Check out others' reviews - I liked this far better than, say, Blue Balliett's mysteries & I think the late Dowd was a wonderful writer. I'm going to put on my nitpicky mystery reader's hat now...

************SPOILERS AND PLOT HOLES AHOY*******************

While the writing was lively & compelling, I was really bothered by the way that cousin Salim disappeared into thin air. His whole plan depended being separated from his mother when getting on the Eye (as his mom would surely recognize his friend after he shed the disguise up in the air). But that was a chance decision initiated by his aunt. She was the one who decided that the wait was too long and volunteered to wait at the coffee shop with his mom.

Additionally, I didn't buy that Kat & Ted would forgo their own ride on the Eye. They had the money, and their mothers were expecting a ride of their own once the tickets were bought. The whole point of their outing was to enjoy a ride together, so it seemed out of character for a couple of kids to just let their cousin run off for a ride (despite it being free) and then for them to deny themselves the pleasure of riding too.

If anyone can help me see the light, I'd appreciate it :) While these points are not enough to dissuade me from recommending this book (the rest of the plot is fast-paced and quite clever in spots), it just bugged me as a mystery fan to see the whole plot hang on dubious coincidences.