Noah's Rainy Day by Sarah Brannan

Noah's rainy day is a mystery story that is unlike any that I've read so far. The protagonist is Noah, a boy with severe cerebral palsy. He can't walk, can't talk, can't do much but think. And it's really his attention to detail and his bravery that solves this case.

Backing up a little bit, this mystery concerns a missing child called Max. Despite having a billionaire for his father, he doesn't travel by private jet, he's a five year old that travels alone. And when the minder fails to properly take care of him, he disappears. Officially, it's Noah's aunt, Liv Bergen who gets called in as part of the team handling this case. But it's Noah who finds the kid first.

What I liked about this story was, quite frankly, Noah. He has so many challenges - just trying to make himself understood is a challenge, but he does manage to get his message across. And unlike those lone wolf stories, this book was about working together. Noah's mom had to figure out what he was saying, Liv Bergen played an important role, Beulah (the dog) had a role, there were so many characters working together.

Unfortunately, because this is the fourth book in the series (and I just found out when I read it on Goodreads), because of the many characters, there is also character backstory. That I didn't really get. Mostly, it was the relationship between Liv and her boyfriend and one teammate that left me wondering "what happened?". But if you follow the series, I doubt this will be a problem for you.

All in all, this was a good read. I enjoyed reading about how Noah communicates (he and his sister have a really special bond) and the book was exciting (although the mystery wasn't very mysterious).

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.