as she struggles to find clues and stay one step ahead of the villain behind all of the missing items.

Is it a case of a jealous magician?  Or perhaps it's a case of a bitter assistant?  Or maybe even a sneaky competitor who wants to see the Crossed Palms lose business?  Goldie has more questions than answers - but she does have her usual crew to help her out - her best friend, Cheryl; her fellow valet, Rob; and her something special crush, Diane, with whom she continually has to postpone or interrupt their first date due to the unexpected mystery that has fallen in her lap.  Goldie and her crew set about to discover just who is sabotaging the magicians' acts and ruin the convention that they have worked so hard to make perfect.

Once again, Rivera manages to provide a story that would make Goldie Vance's creators proud!  The characterization is spot on, and the mystery is filled with plenty of misdirection, red herrings, and subtle clues to keep the reader engaged right up to the big reveal. Goldie has all of the enthusiasm, spunk, and smarts that make her a great detective and a fun read.  And while the inclusion of Derek Von Thurston at first is a bit annoying, it isn't long before the reader realizes that there is more to Derek than the one-dimensional bother he first appears to be.  The reader, right along with Goldie, begin to see Derek in a different light as the story progresses, and he actually turns out to be a valuable assistant (so would that make him an assistant assistant detective?).

The final eight pages of the story are in comic form, with the art by Mel Valentine Vargas.  While it is clear that Vargas attempted to keep the look of Goldie and her cast consistent with original Goldie artist Brittney Williams, unfortunately the art falls a bit short.  The characters look quite a bit older in Vargas' art, and they don't have that innocent appeal that Williams brought to them.  Elle Power, who provided the cover and the pattern illustrations throughout the book hits the mark a bit closer to Williams' style, and unsure why they did not use Power for the comic pages as they did in the first book.  (And, for that matter, I'm disappointed we only get one set of comic pages in this book, while we got two sets in the last one!)

 

One little editing snafu that I did have to mention, as it stood out so strikingly.  At the conclusion of the book, a server brings a vanilla cake to the table where Goldie and her friends are preparing to watch the big finale of the magic convention (p. 227).  Yet, on the very next page, Cheryl exclaims, "Chocolate cake!" (p. 228)  Not sure how this got through the editing process, or if perhaps it was a magic trick of a cake changing flavors (that would certainly fit with the story!), but in any event, it made me giggle and did not really detract from the enjoyment of the story.

Overall, the book is a winner, and I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed we will get more books in the future (even though there are none currently listed on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other bookseller website).  It would be a shame to see this series come to an end, when Goldie Vance has so much potential and so many more opportunities for great stories to be told!

RATING:  9 abraca-yoga classes out of 10 for keeping the sunshiny world of Goldie Vance alive and providing readers with a truly enjoyable mystery worthy of the teen detective!