Well, yet another series that I have enjoyed comes to an end. It's always a bittersweet read, the final book of any series. I put off reading the final book, as I don't want it to end; yet, at the same time, I'm always anxious to see how the author is going to conclude the series and where he or she will leave the main character at the end of it all. Maisie Hitchins, the title character of a series written by Holly Webb, has been an enjoyable series for young readers. The books are easy reads, the mysteries are not overly-complicated, but they are certainly well-plotted and full of adventure for the young, pre-teen sleuth. And throughout the first seven books, Webb has weaved in an ongoing subplot involving the whereabouts of Maisie's father, who went out to sea some time ago. Well, it only stands to reason that if Webb is going to end the series, she would bring about resolution to that subplot that has been slowly building.
The Case of the Weeping Mermaid, the eighth and final book in the Maisie Hitchins mystery series, drops a mystery right in Maisie's lap from the get-go! Maisie's best friend Alice is concerned that something is wrong with her father. Ever since he and her step-mother have returned from their honeymoon, he has been acting strange, and she wants Maisie to figure out what it is. But Maisie has a mystery of her own to solve when she receives another mysterious package from her father, this one containing a beautifully brass-bound box that contains her father's journal and letters - letters that he informs her contain a mystery that he is trusting her to solve! In true Nancy Drew tradition, it soon becomes apparent that the two mysteries are intertwined, and Maisie and Alice must work fast before Alice's father loses his shipping business, and her family is ruined forever!
Plus, I can't help but wonder if Webb is a bit of a Nancy Drew fan, as there are a couple of things from the story that definitely will resonate with fans of the Nancy Drew books! First, when Maisie receives the wrapped package from her father, Webb describes it as "a beautiful wooden box, so smooth it felt like silk, with brass corners and a brass lock that was engraved with fantastical dragons" (pp. 20-21). This, of course, would bring up images of that brass-bound trunk from Nancy Drew's 17th mystery of the same name. Later, when Maisie is reading her father's journal and notes, he makes reference to a mermaid figurehead at the front of a boat that was supposedly lost at sea - he provides a drawing of the mermaid, which Webb describes as "a beautiful wooden statue of a girl, staring out from the very front of the ship ... She was carved with long, waving hair and tears on her cheeks..." (p. 29). This sounds similar to that wooden lady that became the centerpiece of Nancy Drew's 27th mystery. Now, it could all be pure coincidence, but let's face it - what's more Nancy Drew-like than coincidences?!
In any event, this final book - and, quite frankly, the entire series! - is a fun, easy read with mysteries that certainly rate right up there with the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and other children's mystery series. It's just a shame Webb brought an end to the series so soon. Then again, maybe there's a "Hitchins & Hitchins" series in the future, eh?
RATING: 10 delicate china plates painted with golden flowers out of 10 for providing a well-crafted mystery that serves as a delightfully satisfying conclusion to a wonderful series of mysteries!
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