Death by Dinosaur

Sam and her cousin Paige are in Alberta for the summer doing a work-study program at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology when a fossil goes missing. Sam is an amateur sleuth, and Paige is romantically interested in one of the suspects. While trying to solve the mystery, Sam finds herself in some tricky situations, but she is ultimately able to discover who stole the fossil.

While I eventually wanted to know whodunit, I did not find the title or the plot summary that exciting for the target audience. My 10-year-old daughter, an avid reader, had no interest in cracking the cover. My 14-year-old daughter also had no interest in reading this book based on the title and reading the first chapter. Once I’d finished Death by Dinosaur, I did tell my 10-year-old that she should read it as I cannot supply her with enough books, and, because she is younger, she might still find Sam more interesting than I did. I did, however, have to prepare her for the scary parts. Some of the plot seems chilling for the younger portion of the target audience.

The mystery, itself, once I resolved myself to the fact that I had committed to reading the novel, was fine. I can think of many different settings I would rather read about, but perhaps that is because my daughters and I have no interest in dinosaurs. I liked the Canadian setting, but I found the characters underdeveloped.