This is an exciting little book. Well written mystery but not too gory for kids. ( )

Madeleine L'Engle is one of my all time favorite authors. Both her characters and storylines are thoughtful, well written and intriguing. She writes books that I can read again and again. Whilst this particular novel is not one of my absolute favorites and I do quite like it. ( )

A thoughtful murder mystery combined with coming-of-age story about one's ancestral heritage. While the Poly/Polly O'Keefe mysteries aren't nearly as engaging as the Time saga, L'Engle's insight and humor emerge, as well as her precocious adolescent characters. ( )

I read this back in junior high school. I remember being disappointed that there weren't any actual dragons in it, but I liked it a lot anyway. A good mystery. ( )

This is an exciting thriller, with no actual dragons or fantasy. Poly O'Keefe is fourteen; she and her brother Charles are on a ship on its way to Venezuela with their father. But the main protagonist is thirteen-year-old Simon, travelling with a previously unknown cousin, and a valuable piece of art.

There's danger, intrigue, a shocking incident mid-way through the book and a great deal of suspicion. It's partly character-based, and there's a lot of interesting interaction between these people and other passengers and staff on the ship. There's quite a complex backstory and motive for what happens, and although some of that went a tad over my head, I enjoyed the book and found it hard to put down.

Probably best read after 'The Arm of the Starfish', which is first in the O'Keefe series. ( )