In the Ballroom with the Candlestick - the third Clue mystery

First, it was Mrs. White in the hall with the knife.  Then, it was Orchid in the study with the wrench (in self-defense, of course!).  Now, a killer has struck yet again.  It seems good ol' Blackbrook Academy cannot get away from these awful murders that have plagued the school over the past year.  And the young adults who have banded together as a sort of "Murder Crew" must find a way to deal with the death of one of their own - Vaughn Green, who died in the car crash at the end of the last book, leaving Peacock with injuries that may well put an end to her tennis career forever.  Orchid, Scarlett, Mustard, and Plum all have their own inner demons and secrets to deal with, so what happens when yet another body turns up in Tudor House?  Well, it's time to play the final game of Clue, that's what!

In the Ballroom with the Candlestick brings a conclusion to the ongoing story of this motley cast of characters, as all of the secrets finally come to light, and the game that has been played since the first book finally comes to an end.  The school's latest headmaster, Dr. Brown, turns up dead - allegedly from a stroke.  But none of the residents of Tudor House believe that for an instant.  There have been too many dead bodies that have turned up for this to simply be a coincidence.  As the guidance counselor, Perry Winkle (gotta love these colorful names, pun intended!) takes over as the newest headmaster, Peacock begins a new journal as she tries to keep track of the suspects.  Was it Mustard's roommate, Tanner Curry, who Peacock overheard arguing with Dr. Brown the night before?  Or was it Perry Winkle, who appears to have been after Dr. Brown's job?  Or could it have been Scarlett, who was always at odds with Dr. Brown and finally got fed up with it?  Or was it Vaughn Green's twin brother, Oliver Green, who has been trading places with his brother so they can both get scholarships to university - did he kill Dr. Green to keep his secret quiet?  Or was it Orchid, who has been mysteriously absent from all of the house meetings with Dr. Brown?  And what about Mustard and Plum - while they may not have readily visible motives, both of them have been acting very strange lately...

It's another round of twists and turns, hidden hallways and secret doors, and before you know it, a second dead body turns up - this one a little more close to home!  Orchid is overwhelmed, reeling from the revelation that Vaughn - the boy that she fell in love with - had a twin who had been masquerading as Vaughn part of the time.  Who was she with and when?  Mustard is working overtime to keep his feelings for Plum a secret, while Plum is tired of the secrecy and wants to simply be with the man he loves.  Peacock is dealing with the fact that the accident that killed Vaughn Green put her in a wheelchair and ended her tennis career forever.  And Scarlett?  Well, Scarlett is bound and determined that nothing is going to stop Blackbrook Academy from having a prom this year, and nothing - not even two dead bodies - is going to stop her from seeing that it happens!

As always, you don't know who to trust, who to believe, who is lying, who is telling the truth, and who is hiding the biggest secret of them all.   And behind everything, there is the underlying fact that Curry Chem seems to have more of a connection to the Academy and its students than anyone knew - a connection that goes back generations - and at the prom, there is definitely an explosion as all of the secrets come out once and for all, and the killer very nearly takes another life...

Author Diana Peterfreund manages to pull off a few surprises at the end, one of the best being the alternate endings like the Clue! movie did.  I mean, there is an ending ... but then there's a silent movie card that says "That's how it could have happened ... But how about this?"  And then we get a totally different ending - one that is even more shocking than the first ... but then there's another silent movie card that says "But here's what really happened."  And then we get the real (?) ending.  And what an ending it is!  Even includes an epilogue that shows readers what happened to everyone six months after the events of this book ... and gives readers a very satisfying finish to a great little series.

RATING:  10 silky, iridescent black dresses that shimmer with purple flames out of 10 for playing a "real" game of Clue with some great characters, some great mysteries, and one heck of a great read!