In "The Mystery of Locked Rooms" by Lindsay Currie, readers are taken on a thrilling adventure with twelve-year-old Sarah Greene and her friends as they quest to find hidden treasure within an abandoned 1950s funhouse.

Currie's narrative expertly weaves together elements of mystery, friendship, and the struggle for survival as Sarah grapples with the impending loss of her home due to financial difficulties. The premise of cracking codes, uncovering secrets, and navigating through intricate puzzles adds an exciting layer to the story, keeping readers engaged from start to finish.

The author's ability to create a vivid and immersive setting within the confines of the eerie funhouse adds depth to the narrative, evoking a sense of suspense and intrigue as Sarah and her friends encounter personal challenges explicitly tailored to them.

Overall, "The Mystery of Locked Rooms" is a captivating read that will appeal to fans of adventure and mystery novels, offering a compelling blend of suspense, friendship, and discovery.

The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Curie is a middle grade book focused on puzzles, riddles and escape rooms. Hannah, West, and Sarah are three best friends who love escape rooms. When unfortunate circumstances affect one of them, they decide to go searching for the treasure that is rumored to be hidden in a 70 year old funhouse nearby.

This book was not the typical spooky genre that Lindsay Currie has done before. As someone who loves mysteries, this was right up my alley. I think kids who enjoy the Mr. Lemoncello series will love this one as well. There is a ton of description about the various puzzles and how the kids figured them out which I think will be perfect for middle schoolers, but probably too much for many of my upper elementary students. The self discovery from all the kids in the story would make this a great read aloud as well!

As a fan of puzzles, this book nailed it!

It was a truly beautiful story full of characters that are relatable but also admirable.

A fantastic read for middle schoolers, and their families. I will be revisiting this story time and time again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebookkids for the arc of this book.

I was hooked on this book! I’m so grateful for the NetGalley ARC I received for review. This story took three close friends on a wild adventure that tested them mentally and physically. There was excitement, tension, and beautifully poignant moments in which characters identified with the emotions of others and showed empathy to people many readers may not have “seen” otherwise.
I also loved the appearance of an often underrepresented condition (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), which affects many families, but does not often get discussed because it’s not well understood, nor is it a glamorous affliction.
I can’t wait to read this story again. It was engaging, witty, thoughtful, and incredibly creative. Don’t pass on this one!!

This is a really well thought out book that is absolutely perfect for middle school readers. It has really good character building and teamwork that only grew stronger as the characters progressed through their journey. Loved it!

This was such a fun book to read. The Deltas are three friends who love doing escape rooms and the puzzles that come along with them. But things aren’t always as simple and happy as these three twelve year olds would like them to be. Sarah’s father has a chronic illness that keeps him in bed and now their house is in danger of foreclosure. The lure of a long-forgotten treasure in a never-opened funhouse is just what she needs to save her family and their house. The adventure that follows is a fun and exciting, emotional at times, and reminiscent of The Goonies and Willie Wonka. I love every minute of this story, feeling the joy and urgency of the characters, as well as their frustrations and successes.

The main character Sarah is so easy to relate too. She has her passion for escape rooms and maths but would do anything for her family and friends. An exciting story.

The Mystery of Locked Rooms was a such a fun middle grade mystery. Anyone who enjoys puzzles or escape rooms would love this one!

Sarah, West, and Hannah became fast friends with their love of math, riddles, and escape rooms. They have deemed themselves the Deltas. Things aren't going easy for any of them with their personal fears and insecurities, but things take a turn for the worse for Sarah. Her father is diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, her mother is working 2 jobs but still can't pay the bills, and they are going to lose their house and have to move to Michigan with her grandparents. Then, they fall on the rumor of the Triplet Treasure hidden in a funhouse only a train ride away and this starts the Deltas on the biggest, hardest, most dangerous escape room they have ever done. Each character is unique, believable, and brings their own strengths and flaws to the team. The interpersonal relationships and their dialogue with each other ring true, especially when they are confession secrets, fears, and insecurities to their best friends. These interludes help break up the high intensity of the thriller and mystery aspects of the escape rooms without downplaying the danger they have placed themselves in. A thrilling ride with twist, turns, and red herrings that keep the characters guessing and the pages

Lindsay Currie did not disappoint with her newest adventure book! I’m so used to her spooky vibes and was a little nervous for this new direction…but it was fantastic! The Deltas were wonderfully lovable best friends who work together to solve their hardest escape room yet! This book has so much heart and reinforced why I love middle grade books!

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique middle grade mystery! Although the premise of breaking into an old abandoned funhouse may have been a bit far-fetched, if you’re willing to suspend that disbelief and just go along for the joy of figuring out the escape room puzzles, this is an exciting read. I appreciated the subplot of Sarah’s father having been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and the struggles her mom is experiencing. Sarah’s friends, Hannah and West, have their own issues which are believable and add to the escape room tension. Highly recommend!

The Mystery of Locked Rooms, is about a group of three kids that love to do escape rooms. They learn about a fun house that was built in the 50s, but wind up never being opened, however they read this fun house has a treasure inside and despite a few attempts by others, no one has been able to finish it without being caught by the police for trespassing.. One of the kids is dealing with a sick dad at home and an over worked mother. So these friends work together to attempt the fun house and try to win the treasure. The friends must take on many challenges and face fears in order to try and beat this fun house.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I read it with my third grader and it kept him engaged from cover to cover. 5 star read for sure!

This middle grades book is so fun. It has the perfect mix of humor, heart, and tension. The funhouse escape rooms sounded genuinely fun and unique, and I loved watching the group of friends work together to make their escape and get through the house. Super sweet and totally fun.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Kids for the advance Kindle copy of this 4.2.24 release. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this fun mystery with a lot of heart. Sarah and her best friends are tight as can be, and have a penchant for conquering escape rooms. When things at home take a turn and Sarah feels desperate to help her family come into money, she and her friends turn to a rumored treasure hidden within an abandoned funhouse for the escape room of a lifetime. Hand to readers in grades 5-7.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this eBook. The Mystery of Locked Rooms is a great, fun middle grade mystery that will appeal to a variety of readers! This is a heartwarming story of friendship, with some fun escape room adventure thrown in there. Lots of twists and turns in this and readers will be rooting for our main characters all along the way! I can't wait to share this adventure with my students.

Lindsay Currie is one of my favorite authors and I was so excited when I got to read this one early! She didn’t disappoint and I loved this book!

We follow three friends who love escape rooms. When Sarah’s family is having money trouble, they decide to try and find the treasure that is supposedly hidden in a funhouse built in the 1950s. They have to use their escape room knowledge and skills to find the treasure.

I loved this book! It was full of friendship, puzzles, and adventure. It reminds me a lot of the Goonies and Indians Jones with a bit of Willy Wonka. The puzzles were all thought out well and kept me interested. This book had a bit of whimsical magic to it with the different puzzles. I loved the characters and everything they were going through. It seemed like real kid stuff that readers will connect to. This book also showed great team work and relationships.

I will definitely be recommending this one to everyone! Thank you so much to netgalley and sourcebooks for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Sarah and her besties West and Hannah are an incredible escape room team, the Deltas. But on the same day they successfully complete Lasers and Lava (only the seventh team to have ever done so), a foreclosure notice arrives at Sarah's house. Her family may have to move in with her grandparents - in Michigan! If the friends don't do something drastic, they will not be going to the same school anymore or visiting Escape City in the afternoons to try out new challenges. They come up with the plan to find a treasure hidden in a funhouse that never opened to the public. Others have tried over the years, but they don't have the amazing skills this team has. West has a phenomenal memory and is great at riddles and ciphers, Hannah studies ballet for years and has great dexterity and balance, and Sarah excels in math and probabilities. Together they enter the abandoned funhouse determined to save Sarah's home.

This book is so much fun, but also deals with tough issues. Sarah's family is trying to cope with her father's illness. Their situation echoes that of many who seem to be doing fine, but are just a crisis away from financial trouble. West has learned to keep his head down to avoid trouble with bullies and trolls who are jealous of his memory skills. Hannah is working through her own insecurities about giving up ballet after studying and practicing for years. Their adventure inside the funhouse highlights all their skills while also showing that they are better together. The history of the funhouse itself takes readers back to the Great Depression and how children were split up when they were orphaned because no one could afford to take in more than one more mouth to feed. The three brothers who designed and built the funhouse are like another version of the Deltas - better together.

Readers won't just have an engrossing story and learn a little history, they will also have the fun of trying to work out how the team should tackle each challenge. Is there a pattern to look for? A riddle to solve? A physical task to accomplish? By the time the story ends readers will be doing an Internet search to find the nearest escape room in their town.

I have loved all of Lindsay Currie's books so far and this one is no different! VERY different than her ghost stories, but I loved the escape room aspect of it and how much the characters grew as the story went on.

Like puzzles, mind games, and riddles? This book is for you. I have never been to an escape room, but this has certainly added to my list of things to do after reading this book. Kids will love the puzzles each room presents. The mystery of novel is intriguing and will capture young readers imaginations and hook them in to reading this quick paced adventure. I found the puzzles were a bit too fast paced for me, but today's youth will love the speed and timing Currie brings to each page. I especially enjoyed the Goonies style problem and resolution. If you've never watched the movie The Goonies I highly recommend you view it to heighten your enjoyment of Currie's tale. Mystery fans will not want to put this down. The characters were flawed and believable as good characters should be. I would have liked to have gotten to know them on a deeper level, but most will be happy with the character development. I will definitely be adding this to my school library. This is perfect for fans of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein.

I received an electronic ARC from SOURCEBOOKS Kids through NetGalley.
An intriguing premise - three friends work together to solve escape room puzzles. Sarah, West and Hannah have been friends since Sarah moved to their area. The three balance each other and bring their strengths to puzzle solving. When circumstances may cause Sarah to move away, they decide to tackle an old mystery and find the hidden treasure in the Funhouse. This puzzle filled house has been abandoned for decades. They based their puzzles on "three" so each room involves a triad of some sort. I appreciate that Currie did not gloss over the dangerous parts of solving escape rooms. The friends take risks to find their way through the rooms and be the first to find the treasure and solve the mysteries. Each is willing to be vulnerable and share concerns they feel about themselves. This helps build empathy for them as up to that point, they were rather one dimensional.
A fun read for puzzle solvers. They'll work to solve these along with the characters and pick up tips for their own adventures in escape rooms.