The Time Thief (Solve Your Own Mystery 2)

SOLVE YOUR OWN MYSTERY: THE TIME THIEF is an engaging choose-your-own-adventure that invites middle grade readers to become the detective. The book is written for the reader to try to solve the crime of who has stolen the Time Sponge that allows the bearer to control time. As you work your way through the book, you'll find two choices at key crossroads and get to decide which path to take and chapter to read!

What I loved: The book is written in the second person, really thrusting the reader into the action and the position of detective. With the choices, readers can feel like they are the one driving the story and solving the case. The chapters read well with just the right touch of information and sometimes repeated choices for an easy do-over.

The book also includes illustrations that add to the fun of the story and is great for readers who are not yet ready for sea-of-text books. The images themselves are detailed with expressive characters and fun personalities that come across on each. They really add to the story and the fun of the read.

The case is solid, and it's an interesting one too! I love the premise and all the animals and creatures who appear along the way. This ends up being an imaginative read that readers will enjoy!

Final verdict: SOLVE YOUR OWN MYSTERY: THE TIME THIEF is an engaging choose-your-own-adventure mystery that puts middle grade readers in the detective seat! This is great for children who enjoy illustrated books and figuring out whodunnit!

What worked:
The series includes a good deal of humor and strange events, which should appeal to young readers. Detective Klaus drives a car that used to be a dog. It wags its tailpipe when it’s happy or excited and makes soft, satisfied sounds when you scratch its car seats. Two talking gargoyle statues watch a museum’s back entrance, where a medusa-like character is the curator. The main police inspector is a minotaur, and the lead detective is an elf walking on stilts. A banshee news reporter details the facts of her stories, or she makes them up to make the stories more appealing to her readers.
The premise of the series is that the reader is Klaus’s assistant, and they make decisions on which clues to follow. Young readers will enjoy skipping pages to arrive at the next step in the story they have chosen. The different sections aren’t very long, which is appealing to young or reluctant readers. Like real detectives, readers identify the cast of suspects, examine their motives, and decide if they had opportunities to commit the crime. There’s always evidence pointing to different suspects, but readers eventually discover clues that narrow their focus. The book says there are three possible conclusions, depending on which clues are followed. The last page of the story lets readers move to alternate endings by directing them to different parts of the book.
What didn’t work as well:
There isn’t much time spent developing characters or describing the events in detail. However, that’s the trade-off for skipping around to different parts of the plot. Readers may be curious about Klaus’s time with the UPF when he was the lead detective on the police force. It’s been mentioned in both books, but readers are left to wonder about anything specific.
The final verdict:
Books that allow readers to choose how the stories unfold are always entertaining, and this one adds mystery and humor. Overall, I recommend this book to all middle-grade readers.