The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoners Dilemma by Stewart

Great book in a great series. This book has suspense and adventure. This book is a book that will make you not want to put it down. There is excitement on every page!!!!!! ???????

I have read the other two Mysterious Benedict Society. They were great, and so was this one. An exciting plot, exciting adventure and a very exciting ending. (But I won't spoil it for you- I suggest reading it.)

I read this book (and the previous two installments) to my boys, aged 11,9, and 6 years, and they loved it. Like the previous two books, there is violence, but nobody dies and almost nobody gets hurt. The riddles are great and the boys and I had great fun guessing what would come next.

At least, for me, it was disappointing. Let's start at the beginning though.

I'll admit, I had not the slightest idea what the Prisoner's Dilemma was, and I thought it to be much more literal. My idea of what it meant went something along the lines of Martina Crowe being in a dilemma. If you look up what the real meaning is, I assure you that it will not give you much of a spoiler, because the title really does not have as much to do with the book as you would expect.

Constance is discovered very early on to have a new power, which is definitely intriguing and curious, though I wonder if it only serves to make it so the ending turns out perfectly for the Society. However, I love the new things we learn about Constance. It's interesting to learn about her background, finally, and it was one of the biggest mysteries I wanted to learn about.

One minor side note that I feel compelled to mention: Kate had finally thought of a rhyme to match Constance's (as another reviewer mentioned) and we never even got to hear it! Or maybe I need to reread the book again...

The plot of this book is obviously centered quite centrally upon Curtain, who has devised yet another plan to get things under his control. Ultimately, the MBS (guess what it stands for?) takes it in to their hands to be the ones to stop it, and, ultimately, the adults find out and decide to take the necessary action. What follows is a clever blend of action, surprise, and some humor that makes this read enjoyable.

So why did I give this book four stars? The ending for me was too perfect. There was a time when I only liked perfect ending, but that time ended long ago, and I found this so unrealistically perfect and odd. Perhaps you'll se what I mean, but I just couldn't get used to the idea of... Well, I'd prefer not to mention spoilers. But I'll just say that the ending was so finished that it felt as if it wasn't completely done. I was left with a curious sensation of wanting more, when there was no more to want.

This is the third (and final) book in the series. After the Mysterious Benedict Society escaped from the island, life has been pretty dull and boring. Everyone's confined to Mr. Benedict's house for safety. But then Mr. Curtain takes out the whole power system of Stonetown, it's up to the four children to save everyone. But the Ten Men are closing in on them, and Mr. Curtain has his own nefarious plans. Once again, this book has plenty of riddles and puzzles, and I wanted to share a particularly good one with you, one that Mr. Benedict gives to the children for them to figure out why Mr. Curtain keeps S.Q. around:

"The answer to this riddle has a hole in the middle,
And some have been known to fall in it.
In tennis it's nothing, but it can be received,
And sometimes a person may win it.
Though not seen or heard it may yet be perceived,
Like princes or bees it's in clover.
The answer to this riddle has a hole in the middle,
And without it one cannot start over." (pg. 78.)

Anyway, this one is just as good as the others (I'm refraining from mentioning the title because it's so long.) It's quite suspenseful too, and is a good wrap-up to the series. If you're wondering about Constance's past, this one clears some of that up; at one point Mr. Benedict uses the Whisperer on her.

I think my two favorite characters of the series are Kate and Reynie. Reynie is really smart, not necessarily because he's good at memorizing facts (like Sticky), but because he has a logical brain that's good at working out problems. And Kate- Kate is so amazing! She's smart, but also active and just overall, awesome. That's the only way to put it. I guess it makes sense, since Milligan, her father, is a secret agent himself.

So, this was a very good conclusion, and as I said, wrapped things up nicely.

All of my reviews can be read at my blog novareviews.blogspot.com.

Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are at it again, taking risks and solving riddles with or without the help of their friend, Mr. Benedict. It seems Mr. Curtain, Mr. Benedict's evil twin, is plotting once more to take control, this time targeting the minds of the world leaders by means of the Whisperer.

In this newest adventure, the children have been made prisoners in their own home (Mr. Benedict's home, that is) at the hands of their guardians, as well as Mr. Benedict, in hopes of keeping them safe from Mr. Curtain and his Ten Men, the evil thugs who do Mr. Curtain's bidding. Even the adults have to don disguises in order to venture into town.

But that doesn't keep these eager young kids from getting out or the Ten Men from getting in, which is exactly what happens when the city of Stonetown is suddenly plunged into darkness by a mysterious power outage.

Trenton Lee Stewart thrills again with the third installment of THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY, where his four adventuresome protagonists find themselves following new leads, exposing new suspects, and discovering Constance's new gift, which has the occupants of Mr. Benedict's home a little on edge. However, in the end, it's Constance's gift that saves the day, when the children must come up with their own plan to rescue Mr. Benedict and their guardians.

I enjoyed this story, even without the benefit of having read the first two installments, and plan to dig into the first and second book before the excitement of this wonderful middle-grade adventure wears off.

Reviewed by: Holly Owen

A grand (and, dare I say it, creative) adventure! I think anyone might enjoy joining forces with Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance in their quest to save the world from Ledroptha Curtain. The Society has been living with their beloved Mr. Benedict, along with all their families, to keep safe from Mr. Curtain. But Mr. Curtain is on the move and desperately trying to get his greedy hands on the Whisperer machine. With it, he could use mind-control and take over the world for his own use. (Although I may not approve of all the mind-sweeping and such... it's still a delightful book!)

I'm hoping that the author will end up writing another story about the Society one day.

This was a fantastic ending to a beautiful series, so much more than it appears at first. The plot is clever, sure, but it’s the characters and the subtler things and themes that really stand out and make this worth reading at any age. It just feels like such a rich story, rich in ideas. Would I read more by this author? You bet! Would I recommend this to others? Certainly!

See the full review on my blog, Awesome Book Assessment: http://www.awesomebookassessment.com/2015/01/the-mysterious-benedict-society-and-the-prisoners-dilemma-by-trenton-lee-stewart.html

The Mysterious Benedict Society is being held prisoner! Don't worry (at least not yet); they, along with their families, are being detained more or less willingly in Mr. Benedict's house for their own protection. The kids --- Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance --- are under constant threat from Mr. Benedict's identical twin, Ledroptha Curtain, and his team of Ten Men. They are being held captive for their own good, although they can't help but feel a little suspicious of some of the guards Mr. Benedict has hired. And they are eager to see if they can help Mr. Benedict channel technology to overcome his debilitating narcolepsy.

Soon, though, the kids begin to suspect that Curtain and his henchmen are plotting to retake control of the nefarious "Whisperer" mind-control machine. When they start to uncover clues, are they getting close to solving the puzzle, or are they walking into a trap? Their quest --- which unfolds in the wake of an orchestrated blackout that plunges Stonetown into darkness --- also coincides with surprising revelations about Constance's past. What has this youngest (and endearingly crabbiest) member of the Benedict Society intentionally "forgotten"? How can she and the rest of the kids benefit from the new skills she's developing? And what will happen if these four immensely talented children, not to mention the Whisperer, fall into the wrong hands?

As usual, their problem-solving skills and special talents (Reynie understands people and sees patterns, Sticky knows a staggering amount of trivia, and Kate can tackle any physical problem with her "toolbucket") are called in to play as they join forces to outsmart Mr. Curtain.

At this point (this is book three in Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society series), readers are already pretty familiar with the varied and unusual skills of these youngsters, but they will continue to enjoy matching their own wits with those of the Society's members as they consider riddles and clues galore. THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY AND THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA unfolds at breakneck speed as the heroes must tackle dilemmas and threats thrown at them from all sides. They have to decide who can be trusted as they reflect on their own role in the world at large. In addition to furious plotting, this third outing --- and especially the curmudgeonly four-year-old Constance Contraire --- is laugh-out-loud funny.

The ending of the novel seems to tidily wrap up the Society's adventures ("the regular meetings of the Society might never again feel so urgent or important as they had in the past."), but who knows? There are a lot of problems in the world that could benefit from the ingenuity and inventiveness of these four remarkable kids. Upon finishing the book, readers will soon be clamoring for another adventure as entertaining and enlightening as this one.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

I love the Mysterious Benedict Society, and have read all of the books multiple times and recomended then to many people. The third book just wasn't as good as the others though. For a large portion of the book Kate, Reynie, Constance and Sticky are in jail, it gets sort of boring. The chapter The Sorting Out was very confusing. I still don't kknow quite wht happened. I also think Constance's "powers" are getting a little out of control. I mean hypnotism, mind reading, stubborness, future predictig, and sending brain messages just seems like a tad bit much. Other than that the book was great. Why can't there be more?!

Join the Mysterious Benedict Scociety as they embark on their third journey to uncove haunting and ambitious secrets about Mr Benedict's long lost brother. As they confront many mysterious people, they must be aware of what can seperate their friendship of their family, friends, and one another...

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Signed,
Nicholas Benedict