Short summary:

The heroes (and heroines) of this tale are 4 extremely bright orphans who must save the world from Mr. Curtain’s Whisperer machine. The Whisperer makes it possible for Curtain to broadcast messages hidden within TV broadcasts. Mr. Benedict’s group has created a receiver that can partially decode the messages, perplexing phrases like “The missing aren’t missing, they’re only departed” and “all minds keep all thoughts – so like gold- closely guarded”. It’s up to Reynard, Constance, Sticky, and Kate to infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened as undercover spies, find out Curtain’s plans for the Whisperer, and stop them.

This was a quick read and had me turning the pages to find out what would come next. Parents who enjoyed SOUE but were dismayed that all adults in those books (for the most part) were either bumbling or evil will be glad to note that the baddies here are counterbalanced with adults who are noble and intelligent.

My only regret is that, thus far, I’ve not solved the final “mystery” of the book: that of Mr. Benedict’s never revealed first name. I suspect, however, that it is an anagram found within the “letter” he writes at the end of the book…