The Green Gables Detectives by Eric Wilson

Summary: Liz Austen is in Prince Edward Island for a baseball tournament, but playing sports doesn’t keep her from participating in a Green Gables murder mystery event. When what was fictional turns horribly real with the death of Miss Martin, the woman playing Marilla, Liz and her new friend Makiko from Japan are on the case to find the murderer. But for all her smarts even Liz can be fooled, and she must quickly piece things together before serious harm comes to her and her friends.

Number of Pages: 142

Age Range: 12-13

Review: The Liz and Tom Austen Mystery books was another series that was around when I was growing up, but I never ended up reading one. After today’s book, I wish I had. I enjoyed Liz’s feisty attitude and determination to solve the mysteries she encountered.

What a fun and educational story! I love the idea of a series of teen fiction that incorporates Canada’s major landmarks, and Eric Wilson makes such information easily accessible to his readers through the mystery genre. In The Green Gables Detectives, there were actually two mysteries, but Liz Austen managed to solve them both and, aided by new friends Makiko and Aaron, escape a dangerous hostage situation.

I chose the second quote because I laughed at its outlandishness, and I made sure to credit the quote to the ‘bad guy’ instead of using a name so the mystery will be preserved if you haven’t read it before. This book is definitely geared toward pre-teen to very early teen readers, but I enjoyed the lighter read and learning more about Lucy Maud Montgomery while feeling like Wilson had transported me to Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.

Memorable Quotes:

“This book is for Rick Hansen

The triumphant ‘Man in Motion'” – Dedication from The Green Gables Detectives by Eric Wilson

“‘Without the radar we can’t get back to port. You’re stuck out here at sea, so let the kids go. I’m sure the courts will be fair to you.’

‘That’s hard to believe when I’ve just murdered someone.’ He shook his head. ‘No, I’m not going back to prison. These kids are my ticket to freedom, so they’re going ashore with me.'” – conversation between ship’s mate and the bad guy from The Green Gables Detectives by Eric Wilson, page 131

The Green Gables Detectives by Eric Wilson is published by Collins Publishers (1987).
(Buy this book: Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Booksellers)