Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. Thirteen-year-old Nick and his bumbling older brother Tim, the heroes from Public Enemy Number Two0 (2004) and The Falcon's Malteser0 (2004) return for three more adventures. This time they search for a missing philanthropist who may have been steamrolled, fight off drug smugglers operating out of a French confectionary shop, and become trapped on a Scottish island with a murderer who seems determined to reenact an Agatha Christie novel. Naive, literal Tim serves as a comic foil to the clever Nick, who becomes a hero by default as he tries to keep himself and his brother alive. Horowitz's writing is fast-paced and funny, full of clever puns and deadpan comments. Descriptions of dead bodies and a particularly vivid hallucinogenic experience may make younger readers squeamish, but this is great for the sophisticated mystery lover not quite ready for adult crime novels. --Kay Weisman Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fans of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider Adventures series will glom onto Three of Diamonds (2002), also by Horowitz, which gathers a trio of Diamond Brothers Mysteries. Tim and Nick Diamond search for an MIA philanthropist in "The Blurred Man," wind up in a prison in Paris in "The French Confection," and "I Know What You Did Last Wednesday" finds them trapped on a Scottish isle with a murderer. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Tim and Nick Simple, also known as the Diamond Brothers, find themselves in the middle of mystery and mayhem in three action-packed short stories. In each humorous episode, Nick, 13, must solve the crime before his older brother, the world's worst detective, either bumbles the investigation or gets them both killed. In "The Blurred Man," the Simples must determine who flattened philanthropist Lenny Smile with a steamroller. A trip to France becomes a near-death experience when they find themselves in the middle of a drug ring in "The French Confection." Finally, Tim is invited to a class reunion that becomes deadly in "I Know What You Did Last Wednesday." Nick is a realistic character with a voice that is sarcastic and fresh, while Tim's lack of intelligence makes even the most dangerous situations laughable. Plenty of plays on words add to the humor. Readers looking for an entertaining mystery will enjoy this sequel to The Falcon's Malteser (Philomel, 2004) and hope for more.-Angela M. Boccuzzi-Reichert, Merton Williams' Middle School, Hilton, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Previously published in England, the first three Nick Diamond books are here presented in one volume. Teenage Nick runs the P.I. business owned by his stupid older brother, Tim. Unfortunately, Tim is just too stupid to be believable or entertaining, and the action is no more than a placeholder for frequent bad jokes about his ineptitude. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
