4-stars to The Treasure of Ocean Parkway, the continued adventures of friends Roya and Amin, podcasting sleuths of The Queen of Ocean Parkway.

Thea Lim-Lambert is home for the summer when she discovers a secret room and the first clue to a treasure hunt created by her grandfather. She's determined to solve the case but knows she can't do it alone. And who better to help her solve the mystery and find the treasure than the building's resident sleuths?

The Good Stuff
- a fun, fast-paced story that's easy to jump into. I started this book while in the absolute WORST reading slump and am now cured.
- Thea learning to find a relationship with her grandfather despite his memory loss. Loved how his journal and artwork were used to illuminate his past self, and how that helped create a bond between them, even as limited as it was.
- and while on the topic of characters, they were all so good! Enjoyed how all of the characters' emotions, habits, and mannerisms brought them to life.

Missed the first book, so will be reading it soon (didn't even realize this was the second book in a series for several chapters, everything just flowed so well). Definitely some character and setting background to pick up, and it sounds so interesting! "It" being The Queen of Ocean Parkway, of course.

Overall, a fun and entertaining read to be enjoyed by all ages :)

Thank you to Netgalley, publishers, and the author for an arc of this book!!

I didn’t realize when requesting that this was the second in the series but it was still easy enough to follow! I’ve gotta go back and read the first book though because it sounds so fun! I really enjoyed this one. Middle grade mystery solving stories age my very favorite genre right now.

E ARC provided by Netgalley

After their time traveling adventures in The Queen of Ocean Parkway, Roya and Amin are back. It's summer, and Roya is dealing with father's death over the winter. She's finally able to be interested in pod casting again, and she and Amin are investigating a number of mysteries in the Brooklyn neighborhood, which is easier now that they have convinced both her mother and Amin's parents that they are safe to ride the subway and wander around the city by themselves. Even though Amin needs to practice riding the subway so he can do a good job in the Subway Safari competition, they don't have to look too far for a mystery. Thea Lim-Lambert, whose parents are artists and use the apartment as their home base when not living in Europe, has found several interesting things in the apartment that her family has occupied since 1947. Not only has she found a secret room, but her grandfather's diary and a note from 2010 inviting the "future Lambert" to a scavenger hunt. Since Thea hasn't had any luck, and her older sister Sunday is busy at college while their parents are frantically working to put together a show, she approaches the podcasters for help. The clues lead the group to the laundry room in the basement (remember, Roya's mother is the building super, so she has access to keys), where they find a secret door behind a painting of cheese. As the search progresses, they struggle with some of the clues, so Thea asks her father, Mason, to visit Errol with her. While Errol did carvings, he didn't gain the reknown that his father, Declan did: he was an illustrator somewhat along the lines of Norman Rockwell. Errol has dementia, so often doesn't know who people are, but they do get some information. As the clues lead the kids around town, they sometimes need help from people like neighbor Katya's grandmother Annika, who grew up in the building with Errol. There is a lot of family dynamics that get explored, mysteries that get solved, and the promise of a new adventure with an Explorer's Club.
Strengths: Roya is a great character, and I was glad that we picked up her story when she was getting back into podcasting, and that the book shows just how much work a podcast is! She and Amin get along very well, and there's even a little understandable bickering when Thea joins the mix. The family mystery is well explained, and involves not only some family lore but some local history as well. Thea's troubled family life is well portrayed, and the unspoken problems get resolved in a realistic way. The apartment building is a great setting, and it's nice to see some illustrations in the book. Books where kids are doing things are always my favorite; I would have adored this when I was young. Even though it doesn't involve any of the fantasy elements that the first book had, it's a good sequel.
Weaknesses: I was a little disappointed that there wasn't any time travel in this book, and only the tiniest hint of fantasy at all; it was more like Graf Patterson's The Minerva Keen Detetive Club. There were some things about New York City and apartment living that could have used a tiny bit of explanation for Midwestern suburbanites; I had to look up what Dumbo was, and I'm still a bit confused about how a family can live in the same apartment for 80 years (and tear down walls!) when they don't appear to own it.
What I really think: This was another fun scavenger hunt book along the lines of Florence's A Study in Secrets or Landis' Capitol Chase, Gibbs' Charlie Thorn, Durst's Spy Ring, or Currie's Mystery of the Locked Rooms. I'm curious to see what direction the next book will take.

What I liked: This was basically Only Murders in the Building for kids! Two smart and indepedent pre-teens are created a mystery-themed podcast where they solve (not murders) but mysterious happenings and treasure hunts in their NYC building. They are joined by another pre-teen building resident to track down clues that were left by her grandfather. Kids who love treasure hunts, riddles, and word games will definitely be along for the ride. The characters are diverse and I loved the NYC setting. They're also great role models: curious, caring, and creative. The book even touches on the theme of dealing with an older relative with Alzheimer's and the resulting family dynamics. What could have been better: This is apparently the third in a series, but that's not immediately evident from the cover. The narrator spent a lot of time rehashing or referencing things from the previous books, which was a little annoying. If I were a kid picking this up I would be irritated that I didn't realize it was part of a mystery series until it was too late. The characters emotions were also a lot of "tell, don't show."

This seems like a fun middle grade story, but I didn't realize it was a sequel when I requested it, oops!