I read this book to my niece and was reminded of the good times I had reading this series of books as a child. It is an intelligent, humorous story, with fun characters. I like how Nate the Great works to gather information and solve the mystery so the reader can try to figure out the clues at the same time. I think for full enjoyment I would have needed to be a little more familiar with the Nate the Great characters, but it is certainly a stand-alone book. It was a good book to read aloud, and well laid out into small chapters.