The Best Mistake Mystery

The Best Mistake Mystery

By Sylvia McNicoll

Stephen Noble tends to worry a lot.  His mom often says that he makes too much out of things. But when the fire alarm goes off at school and all the kids get sent home without even getting their agendas, Stephen suspects something is really wrong.  Later that afternoon, while walking dogs for his dad’s company, Stephen and know-it-all Renee see the police bomb squad on the roof of the school.  What is going on?

Stephen and Renee set out to solve the mystery.  With dogs Ping and Pong in tow, Stephen and Renee discover that someone has called in a bomb threat to the school.  Then one night, Stephen hears some strange noises at the school; he lives right next to it, so of course, he looks outside to see what’s going on.  He discovers that someone has driven a car into the front of the school.  Then he starts getting some threatening text messages.  Someone thinks Stephen witnessed the car incident and can identify the driver.  Now that person is threatening to hurt Ping and Pong.

Should Stephen and Renee tell Stephen’s parents about the text messages?  Or can they sort out this mess themselves?  The text messages specifically warn Stephen not to say anything.

As Stephen and Renee set out to solve the mystery of who is trying to destroy their school, Stephen makes many mistakes.  In fact, this book is full of the mistakes that Stephen makes every day.  Most are small mistakes, such as letting the dogs off leash.  This leads to a skateboarder being knocked over by some very excited animals.  

But many of Stephen’s mistakes lead him to discover more about the strange occurrences in his neighbourhood.  His “best mistakes” help him and Renee to figure out who is behind the bomb threat, the car accident and the threats.

The Best Mistake Mystery is set in an average neighbourhood and both Stephen and Renee are average kids.  The crimes committed in this book are major enough to cause a stir, but still minor enough that a kid could track down the criminal.  Readers will enjoy trying to solve the mystery themselves.  They are sure to make some mistakes along the way, but maybe these mistakes will lead them somewhere they never imagined…