When graffiti starts appearing on buildings all over Aquamarina, Violet and Wally follow the clues to find the culprit! In Book 3 of the series, join the Undersea Mystery Club as they explore the ocean to help their aquatic friends! It’s the first day of school, and Violet can’t wait to see all of her friends. But after a mysterious blob of paint appears on the school building, Violet and her best friend Wally get to work looking for clues. Soon, the sleuths find themselves not only solving a mystery, but helping out the last person in Aquamarina they'd expect . . . After the adventure, readers can turn to the back of the book to find STEAM facts about famous artists who incorporated nature, math, and science into their works! Gr 2–4—In the third installment of the "Undersea Mystery Club" series, mermaid and budding investigator Violet has a new mystery to solve when graffiti is found on her elementary school and several other buildings around town. After a few red herrings involving "the biggest troublemaker in school," it turns out that the artist responsible is a new student—an octopus with a love of painting. While the mystery itself is straightforward and not terribly suspenseful, the story does explore core elements of the mystery genre, such as clues and motive. However, the choice of graffiti as a crime to investigate is an odd one, and despite back matter that attempts to provide more information about artists, graffiti, and murals, the narrative lacks the proper nuance to really explore this topic. Further, the police feature prominently, and their role is troubling; one spot illustration depicts an innocent classmate of Violet's being taken to the police station by a pair of dolphin officers, a detail strikingly at odds with platitudes in the text about celebrating diversity and "welcoming sea creatures from all places and backgrounds." Characters—a blend of merfolk and anthropomorphized sea creatures—are depicted with wide eyes, pointy elfin ears, and a rainbow of skin colors, including shades of brown, green, purple, pink, and orange. VERDICT An early reader mystery marred by its simplistic approach to law enforcement. Skip this one.—Lauren Strohecker, McKinley Elem. Sch., Elkins Park, PA Courtney Carbone studied English and creative writing in the United States and Australia before becoming a children's book writer and editor in New York City. She is the author of more than 100 books for children and young adults. Her favorite things include pizza, trivia, comedy, board games, and her furry sidekick, a mischievous Jack Russell terrier.   Melanie Demmer attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where she earned a BFA in illustration. Currently based in Los Angeles, she creates artwork digitally but also enjoys using watercolor, markers, colored pencils, and acrylic paint. Melanie loves to create bright, colorful illustrations with a variety of textures.