Publication Date: 19 September 2023
Genre: Middle-Grade Cozy Mystery
4.3 Stars
One Liner: Aww… adorable (but a little slow-paced)
Dr. Alistair Fairfleet, the eccentric chairman of the museums of the Fairfleet Institute, has disappeared without a sign. Everyone is worried about him. Fifteen days later, four people associated with the museums get letters from him. The fifth letter goes to the A&A Detective Agency run by Alex and Asha, two smart twelve-year-olds.
Dr. Alistair invites all of them to use his clues and uncover the mystery behind his disappearance. The young detectives are eager to prove themselves. They solve puzzles and riddles dealing with art and archeology. But can they reach Dr. Alistair on time, or are they too young to handle the unseen risks?
The story comes in the omnipresent third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
Who can resist a good detective mystery with two young detectives? Not me, for sure! This book has Asha Singh and Alex Foster running the A&A Detective Agency in Alex’s tree house. The kids are smart, intelligent, witty, and super cute. They do have ‘professional disagreements’ but learn to work through their differences.
The kids have different personalities, highlighted in many scenes. Asha is particular about rules (though she understands some rules should be flexible when you are a detective). Alex is a rule-breaker with a flair for dramatics and a little guy who does like to give in to his emotions (he sure doesn’t like his favorite people being on the suspect list). This makes them real and easy to relate to.
It’s been a long time since I read a book in the third-person omnipresent POV. This brings the narrator's voice into the picture and elevates the book. The voice is cheeky, witty, and has a touch of light humor. I chuckled quite a few times when reading the book. The pacing is slow, though.
The mystery combines brainy puzzles and some action. I like how the investigation doesn’t put the kids at risk (except in one instance, which is more of an architectural problem). There’s no ‘bad guy’ either, so the children are safe biking around in their small town. Since the story is set during the summer holidays, they don’t miss school.
Despite being middle-grade fiction, the adults in the book are quite good. Though they aren’t elaborate, we know enough of them to understand their character arcs. And every adult is distinct, bringing a nice flavor to the plot.
There’s a cat, Captain Nemo, who sadly doesn’t get much space except in a couple of scenes. We also see an old doggie, Don Quixote (aka Donkey), who belongs to Alex’s family. Even the parents are pretty much absent. While they are mentioned, none of them have an actual dialogue.
The book is set in Northbrook and has the feel of a larger small town. There isn’t much to visualize the location but the campus, museums, etc., are easy to imagine.
My favorite part is the acknowledgment that the ‘artifacts’ in the museums have dubious backgrounds and the ethical dilemma it brings. It’s no secret that many pieces from other cultures have either been stolen or forcefully taken from their lands to be displayed in the US, UK, and European museums. To see a children’s book deal with this topic makes me happy. Kids need to understand that the cultural heritage belonging to other lands is not for entertainment in foreign museums. Our gods are not to be kept in glass boxes. They belong to our lands and our people. They belong to us.
Recently, the New York Metropolitan Museum agreed to return 15 idols belonging to India. Over the last few years, we have received about 150 ancient artifacts that should have never left our land. We also got back the weapon (Wagh Nakh) that belonged to Shivaji Maharaj. As expected, it was displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK.
The Cambodian idols are also still in the US museums, denying people to worship their gods the way they should be. A couple of months ago, Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro wrote about her experience at The Met where she was asked to leave for performing the Cambodian traditional dance of prayer with permission.
To summarize, The Fairfleet Affair is a witty and smart detective mystery with two intelligent kids working together and independently to solve their special case. Both our detectives get equal importance and prove themselves. This book is standalone from what I know but would be a wonderful short series.
Thank you, NetGalley and Union Square Kids (a subsidiary of Sterling Publishing), for the eARC.
#NetGalley
***
The cover is cute enough and details the agency’s office. However, it doesn’t exactly catch the eye. I zeroed in on the book based on the title and genre. The blurb (and Asha) was my reason for requesting the book. I wouldn’t say no to a brighter cover.
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