In this intricate, magnificently imagined sequel to Blue Balliett’s international bestseller, Chasing Vermeer, supersleuths Petra and Calder, along with Clader’s old friend, Tommy, are cryptically drawn into another art mystery – this time involving a Frank Lloyd Wright architectural masterpiece, the Robie House.
When the kids’ sixth-grade class attempts to save the Hyde Park landmark from demolition, eerie events are reported: Voices float out from within, shadows shift behind the art-glass windows, even the roof moves! Suddenly, a well-meaning art restoration project turns into a frightening search for ghosts, hidden treasure, and a coded message left behind by Wright. In this tangled web where life and art intermingle with death and danger, can the kids pursue justice and escape with their lives?"
What is art? Balliett's newest book asks listeners to ponder that question and whether Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House is art. While Petra, Calder, and Tommy work to answer that question and to save the house from destruction, they slowly build a friendship, and a team. Ellen Reilly's reading is solid; her narrator is clear and builds the pace from the startling beginning through the mysterious happenings. Her character voices are distinct; although her male voices tend to sound forced, her female voices sound real. An occasional change in the production's balance doesn't distract but does break the flow of the narrative. W.L.S. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
