Minerva Keen's Detective Club - Book One of the Minerva Keen Mysteries

I debated on this book for a bit before I finally bought it. I'm not exactly a fan of James Patterson, and even moreso when it seems publishers use his name to sell series and books written by other authors (such as this book, where James Patterson is plastered across the top of the dust jacket in large, bright letters, while "and Keir Graff" is below Patterson's name in much smaller, darker letters).  But, I eventually gave in because (a) I learned this was only the first in a series of books, (b) it is a mystery series with a female protagonist, (c) the character's last name is similar enough to the pseudonym used for Nancy Drew's author, and (d) I got it at a discounted price at Wal-Mart.  The combination of all of those factors had me buying the book.

Minerva Keen's Detective Club is, admittedly, unlike most other mysteries I've read. As with all kids' series today, Minerva is only twelve-years old (whatever happened to the amateur sleuths in kids' mysteries being OLDER, such as sixteen to eighteen, so that the kids reading them had something to aspire to?), but she is definitely quirky.  The daughter of globe-trotting parents who are geniuses in their fields of study, Minerva is definitely smarter than your average pre-teen.  Her brother, Heck (short for Hector) who is striving to become the next big chef, is a major klutz, getting in so many accidents the local hospital knows the family well.  Her cousin, who is taking care of Minerva and Heck, is working on her college dissertation - but her head is so far up in the clouds, Minerva feels like she is the one taking care of Bizzy (short for Elizabeth).  Minerva does not have any real friends to speak of, but her world is about to change when a mystery falls in her lap.

Playing chess with a retired old man who lives in the same apartment building (his name is Kermit, by the way - notice the very odd names in this book?), Minerva thinks she has him beat - until he collapses onto the chess board.  It turns out he has been poisoned, and one Detective Taylor is determined to find out who and why.  But Minerva is even more determined because Kermit was her friend and the building's landlady seems to be pointing the finger at Minerva as the culprit!  Kermit survives, but he is unconscious in the hospital.  The next victim does not survive.  Nor does the third.  Or the fourth!  Someone is clearly poisoning the residents of Arcanum, the 100-plus year old apartment building Minerva's family calls their home.  Minerva has to figure out who it is before she or her brother are next!

Lucky for Minerva, she has a new club to help her out!  When a proposed Debate Club at school fizzles out (no one shows up to join!), she changes her mind and makes it a Detective Club.  The only member from her class that joins is one Santos Salgado, the tallest boy in the sixth grade and also the quietest.  But he has qualities that prove to make him invaluable to the club.  Minerva's brother, Heck, also joins (he pretty much pushes his way in), and it turns out he's not a bad assistant.  The three of them think they have it all figured out, but they just have to convince Detective Taylor, who, oddly enough, does more than just tolerates Minerva's constant interference - he actually utilizes her assistance!

Some of the things I found to be odd about this book:  first, the author(s) have no problem showing Minerva and her brother burping and farting.  While the burping is unintentional (Minerva burps when she gets nervous), the farting is very intentional - and there is an entire chapter devoting to Minerva and Heck farting loudly and smelly in order to get their cousin Bizzy out of the apartment!  The burps and the farts are all quite descriptive, and while I know kids may giggle at reading about these things, it just seems extremely inappropriate for a serious mystery book; and this book is serious - with three deaths and two seriously ill patients (yes, there is a fifth poisoning!), perhaps the burps and parts are meant for some levity?  Whatever the reason, it seemed very out of place and basically made the main character seem even younger and more immature than she already is.

Second, the solution to the mystery pretty much comes out of nowhere.  There is absolutely no mention of these characters anywhere in the book prior to the climax, and the weapon and reasoning are not hinted at in any way.  I'm not really fond of mysteries that do not plant any sort of clues to the solution somewhere within the story, even if they are obscure.  I suppose one could say the chess game Minerva is playing with Kermit while he is unconscious in the hospital (don't ask!) could be a clue (as it is ultimately revealed that the moves Kermit are making is the clue), but one would have to be a highly skilled, nearly expert chess player to know the moves and what they are called in order to figure that one out - and even if you did, it wold not mean anything until Minerva, Santos, and Heck actually uncover the weapon in the building's penthouse (which, by the way, is never mentioned at any time in the book before the final chapters, despite the number of floors in the building being discussed several times throughout the story).

Third, Detective Taylor's quick acceptance of Minerva as his "assistant."  I cannot picture any Chicago police detective every accepting help from a twelve-year old child, let alone giving her information on an ongoing investigation and allowing her to call him at any time.  I know, I know - the police in the Nancy Drew series were always bending over backwards to help Nancy - but Nancy was also an eighteen-year old girl whose father was a well-known, well-respected attorney in River Heights (not Chicago!).  The ready acceptance of Minerva just makes the story feel all that more fictional - I think a little conflict between the detective and Minerva might have actually played off better for the story.

Otherwise, it was a fairly decent mystery, and aside from the farts and burps, the three kids do make a pretty good little "detective club" - they each have their own unique personalities and skills, and they manage to compliment each other as they work together.  There is also what appears to be perhaps an ongoing subplot surrounding Minerva and Heck's parents - are they really just traveling scientists, or are they something else entirely?  It will be interesting to see where the next book takes them.

RATING:  7 slices of lemon cake out of 10 for introducing a new group of detectives that are a bit outside the norm.