The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit by Octavia Spencer

The story follows Randi and her new friend D.C. Randi is determined to solve this mystery and doesn't understand why her father who writes mystery novels isn't interested in investigating. Much to the dismay of the whole town, the capsule disappears. The fate of many of the town's struggling businesses hangs on the tourists expected to attend the festival. Many people believe that a legendary treasure was hidden inside the capsule. The only excitement in the new town is the upcoming Founder's Day Festival at the center of which will be the opening of a time capsule. Randi, without her father's knowledge, has acted as a sleuth solving small mysteries in her old neighborhood. Randi is upset and resentful when her father decides they should move from New York to his small Tennessee hometown. Twelve-year-old Randi Rhodes is the daughter of a popular mystery writer. Spencer's book is an excellent middle school mystery.

The story itself is trite and nothing new, but the character development and relationships are worth a quick read. Although the setting makes this a bit far-fetched, it's nice to have multiracial representation, and having a number of strong women, including a female Sheriff, is refreshing. She also finds an unlikely (for rural Tennessee) multicultural mix of friends, a Latino, an African-American, and a Chinese nanny/daddy's girlfriend (?).

The best thing about this book is Spencer's attention to her heroine's emotional life, a recently deceased mother, a distant and preoccupied father, a move from urban New York to rural Tennessee. The chapters are peppered with inconsistent appendices - activities that extend the action, Try this at home! - an interesting idea that falls a bit flat in my view. Scooby Do enthusiasts will recognize the formulaic plot - those meddlesome kids, bad guys in suits, the secret treasure and the wholesome reward at the end. With her new stardom, she found a contract with Simon & Schuster, and the second in the series will follow shortly. Her Hollywood mentor, Sandra Bullock, gave it a read and encouraged her to seek a publisher. Octavia Spencer, Academy Award-winner of The Help, started writing this book 13 years ago.

The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit by Octavia Spencer