The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma is a twisty, funny adventure for 9 year olds about four clever children who are stuck indoors and itching for something to happen.

What happens

This is a later book in the series and carries on from what's gone before, so it's best to start with the first Society book and come to this one after.

For months now, Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance have been living in Mr Benedict's big old house in Stonetown with their families, under guard. They aren't allowed out on their own. They aren't even allowed into town. Lessons happen in odd corners of the house, and there are endless rounds of cards and board games.

The book opens with one of those lessons. The children are locked in two hot rooms for a game called the Prisoner's Dilemma. Stay loyal to your friends, or betray them and get out of a week of washing-up for thirteen people? Constance votes betrayal and recites a rude poem about Reynie until he nearly gives in. Then Kate pops out of the heating duct, and Reynie has a better idea. (Their teacher's face when she unlocks the door is worth the whole chapter.)

That's the fun of these books. The puzzles are real puzzles, and you get to watch Reynie solve them.

But there's a worry underneath. One of the guards, grumpy Mr Bane, is never on duty on the days the grown-ups slip out on their secret errands. Is that really a coincidence? Sticky does the sums in his head and says it can't be.

The friendships are what make it so lovely to read. Kate is all energy and kindness, Sticky comes out of the heating duct grey and dripping but doesn't complain, and Reynie ties Constance's shoe for her even after she's been awful to him. Have you ever realised that the best days are the ones you spent moaning about? Sitting on the back step, Reynie wonders if this might be exactly that.

What to read next

If they'd like another story about children in a big house where not every grown-up can be trusted, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a great pick. Bonnie is waiting for her cousin to arrive when a tall new governess turns up a day early and strikes the maid with a hairbrush on her very first evening.