Rollie and his friend, Cecily, are home for Christmas. There is a mysterious light in the abandoned house next door, and they stay up at night to spy through the windows, and hopefully catch a secret agent from the villain, Herr Zilch.

I loved this book! The characters, the plot, the mystery, the action, the school, the writing style... everything is wonderful! I didn't enjoy this book quite as much, because we see much less of the Academy and the teachers. But the students do visit the school during the Christmas holidays and get to see their teacher briefly. However, most of the time, Rollie and Cecily are at home, and I loved the crazy shenanigans of Rollie's boisterous family and siblings!

Rollie is an excellent main character. He's smart and observant, and he wants to be just like Sherlock Holmes. I really identified with his thought process and his emotions and excitement in the middle of a mystery.

I loved the easy friendship between Rollie and Cecily. They are great friends, and it really shows in their banter and camaraderie. I loved how they nickname each other "Holmes" and "Watson." Their friendship with other characters is further cemented in this third book in the series, as the two begin to develop deeper friendships with the rest of their classmates.

It was really interesting to see how Rollie begins to connect with more of the side characters in this book. He has a misunderstanding with his Aunt, and begins to learn more about her past. She keeps so many secrets from him, but ultimately he learns to trust her.

The writing style is excellent, drawing the reader into the story. The plot leaves little foreshadowing clues all over the place for the reader to wonder over until the mystery is revealed. I love the puzzles and codes.

I can't wait to read the last book in this series!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.