MASTERS OF SCIENCE

Danger stalks three tweens racing to find a trove of secret scientific artifacts.

In this dynamic middle-grade mystery, 10-year-old Dashiell James, brilliant and socially awkward, has been living with his aunt Rebecca Tremble, an art restorer in Philadelphia, since his parents’ fatal accident. Malie, a 12-year-old slacker and fledgling criminal from Hawaii, is staying with them for the summer to give her mother a break and keep the girl out of trouble. Yet trouble of potentially world-shattering proportions is what the kids find during an after-hours visit to historic Independence Hall when they discover what turns out to be a chemistry set once owned by Benjamin Franklin. Inside are vials of oddly labeled chemicals and an etching of the words Masters of Sciencein Latin, accompanied by a double helix, the symbol for DNA. The set, it turns out, holds clues to the whereabouts of a secret Treasury—inventions with the capability to change the world, created by some of history’s greatest scientists. (The book’s prologue—which is set on a Revolutionary War battle site and reimagines Franklin’s experiments with lightning—suggests what the Treasury may contain.) Dashiell, Malie, and 12-year-old neighbor Kaimi are catapulted into a heart-pounding journey, following the clues to the location of the Treasury through historic sites in London, Venice, and Florence as a ruthless baron, reeking “of power and malice,” is alerted to the find. He directs a pursuit from his remote castle in Germany. Kept alive by a metal exoskeleton, the baron believes that the Treasury holds the key to his survival and ultimate power. Robinson’s brand of TheDa Vinci Code–style suspense, atmospheric chills, humor, and nuggets of real history offers more than well-written entertainment. Dashiell, who is “on the spectrum”; prickly Malie; and Kaimi (a star athlete haunted by tragedy) are three-dimensional characters who gradually overcome challenges and recognize the value in themselves and one another. In the end, an unexpected betrayal, a theft, and the surprising identities of helpers along the way provide a welcome hint of more adventures to come.

A well-crafted, lively suspense tale fueled by alternative history and science and relatable characters.