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Kari and Lucas meet a piano prodigy who is kidnapped in Scotland. The girls must rely on their detective skills to solve the mystery and rescue their new friend.

Kari and Lucas are back with their second mystery in Rescuing Seneca Crane. In the novel, the girls are on a business trip in Scotland with Kari’s mom, a magazine writer. Kari’s mother is set to interview a young piano prodigy named Seneca Crane. Seneca is eager to meet and hang out with the girls because she spends so much time practicing and has little time to get to meet kids her own age. Right off that bat, the three (Kari, her mother, and Lucas) get odd vibes from Seneca’s step-father, a charming, but maybe too charming man. There is also Seneca’s oddly cool and overprotective mother who has the three concerned. Seneca’s step-father convinces Seneca’s mother to let Seneca take some time off from practicing to be a regular teen and have fun with Kari and Lucas. The girls have fun exploring Scotland and getting to know one another. Then one night, after a concert, Seneca is found to be missing. Kari’s mother has just left town, leaving Kari in Lucas in the care of others. The girls are upset and then find out more about the kidnapping from a young boy Kari offers to baby-sit. They also find a tarot card that Seneca left behind as a possible clue as to who might be responsible for this crime.

The girls begin to put the facts together and go on a train trip to try and find Seneca on their own. They feel they can’t tell the police since the kidnappers warned about police involvement. They are also wary of the adults looking after Seneca, so feel it’s best only to trust Kari’s mother with info. However, things hit a snag when Kari realizes she’s lost her cell phone and they cannot get a hold of her mother. The girls manage to make their way through Scotland to solve the crime of their friend’s disappearance. With everyone a suspect and no one to trust, the girls have only each other and their detective skills to help them.

Rescuing Seneca Crane is another fun Kari and Lucas Mystery by Susan Runholt. The author makes great use of her knowledge of Scotland with vivid descriptions and info about the place. We also see that since the last book, the two girls have gotten a bit more mature and are coming into their own with their own likes, dislikes, and talents. They’re also showing a bit more confidence as Kari learns to be proud of her fly fishing skills, something she has been made fun of for. We also see the girls take more of an interest in boys as Lucas has his heartbroken by her first real crush.

The tale of Seneca Crane is captivating in that we see Seneca as a prisoner in her own life with her strict practice schedule and then kept as a prisoner by the kidnappers. Seneca starts out as a slightly immature young girl who is talented beyond her years when it comes to the piano, but socially awkward. However, she comes into her own and her confidence in her piano playing leads her to take charge of her own life.

Ruhnolt has managed to combine a mystery with friendship and a bit of info about Scotland as well. One of the unique things about the book (and the series) is that Lucas and Kari’s friendship develops throughout the story and is never on the backburner. The two main characters develop their personalities more in the second book and have a believable friendship where they get annoyed with one another, tease each other, and have each other’s backs at all times.

Rescuing Seneca Crane is a great mystery that will have you wanting a new Kari and Lucas mystery to follow. And a ticket to Scotland wouldn’t hurt either!

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