The Mystery of Case D. Luc

Cul-de-sac Kids #6

by Beverly Lewis, Barbara Birch (Illustrator)

Dunkum's new basketball has been signed by his hero, David Robinson. Now Dunkum spends all his time playing with the ball. He's much too busy for his Cul-de-sac friends.When the ball disappears, Dunkum finds a secret code. Someone with a weird name has stolen the basketball! And he's leaving messages everywhere! Who is the mysterious Case D. Luc? And will the codes lead Dunkum to his treasured ball?

The Mystery of Case D. Luc was chosen as a C.S. Lewis Noteworthy Book

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Chapter Books, Juvenile, Childrens, Mystery, Middle Grade

83 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Beverly Lewis, raised in Pennsylvania Amish country and both a schoolteacher and an accomplished musician, has been an award-winning author for over a dozen years. Her acclaimed novel, The Preacher's Daughter, was a 2006 Quill Book Award finalist in the romance category. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and The New York Times. She and her husband, David, live in Colorado."

Reviews

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think if I had read this as a kid, it would have been a favorite. I really enjoyed the scavenger hunt and solving the mysterious coded messages.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first real "mystery" of the series and my daughter DID NOT want to put it down! In this book, Dunkum is super attached to his basketball and he'd rather play basketball than do anything with his friends. Then his basketball disappears and he gets hints from "Case D Luc" and has to crack the codes to find his ball again. As an adult, obviously you know whats going on the whole time, but as a kid-- she loved this!

[Allison G. Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little fun read. It's a short kid's story so some things seem a bit too convenient or a lot simpler than it might be in real life. However, it gives a nice take on friendship and on making a choice on what's most important to you.

[Khanh · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had little kiddos in my life, I would read these books to them or we would read them together; I do miss the days when I taught kids and regularly delighted in their laughter and joy.
This was hilarious. I want friends who are willing to play an April fools joke like this on me.

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute "mystery" (really a practical joke, so nothing at all scary for kids) teaching the lessons of what is most important in life. Fun to read, great for the kids.

[Lauren Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!!

[Shannon Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great books for kids!! I loved the Christian influence and my 6 year old son could relate to the situations while still reading the book himself!! HIGHLY recommend!!

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud

[Amy Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I reread it several times! I also lent it to a friend and she loved it! I love all the secret codes!

[Mandy J. Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dunkum learns a lesson on friendship when his basketball gets stolen. I liked how Beverly Lewis easily explained through the Cul-De-Sac kids how people are more important that things and favored toys. My 4 & 6 year old daughters enjoyed listening to me read the story out loud and my 2 year old son actually sat as I read through the whole book in one sitting. (It took about 45 minutes.)

This is another short read for a beginning reader, or a "longer" story to be read aloud to young ears. The fun and silliness are found right along with the good character traits and Biblical principles.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I really did.

All I can say at last is this: If the main character is really that dumb, then maybe he deserved to lose his basketball. I felt like I just got hit over the head with a Bible lesson.

This just wasn't real enjoyable to read. Even with the codes to solve. Thankfully some of the other books in this series are better.

[Mary-Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Dunkum spends more time with his new basketball than with his cul-de-sac friends, they try to teach his a lesson. His basketball mysteriously goes missing, and he has to solve several codes. He comes to realize that having friends and spending time with them is more important than playing basketball.

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved these books when I was younger (way). They're Christian based so that makes it perfect!!!

[Barb G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. A fun "mystery" for kids to read. I liked this the most of any of the Cul de Sac kids books we have read so far.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Case D. Luc is Cul De Sac backwards!

[Ruth]

I read this with my 8-year-old niece, who really enjoyed it. I was somewhat less invested. I haven't read the rest of the series, so the characters, as they're presented in this installment, seemed pretty flat.