In the third mystery in Alder's series about detective Jeffery Bones, Bones must figure out who stole his friend Amy's spinach noodle cupcake. The case has a big question mark. Who would want to steal such a yucky treat? Although Bones is armed with a code breaker, detective powder, and a walkie-talkie, none of those help when it comes to solving the crime, which turns out to be more of a mix-up than a mystery. Still, this is accessible, amusing, and attractively designed, with large color images taking up most of the room in this slim book. A recipe for spinach noodle cupcakes is included, but frankly, the book hasn't made them sound all that appetizing.

When Not-Me Amy opens her lunch at school, her spinach noodle cupcake has disappeared, and it's up to Jeffrey Bones, detective, to solve the mystery. Using "detective powder" and logic, Jeffrey examines the clues and, after a wrong turn, comes up with the answer. Jeffrey's sense of humor, the simple text, and colorful illustrations make this an enjoyable read.

K-Gr 2-Detective Jeffrey Bones appears in his third story. Here, he is intrigued when fellow classmate Not-Me Amy loses her spinach-noodle cupcake. Although he wants to use his specialized equipment (code breaker, detective dust, and walkie-talkie) to solve the mystery, he finds that he can locate the cupcake using pure deduction. Divided into short chapters, the book consists of simple sentences and delightful color illustrations featuring amusing facial expressions. The dialogue makes the plot move quickly, and emerging readers will easily become involved. Adler's fine characterizations and evident sense of humor make this a solid addition to beginning-reader collections.-Anne Knickerbocker, formerly at Cedar Brook Elementary School, Houston, TX Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.