THE MASTERMIND PLOT, the second adventure of girl sleuth Suzanna Snow, has a solid plot and will engage the middle grade set for which it's written. That said it doesn't quite have the panache, depth of character, details of setting and time of its predecessor, The Midnight Tunnel. This says more for the brilliance of the earlier book than anything particularly lacking in THE MASTERMIND PLOT. The second book focuses more on the adventure rather than the mystery in my opinion, and the characters: Zanna's sort-of friend, Adele, her father, Grandma and even Will, didn't have the weight of those individuals in the earlier novel. The mystery itself is fairly straightforward, too without the misdirection and details I so loved in the earlier book.

Suzanna arrives in Boston, a city she's wanted to visit ever since hearing all of the exploits of her famous uncle, Detective Bruce Snow. While Grandma and Will are happy to see her, Uncle Bruce appears less than pleased and wants here to stay out of his current case. Someone has been starting fires in warehouses along the docks, and priceless art has been lost. Zanna wants to know who's been starting them and is determined to find out. Then a mysterious man starts following her around who could possibly be the murder.

Zanna is a terrific character: she's got spunk in spades although she's still very definitely an 11-year-old girl. Sometimes she seems too smart for her own good, but then her innocence will show through. I'm definitely a fan and look forward to a new adventure although I'd like to see it back at her parents' resort or for the author to take more advantage of the rich setting Boston has to offer.

Book Summary

A new, exciting Suzanna Snow adventure!Suzanna "Zanna" Snow can hardly believe her luck: She's just arrived in Boston, the city she's wanted to visit for as long as she can remember. Think of all the mysteries waiting to be solved here! Her grandmother and cousin, Will, welcome her warmly, but her famous detective uncle, Bruce Snow, seems anything but pleased. He doesn't want Zanna meddling in his current case involving a string of mysterious warehouse fires along the harbor front. But Zanna can't help herself. Is someone setting the fires? Just when she thinks she's on to something, a strange man starts following her. Is he a threat? Zanna needs to solve the case before she has the chance to find out.