The Trouble With Abracadabra

Hocus Pocus Hotel #4

by Michael Dahl, Lisa K. Weber (Illustrator)

A mysterious magician needs Tyler and Charlie's help.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens

104 pages, Library Binding

Published February 1, 2013

About the author

Michael Dahl is the author of over 100 children's books. Some of his most popular series are Finnegan Zwake, Library of Doom, and Dragonblood. He resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a haunted house.

He also writes under aliases Chris Carey, Rick Thomas, and Mark Ziegler.

Reviews

[Andrew J · Rating 2 out of 5]

** contains spoilers ** I like this series. I really do, but it’s very difficult to keep a series going with the same feel of the first book, and sometimes a series has a book it in that isn’t like the others. This series changed in book 3. Originally, I thought this was going to a series where there were always mysteries to solve at the hotel. Book three was actually about figuring out how a magic trick was done, and this one is about the same thing; just a different type of illusion.

In this one, Abracadabra (Brack, the elevator operator) reveals his true identity and announces a party in his apartment, which is the top floor of the hotel for which you need a special key. This book never specifies completely how no one over the years knew he’d become the operator. Did he go away for a long time and then convince Ty’s parents to tell no one his true identity? Did they even know? His parents never react in the story, so it’s a mystery in itself.

Almost over half of this one is the press/magician/juggler/etc reaction and aftermath of Brack’s announcement, and then, we get to Theopolis’s big moment. He makes ageist comments publicly against Brack, and then challenges him. If he can’t figure out how Theopolis pulled something off, he will hand over the hotel and never return to it.

Once you’re over halfway through the book, the mystery-solving team comes together to help Brack figure it out. That’s where the investigating is much different than the other books. They decide to ask some of the guests if they knew much. From what I understood, they asked only one person one day and then called it a day.

Then, at the end, Brack does what he’s gonna do, but that something is an unsolvable mystery. Dahl decided to commit the cardinal sin of saying something happened without actually putting in the text what that something is.

This sequel had its issues, but I still kinda liked it. I like this series, so I feel kinda bad for the rating I’m giving it. 2 stars.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say I've really enjoyed this series overall. This book is a little different feel than the first one and centers for half the book around a party and a magic show where Brack the elevator guy is revealed to be abracadabra a long lost famous magician who had been hiding in plain site in the hotel for years and his old partner and rival challenges him to figure out how he did a trick and if Abracadabra can't figure it out he has to give up his hotel. It's at this point that the investigation starts which is over half way through the book at this point. So Charlie and Ty U set out to help Brack figure out how The Great Theopolis performed his trick to save the hotel.

[Liwayway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy these short reads in October. The Hocus Pocus hotel is centered around magicians, delightful tricks, and fun characters in a cozy, quirky hotel. In this fourth installment, we get a bit of the master magician, Mr. Abracadabra, himself and how he continues to rely on the help of two kids to help him save his hotel. These books always share some magic tricks and colorful illustrations to get you into the scene. They make me nostalgic for stories I read when I was a kid, simply entering them and enjoying the ride.

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fine Sequel,

I am a big fan of the first book in this series, Hocus Pocus Hotel. This book is essentially Volume 2 and follows up on the heels of the original, with all of the same characters. You can start with this book. But, Volume 1 takes some care in laying out the history of Abracadabra and of the Hocus Pocus Hotel, as well as the relationship between Tyler, (originally a bully), and Charlie, (brain and, originally, victim of the bully). The reader's familiarity with all of that is more or less assumed in this book, and while you will pick up enough background to follow this book, it might be a more rewarding and coherent read after Volume 1.

That said, this volume has its own appeal. Tyler and Charlie work well as a team. There are really two mysteries, with overlapping characters, so the plot is very manageable for even a young reader. Dahl adds descriptions and even diagrams of some of the stage magic tricks that are performed during the course of the story, which I imagine would be of interest to any reader who is a magic fan.

The book is well written and well edited. It reads clearly and is easy to follow, and builds suspense and mystery right up to the conclusion.

So, if you think your reader would like a magic themed adventure/mystery, these books might be worth a look.

Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to the author or the publisher of this book.

[Kaylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was really good!