Cam Jansen and her best friend Eric Shelton return in this twenty-ninth entry in David A. Adler's series of beginning chapter-books devoted to their mystery-solving adventures. In this installment, the friends must locate a missing basketball, given by the state governor to popular Coach Jenkins, on the occasion of his final game as a high school basketball coach. Signed by a number of celebrities, the ball is quite valuable, and when it goes missing, the two fifth-grade sleuths spring into action...

Like the preceding entries in the series, the solution to the puzzle in Cam Jansen and the Basketball Mystery rests upon its eponymous heroine's photographic memory, which she uses here to sniff out the person masquerading as a basketball player, in order to steal the ball. Although I didn't find this one terribly suspenseful, I think that it will provide an engaging tale for its target audience. Recommended to fans of the Cam Jansen books, and to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy mystery. ( )

When an autographed basketball game goes missing after the game, "Cam" Jansen uses her photographic memory to find the ball and the thief. It's not a deep mystery, but it should be enjoyable for younger readers who can handle short chapters. ( )