Among the most popular kids’ whodunits are B.C. writer Eric Wilson’s Tom and Liz Austen mysteries, which have sold more than a million books. For 25 years, those intrepid amateur-detective siblings have been solving crimes all over Canada, from Toronto’s Casa Loma to the West Edmonton Mall.

The latest book sets 17-year-old Liz Austen in Victoria, where she has come to attend the wedding of her close friend Tiffany Wright. To Liz’s dismay, Tiffany’s fiancé, Paris deMornay, seems to be marrying Tiffany for her family’s fortune. After an unknown Emily Carr masterpiece is stolen from the deMornays’ Gothic-style mansion, it’s obvious to Liz that the thief had inside help. Was it Paris, who has already squandered his inheritance, or his sister Pepper, too eager to get the necessary financing to become a record producer? Or could it be Laura Singlehurst, the ubiquitous family lawyer, in charge of the family trust?

As usual for the series, the plot whips along with many twists and detours, the setting of Victoria is affectionately and knowledgeably drawn, and Liz is likeably down to earth, spunky, and loyal. However, the high society swells that surround Liz, despite Wilson’s attempt to clothe them in contemporary attitudes, seem more of the Agatha Christie generation than of current times. Their dialogue is often a jarring clash of tin-ear slang and stilted exposition.

Because of the weakness of the characterization, which lacks emotional urgency, and the basic plot, there is little more than curiosity to carry readers through.