The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, No. 4 - The Case of the Perilous Palace

Ada Byron and Mary Shelley may not have known each other in real life, but in the fictional world of The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, they not only make the best of friends, they also make the best detectives!  This is another series (yeah, yeah, I know - I read what seems like hundreds of series books) that I have been thoroughly enjoying, and it is with much sorrow that this appears to be the last book in the series.  I have gone to the publisher's website, to Amazon, and even to the author's page, and there is nothing to indicate that there are any more books forthcoming in the series, which is a real shame. It seems like most publishers do not want an ongoing series any more, particularly for young readers and young adults.  Everything has to be finite, not continuing.  (sigh)

Regardless, that did not dampen my enjoyment of The Case of the Perilous Palace one bit! Of course, as this book opens, it seems as if the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency may be no more! Ada's grandmother has put an end to the detecting, sending Ada's maid away, firing her tutor, and forbidding Mary to set foot in the house ever again. She even has Ada's hot air balloon disconnected from the roof of the great house, much to Ada's despair. Gran has put her foot down and ended Ada's days as a detective once and for all. Of course, fate has other plans...

Enter: Baroness Lehzen, governess to Her Royal Highness, Princess Alexandrina Victoria. The Baroness has specifically sought out Ada and her detective agency to help the princess with a very delicate and confidential matter. Ada, of course, has to turn her down. I mean, her Gran did put an end to the detective agency, sent away her partner-in-detecting, and basically locked her in her room.  So how could she possibly help the princess?  Gran, however, is willing to make concessions if it will provide her granddaughter with such a high connection in society. Even if it means that once the case is solved, she will remove herself from the house and allow Ada to resume her life as it had been prior to Gran coming to stay with her.

Thus begins Ada and Mary's latest case. The only problem is, they aren't really sure what it is. The princess is watched literally every second of the day. Every word she writes, every things she says, every moves she makes is monitored, read, heard, and seen. So, how can she possibly tell Ada and Mary what it is she needs help with? And that, my friends, is exactly what makes this series so enjoyable to read. Ada's observational skills and understanding what is not said, while Mary's interpretation skills and understanding of the real world and society's expectations make these two the perfect pairing. Not only do they quickly figure out what the princess needs them to find, but they manage to find a way to get past the guards and break back into the grand palace to find it!

There's everything one needs to make a good mystery - hidden passages, secret codes, sinister villains, unexpected revelations, and perhaps the most surprising turn of events when a criminal mastermind from Ada's past re-appears to taunt the young detective. The only problem is - if there are no more books, how will we ever know if Ada and Mary finally locate their nemesis and put an end to her criminal machinations?  Surely author Jordan Stratford can find it within himself to write at least one more story, so that Ada and Mary can have a satisfying conclusion!  Or, perhaps Stratford leaves it this way so that we, the readers, can imagine our own endings to the detective careers of Ada Byron and Mary Shelley - or keep the stories going if we don't ever want them to end!

In any event, this fourth tale was just as fun and engaging as the prior three, and the series will be sorely missed.  There are so few really good young adult mystery series on the market today, and quite frankly, I find that depressing.  Whatever happened to the days when Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Dana Girls, Trixie Belden, Happy Hollisters, Tom Swift, Ken Holt, Judy Bolton, Cherry Ames, and so many others lined the shelves?  I guess mysteries just aren't the "in" thing with young readers today - I just hope that one day, it cycles back around and we see shelves and shelves of mystery series again!  The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency would certainly be at the head of the pack if it ever did!

RATING:  9 red-furred orangutans out of 10 for yet another great mystery to read and showing publishers that the mystery genre is still viable!

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, No. 3 - The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals

Young Ada Byron and Mary Godwin are back with another mystery to solve in Jordan Stratford's latest book in The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency mystery series!

I must say that I am impressed that Stratford is able to write some well-crafted mysteries that do not only stand on their own, but also include elements of some ongoing subplots - such as Ada's absent mother, the mysterious tattoo of the "S." on the villain's arms, Charles' difficulties with his employer, and so on.  There is even a greater development on a comment that was made in the last book about Ada being the "second-cleverest" girl in London (and readers will know that Ada will not sit still for being second best!).

The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals picks up shortly after the last book - with Ada at home sick in bed due to her excursion with Mary out in the rain at the end of the last mystery. It is nice that the author maintains continuity within the books, and that actions and even what appears to be half-hearted remarks can come back to play something important in a later book.  Stratford remains faithful to the time period in which the books are set, as the doctor treating poor Ada is using leeches to remove the "bad blood" that is causing her fever.  As those of us now know, these loss of blood leaves her in a weakened state.

While the first several chapters deal more with Ada fighting off the fever and trying to gain strength so she can get back to doing what she does best - plus, the problematic appearance of her grandmother showing up at the Byron house to see that Ada is properly taken care of - which, needless to say, makes it even more difficult for Ada to find a mystery.  Of course, this book is the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency so it wouldn't be much of a mystery without one to solve.  Stratford is sneaky enough to start it off with a simple enough case - a missing dog.  But if the last two books are any indication, it's clear that the case will be more than just that.

And it is!  Much more!

There's a lost dog - but the lost dog is connected to an intact ichthyosaur skeleton that could potentially be faked - with a possible connection to the Sons of Bavaria, that might just be related to that mysterious "S" tattoo that Mary and Ada saw in the previous mystery, all of whom seem to be tethered to a certain Nora Radel - Ada's presumed arch-nemesis who may or may not exist.  Then there are the secret codes, the anagrams, the counterfeit messages, and just who or what in the world are the two human size puppets that appear and disappear in the blink of an eye?  Do they relate to the missing dog and the fake sea monster?

Once the mystery gets moving, it really moves - and with Kelly Murphy's wonderful illustrations, this book is another real winner in the realm of children's mystery series.  A fourth book is given a sneak peak at the end, yet no title is given, and I can't find any reference to a title or release date on the author's website, Amazon, or anywhere else.

RATING:  9 pieces of corpolite out of 10 for taking small bits of reality and once again creating a wondrous fictional tale!

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, No. 2 - The Case of the Girl in Grey

Lady Ada Byron and Miss Mary Godwin are back in action as the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency - only this time, the agency has gotten a bit bigger, as Mary's step-sister Jane and Ada's sister Allegra join in on the fun.  I have to say that author, Jordan Stratford, appears to be having a lot of fun taking those two historical figures (Ada Byron being the real life daughter of that Lord Byron, while Mary Godwin grew up to marry a certain Percy Shelley and, well, I'm sure you know who she is...) and sending them off on this adventures to solve mysteries in the small little world of London around them.

While the historical facts may be somewhat off (in reality, there was an 18-year age difference between the girls, Allegra died at the age of 5, and Jane was actually Allegra's mother!), I have no doubt that Stratford has the girls' personalities down pat.  Ada is so literal and analytical, while Mary romanticizes things more.  Yet, they both have one thing in common - they are ready and willing to help anyone in need.

Stratford crafts in The Case of the Girl in Grey an almost Nancy Drew-like tale, in that there are two mysteries.  The first involves a mysterious girl dressed in grey that is nearly run down by a coach in which Mary and her friend, Charles (as in Dickens - yes, that Dickens) are riding.  When Mary tries to help her, she disappears, and Mary wonders if she has seen a ghost.  Meanwhile, Ada is asked by Mary Somerville (of whom Ada thinks very highly and is awestruck to actually meet in person) to look into the circumstances surrounding her cousin's daughter, who is engaged to be married.  While she is not quite sure what it is, Somerville feels there is something wrong with that engagement.  So, with no clues and no real idea of whether anything is truly wrong, Ada and Mary agree to take the case.

The story really starts to take shape when Ada and Mary meet young Lizzie Earnshaw and Mary mistakes her for the "ghost" that she and Dickens saw earlier.  Longtime mystery fans will immediately recognize that this marks the beginning of a connection between the two mysteries, and it isn't long before both Ada and Mary start to connect the dots.  Even young Lizzie suspects something is amiss about her engagement, as a friend of her uncle is the one who introduced her to her betrothed, and now is demanding she sign over all of her estate to her fiance before the wedding even takes place.

While there is no real mystery as to who the villain is, there is a much bigger mystery involving the reasons behind their actions and the connection that mysterious girl in grey has to Lizzie and the whole marriage scenario.  I enjoy the fact that Stratford basically leads readers through all the clues as Ada and Mary stumble upon them, decipher them, and connect them, and in true Nancy Drew fashion, the girls not only solve the mystery and save an inheritance, but they reunite long-lost relatives!  And the elements of humor that play into the story through the involvement of acrobatic Allegra (who wants to join the circus) and prim and proper Jane (who knows anything and everything about anyone who is anyone) make for a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Another big PLUS factor for this book (and this series) are the absolutely gorgeous internal illustrations.  Kelly Murphy does not only a magnificent job painting a beautifully mysterious cover, but she provides black-n-white pencil interiors that maintain the spooky, gothic feel of the mystery itself.  I'm definitely going to have to see what other work this artist has done.

RATING:  9 flaming snapdragons out of 10 for keeping gothic mysteries alive and well and enjoyable to read!