Review of The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note (Hardcover)

It can't be unsaid that THE 39 CLUES has a pretty excellent marketing strategy going for it. What with having kids who read the series eager to collect the 6 cards that come with each installment and having their parental units buying up card packs to expand their collection as well. Then there's the idea of having different popular children's authors writing each book -- starting out with the very popular Rick Riordan (PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS) on book one, and now with book two, having Gordon Korman (ISLAND / DIVE series plus others) authoring. But with all that said, ONE FALSE NOTE continues the story and keeps things moving nicely, but still -- the series feels somewhat stunted.

I won't go into the plot much at all since so much of it rides on keeping the secret twists and things just that: a secret. The puzzles and clues that Dan and Amy encounter this time around are just about as baffling as in the first outing. One or two can be guessed pretty quickly, but there are others that really are a surprise. And more secrets of the Cahill family are uncovered, but nothing to really put everything together yet -- and that's probably how it should be since there are still eight books in the series to go.

ONE FALSE NOTE does have a few differences in style, which are to be expected from having a different author. Some of the word choicings seemed startling as they differed so much from THE MAZE OF BONES. But after about a chapter, it was easy to slide back into the Cahill world.

The whole time I was reading through, I keep thinking that this series could be so much more. It seems like there's a good idea being built upon, but sometimes things are a little too easy for the characters. Last book, I kept worrying that Amy and Dan wouldn't be able to get through something, but this time around things were a little easier for them it seemed.

All in all, ONE FALSE NOTE is good, and definitely keeps things rolling until the next installment. I just hope that the future authors really seize upon the ideas here and run with them.

Product Description
THIS JUST IN! Amy and Dan Cahill were spotted on a train, hot on the trail of one of 39 Clues hidden around the world. BUT WAIT! Police report a break-in at an elite hotel, and the suspects ALSO sound suspiciously like Amy and Dan. UPDATE! Amy and Dan have been seen in a car . . . no, in a speedboat chase . . . and HOLD EVERYTHING! They're being chased by an angry mob?!?

When there's a Clue on the line, anything can happen.

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