Book Review: The Ambrose Deception by Emily Ecton

The Ambrose Deception, by Emily Ecton
2018, 368p, Middle-Grade Mystery
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way



Melissa is a nobody. Wilf is a slacker. Bondi is a show-off. At least that's what their middle school teachers think. To everyone's surprise, they are the three students chosen to compete for a ten thousand-dollar scholarship, solving clues that lead them to various locations around Chicago. At first the three contestants work independently, but it doesn't take long before each begins to wonder whether the competition is a sham. It's only by secretly joining forces and using their unique talents that the trio is able to uncover the truth behind the Ambrose Deception--a truth that involves a lot more than just a scholarship.

With a narrative style as varied and intriguing as the mystery itself, this adventure involving clever clues, plenty of perks, and abhorrent adults is pure wish fulfillment.

This was such a fun read! My kids are getting older so middle-grade reads don't always appeal to them. This one did, so we read it together, and it was difficult to put it down.

Melissa, Wilf and Bondi are chosen to compete for a $10,000 scholarship. They aren't the "best and brightest" so it's also a bit of a mystery as to why they were chosen. They each have three clues to solve which take them all over Chicago. Something doesn't seem right about this competition, and it will take all three of them to figure out what's really happening.

I enjoyed getting to know these characters. They each took a different approach to solving their clues. The clues seemed difficult to me so I was interested to see how they would solve them. There were other great characters that helped them along and were also fun to get to know.

This book held our attention from beginning to end! We laughed quite a bit and found it highly entertaining. About halfway through, things got pretty crazy and I liked the way it ended. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys middle-grade clue-based mysteries.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Emily Ecton is a writer and producer for Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!, the NPR news quiz. She has also been a playwright, a chinchilla wrangler, an ice cream scooper and a costume character. She lives in Chicago with her dog, Binky, who unlike Mr. Boots, never wears clothes.

Website