The Van Gogh Deception

The Van Gogh Deception
Deron Hicks
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017
306 pages
Grades 4-8
Mystery/Adventure

Lost Art Mysteries series #1

A young boy is found alone in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Guards alert the police, who discover that he has amnesia and place him in a temporary foster situation. The foster family, consisting of a mom and a feisty ten-year-old named Camille, help him to find his name in his backpack: Art. To discover more memories the temporary family returns to the National Gallery to see if anything is stirred up. No memories return, but a kidnapping attempt forces Art and Camille to run through the streets of Washington dodging bad guys. Who is this boy, why does he have amnesia and why does he have an extensive knowledge of fine art? More importantly, why are the bad guys chasing the children? Art's backstory is finally revealed as he slowly regains his memory and he and Camille rush to avoid capture and solve the mystery, all while saving the day.

I always enjoy art heist mysteries. What made me pick up this book, which I missed when it was released, is discovering QR codes in the latest series installment (The Crown Heist). I am a sucker for an interactive layer in a children's book and wanted to see where the codes lead readers. Upon scanning, readers are taken to the art piece in question, exposing them to photos of the actual piece and further information directly from the host museum's website. I love this touch, though felt it was a bit under utilized. Possibly the book could have had codes leading to a map of the area as the kids dash around DC? At any rate, it is a great hook and will attract kids. The mystery is solid and the action never stops. The lost boy's history is satisfactorily revealed and the bad guys are captured, thanks to the kids. Readers will learn about art as they flip pages and the QR codes guarantee that they will check out the real info-instead of just skipping over back matter. Will I go on in the series? Probably not, but I will recommend it to reluctant readers that need a mystery suggestion. Diverting fun with an extra layer.