ALA Booklist (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

The Code Busters Club series introduces the titular club rkeley seventh-graders Quinn, M. E., Luke, and Cody ose love of cryptography, ciphers, and puzzles enables them to solve mysteries and thwart crimes. Cody and Quinn notice their neighbor Mr. Skelton signaling from his window; later his house burns and cousins Jasper and Jezebel appear, searching for Mr. Skelton's will. By solving Mr. Skelton's coded clues, the club members manage to unearth the authentic document before his cousins can force him to sign a new one. Narrated by Cody, this well-crafted mystery reads smoothly; characters are well developed, clues (and red herrings) skillfully dropped, and the solution feels plausible. What sets this book apart are the codes embedded into the story (including chapter titles rendered in American Sign Language) that offer readers a chance to actively participate in solving the mystery. Although the fat jokes aimed at Jezebel seem a bit cruel, this makes a good choice for mystery lovers who aren't ready for Betsy Byars' Herculeah Jones books or Wendelin Van Draanen's Sammy Keyes series.

Horn Book (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Cody, Quinn, Luke, and M.E. have fun breaking codes in their club, but when their elderly neighbor's house burns down, code-breaking becomes more than a hobby. The kids must decode a message from their neighbor to save his fortune--and his life. Cliffhanger chapter endings propel the action forward in this very readable mystery. An answer key for all the codes is appended.

Kirkus Reviews (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

This first of a series delivers a splendid story of four youths on a code-breaking spree. Cody and her three buddies comprise an exclusive club revolving around studying and creating codes. It's all in fun, but things amp up to intense when Cody and Quinn spy two lurking strangers at Mr. Skelton's creepy old house. Cody awakens the next morning to find Mr. Skelton's house in flames and an ambulance taking him to the hospital. Cody then notices symbols drawn on an upstairs windowpane. As the club members investigate the charred house and each new clue leads to the next, they find cryptic messages that lead them repeatedly to one of Mr. Skelton's many cats and possibly to hidden treasure. Moreover, the strangers, calling themselves cousins of Mr. Skelton, are clearly looking for something in the old man's house and begin to appear capable of treachery well beyond robbery. Adding depth to an already smart, fast-paced mystery, a resonant back story reveals that Cody's parents have recently divorced and that her little sister is deaf. Readers are active participants in the momentum and are frequently invited to solve classic forms of code, such as Morse and semaphores. This intriguing tale has vivid characters and such a tantalizing cliffhanger that the readers won't be able to resist cracking the next Code Busters. (code keys and solutions) (Mystery. 8-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This by-the-numbers launch to Warner's (The Mystery of the Haunted Caves) Code Busters Club series introduces four seventh graders who enjoy communicating via various codes-including American Sign Language, Morse code, and a mathematical cipher-that are incorporated into the novel and translated in its back matter. Code devotees may find this engaging, but the conceit adds little to this mystery, which involves a sudden fire that destroys a neighborhood hermit's house and a bizarre couple claiming to be his relatives, who the club members assume are searching for the man's buried treasure. In the neighbor's burnt-out house, the young sleuths find clues-written in code, of course-that lead them to the hermit's will and help them foil the villains' plans. Characterizations are thin, and the book's humor, often of a mildly scatological variety, misses the mark. Laborious detail, repetition, and stilted dialogue slow the pace, and contemporary references to C.S.I., Hurricane Katrina, and text message lingo aren't enough to keep this series from feeling dated out of the gate. Ages 8-12. (Aug.)

School Library Journal (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 3-5 This pedestrian mystery involves four kids who form a club based on their mutual enjoyment of riddles, puzzles, and secret codes. When one of their elderly neighbors acts weirdly, the kids realize that he has left a semaphore code on his bedroom window, asking for help. Two cheesy relatives are trying to kill him for his fortune. The children get involved and, by decoding a number of messages, are able to rescue him. Readers may enjoy solving the coded chapter titles as well as those that the children have to figure out. However, there is no character development, and the bad guys are stock figures who are more laughable than sinister. Most readers will find the solution to the mystery ridiculously obvious. B. Allison Gray, Goleta Public Library, CA