Book 1: The Case of the Claymore Diamond
Book 2: The Case of the Mysterious Mr. Jekylll
Book 3: The Case of the Christmas Caper
Book 4: The Case of the Hamilton Roller Coaster
Book 5: The Case of the Forgotten Mine
By Daniel Kenny and Emily Boever
4Rbooks 4/6 grades 3-6
Amazon 4.5/5 grades level 3-6
Goodreads 4-5
Common Sense Media Not yet reviewed
Synopsis
This is a five-part series about a group of friends, The Math Inspectors, who work together to solve mysteries in their city. They use their math skills and detective instincts to find clues. There are…
Stanley: math genius and brilliant detective.
Charlotte: athletic with an eidetic memory (remembers everything she sees)
Gertie: tough, street smart, math whiz, and record keeper
Felix: tall, goofy, but a math wizard and risk taker
Herman: reformed troublemaker with skills at exploring, hiding, and escaping
In each book a crime has been committed and there is a mystery to be solved. The Inspectors are aided by a friend on the police force, but the police chief is suspicious. They are often hampered by the leader of the English Club, Polly, who dislikes math, and wants to steal their thunder as they become semi-famous for their sleuthing skills.
As you progress through each book the crimes become more serious, and more deadly.
Book 1: A diamond has been stolen but they have captured and jailed the wrong man.
Book 2: A prankster has been causing problems all over town. His calling card is blue
paint and the name, Mr. Jekyll. Stanley becomes a prime suspect.
Book 3: A store full of toys meant to be given away free, especially to children in the
local hospital, has been stolen.
Book 4: Someone has rigged a bomb to explode on the roller coaster of the town’s
amusement park. The man behind the bomb has specifically targeted the Math Inspectors to work through a series of problems, each one increasing in danger, before he will give them the clues needed to stop the bomb.
Book 5: The children are off to outdoor education camp at an old mining town of
Forgotten. There are rumors of ghosts, and hidden treasures of gold.
Parental Guidelines
There is a not-always-friendly competition between the math inspectors and the English club.
The four children find themselves in dangerous situations, sometimes with their life at risk.
The four children take risks and act outside of adult supervision.
There is a bully, and friends, who terrorize the school, and Stanley in particular.
In book 4, someone has planted a bomb on a roller coaster and targeted the kids to solve a series of problems to find the key to diffuse the bomb.
Recommendation
This series if very similar to the Encyclopedia Brown series and the characters in Scooby Doo Mysteries. There is the one “genius” and an athletic girl who assists and protects him. She has an eidetic memory. There is also a short, quick to anger girl who excels at record keeping, and a tall goofy guy who is a risk taker. They all love math and consider it the greatest tool of knowledge there is. Later, they are joined by a fifth friend who isn’t a math genius, but has skills in other areas that aid the group.
The series starts with the characters in sixth grade. They are in seventh grade for the last book. The look and feel of the stories is more elementary, but the ages of the characters, the dangerous action involved in the mysteries, and the math involved make it more of a middle school read. Each book is between 140 and 170 pages with illustrations. It’s an easy read for struggling readers, unless they get bogged down by the math. Grade level readers should enjoy these books as a quick and easy read while enjoying the challenge of the math involved. Advanced readers might consider these too easy and not worth their effort.
I could envision middle school math teachers using these books as a classroom read highlighting how math can be used everywhere and every day. The problems in the story could be discussed along the way, and the problems at the end of the story could make for fun and quick group projects. It would also be a good book for homeschoolers, and parents with children who love math and solving problems.
I have one nit-picky problem with the last book. The students go on an outdoor education trip and are placed in boys and girl cabins without supervision, something that would never happen in today’s education.
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