Sleepover Stakeout

Sleepover Stakeout (Sleuth or Dare, 2) by Kim Harrington, June 1, 2012. 192 pages. Published by Scholastic. Source: Publisher.

WHO'S OUT THERE?
Norah and Darcy's detective agency, Partners in Crime, is taking on a new and chilling case. The girls' classmate, Maya, is hearing strange, crackling voices coming over the baby monitor while she's babysitting late at night. Maya is worried someone might be in danger.
To help investigate, Norah and Darcy join her for a sleepover stakeout. In between eating snacks and watching TV, the girls are on high alert for anything suspicious. Soon, they stumble upon a mysterious secret they never could have imagined -- but Norah and Darcy clash over how to interpret the new clues.
Can the girls get past their differences to see their way  to the truth?

First Sentence:

"The pizza is frozen," Fiona said, her green eyes shimmering with excitement.

Last week I reviewed Partners in Crime the first Sleuth of Dare book by Kim Harrington, and it was just such an exciting and great read. I am so excited to be able to share with you my thoughts on book two, Sleepover Stakeout.

Sleepover Stakeout was a incredible addition to the series. The mystery in this one was better than the first and the outcome was a little unexpected. What I love most about the mysteries in the Sleuth or Dare books is that while they start out simple enough they end up becoming bigger and crazier then they first appear. But what I liked most about the mystery in this book was that it you think it something big, and it kind of is, but not in the way that you first imagine.
  While all that makes for great reading, what pulls the entire book together is Ms Harrington's writing and how she does such a great job of capturing Norah and Darcy's middle grade voice while not making them seem younger then they are. I really enjoyed how she wrote the two girls and all of the characters in this one.

You know what was creepy about the mystery in Sleepover Stakeout, it could do happen...what scared Maya into asking Partners in Crime for help. I enjoyed how Ms Harrington used a typical device, baby monitors, to kickoff the main plot line in book two. I thought it was interesting because baby monitors and other things like that have been able to pick up things on the same frequency-like this robot I had that could pick up the Mc D's drive though a couple miles away.  That aside, it was juts interesting for me as a reader to see how the characters would react to hearing something spooky over the monitor and see what they would do to discover the truth.

What I loved most about Sleepover Stakeout is that Ms Harrington has added in so many obstacles for the girls to overcome, like the widening of their circle of friends and boys. While I'll always like Norah and Darcy best, I really liked the new friends that they made and how each of the girls brought a little something different to the table. I also enjoyed the way they came in, like, Fiona who the Partners in Crime helped out in the first book. At first she seems like just another snooty girl, but that girl was pretty cool and could be your best ally when need be.

The only thing I did not like about the book is that Norah and Darcy's friendship seems to be breaking up. I will be terribly saddened if their friendship comes to an end because their friendship is one of the things I love best about this series. They're like peanut butter and jelly-not that I can eat peanut butter- and should be friends eternally.

Final Verdict: A friendship drama filled mystery, total win.

Sleepover Stakeout earns 5 out of 5 pineapples.

Sleuth or Dare:
Partners in Crime
Sleepover Stakeout
Framed & Dangerous