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Accidental Detectives #5
The Missing Map of Pirate's Haven
Twelve-year-old Ricky and his friends believe the secret of a long-lost pirate treasure may be found through their summer job of repainting an old California house, whose owner's strange nocturnal activities and loss of faith in God present them with additional challenges.
130 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1991
About the author
Sigmund Brouwer
256 books410 followersSigmund loves going to schools to get kids excited about reading, reaching roughly 80,000 students a year through his Rock&Roll Literacy Show.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 17, 2018
Ricky, his brother Joel, and their friends are off to San Diego to help Lisa’s uncle paint his new house. When they arrive, they learn a local legend about a pirate who has buried his treasure in the area. It sounds crazy until Joel finds a couple of silver coins. Meanwhile, Lisa’s uncle is acting strangely. Can Ricky figure out everything that is going on?
I’ve read this book a couple of times now, although it’s been over a decade since the last time I read it, so pieces of the plot came back to me as I was reading. Even so, I was still blown away by how well plotted the book is, with all the clues needed in very plain sight. The characters are strong as well, and they provide some wonderful laughs along the way. The Christian elements is woven in seamlessly and never overwhelms this plot driven middle grade book.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
I’ve read this book a couple of times now, although it’s been over a decade since the last time I read it, so pieces of the plot came back to me as I was reading. Even so, I was still blown away by how well plotted the book is, with all the clues needed in very plain sight. The characters are strong as well, and they provide some wonderful laughs along the way. The Christian elements is woven in seamlessly and never overwhelms this plot driven middle grade book.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
September 1, 2024
I started re-reading this series for sentimental reasons, as I remember enjoying it as a kid.
So far I think that this one is the best book in the series in regard to plot and mystery within. Though the theme seems to become more serious and some choices for characters are questionable looking back as an adult reading it in 2024.
Still I know that these books will be a comforting read when I need it - low stakes, a little mystery, funny, a moral lesson, and at the end everything is going to be alright.
So far I think that this one is the best book in the series in regard to plot and mystery within. Though the theme seems to become more serious and some choices for characters are questionable looking back as an adult reading it in 2024.
Still I know that these books will be a comforting read when I need it - low stakes, a little mystery, funny, a moral lesson, and at the end everything is going to be alright.
June 25, 2024
Yet another increasingly solid entry in The Accidental Detectives series, The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven cuts down on the comedic interludes and showcases a more complex mystery with the best set of subtle clues, foreshadowings, and details yet. Sigmund Brouwer does what he does best and continues improving the formula that will work wonders in the rest of the series.
After once again being forced to take his younger brother Joel along on an epic adventure, Ricky Kidd and his friends are spending their summer vacation in sunny San Diego to help Lisa Higgins’ Uncle Carl Lovelee, an atheistic ex-hippie screenplay writer, paint his centuries-old house, which was formerly owned by the famed Gentleman Pirate, Manuel Torres. The vacation starts off with minor complications but quickly escalates into a full-fledged mystery when Ricky begins to suspect that Carl is a drug dealer and potential kidnapper. As he and his friends search for the missing map that will lead them to the Gentleman Pirate’s long-lost treasure, they creep closer and closer to a dangerous secret that will put their faith to the test.
The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven works so well because Sigmund Brouwer doesn’t hold back on (1) a more complex mystery with a truly clever solution, (2) a slightly more serious tone without so much kiddish comedy, and (3) genuinely high stakes that conclude with the first direct attempt on the Accidental Detectives’ lives. Brouwer doesn’t try to downplay any of these elements, but rather presents them as the components to a mystery that shows he’s widening his scope a little as the series progresses.
The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven is not, however, without its hilarious moments. Uncharacteristically, the opening vignette falls a bit flat, as the boys fool Joel into believing that they’ve caught a huge fish in a mud puddle only for Mayor Thorpe to fall victim to their ruse; this leads to the town mocking the mayor and Joel being sent along with the boys because Mr. Higgins thinks it’s so funny. Compared to Brouwer’s usual crackerjack openers (like the disastrous school play in Lost Beneath Manhattan or the watermelon slingshot in Race for the Park Street Treasure), The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven just isn’t as solid.
However, Brouwer scores again not only by intensifying the mystery but also the Christian themes, which are never forced but always impactful. In The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven, we see the contrast between peaceful, idyllic, conservative Jamesville and the ungodly liberality of San Diego (previously shown in New York City in Lost Beneath Manhattan). More than that, we see Ricky get his perceptions challenged by Uncle Carl, who is a very strong presence throughout the narrative despite Ricky’s suspicions about him. Carl is an atheist, but Brouwer does an excellent job of not vilifying him for that — instead, we see that Carl is very logical, compassionate, yet empty. Carl attempts to get Ricky to see through his eyes by demonstrating how deceiving appearances can be, and he ends up being right in the end, despite their differences in faith. One of the most powerful conversations in the book is Carl and Ricky’s dialogue about the rationale of believing in a God you can’t see. Brouwer’s deflections against atheism aren’t worthy of high-level apologetics, but he gives his middle-grades audience an excellent starting point that is simple, respectful, and logical.
A few other observations. Not for the first time, we see hints of a romantic attraction between Ricky and Lisa, but this is the first time we get an actual hint that Mike also likes Lisa and is a potential rival for her affections (this will come up again, but never be developed into a full on romance or rivalry). Ricky’s intense dislike for cats makes its third appearance, and Joel’s mysterious ability to be invited on Ricky’s dream trips makes its fourth. Also, the timeline for The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven is a bit ambiguous — it clearly takes place after The Mystery Tribe of Camp Blackeagle, but it does take place during the summer that the gang is still 12 years old. Depending on what part of the summer it occupies, The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven could come before or after Phantom Outlaw at Wolf Creek, but that would place it long before The Disappearing Jewel of Madagascar, which is book 4 in the series but, according to the end-of-the-school-year setting, must take place one year after the events of Lost Beneath Manhattan (despite the fact that the gang remains 12-year-olds). I guess I’m just a huge Accidental Detectives nerd who’s overthinking this timeline, but I would like to know — just for posterity.
The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven benefits from a strong conclusion as well: Brouwer continues to demonstrate his skills as a writer and to sharpen the scope of his Accidental Detectives series in this installment.
After once again being forced to take his younger brother Joel along on an epic adventure, Ricky Kidd and his friends are spending their summer vacation in sunny San Diego to help Lisa Higgins’ Uncle Carl Lovelee, an atheistic ex-hippie screenplay writer, paint his centuries-old house, which was formerly owned by the famed Gentleman Pirate, Manuel Torres. The vacation starts off with minor complications but quickly escalates into a full-fledged mystery when Ricky begins to suspect that Carl is a drug dealer and potential kidnapper. As he and his friends search for the missing map that will lead them to the Gentleman Pirate’s long-lost treasure, they creep closer and closer to a dangerous secret that will put their faith to the test.
The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven works so well because Sigmund Brouwer doesn’t hold back on (1) a more complex mystery with a truly clever solution, (2) a slightly more serious tone without so much kiddish comedy, and (3) genuinely high stakes that conclude with the first direct attempt on the Accidental Detectives’ lives. Brouwer doesn’t try to downplay any of these elements, but rather presents them as the components to a mystery that shows he’s widening his scope a little as the series progresses.
The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven is not, however, without its hilarious moments. Uncharacteristically, the opening vignette falls a bit flat, as the boys fool Joel into believing that they’ve caught a huge fish in a mud puddle only for Mayor Thorpe to fall victim to their ruse; this leads to the town mocking the mayor and Joel being sent along with the boys because Mr. Higgins thinks it’s so funny. Compared to Brouwer’s usual crackerjack openers (like the disastrous school play in Lost Beneath Manhattan or the watermelon slingshot in Race for the Park Street Treasure), The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven just isn’t as solid.
However, Brouwer scores again not only by intensifying the mystery but also the Christian themes, which are never forced but always impactful. In The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven, we see the contrast between peaceful, idyllic, conservative Jamesville and the ungodly liberality of San Diego (previously shown in New York City in Lost Beneath Manhattan). More than that, we see Ricky get his perceptions challenged by Uncle Carl, who is a very strong presence throughout the narrative despite Ricky’s suspicions about him. Carl is an atheist, but Brouwer does an excellent job of not vilifying him for that — instead, we see that Carl is very logical, compassionate, yet empty. Carl attempts to get Ricky to see through his eyes by demonstrating how deceiving appearances can be, and he ends up being right in the end, despite their differences in faith. One of the most powerful conversations in the book is Carl and Ricky’s dialogue about the rationale of believing in a God you can’t see. Brouwer’s deflections against atheism aren’t worthy of high-level apologetics, but he gives his middle-grades audience an excellent starting point that is simple, respectful, and logical.
A few other observations. Not for the first time, we see hints of a romantic attraction between Ricky and Lisa, but this is the first time we get an actual hint that Mike also likes Lisa and is a potential rival for her affections (this will come up again, but never be developed into a full on romance or rivalry). Ricky’s intense dislike for cats makes its third appearance, and Joel’s mysterious ability to be invited on Ricky’s dream trips makes its fourth. Also, the timeline for The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven is a bit ambiguous — it clearly takes place after The Mystery Tribe of Camp Blackeagle, but it does take place during the summer that the gang is still 12 years old. Depending on what part of the summer it occupies, The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven could come before or after Phantom Outlaw at Wolf Creek, but that would place it long before The Disappearing Jewel of Madagascar, which is book 4 in the series but, according to the end-of-the-school-year setting, must take place one year after the events of Lost Beneath Manhattan (despite the fact that the gang remains 12-year-olds). I guess I’m just a huge Accidental Detectives nerd who’s overthinking this timeline, but I would like to know — just for posterity.
The Missing Map of Pirate’s Haven benefits from a strong conclusion as well: Brouwer continues to demonstrate his skills as a writer and to sharpen the scope of his Accidental Detectives series in this installment.
March 19, 2024
This was a really funny book in the series! The whole family enjoyed!
Read
January 15, 2009JM4 Bro
August 6, 2020
One of my favorite novels in this series, both for setting and plot, but also for some unusually good elements of humor and intrugue, plus a really outstanding ending.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews