Minding a luxurious house seemed like fun to the Teen Power gang at first. But now Nick is feeling more and more uncomfortable. Suddenly the house seems like a prison. Or a tomb. Is it the sealed windows and doors? Or the aquarium fish swimming in endless circles? Or maybe it's just that a fortune in emeralds was stolen from the house, ruining its owner, and disappearing without a trace...
Emily Rodda (real name Jennifer Rowe) was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1973 with an MA (Hons) in English Literature. Moving into a publishing career, first as a book editor, and finally as a publisher at Angus & Robertson, Rodda's first book was published in 1984.
I have read this book so many times I could probably quote at least half of it. That being said, it's still a great read. The mystery is intriguing and th characters are just as fun to read about as usual. This small book remains to be one of my favourites for short car trips and waiting times. Can also be a good bus read.
Another teen power or Raven Hill book and another quick and average read from Rodda, according to my estimation this is book #39 from Rodda, although a most read author section would be helpful eh Goodreads? Anyone listening there?
A very interesting mystery that keeps you thinking and wanting to turn the page to find out what happens. Nick does seem to be a very negative thinker though, I wasn’t too keen on his character.
Absolutely loved the mystery in this book. So many little details come fitting together in a way that’s really satisfying. I think this might be my favourite mystery so far. The conflict and villain were also like genuinely threatening towards the end.
Onto Nick Kontellis, our narrator for this book. I ragged on him a lot while reading the previous books but he really gets fleshed out here. He’s snide, rude, insensitive, judgemental and all, but he’s also smart, helpful (in a very low-key kind of way), hard-working, diplomatic, and, as much as he joked about it, pretty responsible and has his own brand of empathy. It’s wild seeing him actually start to consider People Nick Kontellis Thinks Are Embarrassing as Actual People with Feelings but it makes me understand him a little more. It makes a world of difference to see his side of things. Like even the way he narrates certain things, like how he can never express his “bad” feelings quite clearly even to himself — kid’s got a habit of bottling things up for the sake of seeming cool and collected. Even getting to see his logic for his many judgements about people just let you know how he operates and while I barely ever agree with him...I see you, Nick. But in the end, he’s still a reasonable enough dude.
He’s also actually funny so...yes, I have ended up liking him too. Nick pulls through, folks.
Anyway. Bolinda Audio next 23 Teen Power Inc. books when???
First book where someone dies in the book. Nick is an interesting character. Single child, loving parents, comfortable home. Deeper than the others give him credit for, and kinder. The house sounds amazing, but don't go telling people you have valuable jewels in your pockets or they'll end up sleeping with the fish. Nick sets up Tom to trip, but he catches him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I liked the premise of this story, but the main character Nick seemed to get less likeable as the story progressed. It is however a entertaining read, and a good audio-book to listen to on those long drives!
These books tend not to be very surprising. This one again was not that suprising but I actually felt a little nervous for the gang towards the middle. This is definately one of my favorites so far!