One False Note by Gordon Korman (39 Clues #2)

The adventure continues in this book, the second of ten books in the 39 Clues series. Korman is such a fantastic writer, I feel that he really didn't give this book his all. I'm not asking for reality here, after all the plot is pretty far-fetched to begin with, but is it necessary to throw in an extra four or five harrowing situations? Would the unsuspecting boat guest really have picked the exact pillow cushion that the kids needed and throw it back at the last second? Would a famous figure really have been delivering a coded message in the famous line that got her killed? The plot would have been adventurous enough without those over the top details. The book was a little thin, so I feel Korman was forcing adventurous situations to add more "meat" to the book when we really needed more story. The characters were much more developed the first time, although it was nice to get to know the kids "au pair" (as they like to call her) this time around. Although it was an enjoyable read, it wasn't as good as the first, and if this series didn't have the cards and online games to go with it, I'm not sure it would last 10 books if they continue like this.