‘Maisy and the Money Marauder’ by Elizabeth Woodrum is the second of three books in ‘The Maisy Files’ series. Having already read the first in the series, ‘Maisy and the Missing Mice,’ I had a good idea what Maisy was capable of in her work as a fourth-grade sleuth. I loved how the story also continued on with the idea of Maisy seeing her crime-solving world in black and white. The fact that she wears a fedora as she proceeds with her investigation only lends more character to the story, creating a film noir-esque image within the writing.

Along with her best friend and fellow friend of mystery and intrigue, Veronica, Maisy sets out to figure out who, if anyone, may be stealing students’ lunch money at her school. She has her ideas, but they sometimes seem farfetched, especially those that involve kids who don’t even go to her school. But the clues still lead her in the direction of a person she doesn’t know whether she should really suspect, and she hastens to figure out how that person may be connected to others who attend her elementary school.

Needless to say, Maisy does crack the case, her love of cherry lollipops still as evident through this case as it was when she was searching for the missing mice in the first installment in ‘The Maisy Files.’ It was also nice how the story started out just after the first case was solved, and that case actually figured into figuring out who the mystery marauder might actually be. It was a great idea to include the definition of the term “marauder” in the story as well, since Maisy and her class were reading a book about pirates and had to learn new vocabulary, including this word. It’s always nice when an educational aspect can make its way into writing that some figure is meant solely to entertain. That enlightenment factor is ever important and should never be taken for granted, as Elizabeth Woodrum has made perfectly evident in her storytelling.

You can find ‘Maisy and the Money Marauder’ by Elizabeth Woodrum here.