Reviews

Detective Boys of Masangkay: Ang Closed-Door Mystery by Bernalyn Hapin Sastrillo

scythefranz's review against another edition

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5.0

Naglevel-up sa tensyon at pacing ang sequel na ito! Mas nakakamangha at nakakahingal ang mga pangyayari!

At ang promising ng kasunod!
Review to come.

vance_31's review against another edition

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5.0

Mas naging seryoso pa ang kaso na hinawakan ng DBM. Okay 'yung concept. Tulad ng book 1, maganda ang execution. The ending is okay. Medyo nakaka-excite 'yung epilogue hahaha.

Tulad ng book 1, nakakaenjoy basahin itong book 2, pero mas nagustuhan ko ang book 1. hahaha.

This is an awesome series. Can't wait to see kung ano pa ang mga kakaharapin ng DBM.

wanderwithjon's review against another edition

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3.0

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The Detective Boys of Masangkay (DBM) aren’t just your small time group, they are now a group of recognized junior detective with their previous success in solving the case of the missing Shino kid in Masangkay.

By its very nature and target demographic, the book is highly effective. It’s simple and fairly quick to read. The message of the story is brilliant—presenting us with a conflict within the friend group that deepens their relationship. It doesn’t only show that adversities are inevitable but it also illuminates the positive effect of it. Certain situations may cause discord between friends, and despite that, resolutions will help strengthen their bond.

The success of the story lies within the message that it want readers to digest and the satisfying simplicity of its writing style. Other than that, it was not as effective as ‘Ang Mangkukulam’ (the first book in the series). The characters felt too overbearing and pompous in their desire to become detectives that they failed to understand the gravity of the situation they forced themselves into. With full awareness that this book is marketed for children, my brain still failed to process how these kids cannot seem to grasp their limitations; considering they are a smart lot.

‘Ang Closed-Door Mystery’ was amusing with its leveled up tensing situations but fell weak in trying too hard with its crime aspect. The message in and of itself is wonderful; however, the plot that was presented made it too pretentious. With a lighter and relatively similar case, I feel like it could have been better.

bookbed's review against another edition

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3.0

"Madaling basahin at sundan ang pagkakasulat nito, at bagaman simple ang misteryo kumpara sa mga nakapadetalyadong mystery books, kausi-usisa pa rin. Pwedeng pang-Read Aloud, o ‘di kaya naman pang-play. Marami rin kasing parteng pwedeng isadula, at mga parteng mas magandang makita in action.

Nag-enjoy din ako sa pagkilala kina Uno, Thirdy, Junior at Me-An at ang kanilang pagkakaibigan. Naging interesado rin ako sa mga secondary characters, gaya ng sekretaryang si Jason. Bawat karaker ay may karakter. Haha!" Continue reading our review here.

Please note: We don't use ratings but for this purpose, we tag books with three stars by default.
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