The Mystery: Troubletwisters, Book. 3

Gr 4–7—Superb narrator Stanley McGeagh does a marvelous job with the third title (Scholastic, 2013) in the "Troubletwisters" series. Twelve-year-old twins Jaide and Jack are upset when their beloved Grandma X is injured in a suspicious car crash. This comes right after the horrifying death of Young Master Rourke (actually quite an old man), which was seemingly caused by a bunch of bespelled animals and an unknown man. When the twins' father asks them to have a look around Rourke Castle for something called the Golden Card of Translocation, they find themselves in great peril. Evil is near, their father is acting very strangely, Grandma X is unavailable for advice, and the twins still are unable to control their magical powers. McGeagh really delivers the thrills using different voices and accents, easily conveying menace, anger, impatience, confusion, and fear. Give this to fans of Rick Riordan and Jenny Nimmo.—Allison Gray, Goleta Library, Santa Barbara, CA