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Case Closed #1
Mystery in the Mansion
Carlos Serrano has never solved a mystery in his life. And he’s counting on you to solve his first one.
On the morning of a big investigation that would save her failing detective agency, Carlos’s mom gets sick with a nasty flu. But Las Pistas Detective Agency can’t afford to lose this case, or they will close down for sure. That’s where Carlos—and you—come in.
With the help of his best friend Eliza and her wild little brother Frank, Carlos takes over the investigation. The mystery involves an eccentric local millionaire, who starts receiving death threats. It appears someone wants to get their hands on a buried fortune. However, their search for the culprit is complicated by tricky riddles, cagey suspects, hidden secrets, and dozens of impossible choices. They need your help!
In this hilarious, interactive, and puzzle-filled adventure, YOU pick which suspects to interview, which questions to ask, and which clues to follow. Can you help Carlos and his friends figure out who’s sending the death threats, find a lost treasure, and save Las Pistas Detective Agency? Or will it be case closed? You pick the path, you crack the case!
On the morning of a big investigation that would save her failing detective agency, Carlos’s mom gets sick with a nasty flu. But Las Pistas Detective Agency can’t afford to lose this case, or they will close down for sure. That’s where Carlos—and you—come in.
With the help of his best friend Eliza and her wild little brother Frank, Carlos takes over the investigation. The mystery involves an eccentric local millionaire, who starts receiving death threats. It appears someone wants to get their hands on a buried fortune. However, their search for the culprit is complicated by tricky riddles, cagey suspects, hidden secrets, and dozens of impossible choices. They need your help!
In this hilarious, interactive, and puzzle-filled adventure, YOU pick which suspects to interview, which questions to ask, and which clues to follow. Can you help Carlos and his friends figure out who’s sending the death threats, find a lost treasure, and save Las Pistas Detective Agency? Or will it be case closed? You pick the path, you crack the case!
390 pages, Hardcover
First published August 14, 2018
572 people are currently reading
3818 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Magaziner
28 books221 followersLauren Magaziner is the internationally bestselling author of the The Incorruptibles series, the Case Closed series, The Mythics series. She is also the author of stand-alone humorous middle grade books: The Only Thing Worse Than Witches, Pilfer Academy, and Wizardmatch. Lauren is originally from New Hope, Pennsylvania, and she currently resides in Philadelphia, where she writes full-time. You can visit her at laurenmagaziner.com or follow along with her newsletter at laurenmagaziner.substack.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
March 17, 2021
Can you figure out the mystery or will you bump against a dead end?
I just adore Choose-Your-Own-Adventures and so I couldn't resist this fun looking book promising tons of mystery. I first made a chart with the help of my fiance, and we had fun finding all the exits and listing them, and then came solving all the puzzles. Yep, there are puzzles and we both went to working on figuring them out. Some were easy, some a bit harder. For one we had to use the help, but the rest we were able to figure out on our own. So, chart ready it was time to pick a route (there are 3 main ones) and get to reading.
I know, some may think a chart is cheating, but I have noticed I get totally confuzzled when reading these kind of books and just tend to give up after finding one way. So charts it is! I love these books, but there are so many possible ways you get lost.
In this one our MC, Carlos, takes on a big big case when his mom falls sick. Things have already been dicey at their home with not much money to spare and a job in danger of falling apart if they don't take this case. Luckily for Carlos' mom Carlos is eager to solve the mystery and he brings with him two friends Eliza and her little (slightly annoying) brother Frank.
I first picked one route which mostly didn't involve much treasure hunting and was more about finding the culprit and then coming across the treasure. It was quite an exciting first route to pick and I had fun investigating with Carlos and his friends. Seeing what all the suspects were saying and what clues we could find. And then finding the ending, which of course means that the case is solved and that his mom's detective agency is saved.
After that picking a second route, this one with more treasure clues and treasure hunting. I have to say out of the two I liked the second one much more. I love chasing after baddies but treasure hunting and finding clues? So much more fun.
I still have one smallish route to follow, I will get to that one later, kind of curious to see what kind of things we will discover in there, oh my! And yes, I haven't read it yet, I know, but the outcome is the same for all the rounds, so it does get a tad boring after reading two out of three.
I wasn't a big fan of Frank, but that is because I generally am not a fan of little brothers/sisters tagging along and not having a clue when to shut up. I get that he is a small kid, and he does act perfectly for his age, but still, I just can't stand them. Sorry.
I love the friendship between Eliza and Carlos, they made quite the pair and I loved how, when Carlos finally told Eliza about what was going on in his home that she was there for him, and even started supporting him even more (and yes that was possible). Both of them had their strengths that helped them solve this case.
I also liked that days could pass. We start at Day 1, but there is also days 2 and 3. The kids have to recover at times from all the things they discovered during the day.
You had both good and bad endings. Of course, like any choose your adventure more bad than good ones. I have to say that while I did like some of the bad endings, some were just a bit too ridiculous for me (like the one with Antarctica) and didn't seem to fit the story. Then again, I do want to give thumbs up for being creative with them. You have to come up with something to fill those bad endings and I am sure it isn't easy given how many of them there are.
All in all, a highly recommended mystery Choose-Your-Own-Adventure and I cannot wait for the next one to come out, I definitely need more of this.
Oh, and if anyone wants the chart, let me know and I will put it up on my blog. <3
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I just adore Choose-Your-Own-Adventures and so I couldn't resist this fun looking book promising tons of mystery. I first made a chart with the help of my fiance, and we had fun finding all the exits and listing them, and then came solving all the puzzles. Yep, there are puzzles and we both went to working on figuring them out. Some were easy, some a bit harder. For one we had to use the help, but the rest we were able to figure out on our own. So, chart ready it was time to pick a route (there are 3 main ones) and get to reading.
I know, some may think a chart is cheating, but I have noticed I get totally confuzzled when reading these kind of books and just tend to give up after finding one way. So charts it is! I love these books, but there are so many possible ways you get lost.
In this one our MC, Carlos, takes on a big big case when his mom falls sick. Things have already been dicey at their home with not much money to spare and a job in danger of falling apart if they don't take this case. Luckily for Carlos' mom Carlos is eager to solve the mystery and he brings with him two friends Eliza and her little (slightly annoying) brother Frank.
I first picked one route which mostly didn't involve much treasure hunting and was more about finding the culprit and then coming across the treasure. It was quite an exciting first route to pick and I had fun investigating with Carlos and his friends. Seeing what all the suspects were saying and what clues we could find. And then finding the ending, which of course means that the case is solved and that his mom's detective agency is saved.
After that picking a second route, this one with more treasure clues and treasure hunting. I have to say out of the two I liked the second one much more. I love chasing after baddies but treasure hunting and finding clues? So much more fun.
I still have one smallish route to follow, I will get to that one later, kind of curious to see what kind of things we will discover in there, oh my! And yes, I haven't read it yet, I know, but the outcome is the same for all the rounds, so it does get a tad boring after reading two out of three.
I wasn't a big fan of Frank, but that is because I generally am not a fan of little brothers/sisters tagging along and not having a clue when to shut up. I get that he is a small kid, and he does act perfectly for his age, but still, I just can't stand them. Sorry.
I love the friendship between Eliza and Carlos, they made quite the pair and I loved how, when Carlos finally told Eliza about what was going on in his home that she was there for him, and even started supporting him even more (and yes that was possible). Both of them had their strengths that helped them solve this case.
I also liked that days could pass. We start at Day 1, but there is also days 2 and 3. The kids have to recover at times from all the things they discovered during the day.
You had both good and bad endings. Of course, like any choose your adventure more bad than good ones. I have to say that while I did like some of the bad endings, some were just a bit too ridiculous for me (like the one with Antarctica) and didn't seem to fit the story. Then again, I do want to give thumbs up for being creative with them. You have to come up with something to fill those bad endings and I am sure it isn't easy given how many of them there are.
All in all, a highly recommended mystery Choose-Your-Own-Adventure and I cannot wait for the next one to come out, I definitely need more of this.
Oh, and if anyone wants the chart, let me know and I will put it up on my blog. <3
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
November 20, 2021
"Time is a fiend, children. It moves faster and faster the older you get."
—Guinevere LeCavalier, Mystery in the Mansion, P. 86
When I first heard about Mystery in the Mansion, I was excited. A mainstream children's author writing a gamebook nearly four hundred pages long was almost unprecedented; what innovations would Lauren Magaziner introduce? Young Carlos Serrano is in a tight spot. The Las Pistas Detective Agency has seen a decline in fortune since the owner, Carlos's mother, bungled a big case half a year ago. No one hires her anymore, and the Serranos are in a financial crunch. So it's a godsend when Guinevere LeCavalier, an elderly woman from the posh River Woods neighborhood, contacts Las Pistas for help. She is receiving credible threats on her life, and wants the agency to put a stop to it. This could be the break Carlos's mother needs, but the morning she's scheduled to meet with Mrs. LeCavalier, Carlos's mother awakens with a debilitating cold. She asks him to call her associate detective, but Carlos knows Cole is busy with his own caseload. Carlos sneaks away to meet Mrs. LeCavalier and take the case himself, but does he have it in him to stare down mortal danger and reason through difficult clues like a real gumshoe?
Carlos won't be alone as you guide him. His clever friend Eliza, who knows nothing of the Serranos' financial problems, joins the investigation, accompanied by her quirky six-year-old brother Frank. Not long after the trio arrives in River Woods, it's obvious this is no normal case. Guinevere LeCavalier is wildly eccentric; her married daughter, Ivy, has feuded with her for years, but is just now returning to the fold in hopes of reconciliation; ill-tempered Smythe, the butler, is suspiciously opposed to the young detectives exploring the sprawling LeCavalier home; and the neighbor, elderly Patty Schnozzleton, routinely spies on the estate from inside her own mansion. Add a greasy lawyer (Joe Maddock), a shifty landscaper (Otto Paternoster), and others weary of Mrs. LeCavalier's peculiar ways, and the pool of suspects is in no danger of drying up.
With three hundred ninety pages of story, Carlos and friends have room to roam. Direct them to interrogate Smythe, Maddock, Ivy, or Guinevere LeCavalier, depending on what your instincts tell you. Which of the suspects are merely irritable, and who holds a grudge deep enough that they might resort to murder? The mansion is spectacular at first sight, but there's more beneath the surface: Mrs. LeCavalier's deceased husband designed it with secret corridors, rooms, and underground tunnels, often featuring built-in puzzles you must solve to gain entry. Mr. LeCavalier was quite a prankster; can you spot his jokes before Carlos gets played? Instead of investigating at the mansion, you could send the detectives to Patty Schnozzleton's house and probe her connection to the threats. A significant portion of the mystery involves her, and there are clues at her residence. Proceed logically, but hurry: if the case isn't solved to Mrs. LeCavalier's satisfaction, the Las Pistas Detective Agency will never regain its luster. Can Carlos, Eliza, and Frank deliver under pressure?
Mystery in the Mansion may be too cliché, random, and silly for its own good, but there are things to like. The mansion's atmosphere is superb at times, though the feeling could have been more pervasive. I love that Lauren Magaziner put such creative energy into constructing a gamebook. The Case Closed series is loaded with potential, and I'm as excited for book two as I was for this one. I'd rate The Mystery in the Mansion one and a half stars, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. If you like long, complex gamebooks, this is right up your alley.
—Guinevere LeCavalier, Mystery in the Mansion, P. 86
When I first heard about Mystery in the Mansion, I was excited. A mainstream children's author writing a gamebook nearly four hundred pages long was almost unprecedented; what innovations would Lauren Magaziner introduce? Young Carlos Serrano is in a tight spot. The Las Pistas Detective Agency has seen a decline in fortune since the owner, Carlos's mother, bungled a big case half a year ago. No one hires her anymore, and the Serranos are in a financial crunch. So it's a godsend when Guinevere LeCavalier, an elderly woman from the posh River Woods neighborhood, contacts Las Pistas for help. She is receiving credible threats on her life, and wants the agency to put a stop to it. This could be the break Carlos's mother needs, but the morning she's scheduled to meet with Mrs. LeCavalier, Carlos's mother awakens with a debilitating cold. She asks him to call her associate detective, but Carlos knows Cole is busy with his own caseload. Carlos sneaks away to meet Mrs. LeCavalier and take the case himself, but does he have it in him to stare down mortal danger and reason through difficult clues like a real gumshoe?
Carlos won't be alone as you guide him. His clever friend Eliza, who knows nothing of the Serranos' financial problems, joins the investigation, accompanied by her quirky six-year-old brother Frank. Not long after the trio arrives in River Woods, it's obvious this is no normal case. Guinevere LeCavalier is wildly eccentric; her married daughter, Ivy, has feuded with her for years, but is just now returning to the fold in hopes of reconciliation; ill-tempered Smythe, the butler, is suspiciously opposed to the young detectives exploring the sprawling LeCavalier home; and the neighbor, elderly Patty Schnozzleton, routinely spies on the estate from inside her own mansion. Add a greasy lawyer (Joe Maddock), a shifty landscaper (Otto Paternoster), and others weary of Mrs. LeCavalier's peculiar ways, and the pool of suspects is in no danger of drying up.
With three hundred ninety pages of story, Carlos and friends have room to roam. Direct them to interrogate Smythe, Maddock, Ivy, or Guinevere LeCavalier, depending on what your instincts tell you. Which of the suspects are merely irritable, and who holds a grudge deep enough that they might resort to murder? The mansion is spectacular at first sight, but there's more beneath the surface: Mrs. LeCavalier's deceased husband designed it with secret corridors, rooms, and underground tunnels, often featuring built-in puzzles you must solve to gain entry. Mr. LeCavalier was quite a prankster; can you spot his jokes before Carlos gets played? Instead of investigating at the mansion, you could send the detectives to Patty Schnozzleton's house and probe her connection to the threats. A significant portion of the mystery involves her, and there are clues at her residence. Proceed logically, but hurry: if the case isn't solved to Mrs. LeCavalier's satisfaction, the Las Pistas Detective Agency will never regain its luster. Can Carlos, Eliza, and Frank deliver under pressure?
Mystery in the Mansion may be too cliché, random, and silly for its own good, but there are things to like. The mansion's atmosphere is superb at times, though the feeling could have been more pervasive. I love that Lauren Magaziner put such creative energy into constructing a gamebook. The Case Closed series is loaded with potential, and I'm as excited for book two as I was for this one. I'd rate The Mystery in the Mansion one and a half stars, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. If you like long, complex gamebooks, this is right up your alley.
February 12, 2024
Sort of a choose your own adventure type deal, with a kid trying to solve a case and save his mother's detective agency.
Not bad for that sort of thing.
Not bad for that sort of thing.
August 19, 2018
This is a book you'll book talk and it will need a waiting list for - with choices and mystery and action and puzzles everyone is going to want to read this one!
July 13, 2018
Mystery in the Mansion is the first in a series of pick your path and crack the case books. This is a choose-your-own adventure book for children ages 8 - 12. Carlos Serrano, his friend Eliza, and her little brother set out to solve a case for his mother's detective agency. The agency is failing and this is somewhat of a last resort to preserve their family's belongings. The reader will be challenged to uncover the answers. There are many choices and different endings. The reader that enjoys the choose your own ending books will surely like this one. I received a complimentary advance reader's edition from Goodreads Giveaways for a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
March 16, 2020
I died in the book.
March 3, 2022
Este libro era un poco dificil pero sin embargo era muy divertido
July 22, 2018
I received this book as an ARC to read and pass down to my middle school aged kids. What a great fun read. I had so much fun deciding which path to read. The fun of this book is if you have kids that may not want to read, the sections are short, there are a ton of options to chose and they direct the story. The story is really cute about 3 kids that are helping out the main characters mom that has the flu. She leads a detective agency and really needs this case, so her son and his friends take over.
March 22, 2023
Pues muy chulo, me encantan los libros de elige tu propia aventura y en este vas descubriendo cosas nuevas sobre el misterio con cada nueva ruta que eliges. Algunos finales son un poco asá y, lo siento, pero no aguanto a Frank. Por lo demás, muy divertido.
March 30, 2025
No está mal, pero al tener muchas historias diferentes se me hace un poco interminable
Read
October 14, 2018Initial thoughts:
I have mixed thoughts on this one. I enjoyed the story, and I enjoyed the writing. Magaziner's work has always been quirky, so connecting with it will always be a taste thing for readers, but I think I liked it even better in this, her fourth book, than in some of her previous work. There are crazy things like ball pits and gross dogs, but it was all fun quirky and not over-the-top or too "trying hard to be quirky," which is a vibe I sometimes get from other middle grade.
So, as a novel, this is possibly my favorite book by Magaziner yet. She just gets better and better. However, as a choose-your-own adventure, I'm not sure. At the beginning, it didn't seem to matter which path I chose because I had to cover all the choices anyway. Once the choices diverged, I think I finished the book and solved the mystery in like 10 minutes. From flipping around, it looks as if I could have taken a different path to solve the mystery...but I'm not sure I would find this interesting if, in either case, I have solved the mystery and the outcome isn't really different.
Perhaps my reading is colored because I just read the adult choose-your-own-adventure romance, My Lady's Choosing, which has tons and tons of really very different paths and outcomes.
Either way, I'm sure this is a book that will be a big hit with the target audience.
I have mixed thoughts on this one. I enjoyed the story, and I enjoyed the writing. Magaziner's work has always been quirky, so connecting with it will always be a taste thing for readers, but I think I liked it even better in this, her fourth book, than in some of her previous work. There are crazy things like ball pits and gross dogs, but it was all fun quirky and not over-the-top or too "trying hard to be quirky," which is a vibe I sometimes get from other middle grade.
So, as a novel, this is possibly my favorite book by Magaziner yet. She just gets better and better. However, as a choose-your-own adventure, I'm not sure. At the beginning, it didn't seem to matter which path I chose because I had to cover all the choices anyway. Once the choices diverged, I think I finished the book and solved the mystery in like 10 minutes. From flipping around, it looks as if I could have taken a different path to solve the mystery...but I'm not sure I would find this interesting if, in either case, I have solved the mystery and the outcome isn't really different.
Perhaps my reading is colored because I just read the adult choose-your-own-adventure romance, My Lady's Choosing, which has tons and tons of really very different paths and outcomes.
Either way, I'm sure this is a book that will be a big hit with the target audience.
February 25, 2025
Este libro ha sido mas juego que historia, porque el argumento hace aguas por todas partes. A lo mejor si hubiesemos escogido otras opciones habría mas información, no sé... El caso es que la historia en sí es floja, pero mi hijo (y yo también, la verdad) se lo ha pasado pipa siguiendo las pistas y descifrando los enigmas. Hay un momento en que la escena es un poco macabra para un niño de 8 años, y si fallas te acaba comiendo un caimán, pero no es nada gráfico (mi hijo no es fan de las historias mínimamente violentas y no tuvo ningún problema, por lo que pueda valer). Lo bueno es que podemos volver a leerlo escogiendo otras cosas y ver como cambia la historia, y ya me está pidiendo el siguiente libro también :)
December 11, 2023
This book is really interesting. This wasn't the fun kids read I expected. It's a choose-your-own-adventure book. As I was reading, I wanted to see one of the cases closed. I flipped to a page, Even though there were some scary cases closed, I still really liked this book, and I think you would too.
January 18, 2023
Dnf 20%
I wanted a "you're the hero" story so I picked this book up but it's extremely childish, not for anyone above 10 years old I'd say. I guess it would be okay for young readers, but I clearly wasn't the target audience (which is why I'm giving it three stars and not less).
I wanted a "you're the hero" story so I picked this book up but it's extremely childish, not for anyone above 10 years old I'd say. I guess it would be okay for young readers, but I clearly wasn't the target audience (which is why I'm giving it three stars and not less).
July 6, 2021
(spoilers)
Loved the book finished it in one day except i didnt really understand the door puzzle,but got lucky with my choice,an ended up solving the case☺️
Loved the book finished it in one day except i didnt really understand the door puzzle,but got lucky with my choice,an ended up solving the case☺️
March 11, 2020
Quand j'étais gamine, j'adorais les livres « où vous êtes le héros ». J'aimais choisir mes propres pistes et ne pas saisir la perche qu'on me tendait grossièrement. J'avais déjà un sens de la contradiction très prononcé.
Maintenant je trouve toujours sympa de lire des histoires qu'on peut inventer soi-même (mais les ficelles sont grosses, je suis une vieille aguerrie... bouh !). J'ai beau emprunter les chemins de traverse, la partie de rigolade touche trop tôt à sa fin.
Exemple avec ce roman : Mystère au manoir, par les Nouveaux Détectives.
Pour sauver l'agence de sa maman, clouée au lit à cause d'un rhume, Carlos la remplace au pied levé et rencontre une dame très riche qui souhaite retrouver le trésor caché de son défunt mari et qui reçoit des menaces de mort pour l'inciter à quitter son manoir.
Carlos recrute son amie Eliza et son petit frère Frank pour relever le défi. Sur place, les suspects ne manquent pas : l'avocat ambitieux, le majordome irascible, la voisine espionne, le jardinier snobinard ou la fille déshéritée. Tous sont louches et ont plus d'un tour dans leur sac pour déjouer les jeunes détectives avec leurs questions. Aucune discrétion. Les filatures sont mises à nu et selon les indications l'affaire peut se classer sans avoir le temps de dire ouf.
Même pas cinq minutes, pour moi. Carrément tombée dans le panneau. Pff !
Pour les amateurs du genre, c'est une chouette petite lecture.
Maintenant je trouve toujours sympa de lire des histoires qu'on peut inventer soi-même (mais les ficelles sont grosses, je suis une vieille aguerrie... bouh !). J'ai beau emprunter les chemins de traverse, la partie de rigolade touche trop tôt à sa fin.
Exemple avec ce roman : Mystère au manoir, par les Nouveaux Détectives.
Pour sauver l'agence de sa maman, clouée au lit à cause d'un rhume, Carlos la remplace au pied levé et rencontre une dame très riche qui souhaite retrouver le trésor caché de son défunt mari et qui reçoit des menaces de mort pour l'inciter à quitter son manoir.
Carlos recrute son amie Eliza et son petit frère Frank pour relever le défi. Sur place, les suspects ne manquent pas : l'avocat ambitieux, le majordome irascible, la voisine espionne, le jardinier snobinard ou la fille déshéritée. Tous sont louches et ont plus d'un tour dans leur sac pour déjouer les jeunes détectives avec leurs questions. Aucune discrétion. Les filatures sont mises à nu et selon les indications l'affaire peut se classer sans avoir le temps de dire ouf.
Même pas cinq minutes, pour moi. Carrément tombée dans le panneau. Pff !
Pour les amateurs du genre, c'est une chouette petite lecture.
April 19, 2023
This could’ve been a good story, but I did not like how it was incorporated into a book! It was really inconvenient and frustrating having to flip to a random page, then go back to the page I was on in the first place because it was “Case Closed” and the detective agency was forever doomed. Also, when I needed to flip to another page and it was “Case Closed”, If I didn’t remember the page number I was on earlier, I needed to read from the beginning and make the same choices again if I was to find my page at all! Adding to that, some parts were unrealistic - and the reason I’m mentioning this as a CON in a FICTIONAL book is because some of it was a little creepy (and in my opinion downright wrong) like one way to end the story, when an alligator swallowed the main characters whole. The kids die in so many outcomes… Once again, I could have liked this story, but the layout and idea of it all just doesn’t suit a book. Would make a MUCH better video game or online escape room.
August 16, 2024
3.5 ✨This was a choose your own adventure book so it is a very quick read for being over 300 pages. I actually had to think about some of the puzzles even though this book is for like pre teens lol 🥹
I do think some of the characters are really “this is what adults think children are like”. And there really wasn’t a plot apart from “mystery”
I do think some of the characters are really “this is what adults think children are like”. And there really wasn’t a plot apart from “mystery”
November 3, 2020
I liked it but my ending because it is a pick your own adventure story was so weird. I liked the mystery but the end and I didn’t even know if I had finished the book or not
April 17, 2021
I Libri-Game si leggono come un libro ma si giocano come un video-game. La particolarità di questi libri è che una volta conclusi si possono rileggere all’infinito. La serie “Caso Chiuso” si compone di tre volumi. si possono leggere separati perché parliamo di volumi autoconclusivi sebbene nei volumi compaiano sempre gli stessi protagonisti. La prosa di Lauren Magaziner è fluida, semplice e accattivante, le descrizioni dei luoghi e la caratterizzazione dei personaggi è davvero ottima. Gli enigmi non sono impossibili da risolvere ricordiamoci che parliamo di un libro selezionato per una fascia d’età tra i dieci e i quattordici ma, ma, ma sebbene gli enigmi non siano impossibili, non vuol dire che siano semplici o banali al contrario vi faranno perdere un po’ la testa (in senso piacevole). Nel terzo volume “Caso Chiuso - Il mistero dello chalet infestato” i tre ragazzi sono ufficialmente assistenti investigativi e vanno sempre a caccia di nuovi misteri, anche se talvolta sembrerebbe che siano i misteri a cercare loro. La signora Winters proprietaria di un B&B di lusso chiede aiuto ai tre giovani eroi poiché nello chalet della signora Winters sembrerebbe che vi sia una presenza oscura che disturba gli ospiti. Tutto il caso sarà nelle mani di Carlos, Eliza e Frank che dovranno fare pratica con qualcosa che non sconoscevano, ma riusciranno a risolvere il mistero? Vi assicuro che vi divertirete tantissimo attraverso questi volumi per cui cosa aspettate?
May 10, 2018
Case Closed is a fun little middle grade book that is a choose your own adventure mystery. You ask the questions and decide what to do and hope that you can figure it out and solve the crime.
Carlos has no clue how to solve a mystery but when his mother gets a really bad cold he decides to try and get to the bottom of one of her cases with the help of a couple friends. His mom owns a detective agency and she tells him to tell her partner to take the case but he is busy with his own case. Carlos and his mom really need the money so they go to the mansion of a eccentric local millionaire who tells them she has been receiving death threats.
You have several suspects as it could be her butler, or the neighbor next door or even her own daughter. There is also talk of a treasure so you must decide who to talk to, or which question to ask and hope you don't get a door slammed in your face. (happened to me once...lol)
I thought this was fun as I have always liked these kind of stories and it being a mystery was even better. I did think it strange that the old lady didn't seem to think that much of three kids being sent to solve her case but then there wouldn't be a story...lol.
I think it will be cute for young readers who like mysteries. It has a few puzzles in it to solve to help you along the way.
Carlos has no clue how to solve a mystery but when his mother gets a really bad cold he decides to try and get to the bottom of one of her cases with the help of a couple friends. His mom owns a detective agency and she tells him to tell her partner to take the case but he is busy with his own case. Carlos and his mom really need the money so they go to the mansion of a eccentric local millionaire who tells them she has been receiving death threats.
You have several suspects as it could be her butler, or the neighbor next door or even her own daughter. There is also talk of a treasure so you must decide who to talk to, or which question to ask and hope you don't get a door slammed in your face. (happened to me once...lol)
I thought this was fun as I have always liked these kind of stories and it being a mystery was even better. I did think it strange that the old lady didn't seem to think that much of three kids being sent to solve her case but then there wouldn't be a story...lol.
I think it will be cute for young readers who like mysteries. It has a few puzzles in it to solve to help you along the way.
October 3, 2021
Carlos and his mom are in trouble. Her detective agency has come on hard times after a disastrous case, and they're struggling to get by. When Carlos' mom becomes sick and can't follow up on a new case, Carlos takes matters into his own hands in hopes of helping his mom get business going again.
My 8yo tried reading this on her own and either didn't get it or hit a wall, so she asked if we could read it aloud. It was a mess. I know kids are into potty humor, but the writing left a lot to be desired and the first 18 pages had more references to poop and butts than I had patience for. I don't think we've read anything else by this author, and I wouldn't mind if my daughter wanted to try it again, but I was left unimpressed and annoyed after just one section.
My 8yo tried reading this on her own and either didn't get it or hit a wall, so she asked if we could read it aloud. It was a mess. I know kids are into potty humor, but the writing left a lot to be desired and the first 18 pages had more references to poop and butts than I had patience for. I don't think we've read anything else by this author, and I wouldn't mind if my daughter wanted to try it again, but I was left unimpressed and annoyed after just one section.
February 27, 2025
Me ha parecido un libro muy interesante y divertido porque tu decides lo que hacer, al principio me lie un poco porque es difícil de cogerle el tranquillo pero una vez que lo cojes no puedes dejar de leer.
December 10, 2019
This is a really good book, only I didn't have enough patience to choose different pathways and solve the case myself.
But I'm glad that I began reading after my prolonged reading slump 😊
But I'm glad that I began reading after my prolonged reading slump 😊
May 21, 2020
what a mess. disappointing endings, boring mystery, and underdeveloped characters. this book had so much potential, but the writing really ruined it for me.
October 9, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed Lauren Magaziner’s new middle grade mystery, Case Closed! Mystery at the Mansion. The book was clever and suspenseful, reminding me of a Nancy Drew computer game. I wanted to read possible ending in the choose-your-own novel, and I would like read the next book in the series.
When Carlos’ mom comes down with the flu the morning her new case begins, this plucky tween decides it’s up to him to solve the case and save the Las Pistas detective agency. Together with his intelligent friend Eliza and her goofy little brother Frank, Carlos investigates who might be sending Guinevere LeCavalier death threats. The reader gets to choose where to look for clues, who to talk to, and what to do when the situation gets scary.
Guinevere LeCavalier originally hired the Las Pistas when someone started setting up death threats in her expensive mansion, asking for her husband’s “secret treasure.” Mrs. LeCavalier is terrified for her life, and she is willing to meet the person’s demands, if only she knew where her clever husband hid the treasure. As the young team search for a lead, they discover that the case is more complicated—dangerous—than they previously thought. Guinevere is a snobby rich lady who has stepped on a few toes over the years, earning herself a lot of enemies. Her husband passed away recently, but left a fortune for his family to find, only giving them a few clues. The gang discovers that Mr. Cavalier has a son from a previous marriage, who Guinevere attempted to estrange from the family, and a daughter named Ivy, whom she left out of her will. Other possible suspects who have access to the mansion and may have set up the threats include Smythe, Guinevere’s distempered butler, and Otto, her nosy gardener. Mrs. LeCavalier has hired a suspicious-looking lawyer named Maddock, and a neighbor named Mrs. Schnozzleton spends all her time spying on the mansion. The kids learn that Mrs. Schnozzleton has declared herself Mrs. LeCavalier’s enemy since the two had a fight, and several of the other suspects have teamed up with the other millionaire.
Readers must choose carefully as the characters are very easily offended, and the LeCavalier mansion has dangerous tunnels and trapdoors. One wrong move may persuade Guinevere to fire Carlos and his friends, or send the kids to their death. To find the treasure, the reader must solve a series of logical puzzles before the crook beats them to it. Snakes, crocodiles, and other carefully-set traps await. Magaziner tells this scary tale with humor and wit, so readers can expect to be glued to this book all night long!
When Carlos’ mom comes down with the flu the morning her new case begins, this plucky tween decides it’s up to him to solve the case and save the Las Pistas detective agency. Together with his intelligent friend Eliza and her goofy little brother Frank, Carlos investigates who might be sending Guinevere LeCavalier death threats. The reader gets to choose where to look for clues, who to talk to, and what to do when the situation gets scary.
Guinevere LeCavalier originally hired the Las Pistas when someone started setting up death threats in her expensive mansion, asking for her husband’s “secret treasure.” Mrs. LeCavalier is terrified for her life, and she is willing to meet the person’s demands, if only she knew where her clever husband hid the treasure. As the young team search for a lead, they discover that the case is more complicated—dangerous—than they previously thought. Guinevere is a snobby rich lady who has stepped on a few toes over the years, earning herself a lot of enemies. Her husband passed away recently, but left a fortune for his family to find, only giving them a few clues. The gang discovers that Mr. Cavalier has a son from a previous marriage, who Guinevere attempted to estrange from the family, and a daughter named Ivy, whom she left out of her will. Other possible suspects who have access to the mansion and may have set up the threats include Smythe, Guinevere’s distempered butler, and Otto, her nosy gardener. Mrs. LeCavalier has hired a suspicious-looking lawyer named Maddock, and a neighbor named Mrs. Schnozzleton spends all her time spying on the mansion. The kids learn that Mrs. Schnozzleton has declared herself Mrs. LeCavalier’s enemy since the two had a fight, and several of the other suspects have teamed up with the other millionaire.
Readers must choose carefully as the characters are very easily offended, and the LeCavalier mansion has dangerous tunnels and trapdoors. One wrong move may persuade Guinevere to fire Carlos and his friends, or send the kids to their death. To find the treasure, the reader must solve a series of logical puzzles before the crook beats them to it. Snakes, crocodiles, and other carefully-set traps await. Magaziner tells this scary tale with humor and wit, so readers can expect to be glued to this book all night long!
July 28, 2022
First sentence: Rrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnngggg!!!! Rrriiinnngggggg! Mom's alarm clock goes off for the second time this morning. It rattles through my wall.
Premise/plot: Long story short: a CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE mystery novel for elementary/middle grades. Carlos Serrano, our protagonist, is teaming up with his best friend, Eliza, and Eliza's little brother, Frank, to solve mysteries for his mom's detective agency. The agency is having a bit of trouble. They need cases--successful cases. But when his mom is too sick to work, well, Carlos decides to play detective. A choice that will either be hugely successful or total failure. And part of that depends on you the reader....
The case YOU will be helping Carlos (and friends) solve involves a local millionaire receiving death threats. The first person Carlos [and the reader] will be meeting is the victim of these threats....from there the opportunities abound. There are dozens of places where the reader will decide what happens next...
My thoughts: I thought this was a FUN and DELIGHTFUL mystery. I liked this 'choose your own adventure' aspect to the mystery. It was well thought out. Unlike the choose your own adventure Oregon Trail series, Magaziner manages to still tell essentially one cohesive story. That is, that though the paths may vary, there is only ONE guilty party. And the clues that you find on *every* path could ultimately help you solve the case. Or almost every path. There are still a few paths that end within pages and don't really contribute to the overall story. But it isn't so much finding the one and only path that will lead you to success. I appreciated this. It felt logical to me. It doesn't matter if person X is interviewed first or third in the line of suspects, the information is going to stay constant. And you can take multiple paths and get a fully rounded set of clues.
The puzzles. For some readers the puzzles will be a HUGE bonus. For me personally, the puzzles were the least favorite aspect of this one. I didn't really want to actually have to do the puzzles, so I just randomly chose options. (Well, perhaps not completely random. My first time through this one, I just picked the first option for every choice. I then went back and visited other paths.)
I would recommend this one.
Premise/plot: Long story short: a CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE mystery novel for elementary/middle grades. Carlos Serrano, our protagonist, is teaming up with his best friend, Eliza, and Eliza's little brother, Frank, to solve mysteries for his mom's detective agency. The agency is having a bit of trouble. They need cases--successful cases. But when his mom is too sick to work, well, Carlos decides to play detective. A choice that will either be hugely successful or total failure. And part of that depends on you the reader....
The case YOU will be helping Carlos (and friends) solve involves a local millionaire receiving death threats. The first person Carlos [and the reader] will be meeting is the victim of these threats....from there the opportunities abound. There are dozens of places where the reader will decide what happens next...
My thoughts: I thought this was a FUN and DELIGHTFUL mystery. I liked this 'choose your own adventure' aspect to the mystery. It was well thought out. Unlike the choose your own adventure Oregon Trail series, Magaziner manages to still tell essentially one cohesive story. That is, that though the paths may vary, there is only ONE guilty party. And the clues that you find on *every* path could ultimately help you solve the case. Or almost every path. There are still a few paths that end within pages and don't really contribute to the overall story. But it isn't so much finding the one and only path that will lead you to success. I appreciated this. It felt logical to me. It doesn't matter if person X is interviewed first or third in the line of suspects, the information is going to stay constant. And you can take multiple paths and get a fully rounded set of clues.
The puzzles. For some readers the puzzles will be a HUGE bonus. For me personally, the puzzles were the least favorite aspect of this one. I didn't really want to actually have to do the puzzles, so I just randomly chose options. (Well, perhaps not completely random. My first time through this one, I just picked the first option for every choice. I then went back and visited other paths.)
I would recommend this one.
August 7, 2022
Estuve leyendo este libro estos dias, pero no lo podía poner en Goodreads, por la simple razón de que es un libro tipo "elige tu propia aventura", entonces es imposible decir por qué página estás sin volver loco a Goodreads, je.
Fue un libro tierno y entretenido, con un buen misterio y plot twist que no vi venir. Está buena también la motivación interior de Carlos, el protagonista, que querer resolver el misterio no solo por lo típico (la aventura, la intriga, las pistas), sino para salvar la agencia de detectives de su mamá. El chico está muy dedicado a salvar y ayudar a su mamá (tanto que, a veces, aunque no tenga ni idea de cómo ser un detective, da todo lo mejor de él para ayudar. Un verdadero héroe, aunque mi preferida es Eliza <3).
Los acertijos están muy buenos y te dejan pensando un rato. Si bien en esta primer aventura que tuve mis personajes murieron varias veces (ups jeje) pero al final pude salvar a Guinevere Le Cavalier, no logré descubrir el supuesto tesoro escondido en la mansión. What a shame :( así que supongo que voy a tener que leerlo de nuevo y elegir otras opciones, como siempre se hace con estos libros.
Mi única queja es que odio al personaje de Frank, el hermano menor de Eliza. Entiendo que es un niño más pequeño que Carlos y Eliza (los detectives principales), pero posta no lo soporto. A veces descubrió algunas pistas y todo, pero la verdad siento que es una traba en a historia. Es molesto, arruina los interrogatorios, grita y pone en problemas a los chicos, no entiende que puede perjudicar a Carlos para siempre... en fin, es la descripción perfecta de un nene chiquito, pero posta LO ODIO. Esperaba que en algunos capítulos apareciera y que en otros no, pero el pendejo siempre estaba :')
Otra queja, que ya no va con la historia, es con la traducción. Si quieren leer este libro, háganlo en inglés, porque posta es INSUFRIBLE la traducción. Está bien que la gran mayoría de los personajes sean chicos o adultos medio bobos, pero la traducción les suma a todos 20 puntos más de boludez. Realmente había momentos que quería romper las páginas de lo feo que sentía que estaban traducidas algunas cosas (no mal gramaticalmente, pero es que aghhh, es inexplicable).
Fue un libro tierno y entretenido, con un buen misterio y plot twist que no vi venir. Está buena también la motivación interior de Carlos, el protagonista, que querer resolver el misterio no solo por lo típico (la aventura, la intriga, las pistas), sino para salvar la agencia de detectives de su mamá. El chico está muy dedicado a salvar y ayudar a su mamá (tanto que, a veces, aunque no tenga ni idea de cómo ser un detective, da todo lo mejor de él para ayudar. Un verdadero héroe, aunque mi preferida es Eliza <3).
Los acertijos están muy buenos y te dejan pensando un rato. Si bien en esta primer aventura que tuve mis personajes murieron varias veces (ups jeje) pero al final pude salvar a Guinevere Le Cavalier, no logré descubrir el supuesto tesoro escondido en la mansión. What a shame :( así que supongo que voy a tener que leerlo de nuevo y elegir otras opciones, como siempre se hace con estos libros.
Mi única queja es que odio al personaje de Frank, el hermano menor de Eliza. Entiendo que es un niño más pequeño que Carlos y Eliza (los detectives principales), pero posta no lo soporto. A veces descubrió algunas pistas y todo, pero la verdad siento que es una traba en a historia. Es molesto, arruina los interrogatorios, grita y pone en problemas a los chicos, no entiende que puede perjudicar a Carlos para siempre... en fin, es la descripción perfecta de un nene chiquito, pero posta LO ODIO. Esperaba que en algunos capítulos apareciera y que en otros no, pero el pendejo siempre estaba :')
Otra queja, que ya no va con la historia, es con la traducción. Si quieren leer este libro, háganlo en inglés, porque posta es INSUFRIBLE la traducción. Está bien que la gran mayoría de los personajes sean chicos o adultos medio bobos, pero la traducción les suma a todos 20 puntos más de boludez. Realmente había momentos que quería romper las páginas de lo feo que sentía que estaban traducidas algunas cosas (no mal gramaticalmente, pero es que aghhh, es inexplicable).
December 4, 2018
The concept of this book was so brilliant that I shouted aloud when I first read about it. A choose-your-own-adventure-type mystery? YES PLEASE. Mystery stories are inherently interactive, but this takes it to an entirely new level, because the book itself becomes a game. The plot is exciting, fast-paced and fun, with a host of intriguing characters and clues that keep readers going back again and again to explore new avenues and see the other places the story could lead. An added bonus is all the clever puzzles to complete along the way. For my own copy I worked in pencil so I could erase and preserve the fun, but if you're adding the book to your classroom library here's a pro-tip from a teacher friend: Make copies of any of the pencil-and-paper puzzles and include them in a folder along with the book. That way your students can work the puzzles without leaving any leftover hints on the pages.
As an educator, I had so many ideas of how I could use this book in a classroom: mini-lessons on metacognitive reading strategies, math integration, pre-writing and organization, and even using CASE CLOSED as a mentor text for other types of projects. (Ex: If the class is studying the causes of the Revolutionary War, students could use this story structure to play out other possible historical outcomes had the founders made different choices.) This book is just such a fabulous springboard for thinking and learning.
Innovative, fun, and deliciously clever, this is a surefire winner that will engage readers deeply and keep them coming back again and again. I cannot wait for Book 2!
As an educator, I had so many ideas of how I could use this book in a classroom: mini-lessons on metacognitive reading strategies, math integration, pre-writing and organization, and even using CASE CLOSED as a mentor text for other types of projects. (Ex: If the class is studying the causes of the Revolutionary War, students could use this story structure to play out other possible historical outcomes had the founders made different choices.) This book is just such a fabulous springboard for thinking and learning.
Innovative, fun, and deliciously clever, this is a surefire winner that will engage readers deeply and keep them coming back again and again. I cannot wait for Book 2!
June 22, 2020
This book has to have been one of the best "Choose Your Own Adventure" style books I have ever read. I love interactive books, and I am always searching for more. When I came across Mystery in the Mansion, I just knew I had to try it. This book exceded all of my expectations. I loved how it was full of twists and turns, and how each part you read brought a little more to the story. The puzzles had to have been my favorite part, though. They added something extra to the story. I also enjoyed the length of this book. Most "Choose Your Own Adventure" books are short stories or novellas, but Mystery in the Mansion was a full 300+ page novel. Because of the length, there are so many different endings and paths. It was so fun trying out each choice and seeing where it led me. Overall, Mystery in the Mansion is an incredible book that will take you through a intriguing mystery you'll want to read again and again.
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