Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

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Chasing Vermeer
by Blue Balliett
(Audio)

I've seen this and the others in the series on the FCPS shelves at my local library for a while. An art mystery filled with puzzles seems like something I would enjoy. However, I didn't really love this book. The narrator wasn't my favorite, especially when it came to the voices she used for the children (she even said one of the children's names wrong near the end of the book). So I had a hard time really falling in love with the adventure laid out in this book.

A famous Vermeer painting, A Lady Writing, has been stolen. Petra and Calder are two elementary school students interested enough in the theft to try to solve the mystery. They've got a lot going for them--they are observant, thoughtful, and clever. I liked both of them very much. And the cast of secondary characters mostly consists of their teacher and an old neighbor lady--both of whom they suspect of knowing something about the theft (and, in a way, they are correct). They run into many coincidences and strange happenings that inform their suspicions.

They notice many things and piece together many others based on fact and observation as well as gut feelings. However, it was the rest of their problem-solving I had a problem with. They have dreams. They make HUGE leaps that come out of nowhere. And they choose words based on letter and then use those guesses to guide their actions--sometimes getting into danger because of that. For example, Calder pulls a pentamino letter out of his pocket: U. That must mean the thief hid the painting in a university building!!! What? It could mean umbrella. Or under a carpet. Or Ulaf Ultraton's underwear drawer. They wonder where the painting could be and, suddenly, Petra gets a vision of dark wood and they start looking everywhere for dark wood panels. Huh? I had a hard time with these random leaps in the mystery. And then, when it came to revealing the real reason for the theft, instead of having it come out through an adventure or even a reveal from one character to another, it's just narration telling us what happened. That was highly disappointing, especially after the big reveal the kids were part of. I feel the author could and should have come up with a much better and more creative way of handling all the details of the reveal that didn't involve the two young main characters.

I was hoping to keep going with thsi series, but I think it's just not for me. I did enjoy the puzzle aspect and the kids solving an art mystery in Chicago (I love the gallery of art there; I've been several times) regarding a painting on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (near where I live, so I've gone dozens of times). But either my brain is not equipped for such creative and unrealistic methods of problem-solving or it was just too young for me to fully enjoy.