The Mystery of the Mexican Graveyard by John Bibee

The Mystery of the Mexican Graveyard, part of the Home School Detectives series, written by John Bibee was copyrighted in 1995 and is 115 pages long. This Christian fiction mystery was published by InterVarstity Press and is for boys and girls 8-12.

Carlos and his family from Springdale are a mission trip to Santiago Mexico. Carlos becomes friends with a boy named Miguel and they try to solve the mystery of the ghost and why Pastor Pablo and others get sick after a party. They discover the ghost is really Roberto. Cocaine is the cause of the illness, which leads them to Senora Garza. To learn who the ghost is they look for footprints outside the orphanage and in the cemetery. Roberto joins them a lot during their expeditions. Carlos is able to trick him into sneaking the ghost costume to Senora Garza’s store. Carlos and Miguel follow Senora Garza and Roberto to a small village where it is discovered that piñatas are being stuffed with cocaine. When Carlos and Miguel are captured they are set free by Flaco, who has been blamed for many of the things Roberto did. The Federales come and Senora Garza and the other people are taken away. All the people in this story learn that boasting and greed are two sins God thinks are foolish.

At this printing John Bibee lived in Austin, Texas and is the author of the Spirit Flyer Series. I thought this book was excellent with its clearly defined characters and plot line.

This story shows us that Senora Garza’s greediness and Carlos boasting about what he knew about her did not pay. We need to remember that those traits will not lead us to a God filled life.

I liked how Carlos was always looking for a scientific answer to the ghost problem. It did not like how the author portrayed Roberto, a child so greedy and in cahoots with drug dealers, when all he wanted was someone to love and care for him.

I would recommend this book, because we can always use a reminder of what greediness and boasting can get us. This small paperback book had a font size that was perfect and even has an excerpt from the next book, The Mystery of the Campus Cook.

Mystery of the Homeless Treasure by John Bibee

Mystery of the Homeless Treasure was written by John Bibee and published in 1994. This book is part of the series, The Home School Detectives, and was printed by InterVarsity Press. It is 117 pages long and the age group for this Christian fiction mystery is girls and boys 8-12.

In Springdale, Billy has found a gold cup that was linked to a robbery 30 years ago. Billy, Josh and the other homeschoolers try to solve the mystery and they learn in the end that it is Mr. Craven who was the robber. After the kids find the cup they go see Mr. Finley, the antique dealer, and they find out the cup was a part of a set of goods that were stolen from an auction. The funds were going to be used to be a homeless shelter. A masked man captures Mr. Finley and the cup is stolen. The kids rescue him from an abandoned house. The sheriff gets involved and with the help of the homeless stranger they discover who the third thief was in the robbery thirty years ago. The children, not knowing this, have the help of Molly, a dog, and find the cave with the same dishes as the gold cup. And they figure out with the help of some marked verses in the Bible where the first thief hid the safe. The third thief was most grateful for their help, but fortunately the sheriff came and saved them. The homeless man was not really homeless; he was there to clear his father’s name in the original robbery. Billy, Josh, and the other kids learned what it feels like to help those who are homeless, by finding the auction items that may help to build a shelter.

John Bibee is also the author of Spirit Flyers. He wrote the book with a clear plot line and easily recognized characters. I enjoyed how we did not learn who the homeless man was until the end.

The main issue in this book is that the strong need to help the weak. This book shows that we need to use what we have for those who are less fortunate than we are. The kids were learning from Pastor Brown and the Luke 14 party that it could be fun to be a servant of God.

I liked how the author showed that homeschooling is fun. I also thought it was important how helping the homeless was stressed in the book.

This paperback book has a font size that reads pretty well. I would recommend this story to others, because it is a good mystery and we remember the fun of helping others.