Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite

Charlie hates math, but he rather likes science.  He hates school, too.  When his father was offered a new job, the whole family moved to Nightingale.  Carol, Charlie’s mother, enrolls him in North Nightingale Primary.  Charlie and Gabriel become quick friends.  

While playing hide n’ seek, the boys found an old building.  It looked like it had been a long time since anyone had been inside; spider webs covered the door.  The building was dusty, damp, and dirty.  The boys decided not to tell anyone about their find.  They were afraid they would get in trouble and not be allowed to return to explore the structure. When the boys went inside, Charlie quietly snuck up the stairs.  What he saw was frightening.  When Gabriel does not come home, Charlie searches for him.  

Charlie Higgins and the Mystery of Nightingale by Kayad Dualeh is a cross between the Alfred Hitchcock books I read as a child and the Goosebumps series that is popular with youth today.  Dualeh shows an incredible imagination in his work.  He keeps the plot simple.  The mystery is so exciting that the reader will not want to lay the book down.  Charlie is a charming character.  He embraces the move as an opportunity to start over.  He shows bravery when he went searching for Gabriel.  I like this book.   I highly recommend Charlie Higgins and the Mystery of Nightingale for third and fourth graders.  This book would also work well with high interest/low readers.  Well done, Dualeh.