children's middlegrade fiction [reviewed from uncorrected ARC]. The 5 protagonists from Balliet's previous books (who demonstrate incidental diversity) are now 13 years old, and here they join together to express anxiety about zits, maybe wonder about ghosts, and solve an art heist mystery. I waded through the first 91 pages and got tired of waiting for something to happen (the other Blue Balliett book I read, Hold Fast, was better). The only interesting bits so far had been (1) mysterious black-jacketed men following them in the bookstore and (2) possibly Mrs. Farmer's ghost would help them solve the mystery, but none of the kids would even go so far as to talk about whether she was there or not. ( )

The creek of a broken window and the wail of wind moving through the corridors startle a night guard of the Farmer Museum in Chicago. As the guard sets off checking each hallway, his scalp tingles and the hair raises on both arms. Is it the ghost that haunts the old building or just some badly neglected repairs needed on the museum. Suddenly, he rounds the corner to the Dutch Room and what he sees next sets off a formidable investigation for three local teens.

Calder, Petra, and Tommy are famous for solving strange mysteries in the Chicago area but a few years have passed since their last investigation and things have changed. The insecurities and discomforts of adolescence have invaded. Miss Hussy, a favorite school teacher, and Mrs. Sharpe, an eccentric old lady, ask the three teenage sleuths, once again, to examine the particulars of this robbery of thirteen valuable art pieces from the Farmer Museum. There's only problem. Mrs. Sharpe wants two other teens to help out. Early Pearl comes from the other side of Chicago and has a knack for solving word problems. Zoomy Chamberlain, classified as legally blind, notices things that others take for granted. Has Mrs. Sharpe lost her confidence in Calder, Petra, and Tommy? Will the new kids interfere with the strong bond between the original three friends?

Each teen has their own self doubts to deal with. Can they trust each others' judgment, or better yet, can they trust the adults around them? The group of five begin their search for the truth of what really happened by acquainting themselves with the missing art. Each encounters a strange, almost haunting link between certain missing pieces. Is the art trying to reach out to the teens and tell them where they're hidden. Who is Eagle Devlin and why are strange people in black jackets following the five teens?

I found Pieces and Players to be a more challenging book than Ms. Balliett's earlier five books. It is interesting that she has decided to combine all five protagonists from the earlier books in an adventure that is more difficult than each has experienced. Ms. Balliett plays on the teens' difficulties of adolescence, but shares some inspiring thoughts, by way of haunting quotations from a book, “The Truth About My Art,” authored by Sarah Chase Farmer, the late founder of the Farmer Museum.

With much delight, Ms. Balliett includes puzzles for the reader to decipher once again using pentominoes, silly nursery rhymes, prime numbers, and coded messages. New discoveries of unusual art sculptures are revealed as the teens travel through out the Chicago area.

Pieces and Players is a complex book with many interconnected parts and I may suggest that you read one of Ms. Balliet's earlier books to give you more confidence when reading this book, but it isn't necessary to solve the crime. ( )

Choppy and a bit clunky--the characters take awhile to settle into their thirteen-year-old selves, and it would definitely have helped to have read Hold Fast and The Danger Box (in addition to Chasing Vermeer and sequels) in order to have a better sense of Zoomy and Early's characters. Still, a solid heist mystery, with lots of Chicago atmosphere. Worth a read, but read those other books first!

library copy ( )