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The Van Gogh Deception

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The Van Gogh Deception
Written by Deron Hicks
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2017. Fiction, 306 p.

This action-packed adventure starts right into the mystery with an altercation in an underground parking garage. The reader is intrigued, nervous and excited to figure out the questions that are being created.  A boy, not yet introduced, is then found in the National Galley of Art with no memory of who he is or why he is there. He is temporarily placed with Camille and her mom until his parents are located. They return to the museum the next day in hopes of triggering something in his memory. He finds a plastic ticket to pick up something the museum is holding. It turns out to be his backpack, but in the process he and Camille are kidnapped. They need to use the clues from his backpack to figure out who he is and why he also happens to have an unreal knowledge of art!

This is a perfect fast moving middle grade mystery adventure. It would be especially interesting to anyone who enjoys art history. The author has a running clock with the location of the characters at the beginning of each new section. It helps with clarity of what is happening and adds to the reader's suspense.
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