Reviewing: "The Duchess To The Rescue: A Bones & The Duchess Mystery"

At first Bones thinks it has to be a joke. Bones used to be a cop in the small town of Ephesus, Pennsylvania. He got fired for doing a good thing for a homeless woman. He’s made the local police and especially the police chief look weak by solving cases with the help of The Duchess (Verity Buscador). But, this really takes the cake.

Arrested while eating at the Broad Street Hotel, Bones is quickly transported to the local jail. He is accused of hit and run with his car and spray painting graffiti around town. Most of the graffiti makes fun of Police Chief Hunsicker and it is no secret that the two men don’t get along.

Clearly Bones needs the help of The Duchess to prove that he didn’t do any of it. The case looks bad because his car is damaged, there are empty spray paint cans in the backseat area of his car, and he has no witnesses to prove that he is innocent. Good thing her mom, Quintessa, is a lawyer. With mom handling stuff in the courtroom and The Duchess working the teen graffiti artist angle, it won’t be long before the real person who did all of it will be identified.

As in the other books in the series, Aspergers and the role it plays in the life of The Duchess and those that care about her is discussed in the course of the solving the mystery. While the Aspergers is always present, it does not dominate the story. Instead, issues familiar to kids of feeling alone, bullying, and other things are at the forefront of this book. The truth can be a heavy burden and once again The Duchess sees things clearly while the adults in her world do not. The result is another strong mystery for readers in the targeted age group of forth to seventh grade readers that provides a good moral and a good tale.


The Duchess To The Rescue: A Bones & The Duchess Mystery
Alexandra Eden
Allen A. Knoll, Publishers
http://www.knollpublishers.com/
2006
ISBN# 1-888310-55-3
Hardback
122 Pages
$16.00


Book provided by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.


Kevin R. Tipple © 2009