This is a fun book which contains pretty much what it says on the tin - magic, mystery and a very strange adventure.

Stuart moves with his family to his father's childhood town of Beeton, much against his will. When there, he finds out some things about his family - including the fact that his great-uncle was a magician of the prestidigitation variety. Half by accident, Stuart is set on a journey to discover the lost workshop of his uncle, coming across mysterious clues in a National Treasure type quest.

As will happen, along the way he encounters allies and enemies, and it becomes a race against time and each other to see if Stuart can gather the clues and find the workshop before its lost forever.

I liked the characters, though I found Jeanie, the main villain, a bit overdone. Then again, I found the annoying, bossy, nosy triplets a bit overdone, too, but they grew on me - especially April, as she's the largest part of the story.

I was going to bump it up to 3.5 stars, but I found the ending both a bit rushed and overly convenient. That said, I'm not sure things are as wrapped up as they may seem.

I'll most likely look into the next in the series at some point.