Review Detail

Reader reviewed by bookworm9

When 6-year-old Caroline Fish is married off to her 9-year-old friend Leon Carillon for the sake of the family soup business, her life goes downhill fast. Leon is shipped off to boarding school, and Mrs. Carillon (as Caroline is now known, since no one can pronounce Caroline Carillon) is soon orphaned and alone. When she finally sets out to be reunited with her husband at the age of 18, they have no sooner met than Leon mysteriously disappears during a boating accident, leaving behind only his final words (which are punctuated by blubs and glubs) as clues to where he might have gone.

Mrs. Carillon spends the next several decades on an obsessive quest to find her husband, a man she really knows little about. Along the way, she acquires an adopted twin son and daughter as well as an old friend. Can these three solve the mystery that Mrs. Carillon has wondered over so long...and can she handle what really happened to Leon?

This book is not for readers who like to solve mysteries on their own-- unless you're a genius and take the time to write things down and think them over, you're not going to solve this. But for readers who don't mind being taken along for this wacky ride and can appreciate Raskin's brilliantly crafted puzzle in its entirety, it's a great read. This book doesn't have quite as lovable characters as Raskin's other three novels, but it's just as innovative and fun.