The L.A. Dodger by David A. Kelly, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Cousins and best friends Mike Walsh and Kate Hopkins are visiting Kate's dad in Los Angeles, where they are drawn into the mystery of why someone is intentionally making trouble for the L.A. Dodgers in The L.A. Dodger, the third early reader chapter book in the Ballpark Mysteries by David A. Kelly.

Kate's dad is a talent scout for the Dodgers, and tells Mike and Kate that someone has been stealing property from the team, and has even targeted him, possibly to steal a notebook filled with scouting details. But the kids are in Los Angeles to have a good time, and they're prepared to do just that. Except the trip isn't starting out too well: Kate has lost her own notebook filled with things to do and see, accidentally leaving it at the airport baggage claim.

The next day, while visiting Dodger Stadium, they notice someone with binoculars, who seems to be watching Kate's dad from afar. And then they see that same person at various tourist sites they later visit. Is this the man that is causing all the problems for the baseball team? And if so, can Mike and Kate do anything to stop him?

Mike and Kate nickname the mysterious man "the L.A. dodger" since he's so good at dodging their attempts to identify him, and he provides the book with its title. This is an entertaining mystery, filled with all sorts of trivia, not only about baseball but Los Angeles in general. (An appendix provides more details about many of these fun facts.) The kids cleverly devise a scheme to trap him, but have the tables turned on them when they're accused of being troublemakers; it's a nice twist that illustrates an element quite common in adult PI mysteries, that plans to nail the bad guy don't always play out as expected.

The L.A. Dodger is labeled by the publisher as RL 2.8 (late 2nd grade reading level). No Lexile measure has been determined for this book.

Acknowledgment: Random House provided a copy of The L.A. Dodger for this review.

The Astro Outlaw
Random House (Mass Market Paperback), February 2012
ISBN-13: 9780375868832; ISBN-10: 0375868836

The L.A. Dodger

The Ballpark Mysteries by David A. Kelly