I liked this book (4 stars) better than “The Things You Find in Rockpools” (3 stars), even though the books are quite similar because the focus is still on Billy (who remains smart, imaginative and socially awkward) and there are again two mysteries to solve (with one, again, very close to home).
Billy now has a friend (and crime-solving partner) in Amber. Storytelling-wise, adding Amber means Billy can now tell someone what he is thinking. And Amber is an interesting supporting character. The Amber character also adds a subtle amount of mildly humorous “maybe I’m starting to like girls a little bit, even if I don’t recognize that is the case” to the story. By the way, Amber swears a lot; and so there is a lot more swearing in this second book. It didn’t bother me; but if you were expecting similarly wholesome books, that won’t quite be the case.
In the first book, the dad character was one of the mysteries as his motives and behavior were unclear, and so suspect. With that mystery resolved in the first book, the dad character has a smaller role in this second book is less. So, to keep Billy’s home life perturbed, dad’s old acquaintance (Tucker) comes to stay. And yes, Tucker’s motives and behavior are unclear, and so suspect. Like I said, the first book and this second book are quite similar.
You could read this second book without having read the first book (as events from the first book are quickly repeated where necessary), but you wouldn’t want to as the Billy character was the best part of the first book -- and this second book expands on that character.
The ending of this second book was better too as it didn’t have the first book’s “and then a miracle occurred” finish.
Bottom line: Quick, entertaining read. But a sense of Déjà vu if you’ve already read the first book.