The Case of the Feathered Mask

The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins #4

by Holly Webb, Marion Lindsay (Illustrator)

Maisie Hitchins longs to be a detective. She’s sure there are lots of adventures to be had on the streets of Victorian London. And, together with her faithful puppy, Eddie, she is determined to follow even the slightest scent of a mystery � no matter what! In book four of the Maisie Hitchins series, Maisie finds herself coming to the aid of her friend Professor Tobin. The professor has travelled all over the world, collecting strange and wonderful objects. Now he plans to donate his collection to the British Museum � including a rare and valuable tribal mask from the Amazonian rainforest. But when a thief breaks into the boarding house and steals the Feathered Mask, leaving only a single feather, Maisie realizes she has a new mystery on her hands. A new series by best-selling author Holly Webb, packed with mystery and adventure. Perfect for readers aged six to eight years.

Genres: Mystery, Chapter Books, Childrens, Middle Grade, Historical, Fiction, Amazon

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Holly Webb is one of Britain's best-loved children's writers. She has written over a hundred books for children, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages. Holly lives in Tilehurst, just outside of Reading, Berkshire, with her husband, three children and several cats.

Reviews

[Iryna Khomchuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Це — чи не найцікавіша історія із серії книг про юну детективку Мейзі Хітчінз (принаймні з уже прочитаних нами). Тут і історії невідомих племен, і загадкова Амазонія, і хоробрі дітлахи, й пояснення того, як речі можуть по-різному оцінюватися людьми.

Так, дерев’яна, оздоблена пір’ям маска для британців була лише предметом, який міг прикрасити будь-яку колекцію, чи то приватну, чи музейну. А от для далекого племені з берегів Амазонки вона — запорука благополуччя цілого народу, бо люди це вірять. Чудова нагода поговорити з дитиною про віру, символізм тощо, чи не так?

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This comes so, so close to discussing how European museums aren't the best place for Indigenous relics but ultimately drops the ball. It's good for a conversation starter, but I wish Webb had trusted that children could understand the message more, which also goes for the "human museum" (or "freak show") Maisie and George visit.

[Iraa ☘️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"everything was strange, and new, and she didn't like it one bit." ch. 5

that pretty much summed up this fourth installment of Maisie Hitchins mysteries, dlm seri keempat ini gak seperti biasanya dimana Maisie menyelesaikan kasus dgn mengamati pentunjuk2 di sekelilingnya, kali ini lebiih drawn out pacenya dan kurang ada usaha penyelidikan krn Maisie jg di handicapped secara fisik yg buat dia gak tahu apa2 saat kejadian pencurian.

Disini Maisie jg nunjukkin sisi kekanak kanakannya (walaupun emg msh kecil, 9 thn) dia lebih mudah terpancing emosinya drpd seri sebelum2nya, awalnya agak terganggu tp lama kelamaan nerima perubahan ini, mungkin ini yg disebut character development, bisa buat pencerahan jg gimana Maisie akan ditulis di seri2 berikutnya.

Seri ini naro perhatian lebih utama ke hubungan antar tokoh, maisie dgn neneknya, maisie dgn george, prof. tobin dgn daniel, dan nantinya maisie dengan ayahnya yg dikabarkan akan pulang krn mau pensiun, it definitely sets the reader anticipation for the next stories, I hope the author would blend this newly found intimacy with the mysterious atmosphere that had existed since vol. 1 nicely in a more balanced kinda way.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: "But I don't see why you want to give all these things away, Professor."

Premise/plot: Maisie Hitchins stars in a mystery series for children. In this, her fourth adventure, she solves the case of the feathered mask. It begins with Professor Tobin deciding to give away most of his collection to the British Museum. As he's packing everything up, with Maisie's help, he tells her the story of his favorite mask--an Amazon one. Later that night, Maisie wakes up when her dog starts acting strangely. She feels certain that a burglar is in the house. Turns out she was right, and he was after one specific thing: the feathered mask. Can Maisie recover her memory (the confrontation with the burglar in the middle of the night did not go well) and solve the case?

My thoughts: I really enjoy this series. If Maisie had been around when I was a kid perhaps I would have started reading mysteries before the age of thirty.

[KiraNi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Необычайно красивая маска из экспедиции, кража и странный мальчик, что следит за профессором. Несмотря на новые приключения, Мейзи помогает бабушке, а здесь ещё и какой-то необычный цирк.

Легкая и незамысловатая история о девочке. Детям, особенно любителям загадок, очень понравится эта серия книг. Читается быстро и язык автора довольно простой для восприятия. Герои меняются и растут, а новые персонажи добавляют динамики и живости истории. При этом взрослый читатель поймет, что они очень плоские и почти не прописаны. Не было никаких чувств, чтобы переживать и особенно волноваться о героях. Так как история расчитана на детей, то и подача идёт более детская. Идея совершенно не новая, да и исполнение на уровне, но не идеальное, и особенно не на высоте. На каждой странице хочется остановиться и бросить чтение, но видя объем просто дочитываешь со скучающей миной.

Книге я поставила 3/5. Для меня это было что-то вроде "прочитать чтобы быстрее закончить цикл". Несмотря на то, что историю я прочла и забыла, буду читать остальные книги, ибо они небольшие и хороши для расслабления.

Удачного чтения!

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fourth installment of The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins does not require readers to have read any others. Each is a mystery of its own. Maisie lives in a boarding house in London with her grandmother and as she cleans around the house after its guests, she happens upon clues to mysteries. The reading is fairly easy despite the frequent times readers will notice words not often use here in the United States. In this story, a guest has decided to share his treasures from world travel with a British Museum. One of the masks is stolen before it is taken to the museum. The museum curator is miffed and involves the police in recovering the mask. Of course, the police gather less clues than Maisie and she unravels the truth, and devises a plan to get the best possible outcome for all.

Though there are some language differences, this is a decent mystery that may appeal to my elementary students seeking this genre.

[Philhatch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took a while to read to Tiny as she is currently obsessed with Harry Potter so it was second choice for quite a while and we had a long hiatus!

It's a good story - we both enjoyed it - and I think plays the cultural sensitivity of the subject matter pretty well (or, at least, safely) for reading to a 5 year old.

As it's set in the Victorian era, the characters' attitudes to cultural and ethnic diversity would inevitably be more than a little old-fashioned. Webb hasn't shied away from that and nor has she spent too much time explaining it. Occasionally I wished it was made a bit clearer that certain behaviours were not kind, but it was a fine line to tread and as I was reading it to Tiny I could ask her what she thought about some things or explain some extra context about the time as we went along.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Maisie Hitchins is concerned when Professor Tobin, a lodger in her grandmother’s boarding house, has a rare tribal mask stolen on the eve of his special exhibit at the British Museum. How do a feather, a mysterious stranger, Dacre’s Museum of Curiosities, and a boy from the past tie into a story that began years ago in the Amazon? In this latest book in the series, amateur sleuth Maisie takes on new challenges in London to solve this crime, one clue at a time. Short, action-packed chapters, accompanied by pen and ink line drawings, make this an ideal book for newly independent readers, as well as an engaging read-aloud.

[Drine Psylook · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’ai beaucoup aimé ce volume, l’ambiance est toujours aussi plaisante, je regrette juste que Grand-Mère ne soit pas plus présente, je l’apprécie beaucoup et je trouve qu’elle manquait.
https://psylook.kimengumi.fr/2018/03/...

[Su Yin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book I just randomly read. I found it in the library and read it but it didn’t make much sense without reading the rest of the series (which I couldn’t be bothered to do). Not the best mystery book I’ve reread but it wouldn’t be good for young children.

[Alice Hannah Bates]

Not a patch on the other masie books

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery adventure as we follow along with Maisie.

[Чі · Rating 5 out of 5]

🐅🐅🐅🐅

[Ally Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

mystery set in victorian london....good red herrings with clues to real thief planted deftly in the story

[D.peabody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maisie helps look after her Grandmas boarding house but what she really wants is to be a detective. When Professor Tobin's African mask is stolen she is on the case. This was a nice mystery set in old England (I assume as it is never made clear). I liked the illustrations all the way through and the aged pages.

[Suzie Bookgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maisie helps look after her Grandmas boarding house but what she really wants is to be a detective. When Professor Tobin's African mask is stolen she is on the case. This was a nice mystery set in old England (I assume as it is never made clear). I liked the illustrations all the way through and the aged pages.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 4 in the series "The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins". Good story line, but not as clever as earlier books in this series. Good for studying the components of a mystery and excellent for early-chapter book readers.

[Leandre Zerbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encore une affaire rondement menée pour Maisie Hitchins !

[Molly Tysle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good fourth instalment to the Maisie series. I love this girl.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maisie is an entertaining young detective.

[Kathleen Meacham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books in this series are so good, and lots of fun.