A review by floralfox
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart

2.0

To be honest... the storyline got a bit tiring. All this "Whisper" business no longer intrigued me. I found myself seeing what other people saw in the first two books: these were a poor imitation of Snicket's work, with less likable characters and more transparent writing. I think Ledroptha Cutrain is the worst named character in all time possibly. I thought Constance's ability was a little bit too out there for a series that otherwise kept human qualities pretty down-to-earth.... though I'd still say Constance was my favorite character. I still don't know why Reynie seemed like he was the main character the whole time. His character was probably the most boring. He was likable, sure, but Constance, Kate, and Sticky had a little more depth. I'm a little confused about S.Q. Pedalian's role—did Mr. Curtain love him so he kept him around, or did S.Q. love Curtain and so Curtain kept him around? Either way I would've sorted of liked to see S.Q. join their little squad and learn what real love looks like? I think the books were just a little too long, especially towards the end, and could've used with some more characters or villains at the end there.