The Venetian Policeman

Sophie knows that she's made a big mistake, when she accidentally lets her mother's famous matzo ball soup recipe to Wilda Higgins, the owner of the Petal Diner. After all, she and her sister - Sam - are known to the town of Venice, Indiana as two Christian girls whose parents were killed in a car accident, not two Jewish girls who ran away from Queens, New York with their evil stepmother's money. However, Wilda quickly adds some Midwestern touches to make the recipe her own, then enters it into a contest. However, when Wilda wins, and is chosen to appear on Griffin Gateaux's cable television cooking show, she invites Sophie to join her on-screen. Now, Sam must figure out a way to prevent Sophie's face from being plastered all over the media, or their covers will definitely be blown. But that's the least of their worries, for Wilda and Griffin quickly disappear while touring local dairy farms, and now it's up to Sophie and Sam, along with their Private Investigator boss, the gruff Gus, to find Wilda and Griffin before they're both...expired. With so few mystery series on the market for teens nowadays, it's wonderful to have the opportunity to pick up one of M.E. Rabb's books, and enter the small town of Venice, solving missing persons cases. Rabb has a talent of creating interesting, out-of-the-ordinary problems for the Shattenberg sisters, that keep readers guessing from first page to last. THE UNSUSPECTING GOURMET is no exception. Sophie and Sam are quirky, and fun to read about; and the adventures they encounter in the bizarro Venice, Indiana leave readers laughing, and dying for a slice of Wilda's famous pie. An interesting, funny, trendy NANCY DREW-type series that will please mystery readers of all ages. My only qualm is that it appears that this series has been discontinued. Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Missing person prodigies, Sam and Sophie Shattenberg have just taken their third case since becoming pint-size detectives. The two girls are investigating a strange ring of pet-nappers plaguing the small town of Venice, Indiana; while at the same time they're trying to track down Jack, the son of their boss, and resident Private Investigator - when he's on the wagon - Gus. However, their investigations into Jack's disappearance are being kept quiet, so as not to upset their boss and get them fired. Soon the two girls get a few leads, and head out to Las Vegas, where they're finding nothing but dead ends, until lady luck shines her light on them. I adored the first two novels in M.E. Rabb's MISSING PERSONS series, and am surprised to say that THE VENETIAN POLICEMAN lived up to it's predecessor's. Sam and Sophie are as nosy as ever, and each page contains their signature wit. Fans of the two previous books in the series will adore the fact that the girls love lives are beginning to take on a larger part in the story, and the marvelous cliffhanger will have all die-hard fans racing out to purchase the next book in the series, THE UNSUSPECTING GOURMET. Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

After reading the first and second mysteries in this series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the third, and I am now waiting impatiently for the fourth. These books are really enjoyable, and I especially like the fact that they do not talk down to the teen audience they are directed at. True, I'm not in that teen audience anymore, but that didn't stop me from being thoroughly delighted with these books. I would highly recommend them as gifts for young teen readers.

Sophie and Sam, the Shattenberg sisters, are back in their third adventure. This time, they are involved in searching for several pets that have gone missing in their small town of Venice, Indiana. At the same time, they are trying to locate Jack Jenkins, son of Gus Jenkins, the private detective the girls work for. Jack left Venice after his high school graduation three years ago, and hasn't been heard from since. Lately Gus has been depressed, having failed to locate his son after all this time, and Sophie and Sam are determined to help him. But they have few leads. Can they locate Jack, as well as the missing pets? Fans of the previous books featuring Sophie and Sam won't want to miss this one. I can't wait to read the fourth book in the series, and hope there will be many more. I really like the character's, and Sophie's chatty first-person narrative is really fun to read. I highly recommend this series to teen readers.