Review by Bookmermaid -- Serendipity Mystery by R.F. Kristi

P Reefer · Post by **P Reefer** » 02 Jun 2018, 15:22

[Following is a volunteer review of "Serendipity Mystery" by R.F. Kristi.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The Serendipity Mystery by R.F. Kristi is yet another delightful and delicately written children’s text by the author. Kristi’s Serendipity Mystery is the seventh book of the Inca Cat Detective Series. The mystery unfolds with a small cast of humanoids and a range of familiar and new creatures accompanied by many beautifully colored illustrations. The narrative highlights a nine-day vacation trip by Inca’s family to Galle, a seaside village in Sri Lanka, India. The animals are exuberant to visit the beautiful beach, the ruins of Anuradhapura and a driving safari. Inca proud of her reputation as a snoopy cat is determined to help solve the mystery of the stolen antique sword from the museum. Inca learns about the stolen sword on the second day of the trip from her mom’s highlighting of the article in one of the national newspaper. During the journey, Inca and siblings make friends not only with a sea turtle but also with a big elephant, a baby elephant, monkeys, two cubs and a leopard.

In the animal kingdom of Inca, excitement often peaked at nights. The night prowlers Inca, Fromage, and Cara, however, vow to remain indoors to avoid their mom, the heartache of searching for them in this new and unfamiliar city. Unintentionally, Inca finds herself in some trouble to find Fromage who secretly scampered off during the overnight at the safari.

Serendipity reveals professional looking illustrations that capture the mood and landscape of the characters’ wanderings. I particularly liked Kristi’s style of writing about animals as a judicious mix of fantasy and reality. Thus, while her feline creatures engage in actions that are unnatural to their nature like solving crimes, they maintain their natural dislike for water and are not depicted as swimming on the beach. Additionally, they meow in the presence of humanoids.

Marianne Richmond, a writer, outlines that an essential feature of a good children’s book is the use of poetic language and advanced vocabulary. The Serendipity Mystery offers the entire package of a fun story with endearing characters and writing aimed at vocabulary expansion. In Serendipity, the characters amble own paths, and the humanoids on one occasion have an agitated conversation.

The narrative is easy to follow, and the mood is light and cheery as appropriate to children’s tale. The author successfully produces another socially conscious story that is positive and thought-provoking. A particularly memorable fantasy scene was Inca’s introduction of Cara, Fromage, and Charlotte to Meena and Mama Elephant and the relishing of their first elephant ride. I would rate this book as a 4 out of 4 stars as it meets all the criteria of a good children’s story. It has a simple idea and theme, loveable characters, conflict and teaches a moral lesson. The book appears to be professionally edited. There are no spelling or grammatical errors. I would recommend this short story for children ages six to fourteen.

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Serendipity Mystery
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