Vanishing Act: Mystery at the U.S. Open

Given that I am not all that fond of sports -- especially watching them, it is rather amazing that I quite enjoyed this book, but I did. The mystery was fun and the kids were believable.

When a famous Russian tennis player is apparently kidnapped at the US Open, it is up to two budding teen journalists to solve the crime.

Although Feinstein's voice is better suited to doing NPR commentary than narrating a spoken book, this sports mystery is full of insider details that current tennis fans will love. Mystery fans won't be disappointed either with the twisty, but logical ending.

In this second installment of his sports mystery series, teen reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are on the case when a teen tennis superstar goes missing during the US Open. Readers that are tennis fans (or sports fans in general), will enjoy this novel, and the others in the series (there is a March Madness installment, as well as a Super Bowl installment). However, the pace of the novel is slow. I listened to this book on audiobook, and although the tennis star is kidnapped by the end of the first CD, there is no real headway made into the investigation by the end of the third CD. This would be a great novel for a "high/low" group - older readers with lower reading levels. The pace is slow and the subject is interesting show more to many reluctant readers. show less

Vanishing Act By: John Feinstein

The story "Vanishing Act," is a story that includes two 14 year old sportswriters that are trying to discover what has happened to the worlds most popular tennis player at the U.S. Open in the Big Apple. These two young detectives are fresh of discovering the mystery at the Men's College Basketball Championship, and are back at it once again. They have the help of an old friend, but even he might not be enough to solve the disappearance of Nadia Symonova. They go all over Manhattan for clues and ask any eyewitnesses who may have seen the crime, but as the story goes on they learn that they can't just trust anyone. Some of their closest ally's might be involved and they can't rule anyone out of the show more equation just yet. Will Susan and Stevie be able to discover the criminal, or will their detective luck just run out.

Overall a very good book. show less

Eighth-grade sports reporters Susan Carol and Stevie reunite at the U.S. Open tennis championships where they investigate the mysterious disappearance of a top Russian player.