The 44 Rules of Amateur Sleuthing

By: Jamie Nash

Narrated by: Andrew G. Raymond

Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Twelve-year-old Mandrake Mandrake is the world's greatest detective. Nobody cares.

The cops take credit for all the mysteries he solves, his grandmother is more interested in his "suspect" Algebra grades, and he lives in the shadow of his parents - the most feared super-villains in the history of super-villainry!

But respect is on the upswing when an all-star team of gumshoes enlists Mandrake to help crack an impossible case - how did Mandrake's dastardly father escape from an inescapable super-prison? And what evil scheme is he hatching now?

Mandrake has never met his infamous dad. In fact, he's spent his entire life trying to distance himself from his father's dark legacy.

But when the other master detectives are captured inside the super-prison and all of its criminal occupants are unleashed on the city, Mandrake must save the day by doing the very thing he fears most - trying to understand the twisted brain of the evil mastermind father who ruined his life.

©2018 Jamie Nash (P)2019 Jamie Nash

Wonderful-kid appropriate

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author and I would listen to another. I think it is a great kids mystery. Each chapter starts with a rule of sleuthing- from 1 up to 44. Then the chapter relates to the rule. This book ends with a definite lead into the next book.

This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Andrew G Raymond ) and I would listen to another. He did well reading this book. His character voices were all different and he brought a personality to each one. I liked the kids voices. It was an enjoyable listen.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing. There is the occasional sound effect which was not too distracting. It was actually done well enough. I generally don’t like sound effects.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Middle School Noir with Humor to Spare

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.


Jamie Nash immediately hits the tone of a middle school student who is the world's greatest detective - if only he could get some of the credit! He plays with detective tropes, deals with bullies and seeks to solve puzzles - not just in solving crimes but in learning important clues about his parents - renowned super villains.


The story is fast paced with plenty of twists and turns. There is humor throughout and I enjoyed spending time with the characters. There was a bit of gross out humor which I could have done without,

The narrator was top notch. He also nailed the noir theme as well as various voices and accents. There were also sound effects throughout the text which helped bring the story to life without being distracting.

I would gladly read future cases. Anyone middle school age or up could enjoy this story.

Mystery, Awesomeness & Adventure for All Ages

The Narration was first class and even has sound effects added that fit the story perfectly! It grabs your attention and keeps you hooked through the end. I had my 9 year old listen to this book too and one of his favorite rules is "Never blame the butler." This is a clever story and is fun for all ages.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Winner with my son and I

As with a lot of these books for children, I test them on my car rides with my son. He is 12 yrs old. He is also very annoyed when there is something he considers 'sucky' when we are listening to a book.

He thought he would not like it at first. It was a little young for him but we both enjoyed it. The book kept us both engaged and even had some humorous parts.

We both loved the narrator. The voices were not weird and the cadence was great.

Good listen for pre-teens.

I was given this book to review for free for my unbiased review. I am glad I listened. to it as it is hard to find books that my son will actually listen to.

Adventure, humor, mystery...PERFECT

Author Jamie Nash creates a wonderful adventure. Although the main audience may be middle schoolers, ANYONE can fully enjoy this adventure. Mandrake learns the importance of working with and trusting others.

As stated in the title of this review, this story has adventure, humor and mystery. Narrator Andrew G Raymond's performance is fabulous and makes this audiobook production very enjoyable. He easily handled the 12+ characters. I'm not always a fan of sound effects, but this production was done so well, it didn't take away from this production. Bravo!

I look forward to more from both author and narrator.

Mature Content: NONE (no sex, language or violence)

I received a free copy of this audiobook via Audiobook Boom. My review is voluntarily offered. Thank you.

Coming Soon to Nickelodeon Cartoons?

•audiobook•

Imagine a mash up of Spy Kids, Agent Cody Banks, and a juvenile version of The Breakfast Club....

Absolutely, hands down, if you listen to this book, it sounds EXACTLY like a Nickelodeon cartoon. (At the end of the book, it’s revealed this author does write for Nick cartoons.)

Catching on this, the main character almost sounds like the kid from fairly godmother. Or whatever that one is.

Subtle sound effects add humour to the listen.

It was fun and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait to share it with my granddaughters 😊.

Another edit could work. There was one part when Mandrake Mandrake Mandrake got to school at noon and there was mention of that day’s lunch - which he missed.

The characters were all lively and appropriately acted their age. Our MC was mean when he back talked his grandma, but he showed remorse.

Andrew G Raymond added a variety of voices and was priceless.

Highly recommended for family fun!

I was fortunately given this free review copy audiobook at my request (okay, I begged) and have voluntarily and ecstatically left this review.

A fun listen for kids and families

The 44 Rules for Amateur Sleuthing is funny, surprising and action-packed. Kids will love the humor and the quick pace as they follow Mandrake Mandrake on his quest to prove he's not a villain like his father. Grown up mystery fans will enjoy the many references to famous fictional detectives and their worlds. Narrator Andrew G. Raymond gives a great performance, enhanced by sound effects that bring the story to life. Plenty of plot twists will keep readers guessing until the end. It seems likely that this is a the first book in a possible series. I'll be watching for a sequel. The 44 Rules for Amateur Sleuthing would be excellent for a family road trip. Adults and kids will both be entertained.

Not Just For Kids

Loved it. This author is special and gets better with each book. BUNK is already a classic.

Great book

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

My kids loved this book. They listened to the whole thing and also listened to it once more.