This book is. Fine. It’s cozy, it’s middle-grade, it’s age-appropriate. The big problem with it is that none of the characters have any flaws, so absolutely no character development can happen over the course of the story. The entire time I just wished that I was reading SMALL SPACES again. Three stars. LOVE the cover though.

Super cute story about friends on a tv detective show that are solving a mystery. This story reminds me of being a young girl at a sleepover and trying to scare each other with ghost stories. This book would be perfect in a classroom library grade 3 - 5 (including mine).

For starters, I recived this book as an eARC from Netgalley. The publishers were nice enough to turn on auto-approvals for me for all their Netgalley titles. This was the first book I chose to use that gift on and I was not dissapointed. Before I get into how good this book was, let me say the one negative thing about this story. It was too short. It ended too quickly and would've liked it to be 50 more pages. Now that the ONE negative is out of the way, let me tell you why I loved this book.

Aside from being an avid reader and reviewer who dabbles in writing I love to act. This book delves deep into what being an actor is really like, especially if you are a child actor. So from page one, when the author describes the setting, I was in love and it only got better from there.

Loving mystery, this was a perfect ode to the iconic teen sleuth, Nancy Drew. I am a big fan of mysteries and ghost stories, and this was a perfect blend of both. It was a modern take on ND for the modern person. But the characters aren't as generic as ND. Each of the characters in The Hayley Mysteries are fleshed out and well developed. Hayley, the main girl, is everything you would want in a child. Smart, brave, talented, and witty. The characters were not mean to one another, and all had the same passion, acting, so it was nice to see them grow as people, on and off the set. That's all I have to say on the characters, now let's move on.

The story was fast paced and was impossible to not be interested in what was going on. Something was always happening, a clue here, a clue there. The mystery both haunts the characters on and off set, blending the two. this book is everything I dream of when I think of myself as an actor, and what being on set is like. Hijinx, friends, fun fun, lots of food during lunch, basically my heaven

OVERALL:

I loved this young Middle Grade book and would recommend it to any mystery fan or a fan of acting. I loved book one, and can't wait for book two to come out. I hope this will become the next Nancy Drew series.

This first book in the Hayley Mysteries series introduces the reader to Hayley and her friends Aubrey and Cole. The three young actors and friends in real life star in a new Nancy Drew-like TV show, “Sadie Solves It.” While filming the second season of the show, what appears to be a ghost makes an appearance on the set. Now, other strange things start to happen around the studio. Is the studio really haunted or does someone not want “Sade Solves It” to film a second season? Hayley, Aubrey, and Cole are determined to find out what is really going on before the show is canceled.

I really enjoyed this middle-grade mystery. I loved the cover art and the illustrations throughout the story. I think it really added to the book and helps young readers be able to picture better in their minds what is happening throughout the story. The plot was very interesting, and I found myself continuing to read to find out what would happen next. I can see many young readers really enjoying the story as well. Hayley Leblanc, a teenager herself, did an excellent job writing this debut book. I can’t wait to read more in the series!

The Hayley Mysteries: The Haunted Studio by Hayley LaBlanc
The book was ok, it is a middle school read and easy to understand. Yet the writing felt repetitive and the storyline was predictable. Even with all of these flaws, it was still a decent and enjoyable read, seeing Sadie and the character she plays stories together is interesting. The sideline characters like her friends and their families were diverse as well. Overall, a 3 star read.

3.5/5

Perfect for fans of Nancy Drew and young aspiring actors, The Hayley Mysteries is a fast paced, fun mystery that follows Hayley and her two friends who are convinced a ghost is haunting a set in Hollywood.

I can definitely see young readers enjoying this book, trying to figure out the mystery of the ghost, without it being too scary.

I really loved the illustrated art style dotted throughout in this to help tell the story further which is always appreciated by younger readers.

I do wish the characters had a little more of a backstory to them and their personalities explained and explored more but overall I think this was an enjoyable read for the target audience.

The Hayley Mysteries: The Haunted Studio was a short, fun, and entertaining middle grade read. The premise is catchy and it has small illustrations peppered into the pages, which I really enjoyed. Some of the narrative did seem like over-explaining and I would have liked a bit more of character development but besides that, the story was thought out and fresh. I liked investigating with Hayley and her friends and I loved the parallel of how they go from playing on-screen detectives to real life ones. Perfect for the intended audience and a great start for the series.

The Hayley Mysteries: The Haunted Studio is a great middle grade mystery. The characters are relatable and act like genuine kids. The mystery is interesting and not too scary. Overall, it's a great book for kids wanting to get into mysteries.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

The first book of the Hayley Mysteries series is about Hayley and her friends Aubrey and Cody, three young actors on the TV mystery show "Sadie Solves It". While filming the second season of the show a ghost is sighted on the set and other strange things start happening around the studio. Is the studio really haunted or is someone trying to sabotage the production? The three kids start investigating trying to stop the show from getting cancelled.

It's a cute middle grade mytery about three kids being friends on and off stage who not only play detectives on a TV show but also find themselves solving a real mystery.

It is a good start to the series and I enjoyed the story, the cover art and the illustrations. The setting of the filming of a TV show is also an interesting background to the story.

However, in my opinion, there is still room for improvements.

First of all, it irritated me that the story is written in the present tense. I'm so used to books written in the past tense that it took me some time to stop stumbling upon every „I say“, „he goes“ or „she rolls her eyes“. Well, but maybe that's just me.

The characters are a little flat and the mystery could have been better elaborated with more clues along the way to build up suspense.

All in all, this is a good start into the series written by Hayley LeBlanc who is only a teenager herself. So hats off to the author for writing such a book at the age of 13. This is quite an accomplishment!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher SOURCEBOOK Kids for giving me the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book.

Review to come July/nearer to the release day on blog/goodreads/other.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just HAD TO HAVE this book! It features many things that I so so love. Like movie sets, a mystery (is it a haunting or not), strange things going bump during scenes and the art (going by the cover) seemed to be WOW and hoped there would be more of it in the book. And after reading... well I can tell you that this is one series I need more of in my life. So much fun to read!

Meet Hayley a girl who is part of a fun TV-show for a while and she is looking forward to the new season and all the fun things she will do! I really liked Hayley from the start. She was fun, strong, brave, and I loved how she could become the character. I can imagine that she is the leader of the trio and she shows that even more later on in the books when things get really spooky and a bit more scary. I loved that even if it gets scary she stays brave and thinks of a plan, involves her friends, and tries all she can to save her show!

Next up with her two friends: Aubrey and Cody! I really liked both of them and I was very much rooting for Cody! That the show would go on, that his future is pretty much secure, and that his moms and his little brother would move over to LA. Because for now one of the moms is in Texas with the little brother whereas the other mom is with Cody. But you can imagine that this is just not working. Everyone is missing everyone. It is not a permanent solution. So I was hoping that Hayley and her friends would be able to save the show!

I loved that we get to see parts of the show. Both in being acted out and also by having Hayley read parts of the script. I also love how the book integrated the mystery at the moment with the mystery in the story and I loved seeing Hayley pick some reference points from there. Things to do. That there are always twists and turns.

The mystery was a delight! Was it really a haunting? Was it something else? As the story went on and things got a bit more creepy I started forming some theories and with those theories came suspects! I don't want to go in it too deep, but it was great puzzling and figuring out things along with Hayley and her friends. See what was really going on!

I did think that the blurb should be adjusted. The story is about Hayley being part of the show, yes, a Nancy Drew-like show, yes. But she isn't cast, it isn't new, it isn't just starting. Actually, this is the second season of the show and all that is new is where they are shooting the show from. Namely a study near Hollywood instead of a tiny study further away.

I am not sure how I feel about Amelia. Especially in the beginning I just wanted to yeet her off the set and into the Hollywood Hills. A little drama-queen, nosy, and OH LORD that my horoscope this and you are such an ARIIIIESS *rolls eyes*. She did get better as the story continued and she showed some good sides to herself that she should show more often. I would have rather liked her to be more a background character and not a part of the our trio when the mystery thickens. I think it would have worked for me if she was part in let's say books 2 or maybe even 3, but right from book 1? While I am still getting a feel on this friendship trio and what makes them tick? Too soon in my eyes.

I absolutely LOVED LOVED the illustrations! They were just fantastic and oh so much fun. I loved how detailed they were.

All in all, this book got quite spooky! I loved the mystery! I would highly recommend this one and I am looking forward to the next book. And yes, I will be adding both books (and whatever comes) to my shelves when they come out!

This is a short and sweet children's mystery. The author, Hayley LeBlanc is only 13, so I'm assuming she had some assistance writing this, but maybe I'm wrong. I think it probably could have used a couple more passes before going to publication. I do think the writing style is the weakest part, but that's not to say it's necessarily bad by any means. It seems she's already been booked with a sequel, so I think there's only room for improvement and the more she writes, the better her books will get, because the content is definitely there. That being said, because of the more simplistic, beginner writing style, I think this book is best geared for 7-9 year olds. I think the mystery is predictable, yet fun. I think younger kids could have a lot of joy in solving it along with the main characters.

When Hayley LeBlanc is cast as the lead of a new Nancy Drew-like TV show, she's so excited...even if there are rumors of hauntings surrounding the Silver Screen Studios. It's LA, she thinks-there are ghost stories everywhere!

But to her surprise, strange things actually start happening as production ramps up. Lights flicker, cold blasts of air come out of nowhere, and one day the electricity is cut to the studio entirely with no clear cause. Can Hayley and her two best friends solve the mystery of the haunted studio...before it means curtains for their show?

First of all let me say how impressed I am that this series has been created and written by a teenager!!! Wow go you girl and what a fantastic series written for other middle grade/YA readers.

Hayley Mysteries gave me Gooseumps, Nancy Drew/Scooby gang vibes and was a fun and exciting read trying to figure out (alongside Hayley and the gang) what was going on and who or what the culprit was.

My only qualm was at times the story was a little too ‘casual’ and chatty and I would have liked to have seen more descriptive flair to build up the tension and suspense.

But otherwise a great quick read that I am sure will be a hit!

hayley is casted in a kids tv show but upon getting there some mysterious thing start happening, and she was told it is the studio's ghost. hayley and her two best friends get together to try to solve this spooky mystery. there are cute photos throughout the book. this is a middle grade book for young readers, the cover is cute for a middle grade book, it's fun to read, has the spooky element since it is involving solving the mystery of a ghost. the story is easy to follow and does give me the nancy drew, scooby doo vibes since it is involving young kids. there are 20 chapters but each chapter is only 4-6 pages long and some have a page for photo as well. the book is 185 pages including cover, title page, photos. The back of the book says this book is for 8 years old + and i agree. this is a great debut for this hayley mystery series.

A fun new middle-grade mystery series with a touch of Scooby-Doo that will have fans of Hayley LeBlanc hooked.

In the first book of The Hayley Mysteries Series, we are introduced to a trio of young actors and best friends that solve an unexpected mystery: a ghost in their film studio. While on set filming the second season of their mystery show Sadie Solves It, the three friends find themselves thrown into a real enigmatic adventure that could jeopardize their success: a ghost. Strange things are happening at Studio 5 in Hollywood but is the studio really haunted, or could someone else be trying to ruin everything?

I thought it was a fun mystery to solve with the three characters. It reminded me a lot of Scooby-Doo, although this series is missing the humour that is so prevalent in Scooby-Doo. I liked the characters, even though Hayley could use a little more background and personality. Cody and Aubrey just seem a little more well-rounded. Even little annoying Amelia is more interesting than Hayley. Other than that, the story makes sense and is well written, although I’m wondering how much guidance Hayley LeBlanc received as she was approached by the publisher to write a book series.

The first thing I thought after finishing was that this could be a stand-alone book and that I couldn’t imagine how anyone could spin other mysteries in this environment, but after a couple of days of pondering, I concluded that there probably could be more to tell. And if this one is a success (with two already ready to follow) then I’m sure literary imagination can go anywhere.
I recommend this series to young mystery solvers that like to be slightly spooked.

Spooky fun for everyone! This book really appeals to elementary aged kids.

Hayley is a very energetic character that keeps the readers interested. It's a simple mystery, but has enough twists and turns for the intended audience.

My 3rd grader read this and mentioned that it reminded her of Scooby-Doo, but with kid characters. She is excited for more mysteries in this series!

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for providing a copy of this ARC for an honest review.

This review will be posted to Goodreads within one month prior to publication.

The book takes place on a television set in holiday and follows a group of three friends who are actors on the show, as they uncover the mystery of who is sabotaging their second season of their show “Sadie Solves It”. They play kid detectives on their tv show and now are solving real mystery.

The mystery of who is the “ghost” kept me guessing and once the person was revealed, said person was never actually on my suspect list, which is good!

I also really enjoyed the occasionally references to Hollywood landmarks and the snippets of how things work on a tv show set.

My main detest to this book was when the children used a spirit board to contact the “ghost”. As a mother of three ranging from ages 6-10, it is not a book I would choose for our family library because of this.

The Hayley Mysteries: The Haunted Studio by Hayley LeBlanc was a fun quick read and I hope there will be more books in this series. Make sure to grab your copy on August 19th! Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Kids for this advanced copy.

My 12-yo daughter saw the cover of this book and begged to read it. So here is her review:

Really good as a series. Great character development from the start. Relatable friendships. Some of the problems that the characters face are relatable. Keeps the reader interested. Good plot twists. Good ending for a series opener.

I would have liked it to have more problems, more dead ends, and more clues as they tried to solve the mystery.

But I can’t wait for the next book!

4.9 out of 5 stars. (Rounded up to 5)

I received an ARC of, The Hayley Mysteries: The Haunted Studio, by Hayley LeBlanc. This is a cute mystery book for middle schoolers. i really liked the illustrations in this book too. Can Hayley and her friends solve the mystery at the theater?

This book is a middle grade chapter book about a girl named Hayley who is the star of a kids mystery tv series, and also solves mysteries of her own. There are about 20 chapters, and about 5 pages per chapter bringing this book in at about 180 pages. Each chapter has a very detailed black and white picture, some take up a whole page while others are small. The illustrations are definitely in the popular style and would draw in children much like the cover would. In addition, it is written by a 13-year-old social media influencer, so I think that would bring in the pre-teens as well! It is a mystery so there are a few “scary” elements but it is mostly just things like a small fire that everyone easily escapes or a “ghost” in the rafters. Definitely nothing for parents or teachers to be worried about. The story also has some positive lessons such as friendship, working together and being kind to others.

I could definitely see my Grade 3 students reading and enjoying this book. It is a slightly longer early chapterbook but I think that it wouldn’t be too intimidating for new chapterbook readers. I would recommend this book for children in grades 2-5, with the target audience probably being grades 3&4.

I really appreciate the opportunity from Netgalley and the publisher to read and review an advance copy of this book! I am looking forward to purchasing a copy for my students in the future!