The Case of the Stolen Sixpence

Gr 5–7—Twelve-year-old Maisie Hitchins lives with her grandmother, the owner of a respectable boardinghouse, in London. Maisie spends her days helping with the dusting and sweeping of guest rooms while daydreaming of becoming a great and famous detective. When Maisie finds a wriggling sack by the river with a tiny puppy inside, she decides that her first case will be finding the cruel person who would cast away a defenseless animal—and convincing her no-nonsense grandmother that Eddie the puppy must come to live with them. Eddie becomes Maisie's partner in crime when a second mystery falls into her lap: money has gone missing from the butcher shop, and classmate George is blamed. Narrator Anna Bentinck does a wonderful job giving Maisie spunk and substance, though her voices for male characters are a bit harder to appreciate. The story is very short, yet owing to references to the Victorian era and the use of old-fashioned British English, it may be too complex for many struggling readers. While this offers a quick, enjoyable listen, it would seem that the series hasn't quite identified its audience.