Mystery in Mayan Mexico
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Contributors
Calo, Marcos, Illustrator
Series
Published
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ©2015.
Status

Copies

LocationCall NumberStatusDue Date
Central - Kids FictionJF WELLSChecked OutJune 21, 2025

Description

The fun and fast-paced second installment in the illustrated Eddie Red series.

     On vacation in Mexico, Eddie Red and his best friend Jonah must once again rely on Eddie's talent for drawing and his photographic memory to uncover clues to catch a crook when Eddie’s father is falsely accused of a crime. Whether they are fighting germs from Montezuma’s Revenge, running from a real-life ghost, or battling a bad guy on top of a Mayan pyramid, mystery seems to find young super sleuth Eddie Red everywhere he goes! 

More Details

Format
Book
Physical Desc
xvii, 203 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.
Language
English
ISBN
9780544302068, 0544302060

Notes

Description
"On vacation in Mexico, Eddie Red and his best friend Jonah must once again rely on Eddie's talent for drawing and his photographic memory to uncover clues to catch a crook when Eddie's father is falsely accused of a crime"-- Provided by publisher.

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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Fresh from his first success in helping the NYPD solve a crime, 11-year-old Eddie Red and his best friend, Jonah, go to Mexico on vacation with Eddie's parents. But when a Mayan mask is stolen and Eddie's father is wrongly accused, it's only natural for the boys to join forces with the local police chief's cute daughter, Julia, searching for clues. Danger comes in many forms, from a Mexican street gang to the son of a bank robber. Nothing too complicated here, but a fun whodunit with some humor thrown in. Eddie's adventures are a good fit for older fans of Cam Jansen and Encyclopedia Brown. With a hefty dash of Mexican culture, including both Mayan and Aztec ruins, and a varied cast of suspects, this mystery is also a good choice for reluctant readers.--Moore, Melissa Copyright 2015 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-Eddie Red is in prison. In Mexico. With his best friend Jonah whose new nickname is "El frijol" because of his chronic jumpiness. How did these two almost seventh-graders end up here? Well, it's a long and crazy story. It starts with Eddie's mom taking her family along to a conference in Mexico and involves a stolen ancient mask, a gang called las plumas, an unsolved bank robbery, plastic key chain versions of Mayan deities dabbed with peanut butter for good luck and, of course, dangerous amateur detective work. The boys team up with a local girl named Julia who sets them straight about the Mexican stereotypes and helps them crack the case through her dad's connections. All three kids are realistic and likable, and although the plot twists may strain some reader's suspension of disbelief, they're fast paced enough to keep those who crave adventure turning pages. Refreshingly, this book features an African American protagonist. Purchase for libraries where the first book or other plot-driven mystery series are popular-and be prepared to add future installments.-Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Horn Book Review

While vacationing in Mexico, Eddie Red is pulled into another mystery when his dad is framed for stealing a Mayan artifact. Teaming up with best friend Jonah and the local police chief's daughter, Eddie searches for the true culprit and uncovers a connection to a decades-old bank heist. Mystery fans will enjoy this fast and funny second installment illustrated with "Eddie's" black and white portraits. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

A free trip to the Yucatn pitches Edmund, a young artist/sleuth with a photographic memory, and his OCD pal Jonah into a new investigation involving an unsolved old crime and disappearing gold.Edmund opens his account sitting in a jail cell, clad in a wet Darth Vader costume, covered in scratches, blood and barf ("I smell awesome"), his wrist in a castand really not looking forward to calling his parents. Following this magnificent lead-in, though, the tale goes downhill rapidly, from the disappearance of an ancient gold mask to the climactic struggle with a knife-wielding thief atop a rain-swept Mayan ruin. In between, Wells concocts a nonsensically contrived caper involving Hebrew orthography, poorly integrated "evidence" from false fingerprints to glimpses of the bad guy dressed as a museum guard, and an obvious, no-brainer clue to where the gold is hidden that has somehow gone misunderstood for decades. Moreover, even less-reflective readers will wonder how Edmund and Jonah can break into an apartment and bend various other laws in the course of their investigation without suffering any legal consequences. Along the way, Jonah's practice of smearing a gift-store Mayan effigy with peanut-butter and blood "sacrifices" comes off more like cultural mockery than harmless fooling. Calo's accomplished drawings bring characters and details to life but are both rare and, sometimes, too finished to believably represent Edmund's quick sketches. Comical and clever in spots but overall, a sad follow-up to Mystery on Museum Mile (2014). (appendix of Mayan gods) (Mystery. 9-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

Fresh from his first success in helping the NYPD solve a crime, 11-year-old Eddie Red and his best friend, Jonah, go to Mexico on vacation with Eddie's parents. But when a Mayan mask is stolen and Eddie's father is wrongly accused, it's only natural for the boys to join forces with the local police chief's cute daughter, Julia, searching for clues. Danger comes in many forms, from a Mexican street gang to the son of a bank robber. Nothing too complicated here, but a fun whodunit with some humor thrown in. Eddie's adventures are a good fit for older fans of Cam Jansen and Encyclopedia Brown. With a hefty dash of Mexican culture, including both Mayan and Aztec ruins, and a varied cast of suspects, this mystery is also a good choice for reluctant readers. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 4–6—Eddie Red is in prison. In Mexico. With his best friend Jonah whose new nickname is "El frijol" because of his chronic jumpiness. How did these two almost seventh-graders end up here? Well, it's a long and crazy story. It starts with Eddie's mom taking her family along to a conference in Mexico and involves a stolen ancient mask, a gang called las plumas, an unsolved bank robbery, plastic key chain versions of Mayan deities dabbed with peanut butter for good luck and, of course, dangerous amateur detective work. The boys team up with a local girl named Julia who sets them straight about the Mexican stereotypes and helps them crack the case through her dad's connections. All three kids are realistic and likable, and although the plot twists may strain some reader's suspension of disbelief, they're fast paced enough to keep those who crave adventure turning pages. Refreshingly, this book features an African American protagonist. Purchase for libraries where the first book or other plot-driven mystery series are popular—and be prepared to add future installments.—Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

[Page 102]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Wells, M., & Calo, M. (2015). Mystery in Mayan Mexico . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Wells, Marcia and Marcos, Calo. 2015. Mystery in Mayan Mexico. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Wells, Marcia and Marcos, Calo. Mystery in Mayan Mexico Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Wells, M. and Calo, M. (2015). Mystery in mayan mexico. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Wells, Marcia,, and Marcos Calo. Mystery in Mayan Mexico Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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