Red Blazer Girls

For a fun mystery centered in Manhattan, The Red Blazer Girls get my vote.  The author, Michael D. Beil, tries to sound like a 12-year-old girl and succeeds fairly well, although having the girls be detectives, go to a private school AND play in a band seems to over do it.  But I am not a 12-year-old girl, the demographic he writes for, so the average reader will probably lap this stuff up.

I like the mix of ethnic and economic backgrounds that the four original Blazers come from and in the latest addition to the series  The Mistaken Masterpiece, Michael D. Beil throws in a very satisfying subplot about middle school enemies who might someday not hate each other anymore. 

The mystery centers around a painting that needs a provenance.  The girls investigate with the help of the older friends they made in their first mystery and find out that the painting is a forgery.  Then there is another forgery, an odd artist who locks himself in his studio, a bigoted old woman, a mysterious wheelchair and a couple of movie stars, oh, and dogs.  Yeah, there is something here for everyone and the whole package is enjoyable and light.