Title: The XYZ Mystery
Author: George S. Haines
Publisher: PageTurner Press and Media
ISBN: 9781638715327
Pages: 260
Genre: Mystery
Reviewed by: Anita Lock
Hollywood Book Reviews
Two teen boys—one intrepid with a penchant for curiosity, the other cautious yet excellent with clues—find out more than they bargain for when they discover an underground room in The XYZ Mystery.
The year is 1939 in Grantor County, Indiana, where thirteen-year-old Sam Hames and his family live on his grandfather’s homestead: Haybend Farm. The old farmland holds a chockful of places for a teen boy to explore. Sam, of course, is not about to go investigating by himself. But since twelve-year-old Howie, his Ohio cousin, frequents Indiana enough during the summer, the two always make time for adventures. Even though Howie’s exceptional detective skills solved a mystery, the only problem was that their last exploration left him hesitant to pursue future explorations.
Soon after the Hames’s arrival, Sam and Howie head over to the local store, where they witness a robbery. The following day, Sam, undaunted by the boys’ scarry experience two years ago, coaxes Howie to check out their grandparents’ old, abandoned house. The teens’ sleuthing uncovers three mysterious metal rods—each tool contains a letter from the last three letters of the alphabet formed at one end buried—within a basement step. The tools provide more clues besides leading them to an underground room containing the remains of a human skeleton. What Sam and Howie don’t realize is that there are others who know of the mysteries behind the secret room.
Author George Haines has a unique method of storytelling in the second novel of the Sam and Howie mystery novels: The XYZ Mystery. The plot takes readers back into an American Pre-World War II era in rural Indiana—a time that was free from the incessant lures of the technological age, a time when kids spent their days outdoors exploring their world. Haines focuses his attention on Sam and Howie, two cousins. While their personalities differ like night and day, what binds them together is their love of sleuthing.
As the boys continue digging for clues to the curious-looking tools they found in a basement step, Haines colors his narrative with stereotypes, such as the boys’ stay-at-home moms, fixed mealtimes, high Christian morals, and the simplicity of law enforcement that comes with living in a small Mayberry-ish town. To add nuance, Haines includes pencil drawings to expand young readers’ imagination.
Chapters are short but are filled chockful with the boys’ constant investigations and their non-stop personality clashes amid frightening and dangerous situations. Haines incorporates light and corny humor to break up narrative tension. Great examples include repeated surprised expressions from Howie’s father (“I’ll be plague gone!”) and Sam’s father (“Jumpin’ Lizards!”) and people’s names, especially from law enforcement: the town’s Sheriff Neverfine, Sgt. Tuff, FBI agent Peter Guardless, and Inspector Freddy Shrewdy from Scotland Yard, to name a few.
The XYZ Mystery is a fun read for tweens looking for a-blast-from-the-past mysteries.