Grady, who recently lost his mother, lives with his father in the small town of Gifton. The family has recently fallen on hard times as high-paying carpentry gigs are hard to come by. Plagued by foreclosure notices, Mr. Judd feels the only way out is to pack up what they can fit into a borrowed camper and move to a larger town to get back on their feet.
In Grady’s mind things begin to look up after Mr. Burns finds them in the local diner to let them know that they have been left a little something in Eudora Klinch’s will - a sampler that contains riddles and clues to a treasure that Eudora herself had yet to uncover.
With the help of his friend Clemmie and Thad and a lot of research the trio decide to find this treasure to save Grady’s home to keep him where he belongs. Meanwhile, an attempted break-in at the Judd’s, as well as a break-in at the local antique store where Mr. Judd sent Grady to sell a sampler to help with the bills, adds an additional layer of urgency and fear to the quest for the treasure.
The characters in this book are well written and their personalities jump off the pages.. Clemmie uses the names of famous architects to curse. The now deceased Eudora Klinch toted a shovel everywhere she went. Winifred’s the town gossip. No small town would be complete without the dog who doesn’t have an owner, but still is very well-loved.
This book provides for so many classroom lesson extensions. For language arts phrases including “gopher on caffeine”, “corn bread wasn’t quite cooked all the way through” and “tough as a pine knot” could lead to great discussions on figurative language. In social studies classes students could research little known events like the War of Jenkins Ear and create presentations. Students could interview their family members to learn about their own histories or go to a local museum to study their town and how it began. The possibilities are really endless.
Highly recommend this book for upper to middle grade classrooms and students who are looking for an excellent mystery mixed with a little bit of history.

The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle is a fun and well-plotted mystery filled with quirky secondary characters and a trio of young main characters with compelling backstories and inner challenges. I think middle grade readers will enjoy seeing Grady, Clemmie, and Thad piece the clues together, but the story is even more than a mystery because it’s also layered with subtexts. Grady and his dad are trying to get along following the death of his mother a couple years ago, but it’s not easy because they are very different. They also struggle financially because of the extensive medical bills from Grady’s mother’s illness. The mystery is linked to the real War of Jenkins’s Ear, which took place in both the Caribbean and GA, and that’s something educators can build upon in the classroom. The small town setting is vivid, with a coffee shop/diner as the hub of activity and a graveyard Grady and his pals search at night. The story demonstrates how people with differences can get along, and there’s plenty of humor for kids to enjoy along the way.

Well I’m not surprised how much I liked The Mystery of Radcliffe Riddle by Taryn Souders! She has proven that she can fool me. Just like in Coop Knows the Scoop, I had no clue who the guilty person was. So many cool clues and facts. Can’t wait to buy copies in July for my students.

Love this quote, “If life always went as we expected it to, we’d never know how much capacity we have for resilience, grace, and a whole bunch of other qualities.”

This is a good book for middle schoolers. As a SPED teacher, I'm always looking for high interest books that I can suggest to students. I didn't check the lexile level, but the vocabulary used and storyline are appropriate for the upper elementary & middle school reading level.

I personally enjoy mysteries and suspense stories so this one jumped out to me for review based on its title & cover. I think the kids will also be drawn to it for these things and the writing will help them to finish it out. Keep those kids reading!

** Educator reviewing an advance review copy **

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks KIDS for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.

The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle follows the story of Grady, who along with his father come into an unexpected inheritance from the town's peculiar figure, Eudora Klinch, unfortunately referred to Kooky Klinch. A house might have helped with their dwindling financial situation, even a savings account; instead they land up with a cloth that promises to be a treasure map. Grady's father has no interest in pursuing a lost cause, but Grady sees a chance to fix their money problems. Teaming up with his friends, he decides to follow the clues to uncover the treasure that Eudora promises.

I thought this was a very cute mystery! I love anything with a treasure map and young protagonists and found family, and the good thing about this mystery is that I loved how the author linked Grady's ambition and tenacity to the fact that he and his family are having money problems — while I love a good stubborn protag who's in it for the adventure and just the adventure, it's always good to see a real-life reason behind why protagonists do what they do. And here, knowing at the heart of Grady's obsession with the mystery, is a desperation that makes sense, that really cinched this story for me.

Ultimately though, while I thought the pacing meshed well with the mystery, I did wish the actual mystery itself would be a lot more compelling? I found the plot dragged in places, and I think I wanted a stronger antagonist, but that was mainly my issues with the story. Other than that, an absolutely solid middle grade mystery with decent characters!