Museum Mystery Squad and the Case of the Roman Riddle

Quick Look

• A fun-packed series for early readers, perfect for amateur sleuths and quiz fanatics
• Scooby Doo meets Doctor Who as the Squad solve a series of strange mysteries
• Interactive games and puzzles are integrated through the text, to keep young readers engaged

Strange lights, eerie sounds -- there's something spooky happening with a Roman helmet. Join the Museum Mystery Squad as they investigate ancient treasure, mystery mosaics and suspicious centurions.

Description

Some people think that museums are boring places full of glass cases, dust and stuff no one cares about: wrong! In a hidden headquarters below the exhibits there's a gang ready to handle dangerous, spooky or just plain weird problems: the Museum Mystery Squad.
Techie-genius Nabster, mile-a-minute Kennedy and sharp-eyed Laurie (along with Colin the hamster!) tackle the surprising conundrums happening at the museum. From pre-historic creatures that move and secret Egyptian codes to missing treasure and strange messages from the past, there's no brain-twisting, totally improbable puzzle the Squad can't solve.

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Strange lights, eerie sounds -- something spooky is happening at the museum. The ghostly goings-on centre on a dented Roman helmet. Could it be haunted? The Squad aren't convinced but what better place is there for a ghost to hide than in a museum full of seriously old and rather dead things?

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In the Case of the Roman Riddle, the Squad investigate ancient treasure, mystery mosaics and suspicious centurions to try to solve their latest mystery.

Young readers will love the riddles, red herrings and big reveals jam-packed into this fun-filled series of mystery stories by Mike Nicholson. The enjoyable extras like wacky facts and activities, as well as zany illustrations by Mike Phillips, will keep amateur detectives entertained for hours.

Reviews

'Mike Nicholson's book focuses on a space that does not receive much attention in children's literature, and there is a clear desire to celebrate museums as spaces of imagination and learning. There is a very interesting interplay between text and image in the book, as the story is interposed by numerous illustrations, graphs and quizzes that visually make the book very visually stimulating.'
-- Armadillo

'I just finished reading both books -- they are so much fun!'
-- Ms Kirke Kook, Manager and Curator, Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum

'All of the books in this series are fast-moving, filled with interesting facts that should spur readers on to their own explorations, well-written, fun and wonderfully illustrated with black and white drawings by Mike Phillips.'
-- Youth Services Book Review

'There is so much to love about this book. A quick shout out for those with dyslexic children the font and spacing is good as is the creamy pages. I realise there are many things to look at but it has had the thumbs up from a few customers who need to look at this before a purchase. [...] A great story and characters, lots of hands on interaction/involvement, fun illustrations, terrible jokes and a great read whether you are sharing your story-time or you are an independent reader.'
-- Bookworm (indie bookshop, Selkirk)

'It made me laugh and I really enjoyed the facts and I think the second one sounds like it will be really good.'
-- Mairin, age 7 years

'For Jonah, reading is not something that fills him with enthusiasm. Due to dyslexia and the complications it can bring to simply read a text, picking up a book is something that Jonah considers to be hard work. That is until with great enthusiasm he read 'Mammoth'. We had begun to read it together before he went to sleep but he couldn't wait for the story to end and so continued to read on his own! He loved the subject matter - mammoths are a big hit (!) and he really enjoyed the games and the quizzes. Within a few nights the book was finished and Jonah asked if we could buy the other book in the series. Completing a book on his own was a real confident boost to Jonah and he genuinely found the whole experience to be great fun. As a parent this was a joy to see! Thank you Mike for your brilliant books and your excellent storytelling. You captured the mind and imagination of a nine year old boy who never would have thought stepping into a book could be so much fun!'
-- Parent of Jonah, age 9 years

'My 7yr old loves to read. [...] She loved the museum mysteries which took her about a week to read each one. Her imagination has been gripped [...] All in these books have become a loved part of Anna's book shelves. Perfect for her age group. A page turner she can enjoy on her own with some words and phrases she'd not come across before to challenge her.'
-- Parent of Anna, age 7 years

'Grace absolutely loved them and devoured each one [both Museum Mystery Squad books] in a day. The characters and the plot really captured her imagination and she really enjoyed the way that facts were interspersed throughout (she loves a good fact!) The games and quizzes at the back were a big hit too -- she really enjoyed doing the "which character are you" quiz. I can always tell how much Grace genuinely enjoys a book by how long she talks about it afterwards -- the Museum Mystery Squad books were a good couple of weeks and would have been more if numbers 3 and 4 had been available. [...] Grace is very much looking forward to the next two books in the series.'
-- Parent of Grace, age 8 years

'Nicholson slips in fact boxes and a miniquiz as well as some red herrings to confuse matters. Phillips adds coded messages, screen shots, and diary pages to cartoon views of the squad in action. A final word-search puzzle (with answers) serves as both brain teaser and review. [...] The historical information is a bit flimsy, but deduction and slick detective work save the day.'
-- Kirkus

Author

Mike Nicholson won the Kelpies Prize for new Scottish children's fiction in 2005. He is the author of many humorous children's books including the Museum Mystery Squad series (for young readers) and the Thistle Street picture books. Mike lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Mike Phillips (1961-2024) was the illustrator of many children's books series including the Museum Mystery Squad, Fact-tastic Stories from Scotland's History, Horrible Histories: Gruesome Guides and Horrible Geography.

Links

Discover more of our Scottish children's books on the Discover Kelpies website, where you can search the full Kelpies range, from board books to young teen novels, by age, genre, subject and location.