The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk by Lewis B. Montgomery, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Milo is daydreaming during class about the morning's top news item, a $1 million reward being offered for the return of a stolen diamond necklace, when he opens his desk to discover … a diamond necklace! … in The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk, the eighth mystery in this early chapter mystery series by Lewis B. Montgomery.

Milo pockets the necklace and quickly seeks out his best friend Jazz. She suggests they immediately notify the police, but Milo applies his own brand of logic to the situation: they can't possibly be real diamonds and besides, shouldn't they investigate how the necklace came to be in his desk in the first place? Milo and Jazz, after all, are students of the legendary private investigator Dash Marlowe and this case presents a perfect opportunity to put into action his latest lesson: "Work backward." Jazz reluctantly agrees, but only to give the investigation 24 hours; after that, they notify someone!

The mystery in The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk is handled well, and the "work backward" theme is a good one for any criminal investigation. But it's a little disappointing (as an adult reading this book) to suggest to children that it is acceptable to withhold potential evidence of a crime from the authorities. Jazz is right: the necklace should have been turned in and that is what should have happened here. Doing so doesn't stop the pair from investigating the origin of it and solving the crime, being smarter than the police, as it were. Setting this element of the book aside, the sequence of events that lead to the necklace being in Milo's desk is nicely thought out and the case resolved in an satisfying manner.

As with all the books in this series, the primary story is followed by several pages of "Super Sleuthing Strategies", mind-teasers, word and picture puzzles, a mini-mystery and a most appropriate "work backward" puzzle.

The publisher recommends this book for children aged 7 to 11 with a reading level of RL-3. The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk has a Lexile measure of 460L.

Acknowledgment: The Kane Press provided a copy of The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk for this review.

The Case of the Purple Pool
The Kane Press (Trade Paperback), July 2011
ISBN-13: 9781575653426; ISBN-10: 1575653427

The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk

The Milo & Jazz Mysteries by Lewis B. Montgomery