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Book Review of The Whole, Entire, Complete Truth: A Sarah Martin Mystery (Sarah Martin Mysteries)

GeniusJen avatar reviewed on + 5322 more book reviews


Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

A good mystery is hard to find, but here's one worth your time: THE WHOLE, ENTIRE, COMPLETE TRUTH. Caroline Rennie Pattison has written what I hope is just the beginning of the Sarah Martin Mystery Series.

Can you imagine the frustration of having your family uprooted from the city, cool malls, and tons of friends right at the start of your freshman year in high school? It has happened to Sarah Martin. She finds herself in the country riding a bus to a small town high school where it seems she will never meet a new best friend.

Sarah does manage to meet a friend in her first few days at her new school, but when that new friend invites her to the neighboring farm to ride horses, Sarah's father forbids it. Adding to the problem, Sarah's new friend, Mindi, admits that her mother's boyfriend also says a visit would be unwise. What is going on? Sarah's curious nature makes her suspicious, and, of course, she immediately plans a visit to the farm.

The twists and turns of the plot begin as the girls discover the secret of the padlocked barn. Live bears are being kept there in cages and mysterious visitors arrive at odd hours. At the same time, Sarah stumbles across an interesting police report on her father's desk that mentions Mindi's mother's boyfriend's name. She is determined to solve the mystery.

Pattison uses a journal-type approach in telling Sarah's story. Readers will be happy to see that the last chapter involves the starting of a new journal, which hopefully means further adventures for the curious Sarah Martin.