Marvelous Middle Grade Monday # MMGM Book Review: Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley

Five mysterious invitations go out to an eclectic group of people asking them to join a special event at the Barclay Hotel. When JJ sees his mom’s invitation he knows it’s his chance to get into the old hotel to do some ghost hunting. He has a lot of cool equipment and he’s been excited to try it out. Since his mother owes him one- it’s time to cash in. Penny is visiting her grandfather, a retired detective, and is intrigued by the old hotel. Her grandfather wants to get away and be pampered, so Penny convinces him that this is his chance. Once the invitees and the “stragglers” (the two extra kids) are at the hotel, the butler, Mr. Clark, announces that they are all there because one of them is the murderer of Mr. Barkley. And here begins the whodunit! It’s a murder mystery with some interesting suspects. Was it the CEO? The actress? The librarian or cowboy? It seems possible it could be any of them, except JJ knows his mom didn’t do it. Penny and JJ meet up with Emma, a child who lives at the hotel, and the three of them are on the case. JJ wants to clear his mom’s name and Emma and Penny want to help catch the killer. Can the three sleuths solve the case? Will the murderer strike again? Is everyone who they say they are? And are there really any ghosts at the Barclay Hotel? Will JJ get to do any ghost hunting? You’ll have to read along and spot the clues as they are unveiled. 

Midnight at the Barclay Hotel is not the first book that I’ve read by Fleur Bradley. I also read her Double Vision series, and we were lucky enough to interview her twice on our blog back then. Midnight at the Barclay Hotel reminded me of a modern day The Westing Game, but easier to understand. My teacher read The Westing Game to our class last year and most kids thought it was too confusing. There were way too many characters and it was hard to keep track of everything. My teacher was disappointed, but I’m going to recommend this one to her because I think it’s a whodunit book that other kids will love too! JJ, Penny, and Emma have a fast friendship, but it seems to make sense and is believable. They all have their own strengths and interests, which makes them intriguing. All of them are kids I would be friends with (and they'd all be perfect members of my own detective squad, The DMS).  I thought the ghost hunting was a cool aspect of the book, and I loved all the tools JJ has. I also liked trying to narrow down who had committed the murder. I highly recommend this to kids in third grade and up who like mysteries, the game of Clue, or any other book in which you try to solve a crime. It’s a murder mystery without being scary or gory. This book was a lot of fun and it had a great ending!

Has anyone else read Midnight at the Barclay Hotel? Or have you read another book by Fleur Bradley? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!

~ L

 For other MMGM posts, please visit Greg Pattridge's blog.

We'll be on a blog break until September. Happy Reading! Enjoy the rest of the summer. 🌞