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Book Review of The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (Mysterious Benedict Society, Bk 3)

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Helpful Score: 2


Reviewed by Holly Owen for TeensReadToo.com

Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are at it again, taking risks and solving riddles with or without the help of their friend, Mr. Benedict. It seems Mr. Curtain, Mr. Benedict's evil twin, is plotting once more to take control, this time targeting the minds of the world leaders by means of the Whisperer.

In this newest adventure, the children have been made prisoners in their own home (Mr. Benedict's home, that is) at the hands of their guardians, as well as Mr. Benedict, in hopes of keeping them safe from Mr. Curtain and his Ten Men, the evil thugs who do Mr. Curtain's bidding. Even the adults have to don disguises in order to venture into town.

But that doesn't keep these eager young kids from getting out or the Ten Men from getting in, which is exactly what happens when the city of Stonetown is suddenly plunged into darkness by a mysterious power outage.

Trenton Lee Stewart thrills again with the third installment of THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY, where his four adventuresome protagonists find themselves following new leads, exposing new suspects, and discovering Constance's new gift, which has the occupants of Mr. Benedict's home a little on edge. However, in the end, it's Constance's gift that saves the day, when the children must come up with their own plan to rescue Mr. Benedict and their guardians.

I enjoyed this story, even without the benefit of having read the first two installments, and plan to dig into the first and second book before the excitement of this wonderful middle-grade adventure wears off.