Review: The Legend of Diamond Lil

The Legend of Diamond Lil (J.J. Tully Mystery, book 2)
By Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Kevin Cornell
Expected publication February 28, 2012 by Balzer + Bray

I snagged an ARC of this at Midwinter this January and after quickly devouring the first book, I made lightning fast work of this title as well.

J.J. Tully is back with a new mystery. There's a new dog next door and he needs to find out her story. And, is it possible that the chickens are in danger again?? While this is the second J.J. Tully Mystery, I think it stands alone well as a fun, funny, fast-paced, quick read for beginning readers. This book is just as much fun as the first, while developing a slightly more complex plot. I think the characters Cronin has created are great and will really appeal to children. J.J. is a nice hero and Vince the Funnel provides an excellent foil for him. There are some interesting language choices throughout this book (and the first as well), and I actually think these books would be great for lessons on parody, humor, sarcasm, and the parts of a book. They are enjoyable and I think will appeal to a wide variety of kids. I didn't find the mystery as interesting this time around, but it was a little more involved, which I think is a good development for the series. I'll be interested to see where this goes.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.