Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed on 6/23/2014 + 380 more book reviews

I'm obviously not the targeted audience, but this is now my favorite new series. I have also passed it on to three other adult friends who are just as enamored as I am. So, if you like a little mystery and a great deal of fun science projects, then this book is a must have.

Summary:
In the second installment of Nick and Tesla's mysteries, the two young detectives are determined to help their new found friends catch a thief. It seems that a comic book worth quite a lot of money has been stolen without any sign of a break-in to the comic store. Then other things from the town begin to go missing and the case is on. While this is happening, a new comer has purchased the hobby shop. She is famous for making robots and Uncle Nick is fascinated by her. To promote her new ownership, she gives out little robots to all of the local businesses. Could the robots be responsible for these new robberies? Is Uncle Nick dating a evil mastermind? Read and find out while also building robots of your very own.

My thoughts:
While the story itself is a lot of fun, the little science experiments really make these books fun. I have built each of the robots within this book for a little less than $30. If you have a child at home, then you probably have some of the material, but most of us don't have spare motors or computer parts laying around. My favorite little robot is the bug that is used to scare a local shop owner. It was fun to build and fun to play with. It also lasted longer than any of the other robots that I made. For a parent, if you have a 3rd grader then you will probably need to help build everything, but for older students they could probably do most of the building themselves with an adult peeking over their shoulders.
I don't believe that this story is as well done as the first one, but overall I enjoyed it. I did figure out the mystery much faster within this installment than in the first book. For a younger child, the end may be a bit of a surprise, but an advanced reader with have no trouble finding the culprit. The end is a little tense and very movie-like. If your child is a little skittish in action movies, then they may not like the tension in the end. If they like action (think Spy Kids) then the end speeds up enough to want you to read the next in the series to figure out what our new detective, along with Uncle Nick will figure out in the next book.

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