THE CURIOUS LEAGUE OF DETECTIVES AND THIEVES

Fledgling sleuth John Boarhog and other survivors of volume two’s airship wreck gather for a climactic tussle with a criminal mastermind.

Picking up where the previous series entry left off, this tale pitches the 12-year-old detective (who’s portrayed as brown-skinned on the cover) and sidekicks Wembley “Danger” Quokkas and Kana Rai Kuma—respectively, an Aussie brainiac and a super-strong Japanese circus performer—into a running battle aboard a luxurious train that’s gliding through the Peruvian rainforest. The Peruvian Express is heading toward a bridge that’s been blown up with dynamite, and the journey features a side expedition to hidden caverns beneath Machu Picchu that are guarded by tricky traps and puzzles. If Phillips adds even more characters to his already dizzyingly large cast and seems less focused on the plot than on exploring various combinations of children losing and finding missing, bad, or replacement parents, he does nevertheless bestow happy reunions and reconciliations on the three adventurers by the end. And, while punctuating the narrative with nods to pop-culture icons from Agatha Christie to Indiana Jones, he also contrives to include suitable numbers of sudden threats, hair’s-breadth rescues, secret agendas and messages, betrayals, explosions, and feats of both courage and clever deduction.

Reasonably brisk, though top heavy with family issues.