Conundrum: The Name Of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

WARNING!
DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS PAGE!

Good.
Now I know I can trust you.
You're curious. You're brave. And you're not afraid to lead a life of crime.

But let's get something straight; if, despite my warning you insist on reading this book, you can't hold me responsible for the consequences.

And make no bones about it, this is a very dangerous book.

Pseudonymous Bosch opens his latest, The Name of this Book Is Secret with a dire warning to his readers. Actually, though, his characters should have been the ones to receive the warning, because in this fantasy mystery thriller, they're the ones who "shoulda stood in bed."

But eleven-year-old Cassandra is always prepared for the worst. A dedicated survivalist who always packs a flashlight, rope, and among other gear, a box of grape juice, good for hydration or emergency ink, she's always looking for a disaster to remedy. So when real estate lady Gloria Fortune stops by her grandfathers' shop to drop off a box of left-behind antiques and bric-a-brac from a dead magician's house, Cass is intrigued with a lavish container of fluid-filled vials labelled The Symphony of Smells hidden at the bottom. Recruiting a quirky loner from her sixth grade, Max-Ernest, who is undeniably bright but has a the "condition" of talking incessantly, Cassandra persuades Max to come along to look for more clues inside the magician's house. While sneaking into his strange underground home, the sleuths are forced to hide as agent Gloria shows the house to an odd couple, purported newlyweds, Mr. L., a suave European man, and Ms. Mauvais, an incredibly beautiful, and seemingly very young blonde woman, who together seem to be looking for something besides a honeymoon cottage in the magician's old house.

While inside Cass and Max-Ernest discover a notebook, and when Max cracks the code on the first page, they locate the magician's personal journal which tells the story of the kidnapping of his younger brother, Luciano, more than fifty years before, seemingly abducted because of his special ability--synesthesia--which enabled him to perceive colors and music as scents. When Cass's and Max's classmate Ben is abducted from the school by the same mysterious couple the next day, Cass realizes that Ben must have been taken because he, too, has the power of synesthesia.

Tracking the two down to the Midnight Sun Spa, Cass and Max-Ernest find themselves going undercover to uncover the evil scheme of the two wizards to extract from Ben's body the secret to eternal life and youth. There are many twists and turns to the plot as the two detectives work their way into the inner sanctum of the evil two and courageously rescue their classmate from the cruel clutches of the wizards.

With a wry warning or two for the reader along the way, the tongue-in-cheek author leads our heroes from near miss to brave escape to unforeseen rescue as they work their way to the conclusion, a conclusion which apparently doesn't conclude, as the story closes with a coded message, which, rendered readable by Max's skilled decoding, offers a compelling invitation:

In recognition of your bravery and unique talents, I hereby invite you to become members of the Terces Society--and to enlist in our fight against the Masters of the Midnight Sun.

Understand this: once you swear to the Oath of Terces, your lives, they will never be the same. You will face the hazards and the hardships. And you must obey all the orders without question.

A sequel is indeed forthcoming October 1, and fans of this offbeat and fantastic mystery will doubtless be waiting for the next book, despite its title which warns If You're Reading This, It's Too Late!