Carol J. Farley

When I was a kid, I read this book called The Case of the Vanishing Villain about this girl, Flee Jay, and her perfect genius sister, Clarice, who solved a mystery. I really identified with Clarice, even though Flee Jay was the protagonist of the story and Clarice was supposed to be kind of annoying. I started carrying a big black purse and notebooks just like Clarice. I even kind of looked like her.
Many years later, I was introduced to the wonders of LibraryThing and found out that there show more were two more books written about Flee Jay and Clarice, and so I just had to track them down. I finally have, and I was not disappointed.
The girls are off to solve another mystery, this time when their aunt takes them for a vacation at Magic Lake. Magic Lake has a legendary mystery, that of Old Man Merkin who lives like a hermit on the island in the middle of the lake, and has done so for 40 years since the death of his wife and kidnapping of his young daughter. Clarice is told she looks just like the missing daughter, so of course the girls must investigate! The mystery is appropriately complicated, not too much that it's unrealistic, but not so simple that the ending can be seen a mile away. The characters are fun and interesting and the two sisters have a development in their sibling relationship. I'm really looking forward to finishing out this series! show less

When I was a kid, I read this book called The Case of the Vanishing Villain about this girl, Flee Jay, and her perfect genius sister, Clarice, who solved a mystery. I really identified with Clarice, even though Flee Jay was the protagonist of the story and Clarice was supposed to be kind of annoying. I started carrying a big black purse and notebooks just like Clarice. I even kind of looked like her.
Flee Jay lays out all the clues of the mystery for the reader and asks whether the reader show more would be able to figure out the mystery, too, or if Clarice is really an abnormally talented genius. Well, I know I didn't guess the outcome the first time, and I even had a pretty difficult time remembering the ending upon this reading. Unlike a lot of mysteries for kids, the resolution is not obviously telegraphed ahead of time, but it's also not completely impossible to figure out if you're really paying attention. Great book. I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series (which I just found out existed. Thanks LibraryThing!) show less

Flee Jay Saylor and her perfect genius sister Clarice are on another case. A recently widowed fortune teller returns to town with her nephew to reopen the health club she owned with her husband before they ran away with the circus. However, the 'spirits' seem to be telling them to abandon their plans and sell the building. Clarice refuses to believe in spirits and is convinced she can find a logical explanation for the mysterious happenings.
This mystery was a little more predictable than show more the others in the series, but Flee Jay was able to contribute more conclusions and ultimately solve a mystery that had Clarice stymied, so that was nice. I believe this is the last book about these two, which is unfortunate since they were so cute. show less

I just adored this book!! It was a smidge long and complicated for my 7yo (way too old for my little guy). However, the 7yo managed through and we had great discussion about the development of language and letters, reading and writing, and even a bit about class systems and the importance of education!