Precocious self-styled Detective Flaca returns, now 11 years old, in a mystery set in Puerto Rico. The second book in the Flaca Files takes Flaca and her family (including older sister "La Bruja") to Puerto Rico for a week to celebrate Los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day. Flaca learns that she'll have to miss time from school, neglect pending cases, survive living with no air conditioning, wear mosquito repellent at all times, and face her fear of flying. Before boarding their San Juan-bound flight, she starts a file on what she deems a suspicious holiday (she's certain the wise men don't really ride flying camels) and makes a point to get to the bottom of it once in Puerto Rico. Vicente knows the Puerto Rican landscape well, taking readers beyond its well-known beaches to its mountains. Through Flaca's trenchant narration, readers get a fair sense of the new terrain, from the applause once the plane lands safely to the family gatherings to the coquí—a local tree frog known for its evening song. She neatly summarizes the holiday party as "eat, dance, talk, repeat." In 56 pages, Vicente tackles Flaca's identity and general family values, but she does not recap basic details from her protagonist's first outing, The Missing Chancleta (2013). The original English version occupies the first half of the book, and Baeza Ventura's Spanish translation, the second half. A mystery serving as a gateway into Puerto Rican culture, traditions, and panorama, narrated by a one-of-a-kind Latina gumshoe. (Bilingual mystery. 8-12)

Vicente follows The Missing Chancleta and Other Top Secret Cases with a second bilingual entry in the Flaca Files series. Flaca, who thinks of herself as Detective Flaca, is none too pleased when her parents surprise her with a Christmas trip to Puerto Rico, where they will celebrate Los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) with her grandmother. She doesn-t like flying, her older sister is a pest, and cockroaches and noisy roosters don-t improve matters once Flaca and her family arrive. The mystery is somewhat slight-like a kid who wonders what Santa-s motives really are, Flaca is determined to uncover the truth about this unfamiliar-to-her holiday-but Vicente gives her heroine a fiery personality, and her clashes with her older sister, aka -La Bruja,- will feel familiar to plenty of younger siblings. Ages 8-12. (May)

Gr 2-4 When Flaca and her sister, whom she refers to as "La Bruja," get a surprise gift of plane tickets for Christmas, they have reservations about going to visit their great-grandmother in Puerto Rico. Flaca, also known as Detective Flaca, has cases to work on and enjoys doing so from the comfort of her home. When the girls' parents tell them they are also going to celebrate Three Kings' Day on their trip, Flaca sets out to show that there is no way the Three Kings visit children on camels and leave gifts. Flaca doesn't get much sleep and is bitten by mosquitoes every day and night, and to top it off, some of her cousins make fun of the way she talks. More determined than ever, she begins to collect clues on the night the Three Kings are supposed to arrive: she follows the grass trail and sets up a perimeter. Her great-grandmother, Mamita, wakes up before the rest of the family and takes Flaca out to feed the chickens and shows Flaca the beauty of the land. Flaca discovers that the holiday is not about gifts or who brings them but about seeing the joy in the faces of the members of her family. Flaca is a witty, clever character who thinks quickly, and the dual English and Spanish text makes this book ideal for children who speak one or both languages or who are learning. VERDICT Perfect for readers who are fans of René Saldaña's "Mickey Rangel" detective series and for libraries who serve Spanish-speaking children. Selenia Paz, Helen Hall Library, League City, TX