Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery by David A. Adler; illustrated by Susanna Natti

Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery
By David A. Adler; illustrated by Susanna Natti
Viking Juvenile; $13.99
64 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-0670060924

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

Cam Jansen and her classmates have a big day ahead of them. The state governor is coming to their school to dedicate the building's new library. It's already a high profile event, and knowing that he's a presidential candidate and has Secret Service detail adds an extra element of excitement. Once the ceremony gets underway and the Pearls, the couple whose gift made the library possible, join the governor at the podium, a loud "crack" suddenly echoes through the room. The crowd in the library is surprised and frightened and everyone drops to the floor immediately, expecting the worst. The school principal and the Secret Service agents quickly explain away the noise as just a student prank, someone trying to be funny, but amateur sleuth Cam Jansen has a strong hunch that they're mistaken. Can she do some quick figuring and convince them that she knows what really happened, that the sound was just a diversion to distract attention from the actual crime?

Jennifer "Cam" Jansen and her photographic memory (hence the nickname Camera, shortened to Cam) save the day in Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery, the 26th installment of David A. Adler's popular and long-running series. For more than 25 years (yes, this is the same Cam Jansen we read when we were kids) this school-aged investigator has been solving all kinds of mysteries, moving through the decades while remaining timeless in her spunky and self-assured appeal (and ageless, apparently, still in elementary school).

The level of intrigue in Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery is perfect -- clever enough not to be easy to solve, but with enough clues laid by Adler in all the right places that careful readers can solve the puzzle along with Cam. The secret service mystery even includes a quiz at the back of the book where your armchair sleuth can test her own powers of observation. Adler's fast-paced writing and humorous dialogue will hold new readers' interest and the mystery will keep them hooked and actively engaged in the story from beginning to end, working to solve the puzzle as the clues are revealed.

With simple black and white illustrations reminiscent of film stills by Susanna Natti, who also illustrates Patricia Reilly Giff's Ronald Morgan series and Stephen Krensky's Lionel series, the book is a well-balanced division of text and art. The frequent yet unobtrusive placement of the illustrations (nearly every two page spread has a half-page picture) breaks up the text nicely for young readers and is a good transition for kids making the jump from being read to all the time to reading on their own after the very first easy readers' books. The added bonus is that if your reader really likes the book, there are more than two dozen other titles to choose from to keep their enthusiasm for reading up.

You may even find yourself sneaking a read at the new Cam Jansen book, just for old times' sake. (And yes, it's just as fun to read as you remember.)