The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart

Synopsis

If you fail, all is lost. Join the Mysterious Benedict Society as Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance embark on a third adventure that threatens to force them apart from their families, their friends, and even one another When an unexplained blackout engulfs Stonetown, the foursome must decipher clues to unravel a nefarious new plot. And this time, their search for answers will bring them closer to danger than ever before. Is this the end of the Mysterious Benedict Society?

I say…

I like Trenton’s works, which are unique and unexpected, fresh and unlike others. Especially this Mysterious Benedict Society which reminds me lots of books that I used to read during my primary level, about junior detectives solving adult’s problem. I missed those Famous Five Series by Enid Blyton, Trio Detective (well known as The Three Investigators), STOP (German’s junior detectives of Sporty, Thomas, Oscar and Petra), or any books of Alfred Hitchcock.  

In my opinion, this third book is not as success as the other two. It had the lowest action compared to the first and the second, which only Kate and his father took the spotlight. Reynie seemed to have other things in his mind (not as sharp as he used to be on previous book). Sticky apparently didn’t have chance to show off his knowledge and Constance, as annoying as she could be, turned out to be the trump card. The story moved quite slowly with repetitive plot (I could predict the flow of the story) even though it still had a surprising ending. I give 2.5 out of 5 for this book.

Grand Mercure Roxy, Singapore

Beside Novotel Clarke Quay, we also like this Grand Mercure Roxy. Set on the Marina Promenade road, Grand Mercure is our option for a more relaxed atmosphere. The hotel room is bigger, with a cozy feel. If you wanted to spend your day just lazing around your room or around the hotel, then this is the perfect choice. We normally have a stroll around East Coast park (10mins walking distance), watching a group of teen in their inline skates, or a family having a picnic.

However, accessibility is a bit difficult, since the closest MRT station is Paya Lebar (about 10mins drive from the hotel). Luckily the hotel provides one way free shuttle to either airport or Paya Lebar station, and if you miss the shuttle, you can ride a bus too (from the opposite site of the hotel). Despite the hassle of transportation, we still love this old but has been renovated hotel. There are lots of foodcourt around the hotel, where you could have your own culinary experience. At night, stroll along the nite market, who knows what you will find there (^ . *)  

Novotel Clarke Quay, Singapore

Clarke Quay, the famous nite spot @Spore. Even with the new-hot-spot of Marina Bay Sands, Clarke Quay has never faded in term of its charm. It still has its own fans who like to dine or simply chat over a beer or two, overlooking the river. The spot is still packed with alfresco cafés or pubs, which make it difficult to get a best seat on the weekend, especially when the clock is closing in to midnite. Not to mention the sight-seeing-boats which cruise along the river, surely add certain allurement. The very same view which makes me back here every time I come to Spore.

My girls posed at Clarke Quay

For accommodation, we always stay @Novotel Clarke Quay. Despite the tiny minimalist yet neat room, who could resists the benefits offered by its location? 5mins walking from MRT Clarke Quay, with Central mall nearby, and if you are lucky, you can get the riverbank view from your hotel room. Simply a splendid view at night (betcha!). Beside, Novotel also has many more in store, Square restaurant that offers breakfast buffet at reasonable price, small yet nicely maintained swimming pool, to name few facilities there. There is a supermarket on the same building as well.

Clarke Quay at night

Nite view from hotel room

For entertainment, we can go to Clarke Quay which normally holds an event during the weekend. I remembered last year, there was a Turkish food festival being held there and this year, we had Tiger’s football challenge. The host’s assistant was asking me whether I would like to participate in the game…WHAT??? You expected somebody who never touched football to kick the ball around few obstacles and make a goal…geez (sorry football fans…no hard feeling). There was Bollywood festival too where all the Indian folks were dancing and singing on the promenade. Surely entertaining!  

Grand Mercure Oriental Ginza, Shenzhen

Grand Mercure Oriental Ginza was the hotel we chose for our stay at Shenzhen. It is located directly in front of MTR Zhu Zi Lin station (Lao Bao/green line), a direct line that we took from Shenzhen entry gate (Lou Hu). The location itself is pretty strategic, with street market at the back (with lots of hawker),  supermarket and KFC nearby (yes…no more chicken rice for the whole day). It only takes 2 to 3stops to reach the local attractions such as Happy Valley, Splendid China, and Window of the world.

The hotel lobby

The hotel was nice and big, compared to other Accor hotels @HK. The breakfast buffet menu offered various options to choose. It has indoor heated pool which I didn’t enjoy much (it’s indoor and basically offers no view, not to mention that we HAD to put on a silly-borrowed-swimming-cap). The room was clean and big, with adequate space for my girls to run and play. We even got a pretty nice river view from the room. It was well equipped and made us feel like at home (so comfy that we did all of our laundry there, by hand + hairdryer + ironing he he he).

Breakfast buffet

Too-plain indoor heated swimming pool

The problem we encountered here mostly due to our inability to speak mandarin (there was only few staffs who can speak a little bit of English). Despite the language barrier, the hotel staffs were all friendly and the concierge was trying his best to assist us during our stay, from providing me a bug repellent (geezzz…the mosquito here must be some sort of mutation) and up to be my translator. I am really grateful for him, who helped me translating some English into mandarin writing. This small effort made me a loyal fan of Accor.

L Hotel Nina Tower, HK

This is my first time staying at such a highrise hotel (our room was on 73^rd floor) which we got the ear-ringing experience whenever we used the lift (felt like taking off or landing). The hotel was big and crowded (extremely crowded) but the customer service (either the reception or luggage service) was awesome. It’s fast and neat. Thumbs up for them (I felt hopeless for a moment when I saw the number of people queued up on the reception desk).

The park beside MTR Tsuen wan west

L hotel can be considered as the new one, located on the new territories of HK (5mins walk from west rail/purple line MTR exit Tsuen Wan West). The interior is modern minimalist with a bit touch of oriental culture here and there. It has 2 towers with a glass bridge connecting them (just like Petronas). I love the swimming pools, a rooftop big pool and a smaller indoor one (too bad, the big one was closed during our stay for maintenance). Not to mention a perfectly laid rooftop sundeck with stunning view of the nearby park and ferry port. The hotel itself is in adjacent to Nina Tower mall, which links toward several other malls. So shopping and stuffing your stomach wont be a problem at all.

View from 73rd floor

The hotel room itself was clean and immaculate, with clear glass separating the bathroom. Well equipped just like other hotels. However, one drawback of the room is that the shower cubicle doesn’t have a split level. So once the shower was being used, the toilet (which is next to the shower) will be flooded phewww…

The indoor pool which looks like a big size aquarium

The nicely arranged sundeck

Yet we still enjoy our stay there   *grinning*