Rating: 
Summary: So Great
Review: "The Curse of Mustache Mary" is the best book I've ever read. I have read all the others and this is the best. Sammy goes to visit her friend and run into more trouble than she would expect. They meet an old lady who tells them about her great aunt,Moustache Mary. Later that evening they find out Marys old cabin burnt down, and it wasn't just that something was wrong with it. Someone did it on purpose. Sammy just HAS to get involved in that. Then all sorts of teen issues are tied in, all leading to who burnt down the cabin. I would give this book a 5.
Rating:
Summary: Flipped
Review: I really liked this book. I read it with my mom and little sister. We liked ready about what was happening with the characters in each chapters.I would like to see a sequal to this book. I really like to read your books. I can't wait until the next book comes out
Rating:
Summary: A Misleading Review but BEST SAMMY KEYS!
Review: I thought that the review amazon.com gave this book was a bit misleading. They made it sound like the whole book was about Sammy Keys growing up, doing drugs, and getting a boyfriend. And since I'm a boy, that didn't sound too appealing. But when I read the book, I really changed my mind. The drug part REALLY tied into the story and it WASN'T all about her growing up. The mystery was really clever and humerous. I'd give it ten stars if I could!
Rating:
Summary: Best book I have ever read
Review: In this story Sammy Keyes has to solve a mystery about a family riot. Sammy has to find out who burnt down her very old friend Lucindia's cabin. The cabin was so special because it was a home to her great aunt. The famalies started fighting when Mary was shot at. One night Sammy and Dot went to a party to find Dot's two older brothers. At the party the girls seen many things that they didn't want to see.They seen things like kids taking drugs and drinking beer. Sammy also seen one of her enemies Heather drinking beer. Sammy and Mirrisa also fell in love with two boys. The next morning Sammy found out that Heather was the twin of the boy she liked. Later on that day sammy found a meth lab in a cellar at Lucindia's house. They then found out that it was Dallas who was the owner of the lab and also the one who burnt down the cabin.Sammy and Dot captured the criminal and then went home
Rating:
Summary: Sammy Keyes
Review: Sammy and her friends Holly, and Marissa go to visit theirfriend Dot's new house in the country. They meet a woman whose name isLucinda, and Lucinda has a 200-pound pig. She tells Sammy the story of her ancestor, "Moustache Mary," and her cabin still stands in her family's grounds. Then, one night, Mary's cabin burns down! Sammy and her friends of COURSE go investigate. They find an oil container, which proves that somebody set the cabin on fire. But who?
Rating:
Summary: Sammy Keyes and the Curse of the Moustache Mary
Review: Sammy is spending New Year's at her friend Dot's house and it ends up becoming much more interesting than she first thought. First Sammy finds that her stolen skateboard belongs to a friend of a friend's and she decides that she is going to get that skateboard back no matter what. When she finally gets to Dot's house she meets Lucinda Huntley, who tells her a story about her ancestor the Moustache Mary and the argument between two families that has been going on for a hundred years. Sammy then finds out that she has a chance to get her skateboard, and when she goes to a party to look for it, she finds out that some people she knows aren't who they think they are. Sammy starts to doubt her own judgement, and it doesn't help when Moustache Mary's cabin burns down, starting another dilemma for her.This book is different from the other Sammy Keyes mysteries but it is still great; Sammy is still a strong, definite character who's not going to put up with anything. I would reccomend this book to anyone (and this means adults too) over eleven years old because anyone under eleven might be overwhelmed by situations Sammy runs into, but anyone can read it and enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: This book is AMAZING!
Review: The fifth book in an entertaining series, The Curse of Mustache Mary is a thrilling teenage mystery. Sammy Keyes, the returning female hero, is spending the New Years at her friend Dot's house along with her friends Marissa and Holly. While helping Dot's dad out with his plant nursery, the four come across a strange woman leading a big, black pig down the road to the "Murdock Party." Turns out that the "party" is a funeral and that Dot's neighborhood is tied up in a lot more than plants and farms. Sammy Keyes leads her friends through an adventure of family rivalry, drug dealers, and hidden treasure, thrilling the reader with her great sense of humor and her gift for disaster. As always, Van Draanen has managed to come up with another mystery for Sammy to solve. Though the Sammy Keyes series is geared towards a younger crowd, they are easily enjoyed by all and are great quick reads!
Rating: 
Summary: As always, Sammy Keyes is at the top!
Review: The fifth book in an entertaining series, The Curse of Mustache Mary is a thrilling teenage mystery. Sammy Keyes, the returning female hero, is spending the New Years at her friend Dot's house along with her friends Marissa and Holly. While helping Dot's dad out with his plant nursery, the four come across a strange woman leading a big, black pig down the road to the "Murdock Party." Turns out that the "party" is a funeral and that Dot's neighborhood is tied up in a lot more than plants and farms. Sammy Keyes leads her friends through an adventure of family rivalry, drug dealers, and hidden treasure, thrilling the reader with her great sense of humor and her gift for disaster. As always, Van Draanen has managed to come up with another mystery for Sammy to solve. Though the Sammy Keyes series is geared towards a younger crowd, they are easily enjoyed by all and are great quick reads!
Rating:
Summary: Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary
Review: The initial entries in the Sammy Keyes series were entertaining, humorous, and written with a deft touch. It's sad, then, that Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary reads like a poor imitation of Van Draanen's better books. For one thing, Moustache Mary has a lot less *mystery* to it than you'd expect in a mystery novel. It isn't merely that the solution to the mystery is obvious, it's that it seems almost irrelevant for much of the book. Many of the scenes come off like filler; they're unconnected to the mystery, the plot line, or any character development, and so deprive the novel of the tight plot and fast pace of, say, Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief. And nothing appears to fill that space. Another big hole is left where the characters used to be. Sammy herself is given some opportunities here for change and growth (no matter how handled), but her supporting cast is getting stale. Moustache Mary suffers from the lack of Sammy's grandmother, who makes no appearance at all, and from the reduction of Marissa to little more than the occasional walk-on. The characters just for this book aren't given much chance to develop, either, meaning pretty much every person in the book comes off as cardboard background for Sammy. And Sammy herself is changing, in rather unwelcome ways; Van Draanen appears to have foundered on the issue of adolescence. Sammy has, in past novels, been portrayed as a streetwise, intelligent girl, but in Moustache Mary, she comes off as wildly naive and a bit immature - she recoils in shock at the very concept of high school kids drinking and smoking, for example, and she's caught firmly in the "boys...eeeewwww" mode more common on elementary school playgrounds than in pubescent girls. Most girls Sammy's age know quite a bit about this stuff, even if they don't approve of using that knowledge. Van Draanen appears to be writing with more wishful thinking than accuracy, here. This one may appeal to serious Sammy Keyes fans, and to readers considerably younger than Sammy herself is supposed to be. For others, there are more intelligent mysteries out there - check out Ellen Raskin's classic The Westing Game, for example.
Rating: 
Summary: Comes up empty
Review: The initial entries in the Sammy Keyes series were entertaining, humorous, and written with a deft touch. It's sad, then, that Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary reads like a poor imitation of Van Draanen's better books. For one thing, Moustache Mary has a lot less *mystery* to it than you'd expect in a mystery novel. It isn't merely that the solution to the mystery is obvious, it's that it seems almost irrelevant for much of the book. Many of the scenes come off like filler; they're unconnected to the mystery, the plot line, or any character development, and so deprive the novel of the tight plot and fast pace of, say, Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief. And nothing appears to fill that space. Another big hole is left where the characters used to be. Sammy herself is given some opportunities here for change and growth (no matter how handled), but her supporting cast is getting stale. Moustache Mary suffers from the lack of Sammy's grandmother, who makes no appearance at all, and from the reduction of Marissa to little more than the occasional walk-on. The characters just for this book aren't given much chance to develop, either, meaning pretty much every person in the book comes off as cardboard background for Sammy. And Sammy herself is changing, in rather unwelcome ways; Van Draanen appears to have foundered on the issue of adolescence. Sammy has, in past novels, been portrayed as a streetwise, intelligent girl, but in Moustache Mary, she comes off as wildly naive and a bit immature - she recoils in shock at the very concept of high school kids drinking and smoking, for example, and she's caught firmly in the "boys...eeeewwww" mode more common on elementary school playgrounds than in pubescent girls. Most girls Sammy's age know quite a bit about this stuff, even if they don't approve of using that knowledge. Van Draanen appears to be writing with more wishful thinking than accuracy, here. This one may appeal to serious Sammy Keyes fans, and to readers considerably younger than Sammy herself is supposed to be. For others, there are more intelligent mysteries out there - check out Ellen Raskin's classic The Westing Game, for example.
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