A review by pocketbard
The Case of the Perilous Palace by Jordan Stratford, Kelly Murphy

The last of the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency books, and while this one was as fun as the others, it did require a slightly larger balloon to suspend my disbelief. (SPOILERS AHEAD) For example, Ada creating a bat-wing flying machine, or the fact that the Our Young Heroines (tm) were able to break into Kensington Palace without any repercussions. (Honestly, the girls’ interactions with guards has constantly been one of the weakest parts, IMO – they seem able to confuse and fluster guards far more easily than I’d expect. Then again, this is a book written for 10–12-year-olds, so I can’t be TOO harsh on it.) All that said, I thought the ultimate solution to the crime (Princess Victoria’s sketchbook has been stolen!) was quite clever, and I enjoyed the dangling plot thread of Nora Radel’s revealed identity. It looks like the book was angling for yet more sequels, but none have come out since 2018 (after being 1-a-year before that), so I’ll assume this is the end of the series for now. It’s been charming! Definitely enjoyable!