In the tenth book of the Third Grade Detectives series, the young detectives stumble onto a mystery during a field trip to an art museum.  The “priceless fifteenth-century statue of Joan of Arc,” on loan from a Paris museum that they have come to see has been stolen!  There is something very suspicious about Willie, the janitor who works at the museum.  And, it is apparent that the director of the museum, Dr. Kirk, is not terribly eager for the children’s assistance in finding the statue.  Since these third graders are also intrepid detectives, under the guidance of Mr. Merlin - who is not only their teacher, but a former spy - they are sure that they can help solve the mystery of what has become of the statue.  Before they can begin their search, however, the police discover the statue, broken into tiny pieces, in a nearby dumpster.  It is up to the third graders to break the coded messages given to them by Mr. Merlin in order to reveal the truth about the statue and why it was stolen.  Using forensic evidence and the help of a police crime lab, they ultimately discover they mystery of the stolen statue.

The stated age group for this book is 6-9 years old and readers of this series will find that this book lives up to their expectations.  The author follows the formula used in previous books and not only provides readers with a mystery to solve, but uses interactive clues so that his young readers will scramble to uncover the answers along with the children in the book.  He also provides age-appropriate scientific information for his readers, which is a fun way for young children to learn new science facts.  Young readers will enjoy solving the mystery and learning new information at the same time.