Books : Whodunnit (Smallville, Book 4)

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Rating:

- Suspenseful reading, consistent characterization.
This is a very readable novel - both suspenseful and interesting - based on the hit TV series about young Clark Kent and his friends in Smallville, Kansas, before Kent went off to Metropolis and became Superman. In this one two crimes are played out in parallel.

First, Clark and his friends Chloe, Lana, and Pete discover a schoolmate's dead body in a pond on the boy's farm. As they investigate, police turn up the body of the boy's murdered sister. Other grisly discoveries follow, but the father remains missing.

Secondly, Lex Luthor's tycoon father Lionel is kidnapped in Metropolis. Lex has to decide whether to pay a ransom or attempt to rescue his dad, whom he hates anyway, while avoiding FBI authorities he thinks will bungle the investigation.

Both stories were interesting enough to keep me reading straight through, and as the kids investigate the murders, the question is raised whether they're connected to the kidnapping. It all
comes together to a dramatic conclusion.

This one doesn't have much science fiction, but as suspenseful escapism reading it's outstanding. If you're a serious fan of the show, this book will satisfy you like an extra episode between seasons - it's very faithul to the series in characterization, tone, etc. And if you've never seen the series, it's still good reading.

Rating:

- Why Smallville?
I agree with Joshua Koppel's review... there is nothing here to advance the Smallville storyline. This could have been a Hardy Boys mystery. I'm not saying the story itself is bad, I was just terribly disappointed that it was such a generic mystery story and could have been plopped in any series with some character name changes. The only thing special I remember Clark doing was using some X-ray vision a couple of times and bringing Chloe a cup of coffee at superspeed. "City" is a much better read, it is much more Smallville than this book.

Rating:

- Smallville ( Whodunnit )
Smallville Whodunnit Warner Books Inc., 2002
Dean Wesley Smith ISBN: 0-446-61216-2 221 pages, $5.99

"Push a man to the edge, and he might just fall off."
Things are always going awry in Smallville. When Danny Franklin, a friend of Clark, Chloe, and Lana's, is found in the Franklin's pond dead, along side his sister Betty, they immediately use Chloe's "Connections" to secret files to look up some research on what or who killed the entire Franklin family. They have many suspects, but Jed Franklin - the father and only body not found of the Franklin family - is a main suspect for murdering his family on account of the layoffs from Luthor Corp. Meanwhile, Lex's dad has been kidnapped and Lionel's kidnapping and Danny Franklin's death occurred simultaneously! Now Clark, Chloe, Lana, and Pete are on the case to save Lex's dad and find out who really killed the Franklin family. Could Jed Franklin have been upset enough to murder his entire family? Or is that what the real murderers want us to think?

I really enjoyed this book and could barely put it down. It was very intriguing and delightful read. I suggest it to any Superman or Smallville fan; since the book is based on the T.V. series "Smallville" I knew it would be good. The trauma between Lex and his dad and the mystery of Clark Kent that baffles Clark's friends is the perfect balance of drama and suspense that will have you peeking at the next chapter every time.

- 6th Grade Student

Rating:

- best in the series so far
This was the best of the Smallville books that have been released as of Summer 2003. I really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. It's the least repetitive when it comes to the Kent backstory which is a plus since the other books in the series tend to spend too much time explaining the origins of Clark Kent.

If I were to recommend ONE book from the series, this would be the one.

Rating:

- Decent Mystery, But Why Smallville?
Four murders and a kidnaping make up the basis for this mystery set in the world of the television show Smallville.

The mystery was good. Clark and friends discover that a friend and his family have been murdered. Lionel Luthor (Lex's father) has been kidnaped. Two good plots that are handled quite well.

Unfortunately, it reads like a mystery the author could not sell elsewhere so he moved the setting to Smallville. I don't know if this is really true, but there are no real aspects of the show used in the plot. The only advantage to the Smallville setting is that readers already know how unpleasant Lex's father really is so the author does not have to give any detail.

The story ends in a typical fashion with Lex curious as to how Clark managed to be on the scene and say the day yet again.

A good mystery but no real development of the Smallville story line.

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