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American Girl Mysteries
The Haunted Opera: A Marie-grace Mystery
Marie-Grace is excited that a well-known English opera company will perform in New Orleans--at the same theater where she takes singing lessons from Aunt Oc�ane. Even better, her aunt has gotten a role in the opera! As Marie-Grace and her friend, C�cile, help out during rehearsals, they're thrilled to meet real opera stars and get a peek into theater life. But thrills turn to chills as the girls make disturbing discoveries behind the scenes! An illustrated "Looking Back" essay describes New Orleans� place as a leading cultural center for opera and theater in 1800s America.
171 pages, Hardcover
First published February 26, 2013
4 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Masters Buckey
29 books47 followersSarah Masters Buckey was raised in New Jersey and lived in Texas for 15 years. Sarah was nominated for the Agatha Award in 2008 for A Thief in the Theater and in 2005 for The Curse of Ravenscourt. She was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2007 for The Stolen Sapphire.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 24, 2022
The great AG marathon continues. Again, reading for the first time as an adult, inspired by the American Girls podcast.
I've been looking forward to this one - partly because our besties are back together again after two mysteries apart, and partly because singing lessons and Madame Ocèane are notably absent from both other mysteries, and I missed them. Oh, and because I'm a sucker for backstage drama.
Unfortunately, the backstage drama here depends on a cast of two dimensional side characters who mostly range from benignly dull to wait-who-was-he? The more AG mysteries I read, the more frustrated I get by the missed opportunities for character development. In 200 pages, we don't get any kind of growth or depth for Marie-Grace or Cécile, or even Ocèane (who comes off as a bit of a local yokel next to the visiting company from ~London~, even though the historical note at the end tells us that New Orleans opera companies were world class, so wtf). We toy with the idea of a ghost, but not very seriously, we romp around the theater searching for a prop crown, and we get a blink-and-you-missed-it side plot about a free woman of color trying to help her enslaved sister.
Cécile's role is so negligable, she might as well not be here. Once, she brings a picnic basket, basically out of the blue. Mostly she's here so Marie-Grace can talk to someone about the mystery while Ocèane is in rehearsal.
But the biggest whiplash is right out of the gate, where the narration tells us that although the girls' friendship is a little unlikely, they love having adventures together. I wish I knew what the book thinks this is referring to. That one Mardi Gras ball? The time they dressed the foundling in fancy clothes to make sure he'd be accepted at the orphanage for white children? We are surely not referring to an epidemic (that seems all but forgotten here) as an adventure?? I, too, would like the series where MG and Cécile have multiple adventures together, but that's not the series AG gave us.
I've been looking forward to this one - partly because our besties are back together again after two mysteries apart, and partly because singing lessons and Madame Ocèane are notably absent from both other mysteries, and I missed them. Oh, and because I'm a sucker for backstage drama.
Unfortunately, the backstage drama here depends on a cast of two dimensional side characters who mostly range from benignly dull to wait-who-was-he? The more AG mysteries I read, the more frustrated I get by the missed opportunities for character development. In 200 pages, we don't get any kind of growth or depth for Marie-Grace or Cécile, or even Ocèane (who comes off as a bit of a local yokel next to the visiting company from ~London~, even though the historical note at the end tells us that New Orleans opera companies were world class, so wtf). We toy with the idea of a ghost, but not very seriously, we romp around the theater searching for a prop crown, and we get a blink-and-you-missed-it side plot about a free woman of color trying to help her enslaved sister.
Cécile's role is so negligable, she might as well not be here. Once, she brings a picnic basket, basically out of the blue. Mostly she's here so Marie-Grace can talk to someone about the mystery while Ocèane is in rehearsal.
But the biggest whiplash is right out of the gate, where the narration tells us that although the girls' friendship is a little unlikely, they love having adventures together. I wish I knew what the book thinks this is referring to. That one Mardi Gras ball? The time they dressed the foundling in fancy clothes to make sure he'd be accepted at the orphanage for white children? We are surely not referring to an epidemic (that seems all but forgotten here) as an adventure?? I, too, would like the series where MG and Cécile have multiple adventures together, but that's not the series AG gave us.
August 4, 2020
2.5 stars, rounded up for the black history subplot.
This Marie-Grace mystery is much less engaging than the one that I read before it, and I am glad that I was able to borrow it from the library and read it for free. This story has low stakes, almost no character development, and an unsatisfying denouement. I was not able to figure out in advance who was responsible for the issues at the opera, but this was because the reveal was circumstantial, not because it was clever. Also, it could have been just about anyone else. The explanation for the person's deeds made very little sense, introduced a number of plot holes, and could have been switched out with any other person's confession without substantially changing the story.
This book's only merit lies in its passive entertainment value and its black history subplot. I won't go into detail about that, since I don't want to spoil the one interesting and surprising part of the book, but it was educational and unique.
This Marie-Grace mystery is much less engaging than the one that I read before it, and I am glad that I was able to borrow it from the library and read it for free. This story has low stakes, almost no character development, and an unsatisfying denouement. I was not able to figure out in advance who was responsible for the issues at the opera, but this was because the reveal was circumstantial, not because it was clever. Also, it could have been just about anyone else. The explanation for the person's deeds made very little sense, introduced a number of plot holes, and could have been switched out with any other person's confession without substantially changing the story.
This book's only merit lies in its passive entertainment value and its black history subplot. I won't go into detail about that, since I don't want to spoil the one interesting and surprising part of the book, but it was educational and unique.
March 5, 2022
Much better than the other MG mystery, but still not quite up to par with Cecile's mystery. MG is still not an interesting character and character is everything in these books.
July 18, 2013
Well, I've kind of grown out of American Girl books, but I decided to read this one for old times' sake. Because, like me, Marie-Grace loves singing and opera. If I had been a bit younger when I read the book, I would have rated it five stars, I have no doubt. And it was nice to have a little book to fill half an hour or so. It didn't take forever, and that I like. I will say that it was extremely LIGHT!!! Even for American Girl. In many of the American Girl mysteries, the bad guy is actually bad. (even though they have reasons, they are still bad) In this book, the villain was only doing bad things because they had a reason, and they really didn't mean any harm, they just had to do it, and they were so sorry, and it was really very sweet and sugar-coated. I do like how you didn't really suspect the right person until the end. Speaking of the end, however, it was very abrupt. And happy, happy, happy. Oh well, I guess it would be good for someone around ten years old or so. I just couldn't find myself getting into it a lot, but once again, I have sort of grown out of these books. It was a nice walk down memory lane, though.
February 3, 2016
My daughter and I read this book together thinking it was a ghost story...not a all. It's a mystery of who done it. Its about finding new friends and who you can trust and who you shouldn't. She and I really enjoyed it.
May 31, 2015
I'm a grown adult who has a soft spot for these type of books! This book was actually really good, an awesome mystery, a bit scary, and a great historical book. Who cares how old I am, give me more!
June 14, 2017
I may have read this. I don't remember. Help.
March 5, 2022
I was hoping that this mystery would be pretty evenly divided between Marie-Grace and Cecile. This is, after all, the third and final mystery, and each girl already got her own. Instead, I'm disappointed to report that this is very much a Marie-Grace book, and Cecile is absent for at least half the book. When she does show up, she's a supporting character, with about as much presence as a maid introduced in this book. The mystery itself is fine. The stakes feel appropriate, and I liked the backstage atmosphere. The solution was a little cheap. We aren't given a motive until after the reveal. That said, there is one interesting subplot.
November 8, 2019
Not super eerie, but a surprising reason to the ending. The mystery wasn't that difficult. It did make me look up when the next opera in town is; it's this weekend. I like Marie-Grace's character in this one.
October 9, 2024
I actually really enjoyed this book but it had some scary parts like when Marie-Grace and Cecile went in the graveyard at night and saw ida and found the note but otherwise it was a great book 😀
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2024
Took me 1 hour to read it was kinda like a rest book for me I loved the Mistry. Fun for smaller kids that are learning to read
February 13, 2018
Great one for the kiddos, especially those new to the mystery genre or just can’t get enough of it. It teaches kids (and myself) to be open to any possibility and learning solving skills as they try to figure the mystery out before the main characters do.
As the title implies, this book might make a few kids nervous but until all is revealed, which is part of the fun.
I personally haven’t yet read the Marie-Grace and Cécile series but I understood this book just well without reading the others beforehand.
As the title implies, this book might make a few kids nervous but until all is revealed, which is part of the fun.
I personally haven’t yet read the Marie-Grace and Cécile series but I understood this book just well without reading the others beforehand.
June 18, 2013
An Opera company has come to town and given Aunt Oceane the part of her dreams, but things start to go wrong and the girls questions whether or not a ghost is involved in the mishaps.
It was good to visit Marie-Grace and Cecile again - this time free from the epidemic of Yellow Fever that 'plagued' their original stories. Even though this is a mystery, complete with opera ghosts and New Orleans cemeteries, I still found it to be a lighter, fun story. I didn't think it was very scary and the "bad guy" is not even very bad. It's full of rehearsals and backstage moments that are very enjoyable.
A redeeming read for fans of Cecile and Marie-Grace who were a bit disappointed by their original boxed set!
It was good to visit Marie-Grace and Cecile again - this time free from the epidemic of Yellow Fever that 'plagued' their original stories. Even though this is a mystery, complete with opera ghosts and New Orleans cemeteries, I still found it to be a lighter, fun story. I didn't think it was very scary and the "bad guy" is not even very bad. It's full of rehearsals and backstage moments that are very enjoyable.
A redeeming read for fans of Cecile and Marie-Grace who were a bit disappointed by their original boxed set!
April 2, 2014
One of the better books about Marie-Grace/Cecile. I liked the two characters from the original series, but the plot was so bleak and depressing they were hard to read (although the overall story ended happily). It was nice to see them in a less life-threatening situation. Buckey seems born to write juvenile mysteries and her talent shines in this book that kept me guessing to the end. One major complaint: I really think the characters should have made a bigger deal about the culprit exposing Miss Bell to cat dander as pet allergies can kill, especially in an era with no pocket inhalers or home nebulizers. Shrugging it off as not a big deal might lead children to think it's okay to expose people to allergens that might kill them.
July 19, 2014
I was so thrilled to read this book after being introduced to Cecile and Marie-Grace through their slightly disappointing set of books in which the Yellow Fever epidemic was stretched too far in the series.
The Haunted Opera is based in a setting I love and centered on the talent of an Opera company. I am intrigued by New Orleans cemeteries so I loved the chapter that showed what happened when Cecile and Marie-Grace follow Ida into the cemetery.
It was an intriguing read that takes one on a journey through preparations leading up to the staged performance.
The Haunted Opera is based in a setting I love and centered on the talent of an Opera company. I am intrigued by New Orleans cemeteries so I loved the chapter that showed what happened when Cecile and Marie-Grace follow Ida into the cemetery.
It was an intriguing read that takes one on a journey through preparations leading up to the staged performance.
June 25, 2014
Not too scary. It had lots of twists and flowed well.
October 28, 2014
I love the American Girl Mysteries. This one was set in New Orleans and was good.
April 7, 2017
See the first book in the series for a full review.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews