Customer Reviews

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're a fan of the series, that alone should persuade you pick up a copy of this book, eh? Well, if that's not enough, than on with my real review...


"The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma" begins with Reynard "Reynie" Muldoon, George "Sticky" Washington, Kate Wetherall and Constance Contraire reunited once again. Yet, as with the beginning of the previous installment ("The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey,") all is not entirely well. The children are prisoners of a sort. Not that they are in prison, but they and their families have been uprooted from their normal homes and, for protection, are being housed by Mr. Benedict, as it has been deemed necessary to keep them under ground due to the continued schemes of the evil Mr. Curtain.

The beginning of the story sees the group being tested with a classic conundrum known as the "Prisoner's Dilemma." I was familiar with the concept going in through the show "Numb3rs," but for those that don't know, Sticky provides an excellent explanation of it in the book-- two prisoners, partners in crime, are arrested, but the police do not have needed evidence against them, so they try to get them to talk. If one talks and the other doesn't, the one that talks goes free, while the other receives a harsh sentence. They can choose to both remain silent, in which both receive a very light sentence. Or if they both betray the other, they both receive a middle of the road sentence. If you're familiar with this series, you may have guessed that the monkey wrench in the works here is Constance, but that the Mysterious Benedict Society comes through in the end.

With events taking place in Stonetown with everyone together, the supporting cast of the series is explored in greater depth than ever before. Also to be found in this book are answers to long-awaited questions regarding a couple of the key mysteries of the series. The book begins with a growing tension until, about halfway through, the other shoe drops and The Mysterious Benedict Society faces their greatest test yet. The group will have to rely on their combined talents and friends, as well a most intriguing new power of Constance's that is almost supernatural.

So many plot threads are seemingly resolved in this book that it feels very much like this book is intended as a finale to the series. If this is the case, then I am pleased to see the series ending in fine form. If I am, in fact, mistaken, then I will be delighted to discover so.


At 391 pages, "The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma" is actually a fair bit shorter than either of the books that preceded it. Despite this, the novel sizzles with the sharp wit and growing tension of the previous "Mysterious Benedict Society" stories, leading towards a most satisfying conclusion. Don't miss the bus! Read "The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Priosoner's Dilemma" to discover what's in store for this group of talented children.

I love this entire series! They are my favorite books. I love solving the mysteries and the characters are fun! I've read # 1 29 times, # 2 19 times and #3 only 1 time. I'm in the 6th grade.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (and the two that precede it), are three of our family's favorite books! We couldn't wait to start the next book as we finished each. When we finally read this last installment, my son said, "It's a shame that we're done reading the best three books in the world!"
We found the stories to be exciting and full of twists, the characters well written and we enjoyed each of their quirky personalities. In fact, we raved so much that my husband read them when we finished, and he enjoyed each just as much. If more people knew about Reynie, Sticky, Constance and Kate, my kid's Halloween costumes would make more sense! I wish Trenton Lee Steward had more children's books like these. We would highly recommend these books to anyone, young or old, that enjoys a good read!
A word of warning (does not spoil): A few times during the series one of the main characters has nightmares about the "Old Hag" and I thought that would suggest things to my kids that had never occurred to them, things like thinking they are going to have nightmares. Thankfully, this is only mentioned very minimally and isn't an integral part of the story so it was easily skipped while reading aloud to my children. That aside, They're great! Read them!

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.

I have read these books to my children and they both delight. The language is quick and appealing and the characters are at once familiar and new. Intelligence is admirable and teamwork necessary. There is mystery and adventure and all the things we love as children and long for as adults.

I had bought the first Mysterious Benedict Society for my son, age 11, as summer reading. He finished it in a couple of days, so did I, as we followed the story. It was very exciting, fun and mysterious, we could not put the book down. We were eager to read the second installment and had the same experience, getting to know these special children. We could hardly wait for this next installment; what would they get up to next? We were a little disappointed as it did not excite as much, the plot was rather thin and confusing. This 3rd book, a good read nevertheless, did not leave us wanting for more. It would have been nice to find out a little more about the children who are now growing up or the motivation of Mr. Benedict, or about his childhood. Do not start with this volume if you have not read any of the Benedict Society books, you might not be enticed to read #1, which is the best one in the series.

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

My 10 and 12 year-olds love this series and love this book! They have read them all a number of times and they can't seem to get enough of them! I really enjoyed them all, too! The characters are easy to relate to and the story is well thought out. When I asked my kids if they had any criticism to add about this book, they said "now way, it's awesome!" So, we wholeheartedly recommend it!

I found the first book of the series and bought it for my son who is in 6th grade. He "tore" through the book in very little time, could not put it down. Asked me if there were other stories and could i purchase them. Yes there were 2 more and I bought both from amazon. My son read the second book in 2 days and begged for me to give him the third. I did!... when was the last time your child begged you to read something? This is an awesome series and I would consider it standard reading for children of this age.
Enjoy

I have to be honest that I was a little disappointed in this one. Although there are a lot of fun fight scenes between Milligan and the Ten Men, there aren't nearly as many brain teasers for the readers to engage in with the four main characters. Overall, the book is great, and it's certainly a fun read, but what I feel makes these books so particularly unique and such a great read are the puzzles that Stewart interjects throughout. Certainly, if you're a fan, you should still read it, but I think it's the weakest in the series so far.

-Lindsey Miller, [...]