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Accidental Detectives #16
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A collection of stories featuring twelve-year-old Ricky Kidd and some of the lessons he has learned about life.
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 1993
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About the author
Sigmund Brouwer
252 books407 followersSigmund loves going to schools to get kids excited about reading, reaching roughly 80,000 students a year through his Rock&Roll Literacy Show.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 23, 2021
This book collects eleven short stories starring Ricky Kidd and the rest of the Accidental Detectives. While they don’t all feature mysteries to solve, they do include plenty of action and fun. Ricky has a bully or two to deal with. He and Mike take a dangerous canoe ride. And a new classmate’s sculpted replica of a hand leads to a crisis of faith.
Adding to the book, after each story author Sigmund Brouwer shares some thoughts on the theme of the story and the inspiration behind it. These are just as fun as the stories themselves and could almost work as a devotional if they included scriptures. The stories themselves are quick adventures with the characters we love, and fans will be very happy with them.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
Adding to the book, after each story author Sigmund Brouwer shares some thoughts on the theme of the story and the inspiration behind it. These are just as fun as the stories themselves and could almost work as a devotional if they included scriptures. The stories themselves are quick adventures with the characters we love, and fans will be very happy with them.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
June 25, 2024
Short Cuts is the oddball book in The Accidental Detectives series, as it is an anthology of eleven short stories featuring our familiar characters, with each story followed by a quick author’s note by Sigmund Brouwer about his inspirations, life lessons, memories, opinions, and thoughts on each story. As a kid, I always skipped Short Cuts in my dozens of rereads of The Accidental Detectives, but as an adult, I think Short Cuts is one of the most impactful and clever books in the series.
I will elaborate further on each specific short story below, but overall, Short Cuts stands out because each little story packs a punch and has a directly applicable life lesson to teach. While I dislike the fact that Lisa Higgins doesn’t even get a speaking role and that Ralphy gets relegated to only one appearance, I love that Brouwer incorporates a lot of other side characters from earlier books who get fleshed out better here, such as Harold Frederick, Harvey Voortel, and Jeff Evans and Jim Jacobsen, while also creating lots of new characters to fill in the world of Jamesville. All the stories are set in Ricky’s small hometown, and this is actually the final Accidental Detectives book to feature Jamesville as the primary setting. Amid the funny stories, touching conclusions, and clever solutions, Brouwer inserts a lot of heart and a plethora of life lessons demonstrated by Ricky and his friends in everyday situations. It’s actually really refreshing after some of Ricky’s more outlandish adventures (such as Sunrise at the Mayan Temple) to see him doing normal activities like working on his newspaper delivery route or participating in a championship baseball game.
What I love most about Short Cuts is that we really get to meet Sigmund Brouwer for the first time. Sure, Ricky’s voice is very similar to his (and it takes no stretch of the imagination to envision Brouwer as the adult version of Ricky), but Brouwer takes more than half of Short Cuts to talk directly to readers about things that matter to him, ranging from Christian devotions to logical approaches in global issues to practical advice about fighting a school bully. Brouwer keeps his monologues short and to the point, and there’s a lot of wisdom in his notes. He tells a lot of personal stories from his childhood, teen years, and early career, most of which are at his own expense to teach some sort of life lesson. It’s never dull, though, because Brouwer showcases his usual sarcastic, pragmatic writer’s voice and manages to balance hilarious stories with some hard-hitting facts. You don’t want to miss the opening introduction, which includes a side-splitting interview between Brouwer and Ricky Kidd, who gets a chance to sharpen his wit against the master wit-cracker. I’ll break down each story below, but I can promise you: if you love The Accidental Detectives, you will love Short Cuts, because it takes everything great about the series and compounds it by ten.
1. Crazy as Foxes
Ricky and Mike find themselves caught in a cloudburst while canoeing on the lake, but Ricky soon realizes that his determination to win their challenge not to be the first to return to the shore may be a foolish one. This story features a clever prank on Mike’s part (very typical for their friendship) and teaches an important lesson about how ridiculous and sometimes dangerous it can be to be so determined to prove oneself.
2. The Banker Down the Street
Ricky and Joel are surprised when a traveler from India arrives in Jamesville with a letter for Mr. Harold Frederick from his long-lost brother Jim, but they are even more surprised when Mr. Frederick begins doing strange things like tossing out all his umbrellas, buying a motorcycle, and crossing a dam to get to a graveyard. Mr. Frederick first appeared in Lost Beneath Manhattan as a grumpy banker who paid for the school’s trip to New York City sheerly because of the disaster Joel made of the school fundraiser play, and he gets some excellent character development in this short story. Brouwer makes a powerful point about the importance of treasuring your life while you have it and seeing how God is too big to be contained by a small church building, and it showcases the theme of brotherly love in a sweet way.
3. Celestial C. Moondust
Mike is baffled by a mysteriously-crafted clay hand that Celestial C. Moondust, the spooky new girl in school, claims could not have been created by anything but spirits, but Mike and Ricky set out to prove her wrong. The only actual mystery in the collection, this story has a very clever scientific solution and wrestles with the concept of New Age religions and the need to prove our beliefs in front of others. I appreciate Brouwer’s respect for Celestial (aka Frieda Watson) while still remaining true to his Christian convictions about God’s Word speaking for itself.
4. Magic Pennies
Ricky, fed up with Joel’s constant shadowing of him on his paper route, decides to trick his little brother into doing half his paper route for him by telling Joel that he can find a magic penny in each mailbox, but he quickly realizes that his scheme pales in comparison to Joel’s admiration for his big brother. Ricky and Joel’s relationship is one of the most important aspects of The Accidental Detectives series, and there is no better example of Ricky’s frustration with Joel, Joel’s unswerving loyalty to his brother, and Ricky’s realization and recompense. This story also shows that Ricky’s intelligence and creativity can be put to unkind uses, and it teaches a sweet lesson about trust, patience, and not taking advantage of others’ innocence.
5. Old Friends
Ricky lands himself in trouble at school for doodling caricatures of his mostly-deaf elderly teacher Mr. Evans and his mostly-blind best friend Old Man Jacobsen on the blackboard, but Mr. Evans’ punishment for Ricky is as unconventional as it is eye-opening. This story uses an admittedly hilarious mental image (the two old friends staggering down the street stumbling and shouting at each other) and turns it into such a touching picture of enduring friendship. Ricky’s “punishment” is fitting and not too harsh, teaching him how it feels to walk in someone else’s shoes.
6. The Hero of Jamesville
After school bully Butch Dolby humiliates himself in front of the entire school, it’s his turn to be bullied relentlessly, but Ricky devises a plan to help Butch regain his self-respect and make amends with the students. This story goes the unconventional route and demonstrates redemption and forgiveness for a bully, allowing Ricky to put his cunning to good use this time and work as a team with Joel for a clever solution.
7. Current Events
Ricky, Mike, and Ralphy devise a foolproof scheme to create their own swimming and fishing hole by damming up the river, but they fail to see the ecological impact of their plan until Joel shows them. Featuring Ralphy Zee in his only appearance in Short Cuts, this little story starts off innocent but devolves quickly, showing a great character moment for Ricky as he doesn’t doubt Joel for a second but immediately tries to fix the damage he has caused. “Current Events” also features a fantastic companion author’s note by Brouwer, where he discusses his opinions on environmentalism.
8. The Fight
After an altercation over Joel’s teddy bear, Ricky gets challenged to a fight by Randy Temples, but some unconventional help from Ricky’s dad gives him an advantage over the bully and shows him that some fights are avoidable if you know how to stand your ground. The story itself is pretty routine and features a clever solution from Dad, but what really stands out about this piece is, again, Brouwer’s comments on it. He discusses the real-world facts about fighting in school, and he pulls no punches (hehe) about how hard it is to walk away from a fight. His advice is practical, wise, and sympathetic to kids who are living in a world where violence sometimes seems to be the only answer.
9. The Baseball Feud
Mike enters into a feud with Luke Haywood, the new boy in school who attempts to show Mike up on the baseball field his first day, but ends up gaining respect for him after seeing his abilities in baseball and in pulling tricks equal only to Mike’s. The only story that doesn’t really feature Ricky except as the narrator, this story features the classic baseball setting, captures the realities of cliques within sports teams, and ends with an excellent twist on our expectations, even allowing a little character growth for Mike.
10. Blindsided
Troublemaker Ernie Millhouse targets a blind student named Robert Johnson and prompts Ricky to challenge Ernie to a card game to settle their differences, but what Ernie doesn’t know is that Ricky and Robert have a clever plan up their sleeves. and while it doesn’t exactly promote the message of turning the other cheek, it does show the value of kindness, compassion, and resourcefulness. Brouwer writes another excellent companion piece here about the sometimes harsh realities of life and the freedom in recognizing that.
11. Crazy Carl
Determined to make his teddy bear fly, Joel befriends a wheelchair-bound veteran named Crazy Carl who helps Joel build a kite for the bear, but Ricky observes Joel’s innocence and friendship impacting Carl in a powerful way at the most crucial time of his life. As Brouwer acknowledges, this story has already been featured in Sunrise at the Mayan Temple in the subplot of Mad Eddie and Joel’s friendship, but “Crazy Carl” is far superior due to the lack of weird criminal revelations. It takes no stretch of the imagination to understand why this short story won Brouwer a writing award, though his comments on the winning of said award are absolutely hilarious. Definitely the best story in the collection, with a very touching ending and an overall theme of freedom of the spirit.
Though a few of the stories are a bit hit-or-miss, Short Cuts is a fantastic little collection of stories from a great writer who finally gets to speak for himself in this book. Ricky and the gang have their usual moments in the spotlight, but you really don’t want to miss Brouwer’s matter-of-fact observations on life, love, and integrity. It’s a special collection indeed, and it’s a shame I didn’t recognize that enough when I was a kid.
I will elaborate further on each specific short story below, but overall, Short Cuts stands out because each little story packs a punch and has a directly applicable life lesson to teach. While I dislike the fact that Lisa Higgins doesn’t even get a speaking role and that Ralphy gets relegated to only one appearance, I love that Brouwer incorporates a lot of other side characters from earlier books who get fleshed out better here, such as Harold Frederick, Harvey Voortel, and Jeff Evans and Jim Jacobsen, while also creating lots of new characters to fill in the world of Jamesville. All the stories are set in Ricky’s small hometown, and this is actually the final Accidental Detectives book to feature Jamesville as the primary setting. Amid the funny stories, touching conclusions, and clever solutions, Brouwer inserts a lot of heart and a plethora of life lessons demonstrated by Ricky and his friends in everyday situations. It’s actually really refreshing after some of Ricky’s more outlandish adventures (such as Sunrise at the Mayan Temple) to see him doing normal activities like working on his newspaper delivery route or participating in a championship baseball game.
What I love most about Short Cuts is that we really get to meet Sigmund Brouwer for the first time. Sure, Ricky’s voice is very similar to his (and it takes no stretch of the imagination to envision Brouwer as the adult version of Ricky), but Brouwer takes more than half of Short Cuts to talk directly to readers about things that matter to him, ranging from Christian devotions to logical approaches in global issues to practical advice about fighting a school bully. Brouwer keeps his monologues short and to the point, and there’s a lot of wisdom in his notes. He tells a lot of personal stories from his childhood, teen years, and early career, most of which are at his own expense to teach some sort of life lesson. It’s never dull, though, because Brouwer showcases his usual sarcastic, pragmatic writer’s voice and manages to balance hilarious stories with some hard-hitting facts. You don’t want to miss the opening introduction, which includes a side-splitting interview between Brouwer and Ricky Kidd, who gets a chance to sharpen his wit against the master wit-cracker. I’ll break down each story below, but I can promise you: if you love The Accidental Detectives, you will love Short Cuts, because it takes everything great about the series and compounds it by ten.
If you’d have told the 12-year-old me that someday he’d be able to take all his daydreams about mysteries and adventures and make them happen in books, the kid would have become delirious with excitement. But now he’s me and together it’s happening, and the 12-year-old in me gives me high fives whenever I think about how great all of this is. (Does that make sense?)
1. Crazy as Foxes
Ricky and Mike find themselves caught in a cloudburst while canoeing on the lake, but Ricky soon realizes that his determination to win their challenge not to be the first to return to the shore may be a foolish one. This story features a clever prank on Mike’s part (very typical for their friendship) and teaches an important lesson about how ridiculous and sometimes dangerous it can be to be so determined to prove oneself.
2. The Banker Down the Street
Ricky and Joel are surprised when a traveler from India arrives in Jamesville with a letter for Mr. Harold Frederick from his long-lost brother Jim, but they are even more surprised when Mr. Frederick begins doing strange things like tossing out all his umbrellas, buying a motorcycle, and crossing a dam to get to a graveyard. Mr. Frederick first appeared in Lost Beneath Manhattan as a grumpy banker who paid for the school’s trip to New York City sheerly because of the disaster Joel made of the school fundraiser play, and he gets some excellent character development in this short story. Brouwer makes a powerful point about the importance of treasuring your life while you have it and seeing how God is too big to be contained by a small church building, and it showcases the theme of brotherly love in a sweet way.
3. Celestial C. Moondust
Mike is baffled by a mysteriously-crafted clay hand that Celestial C. Moondust, the spooky new girl in school, claims could not have been created by anything but spirits, but Mike and Ricky set out to prove her wrong. The only actual mystery in the collection, this story has a very clever scientific solution and wrestles with the concept of New Age religions and the need to prove our beliefs in front of others. I appreciate Brouwer’s respect for Celestial (aka Frieda Watson) while still remaining true to his Christian convictions about God’s Word speaking for itself.
4. Magic Pennies
Ricky, fed up with Joel’s constant shadowing of him on his paper route, decides to trick his little brother into doing half his paper route for him by telling Joel that he can find a magic penny in each mailbox, but he quickly realizes that his scheme pales in comparison to Joel’s admiration for his big brother. Ricky and Joel’s relationship is one of the most important aspects of The Accidental Detectives series, and there is no better example of Ricky’s frustration with Joel, Joel’s unswerving loyalty to his brother, and Ricky’s realization and recompense. This story also shows that Ricky’s intelligence and creativity can be put to unkind uses, and it teaches a sweet lesson about trust, patience, and not taking advantage of others’ innocence.
5. Old Friends
Ricky lands himself in trouble at school for doodling caricatures of his mostly-deaf elderly teacher Mr. Evans and his mostly-blind best friend Old Man Jacobsen on the blackboard, but Mr. Evans’ punishment for Ricky is as unconventional as it is eye-opening. This story uses an admittedly hilarious mental image (the two old friends staggering down the street stumbling and shouting at each other) and turns it into such a touching picture of enduring friendship. Ricky’s “punishment” is fitting and not too harsh, teaching him how it feels to walk in someone else’s shoes.
6. The Hero of Jamesville
After school bully Butch Dolby humiliates himself in front of the entire school, it’s his turn to be bullied relentlessly, but Ricky devises a plan to help Butch regain his self-respect and make amends with the students. This story goes the unconventional route and demonstrates redemption and forgiveness for a bully, allowing Ricky to put his cunning to good use this time and work as a team with Joel for a clever solution.
7. Current Events
Ricky, Mike, and Ralphy devise a foolproof scheme to create their own swimming and fishing hole by damming up the river, but they fail to see the ecological impact of their plan until Joel shows them. Featuring Ralphy Zee in his only appearance in Short Cuts, this little story starts off innocent but devolves quickly, showing a great character moment for Ricky as he doesn’t doubt Joel for a second but immediately tries to fix the damage he has caused. “Current Events” also features a fantastic companion author’s note by Brouwer, where he discusses his opinions on environmentalism.
8. The Fight
After an altercation over Joel’s teddy bear, Ricky gets challenged to a fight by Randy Temples, but some unconventional help from Ricky’s dad gives him an advantage over the bully and shows him that some fights are avoidable if you know how to stand your ground. The story itself is pretty routine and features a clever solution from Dad, but what really stands out about this piece is, again, Brouwer’s comments on it. He discusses the real-world facts about fighting in school, and he pulls no punches (hehe) about how hard it is to walk away from a fight. His advice is practical, wise, and sympathetic to kids who are living in a world where violence sometimes seems to be the only answer.
9. The Baseball Feud
Mike enters into a feud with Luke Haywood, the new boy in school who attempts to show Mike up on the baseball field his first day, but ends up gaining respect for him after seeing his abilities in baseball and in pulling tricks equal only to Mike’s. The only story that doesn’t really feature Ricky except as the narrator, this story features the classic baseball setting, captures the realities of cliques within sports teams, and ends with an excellent twist on our expectations, even allowing a little character growth for Mike.
10. Blindsided
Troublemaker Ernie Millhouse targets a blind student named Robert Johnson and prompts Ricky to challenge Ernie to a card game to settle their differences, but what Ernie doesn’t know is that Ricky and Robert have a clever plan up their sleeves. and while it doesn’t exactly promote the message of turning the other cheek, it does show the value of kindness, compassion, and resourcefulness. Brouwer writes another excellent companion piece here about the sometimes harsh realities of life and the freedom in recognizing that.
11. Crazy Carl
Determined to make his teddy bear fly, Joel befriends a wheelchair-bound veteran named Crazy Carl who helps Joel build a kite for the bear, but Ricky observes Joel’s innocence and friendship impacting Carl in a powerful way at the most crucial time of his life. As Brouwer acknowledges, this story has already been featured in Sunrise at the Mayan Temple in the subplot of Mad Eddie and Joel’s friendship, but “Crazy Carl” is far superior due to the lack of weird criminal revelations. It takes no stretch of the imagination to understand why this short story won Brouwer a writing award, though his comments on the winning of said award are absolutely hilarious. Definitely the best story in the collection, with a very touching ending and an overall theme of freedom of the spirit.
Though a few of the stories are a bit hit-or-miss, Short Cuts is a fantastic little collection of stories from a great writer who finally gets to speak for himself in this book. Ricky and the gang have their usual moments in the spotlight, but you really don’t want to miss Brouwer’s matter-of-fact observations on life, love, and integrity. It’s a special collection indeed, and it’s a shame I didn’t recognize that enough when I was a kid.
July 26, 2013
Another 4.5 book from the Accidental Detectives series. And since I finished this book, I am officially done with the series! Woot!
The only reason I gave this book 4.5 stars was because of the last chapter/short story, and the thoughts from the author that followed. I didn't agree with them. And that's it. Or else it would have been five stars.
I definitely recommend this series to any young (or older!) Christian who loves a good mystery!
The only reason I gave this book 4.5 stars was because of the last chapter/short story, and the thoughts from the author that followed. I didn't agree with them. And that's it. Or else it would have been five stars.
I definitely recommend this series to any young (or older!) Christian who loves a good mystery!
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