The Mystery of the Shining Children

The Jenny Dean Science Fiction Mystery #1

by Dale Carlson, Gino D'Achille (Cover artist)

Jenny Dean and her friend, Mike Ward, investigate the strange behavior and weird shining complexions of classmates at their high school

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

136 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1983

About the author

Dale Elissa Bick Carlson
Also published as Dale Bick Carlson

Reviews

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some books I've carried around for a long time without reading. This is one I've had since the 80s that for some reason always slipped back on the shelf. Now I look at it and I'm sorry I waited, as I might have enjoyed this more back when I first got it, than I did now.

Let me start off and say that I love the character of Jenny Dean. Written in the style of Nancy Drew, but created in the 1980s we have mysteries with a science twist. She's got a great friend / boyfriend to share in the adventure, two amazing and supportive parents, and a twisty mystery that came straight out of the Twilight Zone.

This should have been a winner, right?

But the execution was so deeply flawed that it spoiled the enjoyment. When your bad guy goes into not just one but three monologues - for no reason...sigh...you know the kind.

"As you know, henchman, I am doing this because...."

Then add to that several dangling plot threads (how in the world are Jenny's parents supposed to cure a disease that couldn't be cured in an entire research facility - that Jenny blew up...?) and you have a book that in the end, was something of a mess.

This is weak writing, and while a child might not mind so much, I've seen these kinds of mysteries done so much better that I really almost wished I'd never read this at all.

I have another one or two books floating around from this series. If they turn up, I'll read them. As I said, I liked Jenny, but the story just needs too much work.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad, quick little read. There are definitely flaws in it and needed better fleshing out, especially the villain. While Jenny disliked him from the get go, I disliked their portrayal of him. Or should I say, lack of interaction with him. While he is written as your typical mad scientist, there are, shall we say, instances where he doesn't even come off as a dangerous villain so much as being, well, mad, and scared. There was also the issue of the sense of danger, there really didn't seem like much of it, and a couple of times the book fast-forwarded to the next day and the characters are talking about it. Despite these, and a few other glaring flaws, I still enjoyed it and it was interesting enough that I couldn't decide if I should give it three or four stars, since 3.5 would technically be the best rating for this. I have the next book in the series and am looking for the rest in the series. If anything, this might be one of those series I would consider a rewrite for. The characters were fun and interesting, as was the mystery, but again, it needed some major work which, hopefully, the rest of the series got. We shall see.

[Woff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jenny Dean is smart, pretty, kind, considerate, outgoing, athletically gifted, observant to the point of being almost psychic, has rich, pretty friends (one of whom is even black!), has a wonderful boyfriend, lovely parents who let her do whatever she likes, can pick locks, track animals, dodge bullets, and make a bomb out of a bottle of bleach and a chewing gum wrapper. Oh and she rescues babies from evil laboratories and nurses cows with dislocated shoulders.

I expect she’s also got a beautiful singing voice and vividly green eyes. Maybe even purple.

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the worst thing I've ever read.

1st edition print, one page was upside down and the character called Laurie called Janny Laurie. Much too much exposition and telling rather than showing. Scene changes are clunky.

It's a clear pastiche of the Nancy Drew series with a science fiction twist, which I expected to enjoy. It felt bland and uninteresting despite some good concepts and a good setting.

I have two others from the series, and I'm hoping it improves.

[Kristen Kellick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Jenny Dean Mysteries may not be examples of great writing or plots, but I adored them as a middle school kid. A great mix of sci-fi and mystery, with a heroine who is book-smart, people-smart, a tomboy, and rather athletic.

[Primadonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread it again. Read it at first when I was a teen. Too bad they didn't publish the rest of the books here, AFAIK.