This one really upped the Super-Snooper stakes, with actual diamond thieves for the kids to go up against.

It seems kind of amazing that Mr. Wakefield would let a bunch of seven-year-olds go around the mall on their own, but the Sweet Valley books never were big on good parenting.

My seven-year-old granddaughter is eagerly reading her way through the A to Z Mysteries and I found an old copy of “The Haunted Hotel: A to Z Mysteries” by Ron Roy and this book laying around the house. It is also intended for second-graders, but in contrast to the A to Z Mysteries girls are the target audience for this series. I read it to get an understanding of the type of literature that appealed to my granddaughter.

I can see the appeal to young girls. The primary characters are two second grade girls and their friends. The girls view themselves as the Snoopers Club and their primary activity is solving mysteries. They operate independently of adults, and are quick to initiative when a mystery presents itself.

This short book tell an interesting story that espouses pro-social values and uses a suitable vocabulary, although the degree of independence and willingness to confront adults is somewhat unreasonable for second graders. The book is a quick 2 hour read for an adult at 87 pages, with a large font and numerous pictures. It would be interesting but more challenging for most readers at the second-grade level.

I hardly know what numeric rating to give this but settled on “very good.” ( )