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Seventh-grade sleuth Sammy Keyes investigates mysterious happenings at a local art gallery.Tags
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Sammy Keyes has a lot of nerve. Wearing high-tops to a fancy reception at an art gallery. Asking why a framed orange splot is worth $10,000. Eyebrows rise. Noses turn up.
But then Sammy tackles a thief who tries to break up the soiree with a stickup. Now
the patrons of the arts are glad she has a lot of nerve. Or are they? Sammy may have stopped a criminal, but the real crime has yet to be discovered. The real crime is more subtle, more artful, than anything Sammy’s ever seen. She had no idea art could be so dangerous. . . .
But then Sammy tackles a thief who tries to break up the soiree with a stickup. Now
the patrons of the arts are glad she has a lot of nerve. Or are they? Sammy may have stopped a criminal, but the real crime has yet to be discovered. The real crime is more subtle, more artful, than anything Sammy’s ever seen. She had no idea art could be so dangerous. . . .
I've been meaning to pick up one of these books forever (those be some catchy covers), but never really got to it. Sammy Keyes is a rather appealing snazzy-speaking tween protagonist: skateboarding, making box-mac-and-cheese-and-salsa, and of course, being a nosy mystery-uncover-er. It's all in the mold of some noir mystery but modern with relatable struggles for Sammy (incomprehensibleness of teachers, absentee mom, secretly living with grandma to not violate senior-living-only arrangement, first crush) handled deftly. And I always think feminism is a winner.
Really, I enjoyed a visit her stylized (but still believable) and rich world, populated by a cast of colorful supporting characters. And particularly the snappy dialogue. But I show more think the book suffers a bit from what I'll call 'series-itus'. Status quo is god, and ultimately, I'm not sure a whole lot of actually happens to the characters- not of any lasting importance anyway. A bigger problem is probably that the central mystery is a dud, although it allows some nice contemplation of the subjectivity of art.
Will I read another Sammy Keyes mystery? Probably not, but it wasn't a bad way to spend a hour. show less
Really, I enjoyed a visit her stylized (but still believable) and rich world, populated by a cast of colorful supporting characters. And particularly the snappy dialogue. But I show more think the book suffers a bit from what I'll call 'series-itus'. Status quo is god, and ultimately, I'm not sure a whole lot of actually happens to the characters- not of any lasting importance anyway. A bigger problem is probably that the central mystery is a dud, although it allows some nice contemplation of the subjectivity of art.
Will I read another Sammy Keyes mystery? Probably not, but it wasn't a bad way to spend a hour. show less
Sammy visits an art gallery exhibition opening hoping to do an artist interview for her art class but a burglary interrupts the event and Sammy finds herself caught up in the mystery of whodunnit, what kind of people the artists Diane and Tess are, and what's so compelling about Diane's painting "Whispers."
Seventh-grade sleuth Sammy Keyes investigates mysterious happenings at a local art gallery.
such a fun book i love it i would diffinetly read it again. i often crave reading another but i already read the whol series and im trying to read different books
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Author Information
49 Works 15,473 Members
Wendelin Van Draanen was born on January 6, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois. She is the daughter of chemists who emigrated from Holland. She worked as a math teacher and then as a computer science teacher before becoming an author. Wendelin Van Draanen began her writing career with a screenplay and soon switched to adult novels and then children's show more books. She is best known for her Sammy Keyes series of novels, which she started writing in 1997, featuring a teenage detective named Samantha Keyes. Her popular Sammy Keyes series had been nominated four times for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Children's Mystery and won with "Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief". Her Shredderman series also yielded a Christopher Medal for Secret Identity. She has also written several novels such as: How I Survived Being a Girl and Flipped. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Series
Sammy Keyes (book 8)
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception
- Original publication date
- 2003
- People/Characters
- Samantha "Sammy" Josephine Keyes; Rita Keyes; Hudson Graham; Miss Kuzkowski; Elizabeth "Lizzy" Diane Reijden; Joseph "Jojo" Lorenzo (show all 24); Tess Winters; Harold Flunk; Marissa McKenze; Casey Acosta; Heather Acosta; Monet Jarlsberg; Tenille Toolee; Pete Moss; Mrs. Weiss; Billy Pratt; Joseph Caan; Margaret DeVries (aka 'Dot'); Holly Janquell; Danny Urbanski; Andre; Ned Bristol; Lance Reijden (aka 'Lance Ryder'); Dr. Duane Reijden (deceased)
- Important places
- Santa Martina, USA (fictional place)
- Dedication
- Dedicated to my darling sister Nanine--may your artistic talents continue to blossom!
A chromatic palette of thanks to my excellent editor, Nancy Siscoe, and my ever-creative husband, Mark Parsons. Also, thanks to ... (show all)the mysterious H. Bizot, whose paintings continue to inspire. - First words
- Marissa says I'm a magnet for mayhem.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And when she does, believe me, I'm going to tag along.
- Publisher's editor
- Siscoe, Nancy
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 352
- Popularity
- 89,135
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (4.02)
- Languages
- English, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 20
- ASINs
- 2
