Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction

The Neil Flambé Capers #2

by Kevin Sylvester

A Simon & Schuster eBook

Genres: Mystery, Adventure, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Humor

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 3, 2012

About the author

KEVIN SYLVESTER is an award winning illustrator, writer and broadcaster.

His new sci-fi series MiNRs is now out from Simon and Schuster. MINRs was named a 2017 Honour Red Maple and Manitoba Reader's Honour book and a 2015 CLA Honour Book. MINRs2 is out. MINRs3 will be released in 2018.

His series The Neil Flambé Capers is already a bestseller and critical success. Students across Ontario picked 'Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders' as the Silver Birch winner for fiction in 2011!

There are 6 books in the series so far, Neil Flambé and the Duel in the Desert is the latest.

Super-chef Gordon Ramsay calls the series “Good Fun”.

Kevin also does picture books - "Super-Duper Monster Viewer" is out from Groundwood. GREAT (with the Gretzky family) is out from Penguin.

Kevin’s first picture book 'Splinters' was published in fall 2010 by Tundra. It’s about a young girl who only wants to play hockey, but the mean coach and her daughters won’t let her. Can her fairy goaltender come to the rescue?

Kevin non-fiction titles include Follow Your Money, Baseballogy, Basketballogoy, Sports Hall of Weird and Gold Medal for Weird.

Kevin has been a broadcaster on national radio in Canada for years and years and has covered eight Olympic Games. He also produced documentaries on topics ranging from racism in hockey to the history of church bells in Canada.

He now splits his time between his attic studio in Toronto and the radio. He was named a Massey Journalism Scholar in 2007 and used the time to study theology at the University of Toronto.

Reviews

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

You definitely have to suspend your belief in reality for this series, but I think a lot of middle graders would love these if they are into cooking and mysteries. There is also bits of history thrown in. Neil's ego is a bit much at the beginning and towards the middle, but it calms down towards the end when things heat up in the story. I love that it has illustrations, but they are heavy handed so they end up being very dark. Overall, the characters and writing are very good. I enjoy these.

[Aarush Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book full of mystery and fun.

[Emma Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kevin Sylvester serves up another delectable dish in \"Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction," the second installment in the "Neil Flambé Capers" series, and it's a five-star feast for the mind. This book is more than just a children's novel; it's a carefully crafted blend of mystery, adventure, and humor, sprinkled with culinary delights that will leave readers craving more. The narrative plunges us back into the intriguing life of Neil Flambé, the precocious and exceptionally talented young chef. Sylvester doesn't simply rehash the familiar; he expands upon it, throwing Neil into a new and exciting predicament. This time, the kidnapping of a priceless Aztec artifact and a renowned archaeologist throws Neil into a world of intrigue, ancient secrets, and dangerous criminals. The author masterfully weaves together the threads of the mystery, keeping readers guessing and engaged until the final, satisfying resolution. What truly elevates "Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction" is Sylvester's masterful use of voice. Neil is a uniquely compelling character, both arrogant and vulnerable, brilliant and naive. His internal monologue, often delivered with a sarcastic wit, provides a constant source of amusement and offers a surprisingly insightful commentary on the world around him. The supporting characters, from the loyal Larry to the enigmatic Inspector Lachance, are equally well-developed and add depth and texture to the story. Beyond the compelling plot and engaging characters, the novel offers a subtle yet valuable lesson in critical thinking and cultural awareness. The story delves into Aztec history and mythology, sparking curiosity and encouraging young readers to explore different cultures. Furthermore, the mystery itself requires Neil (and the reader) to analyze clues, question assumptions, and consider multiple perspectives, fostering crucial problem-solving skills. In conclusion, "Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction" is a triumph. It's a clever, captivating, and genuinely entertaining read that will appeal to readers of all ages. Sylvester has created a truly unique and memorable series with Neil Flambé, and this second installment only solidifies his position as a master storyteller. This book is not just recommended; it's essential reading for anyone who appreciates a well-crafted mystery, a dash of humor, and a generous helping of culinary adventure. A truly deserving five-star rating.

[Maximus Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been long time since I read a young adult level novel one of the reason was the length and the description was not that bombastic. Was a bit reluctant when starting to read this book. Surprisingly it was quite fast pace which keep pulling me in. It also have some nice illustrations/doodles after few pages to help the readers to imagine some of the more complex settings which was very creative.

The plot centers around Neil Flembe, a fourteen year old cocky chef participating in a cooking competition in Mexico City along with his pals when his (girl)friend, Isabella was kidnapped by mysterious individuals that adhere strongly to ancient Aztec law. He was ordered to lose the final of the competition or Isabella will be killed. He received multiple messages from Isabella's captor ordering him to adhere to their orders and following a specific rule to a war that dates back to Aztec times. So starts the adventure to rescue Isabella and the uncovering of the evil plot by the mysterious group.

The story is set in Mexico City and it contain a lot of facts about the ancient Aztec civilization and their culture. It was a mighty empire that thrived around the 16th century before being invaded by the Spaniards and which they shaped it into the modern Mexico which is seen today. A lot of different Aztec deities were described in the story as well and ways to please them thru human sacrificing. As Neil was a chef so the story will include a lot of dishes mainly of Aztec/Mexican origin to fit the theme of the story. Since its a young adult story, expect a lot of jokes and goofy capers which is a break from all the fast pace action in the story.

Definitely worth a read!!! Will try to find the others in the series.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Flambé has a bit of fun. In what feels like a departure from the previous book, Neil and his cousin and his former nemesis girlfriend find themselves in Mexico competing in a cooking completion and find themselves in the middle of an aztec themed thrilling action plot.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a great book that really makes you want to keep reading. Neil Flambé is a great character that is an amazing chef but also a great detective and can solve any mystery with his amazing sense of smell. I highly recommend this book and if you choose to read it I hope you enjoy it.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a worthy sequel to the Marco Polo murders. The one downside is that Neil Flambe hasn't seemed to learned or developed anything from the first book, but the characters are all well developed and the plot moves quickly. My daughter said, "it was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it."

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

i want to read this book

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Neil Flambé books are always so much fun, so well researched and engaging.

[Kalenhong]

loved this nigga

[Nicole - Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die- · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh off his success in solving the Marco Polo murders, Neil Flambe heads to Mexico City to take part in the Azteca Cocina -- a two-week battle of the chefs. But things start to go wrong at the very first battle. Neil's box of secret ingredients contains more than he bargained for. There's a note inside, telling him that Isabella has been kidnapped. He must lose in the final, or else she'll be killed. The kidnappers are obviously having fun -- with every ransom note they send, they include a lock of Isabella's hair, not realizing how clever their captive really is! Knowing that Neil and his super-nose will be looking for her, Isabella does what she can to help, rubbing her hair in the smelliest thing she can find at each location. Neil can smell garbage, flowers, and animals, but this only helps him find out where Isabella has already been -- not where's she heading next! In order to solve this mystery, Neil will need Larry's knowledge of Mexican history and Spanish, Sean Nakamura's portable forensic lab, and Angel Jicama's mentorship. He'll have to delve into Aztec history, symbolism, and even into the real ruins that are buried under the modern city. But will he figure it all out in time?

This book literally made me want to go to Mexico and just live there or be with Neil and Larry during the cook off and not the rest of the story. I will be talking about the plot, characters and what I thought about it.

The plot: So it's fresh off the bat I think since the Marco polo murders where Neil helped tracked down the killer and brought justice....now Neil is on another adventure but this time not for murders but for a competition. Not just any competition THE cooking competition where chefs from all over come and face eachother to see who is the best chef is, but something happens while Neil first duel............... Isabella gets kidnapped!!!.

The characters: oh these characters these people crack me up all the time I love them and the smarts and such and how they solve there problems when there in danger I just love it. My favorite character is Isabella I really like her attitude and accent even though I picture it in my head and in this book even though she was kidnapped she was still kick ass and awesome.

What I thought: What I thought is that I loved it even more than the first one because of the history I feel like I learned more from this than the first one and I love history and I like how some of the words and sentences were in Spanish and the translation was right after. Also I feel like the characters grew a little and weren't a whole lot annoying than before but were still good I didn't find them annoying at all which is a good sign. But overall I loved it I loved the food, the history, how funny it was and how cute it was and read the rest in the series.

[Chenny Wu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's just me but this book is hardly any good compared to the first one in this series. The reason why this book took me so long to read was that I always get bored when I'm reading it. It seems to never get to the big climax of the book, Neil, Nakamura, Larry, and Angel just keeps on figuring out clues and getting notes from "XT" but they never seem to figure it out until the last couple chapters of the book when it actually got pretty interesting. Also, the Aztec information that were included in this book kind of just bores me but I guess it's an important part of the book (cause the title is Aztec Abduction). One good thing about this second book is that, I think the author lets the reader understand the characters better through the dialogues and even the narrating part. I also liked that even at the serious parts of the book, there's always humor involved (mostly by Larry) which I really like a lot; it brightens up the mood. Also I think the ending of this book is not the best; everything seemed to pass by really quickly. Basically everything happens in the last 3 or 4 chapters. Also I didn't think that Jose was behind all the kidnapping and abduction, but he was, and it turns out his plan had not much to do with the Aztec stuff. He just wanted power, fame, and take control of his country. Too bad for him. I like the epilogue of this book though, especially what Larry said at the end. I like Larry's character the most and in this book, I got to understand him better than in the last one. Overall, I thought this book would've been much better, but it was okay.

I picked up this book because when I read something from a series, I always have to start at #1 and continue it except if I really don't like it. The first book was pretty good, and this one is okay too, so I'm going to give the 3rd book a shot and the 4th too.

I finished it, because I always finish reading a book once I've started. It's just a habit that I have. But the ending was okay and I stayed up to finish it.

I recommend this to anyone who read the first book in the series, it's still pretty good. And also you get to understand the characters better so I guess that's good.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are listed as being for children aged from 8-12, which is odd given that the protagonist is a teenager (he’s 14 but will be 15 soon). However, given that Neil is working in an adult milieu but often acts like a spoiled child (this one has him throwing a kitchen implement through a glass pane in a fit of pique), that may explain it.

But Neil is getting older and maturity is being forced on him whether he likes it or not. He has to deal with his growing attraction for Isabella and his unwilling unstated fondness for his goofball, caffeine-loving cousin Larry.

The mystery is a good one with even more at stake than in the previous novel. It features a race against the clock with Neil trying to find his kidnapped girlfriend and ace a cooking competition that will award him a huge sum of cash, something he desperately needs to keep his restaurant Chez Flambé afloat. That takes him to the colorful world of Mexico, where the reader gets immersed in Mexican cuisine and ancient Aztec culture.

There are a whole new cast of characters, including a new slew of chefs (all of whom survive this time). Neil is ably accompanied by his friends and associates Nakamura and Larry supply the jokes, Isabella displays brains and calmness under fire and his Zen-like mentor Angel is the steadying anchor when Neil seems about to lose it.

This series is fun and—dare I say it?—educational, in a way that inspires curiosity about various fields of study instead of dampening it. They may be graded for children but these books play at the adult level.

[Andy Jiang · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Neil Flambe and the Aztec Abduction by Kevin Sylvester is the second book in the Neil Flambe series. In this book, Neil goes to Mexico to compete in the Azteca Cocina cooking competition against chefs all over North America. During his first cooking match, his girlfriend Isabella gets kidnapped by crazy people who wants Neil to lose in the finals of the competition to get Isabella back. Neil and Larry spent every second looking for clues to find Isabella and with the help of Neil's nose, Isabella's hair, and Larry's research, they find out that the pattern to where they take her and what they do to Isabella is all based off of an Aztec ceremony. Later Larry gets taken as well and that's when Neil struck and solved the whole thing. He rescued his girlfriend and he won the Azteca Cocina, making a lot of money.

I picked up this book because I've read the first book in this book series and I really liked it so I decided to read this book as well.

I finished this book because, just like the first book, this book was really interesting and kept me reading every time I have free time. I finished this book in around 2-3 days and it usually takes me a lot longer to read other books with about the same pages.

I would recommend this book to everyone because this book is interesting and it's not too hard to read. It is perfect for everyone. Although I would only recommend this book if you've read the first book first.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neil was just about to start the first round of a cooking tournament when his girlfriend Isabella got kidnapped. In the box that contained the ingredients for the food he was going to cook, he found a mysterious note signed X.T, the note said that if he wanted to see Isabella again, he would have to loose in the final round of the tournament. Neil was determined to save his friend and win at the tournament, so he called his friends Angel and police officer Nakamura to help him look for her. While Isabella was kidnapped, she noticed the kidnappers would cut off some of her hair and send it to Neil, so when she was allowed to choose what she ate, she rubbed the food in her hair to give them a clue of where she was. In the end, Neil saved Isabella and won the tournament.

I picked up this book because I read the first book, Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders, so I thought that this book would be as interesting and the last one.

I finished this book because I wanted to find out if Neil saved Isabella, found out who X.T was and won the tournament.

I would recommend this book to people who like to read mystery and humor books, because the book is full of mystery and humor.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right after his success in solving the Marco Polo murders, Neil Flambé heads to Mexico City to participate in the Azteca Cocina - a high-profile, televised cooking competition. It's Neil's chance to win some serious prize money and prove himself to his critics. Unfortunately, from the very beginning, things go wrong; Isabella is kidnapped. She is being held as leverage for Neil to lose in the final! Is this all or are there bigger reasons? Neil will need all the help he can get from his friends and family to prevent a disaster!

I picked up this book because I read it once before and found it really good. I forgot what happened and I wanted to read it again.

I finished this book because well, who can't? It's a fast-paced thrill ride that just keeps you reading! I could hardly stop reading!

I would recommend this book to Mr. Gould because he likes cooking and this book is all about cooking, which isn't very common. It's also a very interesting book and not like the typical mystery books. It incorporates intriguing non-fiction elements as well and is a great book.

[Jeel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is every good and comedy. I would recommend this book who love cooking, suspense/mystery and comedy. This is about a teen chef boy called Neil Flambé. Neil has a very good nose when he was a baby. His parents are always busy. So Neil opened a restaurant. He works with his cousin Larry, two soba twins Amber and Zoe, at last with his girlfriend Isabelle. Isabelle owns a perfume company but recently she got kidnapped in Aztec. At the same time Neil is at a food duel with another player in Aztec. His cousin Larry also gets kidnapped.
So the book is very good. Everyone should read this book.

[Rachel Seigel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Middle-Grade Mystery incorporates plenty of information about Aztec History while still managing to be interesting and entertaining for kids. This series will certainly appeal to young "Foodies", liberally referencing Celebrity Chef culture and popular Food Network Shows. A third book is scheduled to release sometime in 2012.

[Pontiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second instalment of the Flambeé series is as good as the first. I really like angel Jicama and Isabella Tortellini in this novel.

Neil wrestling with his priorities, reputation and fame versus saving Isabella (and another character), makes for some interesting tension. His journey to realizing what's important is like watching him grow up a little.

Really good story.

[Stacey Mulholland · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok book. I like the history twisted with the mystery however I would only recommend this book to a students with a strong timeline ability. There are a lot of flashbacks or breaks. The flashbacks got a bit annoying.

[Zaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty good read. Really gives you a clear picture into the lives and traditions of the Aztecs. Being a Neil Flambe book, you'll find some great recipe ideas hidden into the storyline! I found some bits slow but overall it scored high for me!

[Kim Maddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this better than the first one, maybe because I find Aztecs interesting.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

The overall plot was even sillier than the first one, but the characters are great and I enjoy all the food facts.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as much fun as the first one - but tough to beat the Vancouver setting. This one is set in Mexico City, a bit less death, still fun stuff. I'll read more if he writes more.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked this book because it was a mystery. i didnt like the ending that much but other than that i liked it.

[Jamie barfing rainbow person · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book last year so i dont remember alot , but i really liked it , it was very exciting to see what happened , i loved the first book , so this is what i thought i would read.

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't as funny as the first one in this series.

[Laura Carlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, I can't say enough about this author! He's great!

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and fun. :)

[J. Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Neil flambé mystery.