Settings & Atmosphere - Fiction, Teen Fiction - Family & Relationships, Teen Fiction - Mysteries & Thrillers
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Overview
A mummy has gone missing! It’s not a terribly valuable mummy, but its disappearance spells big trouble for Phineas and Althea’s father, who is the curator of a small collection of Egyptian antiquities bequeathed to the college where he works.
A whispered phone call leads Phineas and Althea to the vandalized mummy without revealing the identity of the thief. Then someone far more important to Phineas than a fifteen-hundred-year-old mummy vanishes. In spite of what the police think, he knows his sister would not have run away, and he knows she’s in grave danger. But can he unravel the mystery in time to save her life?
When, as the new Classics professor at Vandemark College, their father is made responsible for a collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts, twelve-year-old Phineas and his older sister Althea try to find out why the collection is the target of thieves, especially when the mummy disappears.
Synopsis
A mummy has gone missing! It’s not a terribly valuable mummy, but its disappearance spells big trouble for Phineas and Althea’s father, who is the curator of a small collection of Egyptian antiquities bequeathed to the college where he works. A whispered phone call leads Phineas and Althea to the vandalized mummy without revealing the identity of the thief. Then someone far more important to Phineas than a fifteen-hundred-year-old mummy vanishes. In spite of what the police think, he knows his sister would not have run away, and he knows she’s in grave danger. But can he unravel the mystery in time to save her life?Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
A collection of Egyptian antiquities draws a 12-year-old boy and his sister into an intricately plotted web of burglary, kidnapping and attempted murder. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)Children's Literature
Newberry Award-winner Voigt (Dicey's Song, 1983) has given us another adventure. The plot is well-constructed and the characters are real people with hopes, fears, talents and beliefs. Phineas and Althea Hall have come with their father Sam to Portland, Maine, where Vandemark College has a new exhibit of Egyptian antiquities. Their mother has moved to Portland, Oregon—a move connected with her job—a move that she "couldn't refuse." Neither of the kids is sure that the separation isn't permanent, so their feelings of uncertainty often surface in their behavior. Sam has been hired to curate this exhibit, and the first thing he'll do is uncrate and set up the artifacts. The kids help him as various college board members and faculty members drift in to see what is going on. Eventually they come to the showpiece of the collection, which is the mummy of a girl. In addition to linen wrappings at the head, there is a portrait. Phineas's reaction is the most relevant to the story. "He almost felt like crying himself, looking at the girl's face in the portrait...her sad brown eyes that looked right at him...He wondered...how her eyes could look so sad even while her mouth looked like it was about to laugh." Althea wonders why the mummy's feet are wrapped in linen strips that have Greek writing on them. After press reports about the mummy, it turns up missing. Things begin to move a lot faster, when suddenly Sam and Phineas have much more to worry about. Althea is missing. Who took the mummy? Who took Althea? A disappointingly slow start, but when the pace picks up there's plenty of action. 2001 (orig. 1991), Aladdin, $4.99. Ages 11 to 14. Reviewer: Judy SilvermanSchool Library Journal
Gr 6-10-- Newly arrived in Portland, Maine, Phineas Hall, 12, and his sister Althea, almost 15, live with their father, a classics professor, while their mother pursues her own career in Portland, Oregon. Phineas concentrates on being a child, enjoying his summer, while Althea buries herself in the study of ancient Greek. The focus of their concerns shifts abruptly when a small collection of Egyptian antiquities, including a mummy, is donated to Vandemark College, and Professor Hall is chosen as curator. The collection is first threatened, and then the mummy is vandalized. It is Althea who figures out the culprit's identity; in confronting him, she risks her life and is saved only through the persistence and bravery of Phineas, who conducts a nocturnal search of the labyrinthine library basement. Pleasingly well written, this contemporary mystery is graced with a sound plot, a scary climax, and, above all, perceptive characterizations. The tone is light, deftly counterbalancing the thoughtful presentation of difficult issues concerning feminism and family. In all, it's a fine interweaving of fun and substance. --Cynthia Bishop, Onondaga County Pub . Lib . , Syracuse, NYBook Details
Published
March 26, 2013
Publisher
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Pages
240
ISBN
9781439132586