Review by Booklist Review
Alice loves math and is good at solving mysteries. At least, she can tell whether your house is haunted or actually just hosting a family of squirrels. When a scientist goes missing and rumors of an invisibility suit start flying, a school friend gets her wrapped up in the case. Alice doesn't believe that invisibility is possible, but to humor her pal she starts digging, and things get plenty sinister. Now she's hooked, and she won't stop until everything adds up. Occasionally, the novel's style and diction make Alice's first-person narrative sound more advanced than her 12 years, which can detract from the otherwise compelling, suspenseful mystery. But Rubin unspools clues expertly, skillfully keeping the twist ending close to her chest so readers will figure it out, along with Alice, near the end of the book, and the emphasis on puzzles and math will especially appeal to kids who love tricky codes and ciphers. Perfect for middle-graders who love Lemony Snicket's All the Wrong Questions series or R. A. Spratt's Friday Barnes mysteries.--Pino, Kristina Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Everyone in school knows that 12-year-old Alice Jones is the go-to girl for figuring things out, so it isn't a surprise when classmate Sammy asks her to help with a missing-person case. His father runs a science laboratory, Delgado Industries, and the top scientist, who was working on a project involving invisibility, has disappeared. Alice is goaded into taking the case when Sammy's father decides that she will be a good decoy for the press while the "real" detectives search, but as he and others soon learn, underestimating Alice isn't a good idea. Alice evades the goons following her and uses logic to weigh the clues she uncovers as Rubin's (Someday Dancer) mystery winds toward a gratifying conclusion. Though Alice can be prickly, her family, including her journalist father and twin sister, Della, is her soft spot, and Alice's emotional growth as is as satisfying as the mystery she unravels. Observant and persistent, Alice is an easy character to cheer on, and the ethical quandaries that arise lend added depth to her story. Ages 8-12. Agent: Lindsey Fraser, Fraser Ross. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A 12-year-old math whiz keen on solving problems tackles the case of a missing scientist.Mysteries are a lot like math for Alice Jones, a no-nonsense white girl living in Philadelphia with her divorced father, a journalist. Alice likes figuring things out, so when classmate Sammy Delgado invites her to attend the announcement of an important invention developed at his wealthy fathers scientific laboratory, shes intrigued, especially when Dr. Learner, lead researcher on the new invention (rumored to be an invisibility suit), vanishes. Sammy convinces his father to enlist Alices help finding Learner. But Mr. Delgado confides he wants Alice to pretend to be searching for Learner to keep the story in the papers, even though he doesnt really expect her to find him. Determined to surprise Mr. Delgado and crack the case, Alice accepts his offer. When surveillance cameras show Learner entered his lab but never left it, Alice refuses to believe he used an invisibility suit. As the deliberately paced plot unwinds, the case becomes increasingly puzzlingand dangerous after Alice discovers thugs from a rival lab are following her. Throughout, Alice perseveres, narrating her story with the logic, poise, and determination of a seasoned detective. (Aside from dark hair and his Spanish last name, Sammys ethnicity is not indicated.) A perplexing mystery with a savvy sleuth and unexpected outcome. (Mystery. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
