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!

In the Study with the Wrench - the second Clue mystery

Last time, it was Mrs. White in the hall with the knife.  Mr. Boddy was dead, and the police had taken away his killer, Mrs. White.  All the terror at Blackbrook Academy was over.  Or was it?  Just like with the board game, once one murder is solved, it's time to shuffle those cards and start all over with a brand new murder and a brand new killer!  And author Diana Peterfreund has done just that with the second book in her "Clue Mystery" series for young adults based on the characters, weapons, and rooms from the ever-popular board game of the same name.  The first book was a fantastic read, so I went into this second book with very high hopes - and was not let down in the least!

In The Study With The Wrench brings the survivors of the first book back together at Blackbrook Academy in the small New England town of Rocky Point, Maine.  Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Scarlett Mistry, Beth "Peacock" Picach, Finn Plum, and Sam "Mustard" Maestor have returned to school after the horrific events of the last book, but there are definite changes - not just in the school itself (which is still in a state of disaster after the flood did so much damage), but in the relationships of these group of students that have been labeled as the "Murder Crew."  Scarlett and Plum are on the outs.  Peacock has turned over a new leaf and with the help of a life coach is trying to be a better person.  Orchid and Green are growing closer, despite Green's strange behavior.  And Mustard is hoping he can do the one thing that will help the person to whom he is attracted.

The SATs are coming up, and everyone at the school is nervous, studying as much as they can.  For the girls in Tudor house, as well as the boys outside of it, that gloom of the murders that happened not so long ago are still hanging over their head.  And when Scarlet and Plum unwittingly find the school's maintenance man, Rusty Naylor, dead down in the tunnels below Tudor House, the nightmare begins again.  New headmaster Dr. Brown is not going to have any of the shenanigans that took place previously, so she is keeping a tight watch on the Murder Crew.  And the new counselor, Perry Winkle, is reaching out to each of the Crew, wanting to help them find ways to cope with the last murder.  And new student, Rosa Navarro, seems to think she can force everyone to adhere to the rules.  But remember - the last murder brought to light a number of secrets ... Orchid's real identity ... Plum's secret project ... and Green's hidden agenda.  Now, with a new murder, it's inevitable that even more secrets are about to come to light!

Peterfreund writes a nicely twisted tale of secrets, drama, intrigue, and murder that keeps the readers engaged and guessing up until the very end.  I love the characters, the setting, and the mystery!  And with Peterfreund, you can't be sure of anything.  This time around, Orchid discovers that Scarlet is no longer the only one who knows her secret.  Plum discovers that someone else knows about his secret project.  Green discovers that he has no choice but to go along with his twin brother's plan in order to protect the girl he loves.  Peacock finds that even a life coach can't help her overcome the fear that Blackbrook Academy instills.  And Mustard?  Well, Mustard finds that the reason he was kicked out of military school may result in him finding someone that actually likes him for who he is.  But the question on all of their minds is - who killed Rusty?  Vaughn Green thinks his brother Oliver may have done it.  Plum things Vaughn Green may have done it.  Orchid wonders if her stalker has somehow found her.  Scarlet wants to know more about this mysterious new student, Rosa.  Peacock just wants to get through all of this and score well on her SAT.  And Mustard ... he knows some things that happened that night, but does what he know endanger them all?

I give it to Peterfreund - the killer did not turn out to be who I was expecting it to be.  She threw a nice little twist into the story that, once revealed, actually made sense. And that final battle - well, there's no doubt where the title of this book comes from, that's for sure! At the same time, she dropped a number of subplot elements that will, without a doubt, see resolution in future tales.  Like, how did the counselor, Winkle, know that Orchid was in Hollywood before?  What lengths will Oliver Green go to in order to take back his grandmother's legacy?  Can Mustard accept his true feelings?  And who was in the car that went over the ravine at the end of the book ...?

Next time, we'll be finding out who gets struck with the candlestick in the ballroom!

RATING:  10 sharpened No.2 pencils out of 10 for showing readers just how much fun a mystery board game can be if it were real characters!

In the Hall with the Knife - the first Clue mystery

You recognize the character names. Plum. White. Scarlet. Mustard. Green. Peacock. You are familiar with the weapons. Knife. Lead pipe. Revolver. Rope. Candlestick. Wrench.  And you have visited those rooms countless times. Library. Study. Conservatory. Billiard room. Kitchen. Lounge. Hall. Ball room. C'mon. You know the game. Everyone knows the game. Everyone has played it at some point. And for those who are old enough, you remember going to the movie theater to see all of these things brought to life on the big screen (wondering which ending you would get to see!). And more recently, perhaps you read the two comic series published by IDW Publishing.  Now, there's a young adult mystery series that gives readers a whole new look at this old favorite...

In the Hall with the Knife is the first Clue mystery. Written by Diana Peterfreund and published by Amulet Books, this new series was a huge surprise to me when I happened across this book at my local Barnes & Noble.  I saw the title and thought, "that's funny - sounds like something from Clue." So, I pulled it off the shelf, and imagine my surprise to find that it WAS indeed based on Clue.  Obvious.y, I couldn't pass that up.  Being a young adult book, it is set at a private school hidden away on a small, New England coast.  Mister Boddy is the headmaster, Mrs. White is the house-mother for Tudor House, the dorm for the upper echelon of young ladies who attend Blackbrook Academy.  Then there is Rusty Nayler, the school custodian.  And, of course, there are all the students...

Orchid McKee ... she stays out of the limelight, disguising herself behind the long bangs and glasses in the hope that no one will recognize her ...

Beth "Peacock" Picach ... the star tennis player who has a quick temper and a secret that could get her kicked out of the academy ...

Finn Plum ... the super-smart, super-quick witted science major who will turn on anyone if it will get him further ahead - and who has his own reasons for all the lies he tells ...

Vaughn Green ... he's attending Blackbrook on a scholarship, and he helps out the custodian, the headmaster, and everyone else ... but his brother is a reminder that everything is not what it appears ...

Scarlett Mistry ... a girl of wealth and stature, she keeps her eyes and ears on everyone and everything - nothing goes on at Blackbrook that she doesn't know about - or so she thinks ...

Sam "Mustard" Maestor ... a former military school student who transferred to Blackbrook under mysterious circumstances, which he will do just about anything to keep a secret ...  

Kayla and Karlee Gould ... twins who appear to be flightly and self-absorbed, but like everyone else at this school, they have their own secrets ...

It's like a good, old-fashioned teen soap opera-turned-murder mystery when a deadly snow storm traps everyone at Tudor House.  That first night, with everyone scattered throughout the house (the library, the billiards room, the study, and so on), a murder occurs - and when they wake up in the morning, they discover the body (yeah, that pun is intended) of Mr. Boddy in the conservatory with a knife protruding from his chest!  So, right away we know the where and the how - all we need to do is figure out the who.

Peterfreund tells a superb tale of intrigue, mystery, lies, betrayals, and secrets as these students have to put aside their differences and work together to figure out who could have killed their headmaster. Was it an unseen looter?  Was it an enemy of Mr. Boddy's? Was it a suicide?  Or - a possibility that none of them want to consider - was it someone that was in the house?  The game's afoot, so to speak, and Orchid and Mustard seem to be the ones who are truly determined to get to the bottom of things.  Scarlett and Plum have their own issues, Green sets off with Rusty to see if they can make it through the storm to the nearest village to summon the police, and Peacock wants nothing to do with any of them.  But the questions remain:

Why was Peacock called to Mr. Boddy's office the day the storm hit, and why had she thrown the candlestick at him?

Why was Plum called to Mr. Boddy's office, and why is he so protective of the bag he brought with him to Tudor House?

Why was Orchid called to Mr. Boddy's office, and why does she seem to intent on making herself look plain when others can see the beauty in her eyes and face?

Why was Green acting so strange lately - one minute he's nice and helpful, the next he's mean and spiteful?

Why has Rusty not come back with the police?

Why does Mustard have so much knowledge about the type of knife used to kill Mr. Boddy?

Now, being a fan of Clue and of murder mysteries in general, the identity of the killer was not so difficult to pin point early on; however, it's not really the revelation of the killer's identity that is the joy of the story - it's following the characters along as they start to discover one another's secrets (as well as the secrets of Tudor House itself, including the hidden passages that lead from one room to another - I mean, this is Clue, after all, did you really think they wouldn't be there?).  And while I will admit the story did seem to drag in a few places, over all it was paced fairly well, and the characters are diverse and each have their own story.  Not all of their secrets are revealed in this first book, but some of them (such as Mustard), it's pretty easy for the reader to figure out what the secret is.

As with the game itself, it's a matter of crossing off names until you finally have only one left.  But once the murderer is revealed, that's the end, right?  Nope, not for this series!  It seems that the murder of Mr. Boddy is only the beginning.  Someone has set their sights on Blackbrook Academy, out to get revenge, so it's only a matter of time (like the second book, perhaps?) before someone else falls victim to another killer...

RATING:  7 broken pairs of glasses out of 10 for spinning a new twist on an old board game and making it a good read!