From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4–An offhand comment from her father sets nine-year-old Harriet Bean on the path of finding the five aunts whom she has never known. This seems like the perfect start of a juicy family mystery but it never quite turns into one. When given the full story of her father's loss of his five older sisters and a clue to the whereabouts of one of them, Harriet embarks on a hasty journey of collection. Useful coincidences make the women ridiculously easy to locate; it also helps that the final two are mind readers and come seeking her. The real mystery is how the father can possibly be absentminded enough to misplace five sisters. All of them are likable characters with interesting personality quirks and gadgets: strong-woman Veronica uses pedal power to drive her circus trailer from city to city, and twin detectives Thessalonika and Japonica are masters of disguise with convincing costumes. It is these two who give Harriet the chance to solve a mystery in the sequel, which takes place at a racetrack's stables. Masquerading as a jockey, Harriet is confronted with a villain who uses glue to stick a horse's feet to the floor so that he won't run well the next day. It's contrived stuff such as this that takes most of the charm out of this easy chapter-book series.
–Kathleen Meulen, Blakely Elementary School, Bainbridge Island, WA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From AudioFile
With an old-fashioned leisurely pace, McCall Smith sends protagonist Harriet Bean on a low-key adventure to find the five sisters from whom her father was separated years earlier. Each aunt has a quirk that defines the search-one has extraordinary strength, another can throw her voice, the twins have the ability to read minds, and one is extremely bossy. The mind-reading twins are detectives; sequels will no doubt involve Harriet in their mysteries. Charlotte Parry's voice is lilting, her accent is charming, and her pacing is perfect. Her characterizations are appropriately quirky without going over the top. Children who prefer action and suspense may not sit still for this one, unless they are drawn in by Parry's fine performance. E.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
by Alexander Mccall Smith
