Case Closed #1: Mystery in the Mansion: A Puzzle-Packed Mystery Adventure Where You Choose the Clues and Crack the Case

Carlos' mother is a detective, but her agency is struggling to stay afloat. To make matter worse, she is sick with the flu and can't begin the investigation for her latest case which is identifying the person sending death threats to Guinevere LeCavilier, a wealthy older woman. Carlo's mom asks him to call her partner Cole, but Carlos decides to take matters into his own hands and recruits his best friend Eliza to join him. Accompanying them is Frank, Eliza’s annoying and obnoxious six year old brother. Will Carlos, Eliza, and Frank be successful in cracking the case? Well, that all depends on the reader who must help them make choices and solve puzzles to find the perpetrator. Growing up, I devoured the Choose Your Own Adventure series because I loved having a role in the outcome of the story. Mystery in the Mansion, the first book in Lauren Magaziner's new Case Closed series transported me back to my childhood and I must share that I love her format even better! Why? When readers come to a part of the story when they must make a choice, there may be two, three or even four options from which to choose. In addition, readers may be required to solve a puzzle to identify the next page that will move the plot along. And while some puzzles are simple, others prompt readers to get out pencil and paper, brush up on their math or even call in for help (Confession: I had to seek my husband’s support a few times). After finally solving the case (Yes-it took me a few tries), I went back to the beginning of the story to start over. I became quite addictive to discovering if there were multiple good endings but even a wrong turn was fun because of Lauren Magaziner’s creative and humorous plot. Not only am I excited to share this original new series with students, I believe it would be a great class read aloud and in a recent tweet, Lauren Magaziner provides some read aloud tips for teachers. And the best part of all-Case Closed is a series! Looking forward to more adventures with Carlos, Eliza, and of course, Frank’s hilarious antics!

Fun book to read with my 10 year old.

These books are amazing! My daughter (age 9) and I LOVE to read them at night and try to crack all of the codes along the way! It helps her to make careful decisions and think about consequences too! I love the choose your own adventure style of the book tied into an escape room feeling and so does she! We bought all 4 books and are on book 2 now! So Addicting!

Easy to read but jumping back and forth on choices in the book was confusing. The whole book was about death threats and treasure burred under the house. I read several versions, went back over and over choosing different choices and never found the treasure. Was a little disappointing. Would have liked to found the treasure in at least one of the choices. Some of the puzzles were not meant for little children. All in all the book was interesting but also disappointing about the treasure.

I loved this book so much that it is going to be my next read-aloud in my fifth grade classroom. The mystery is captivating, and the characters have some great back and forth conversations, but what I LOVE LOVE LOVE is the format of this book. Ms. Magaziner brings in every type of learner by incorporating puzzles, riddles, and logic into solving the mystery. I recommend that you also purchase some post-it notes, because for every decision you make, you'll probably want to go back and try the other option as well! Perfect for kids who love mysteries, and think their so smart they can solve anything! Also a wonderful option for reading with kids one-on-one, and I have high hopes of starting this series with my g-baby when she's old enough for chapter books. Adults buying this book: it just may bring you back to those Choose Your Own Adventure books we loved for their empowerment and involvement of readers. You might want to buy two!

My 14 year old got this for a book club. It was fun to read and can be reread many times because you chose the outcome for the characters.

When I was younger, I used to love to read. The choose your own adventure books were my favorite! My son who is 10 and in 4th grade hates to read. Mainly because it is hard but also because it is boring. Part of his homework every night is to read for 30 minutes. It's almost always a struggle. I bought him this book and hyped it up a bit. He was reluctant at first but now he doesn't want to put it down. He read for an hour last night and didn't even notice. I highly recommend getting this book for your reluctant reader. I just ordered him 2 more and he can't wait!!

Great for a 10 year old! He loves the math riddles and puzzles. Fun to solve and challenging enough to be interesting. The book keeps you wanting to read and is fun to choose your own version of the story. This one can be read a few times.

Amazing books.. totally different concept , very engaging

Recomendable

I grew up reading similar books and I'm happy to share more up-to-date versions with my class. They're enjoying it so far and find the chance to choose their own adventure intriguing.

Case Closed #1 Mystery in the Mansion is the first in a series of choose your own adventure mystery books where the reader picks his/hers own path to crack the case. Carlos Serrano has no idea how to solve a mystery, so with the help of his friend Eliza & her little brother they set out to solve a case for his mother’s detective agency as she is unwell and her partner is busy with his own case. The agency is failing, money is short and solving this case is the last resort to preserve the family’s belongings. They head off to the mansion of an eccentric local millionaire who has been receiving death threats. There are many suspects and also the talk of a treasure. The reader is challenged to ask the questions and uncover the answers as there are many choices and different endings. This reading format of choosing your own adventure is a fun twist, offering the reader different options, like whom to interview, what to examine & which clues to follow. An engaging, entertaining & humorous mystery, which is hard to put down. 5⭐️ Read for all ages.

Great start for my kids, hope it will be an interesting way for them to learn how to make decisions and understand different decisions will have different meaning and endings.