This review is in the order of which we discovered this pair of powerful mysteries, and it's opposite of how they were written. I would recommend reading them in order, if you get the chance.
We picked up the second book, The Guggenheim Mystery, because it was newer and by an author we recognized and love (from the Wells and Wong Mysteries Series), Robin Stevens. The three main characters have to unravel the plot twists of an art heist at the Guggenheim, or their Aunt Glo, known as Hurricane Gloria, could end up in jail for the crime.
We assumed Stevens wrote the earlier book, and it wasn't until we read the acknowledgements that we understood Stevens was continuing a story first written by someone else -- Siobhan Dowd, who died before writing the second book.
In fact, all Stevens had to create the second book was the title and Dowd's excellent characterizations in the first mystery.
Of course, we HAD to read the first book and we struck gold when our library had a copy. Dowd was a talented mystery spinner, and her character Ted Spark, who has "a funny brain that runs on a different operating system from other people's," was both accurate and relatable, written with real insight. We loved Ted, not so much his sister Kat, and of course, Salim. The mystery is gripping without being graphic and totally believeable -- very much a middle grade offering.
