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situationnormal's review
1.0
I read this one a week ago and have since forgotten almost everything about it. Honestly, the mystery is so convoluted and not worth while that it may be on my list of least favorites. Plus, well, Mary Anne.
lberestecki's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
finesilkflower's review
1.0
A lazy, farfetched mystery involving a corrupt real estate developer . I have hardly anything to say about this one because it is so dumb.
From the title, I expected the BSC to be dealing with a witness who is actually unable to talk, like a preverbal kid or a kid with traumatic mutism or something. But no. It's a child who appears to know something about recent arson and vandalism incidents, but refuses to confide in the BSC members because some unknown person is threatening/intimidating him. At one point a baby-sitter sees the words "DON'T TELL" hand-drawn in the dirt. This is the point at which I would have told the parents, personally.
Rant The later-stage BSC mysteries are so DULL. I think they're always trying to one-up themselves and raise the stakes, but the problem is that by broadening the scope of the mystery, they make them incredibly boring, because now they're about big, dull, grown-up problems like real estate and not the simple and understandable and relatable situations of the early mysteries, like being accused of theft by a client, or a creepy experience while house-sitting. Actually, I do think real estate can be interesting, but (1) probably not to kids, and (2) not in this vague, tropey, cartoony way that it's presented.
Fun Facts
Stoneybrook doesn't have a park system.
Lingering Questions
Do the BSC writers know any Latina girls' names besides Amalia?
If Miller's Park is such a great place, how come we've never heard of it before? This isn't the most egregious an example of a BSC mystery pulling an important Stoneybrook feature out of its ass (that would have to be [b:Claudia and the Lighthouse Ghost|290510|Claudia and the Lighthouse Ghost (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #27)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173454154l/290510._SY75_.jpg|281851]), but it's sort of hard to get invested in the stakes of losing this important park when we've literally never seen it before. It's pretty rich for the BSC members, without even Dawn present, to pretend they care about the natural environment around Stoneybrook when the only place they really ever seem to go, other than characters' homes/schools, is Washington Mall.
Who owns the land of Miller's Park? It actually appears to be the Fowlers, so why can't they build there? How does real estate work in Stoneybrook? I guess I should admit that I don't know how it works in real life, either.
What would happen if a real estate developer wanted to develop a plot of land, and the BSC opposed it, but they DIDN'T have a Strange Connection to the area and a diabolical/illegal plot to vandalize all the neighbors nearby, but simply bought the land straightforwardly?
Why was Mary Anne so rude to Cary when he was nothing but nice to her in this book? On some level, she knows this - she trusts him to watch her sitting charges for her (!!) - but she still doesn't believe him when he consistently tells her true information.
Timing: No specific temporal markers. The kids are in school. It's nice enough out to go outside occasionally.
Revised Timeline: This is where I figure out how old the baby-sitters would be if they aged. Spring of junior year of college. I suppose this is as good a time as any to get involved in local politics, such as opposing a real estate development.
Spoiler
who is secretly twins (!!)From the title, I expected the BSC to be dealing with a witness who is actually unable to talk, like a preverbal kid or a kid with traumatic mutism or something. But no. It's a child who appears to know something about recent arson and vandalism incidents, but refuses to confide in the BSC members because some unknown person is threatening/intimidating him. At one point a baby-sitter sees the words "DON'T TELL" hand-drawn in the dirt. This is the point at which I would have told the parents, personally.
Rant The later-stage BSC mysteries are so DULL. I think they're always trying to one-up themselves and raise the stakes, but the problem is that by broadening the scope of the mystery, they make them incredibly boring, because now they're about big, dull, grown-up problems like real estate and not the simple and understandable and relatable situations of the early mysteries, like being accused of theft by a client, or a creepy experience while house-sitting. Actually, I do think real estate can be interesting, but (1) probably not to kids, and (2) not in this vague, tropey, cartoony way that it's presented.
Fun Facts
Stoneybrook doesn't have a park system.
Lingering Questions
Do the BSC writers know any Latina girls' names besides Amalia?
If Miller's Park is such a great place, how come we've never heard of it before? This isn't the most egregious an example of a BSC mystery pulling an important Stoneybrook feature out of its ass (that would have to be [b:Claudia and the Lighthouse Ghost|290510|Claudia and the Lighthouse Ghost (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #27)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173454154l/290510._SY75_.jpg|281851]), but it's sort of hard to get invested in the stakes of losing this important park when we've literally never seen it before. It's pretty rich for the BSC members, without even Dawn present, to pretend they care about the natural environment around Stoneybrook when the only place they really ever seem to go, other than characters' homes/schools, is Washington Mall.
Who owns the land of Miller's Park? It actually appears to be the Fowlers, so why can't they build there? How does real estate work in Stoneybrook? I guess I should admit that I don't know how it works in real life, either.
What would happen if a real estate developer wanted to develop a plot of land, and the BSC opposed it, but they DIDN'T have a Strange Connection to the area and a diabolical/illegal plot to vandalize all the neighbors nearby, but simply bought the land straightforwardly?
Why was Mary Anne so rude to Cary when he was nothing but nice to her in this book? On some level, she knows this - she trusts him to watch her sitting charges for her (!!) - but she still doesn't believe him when he consistently tells her true information.
Spoiler
What was even the point of making Reginald Fowler secret twins???!Timing: No specific temporal markers. The kids are in school. It's nice enough out to go outside occasionally.
Revised Timeline: This is where I figure out how old the baby-sitters would be if they aged. Spring of junior year of college. I suppose this is as good a time as any to get involved in local politics, such as opposing a real estate development.
chicafrom3's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Mary Anne and the BSC prevent a developer from tearing down a public park. Arson is involved.
sammah's review
2.0
You have to be kidding me right now.
I have nothing more to say about this insanity.
I have nothing more to say about this insanity.
xtinamorse's review
Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blog/mary-anne-and-the-silent-witness
ssshira's review
2.0
this is my first time reading this book!
in this book by mystery ghostwriter extraordinaire [a:Ellen Miles|286072|Ellen Miles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], a local businessman is trying to pave paradise and put up a parking lot. reginald fowler wants to demolish the historically significant ambrose sawmill and nearby miller’s park to create some kind of corporate complex. the bsc write letters to the editor saying that this would be wrong because miller’s park is beautiful, and it turns into an elaborate town debate: development versus preservation. the bsc start regularly sitting for a new family who lives in miller’s park when their previous sitter suddenly mysteriously quit immediately after there was a fire in their house. the son, luke, seems really mistrustful of babysitters and keeps getting threatening notes that say things like “don’t tell.” when trying to find luke one day after he runs off, mary anne hears someone throw a brick through a window at ambrose sawmill and sees reginald fowler talking to a teenage boy. mary anne gets caught holding the brick so she gets taken in to the police station for questioning (!) but is let go when sgt johnson vouches for her. mary anne says she saw reginald fowler but the cops say he’s currently at a convention in san francisco. weird. the bsc members find an empty tobacco package at luke’s house and start to suspect that the fire might have been cigarette-related. they find the old babysitter’s notebook with the initials BR in hearts written in it. they know she went to shannon’s school, so they ask shannon about it knowing her name is allie and are able to track her and her boyfriend beau down. turns out allie and beau started the fire by accident by smoking in the garage (PSA alert!). beau was caught by reginald fowler and fowler said he would tell the authorities that beau set the fire if beau doesn’t help him with tasks like throwing a brick through the window at the sawmill. the bsc do research at the library into reginald fowler and discover that he has a twin (who must have been the guy mary anne saw at the sawmill and who was blackmailing beau, since reginald fowler was out of town). beau has been the one threatening luke, but allie doesn’t break up with him over it (sidenote: really? this guy is threatening a kid, and you want to keep dating him?). luke found a map when playing at the sawmill a while ago that is fowler’s idea of what stoneybrook should look like which basically turns the entire town into a big industrial complex. the bsc come forward with that map, so the town decides to shut down fowler’s plans.
highlights:
-I think this is the first reference to claud having a pebbles style hairdo (from the flintstones). I mostly associate this hairstyle with [b:Claudia, Queen of the Seventh Grade|558346|Claudia, Queen of the Seventh Grade (The Baby-Sitters Club, #106)|Ann M. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387743875s/558346.jpg|545523].
-mary anne wonders what it will take to reach these kids on her first day sitting for them
-at one point abby has almost gotten luke to open up and says he can trust her and he says, "but you're a baby-sitter!" it’s very overly dramatic and funny
-all members of bsc write letters to the editor of the paper about how fowler is destroying stoneybrook. kristy makes them use their bsc titles because it will seem "more impressive." oh kristy.
-the bsc get a letter that because of their hard work to preserve the sawmill and the park the area surrounding ambrose's sawmill will now be called baby sitters walk. it’s a little preposterous, but it’s okay, because it turns out it was a trick from our good friend cary retlin (who seems to only appear in mysteries, right?)
lowlights/nitpicks:
-there’s a reference to there being history tied to miller's park but mary anne doesn't remember what it is. really? is this the same mary anne who recited the reese, maine guidebook in [b:Baby-sitters' Haunted House|558190|Baby-sitters' Haunted House (Baby-Sitters Club Super Mystery, #1)|Ann M. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387707405s/558190.jpg|3072139]?
-mary anne gets caught with the brick and gets taken in for questioning. then sgt johnson sees her and says she's not the person who threw a brick through the window at the sawmill because he knows her and she wouldn’t do that. I know she's helped him out and all but that's kind of sketchy policework.
snacks in claudia’s room:
-jelly beans (n.s.)
-cracker jacks (n.s.)
-marshmallows in her closet
-pretzels (n.s.)
-punch made of ginger ale with raspberry apple juice (n.s.)
-twinkies (n.s.)
-ring-dings (n.s.)
-ranch-style doritos (n.s.) (note: I think they mean cool ranch)
-cheetos (n.s.)
-smartfood (n.s.)
-snickers (n.s.)
-fruit (n.s.)
in this book by mystery ghostwriter extraordinaire [a:Ellen Miles|286072|Ellen Miles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], a local businessman is trying to pave paradise and put up a parking lot. reginald fowler wants to demolish the historically significant ambrose sawmill and nearby miller’s park to create some kind of corporate complex. the bsc write letters to the editor saying that this would be wrong because miller’s park is beautiful, and it turns into an elaborate town debate: development versus preservation. the bsc start regularly sitting for a new family who lives in miller’s park when their previous sitter suddenly mysteriously quit immediately after there was a fire in their house. the son, luke, seems really mistrustful of babysitters and keeps getting threatening notes that say things like “don’t tell.” when trying to find luke one day after he runs off, mary anne hears someone throw a brick through a window at ambrose sawmill and sees reginald fowler talking to a teenage boy. mary anne gets caught holding the brick so she gets taken in to the police station for questioning (!) but is let go when sgt johnson vouches for her. mary anne says she saw reginald fowler but the cops say he’s currently at a convention in san francisco. weird. the bsc members find an empty tobacco package at luke’s house and start to suspect that the fire might have been cigarette-related. they find the old babysitter’s notebook with the initials BR in hearts written in it. they know she went to shannon’s school, so they ask shannon about it knowing her name is allie and are able to track her and her boyfriend beau down. turns out allie and beau started the fire by accident by smoking in the garage (PSA alert!). beau was caught by reginald fowler and fowler said he would tell the authorities that beau set the fire if beau doesn’t help him with tasks like throwing a brick through the window at the sawmill. the bsc do research at the library into reginald fowler and discover that he has a twin (who must have been the guy mary anne saw at the sawmill and who was blackmailing beau, since reginald fowler was out of town). beau has been the one threatening luke, but allie doesn’t break up with him over it (sidenote: really? this guy is threatening a kid, and you want to keep dating him?). luke found a map when playing at the sawmill a while ago that is fowler’s idea of what stoneybrook should look like which basically turns the entire town into a big industrial complex. the bsc come forward with that map, so the town decides to shut down fowler’s plans.
highlights:
-I think this is the first reference to claud having a pebbles style hairdo (from the flintstones). I mostly associate this hairstyle with [b:Claudia, Queen of the Seventh Grade|558346|Claudia, Queen of the Seventh Grade (The Baby-Sitters Club, #106)|Ann M. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387743875s/558346.jpg|545523].
-mary anne wonders what it will take to reach these kids on her first day sitting for them
-at one point abby has almost gotten luke to open up and says he can trust her and he says, "but you're a baby-sitter!" it’s very overly dramatic and funny
-all members of bsc write letters to the editor of the paper about how fowler is destroying stoneybrook. kristy makes them use their bsc titles because it will seem "more impressive." oh kristy.
-the bsc get a letter that because of their hard work to preserve the sawmill and the park the area surrounding ambrose's sawmill will now be called baby sitters walk. it’s a little preposterous, but it’s okay, because it turns out it was a trick from our good friend cary retlin (who seems to only appear in mysteries, right?)
lowlights/nitpicks:
-there’s a reference to there being history tied to miller's park but mary anne doesn't remember what it is. really? is this the same mary anne who recited the reese, maine guidebook in [b:Baby-sitters' Haunted House|558190|Baby-sitters' Haunted House (Baby-Sitters Club Super Mystery, #1)|Ann M. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387707405s/558190.jpg|3072139]?
-mary anne gets caught with the brick and gets taken in for questioning. then sgt johnson sees her and says she's not the person who threw a brick through the window at the sawmill because he knows her and she wouldn’t do that. I know she's helped him out and all but that's kind of sketchy policework.
snacks in claudia’s room:
-jelly beans (n.s.)
-cracker jacks (n.s.)
-marshmallows in her closet
-pretzels (n.s.)
-punch made of ginger ale with raspberry apple juice (n.s.)
-twinkies (n.s.)
-ring-dings (n.s.)
-ranch-style doritos (n.s.) (note: I think they mean cool ranch)
-cheetos (n.s.)
-smartfood (n.s.)
-snickers (n.s.)
-fruit (n.s.)
More...