I bought and read this book almost 10 years ago - it was one of the first books I bought after moving to Australia, and I remember because I couldn't believe I was paying that much money for a book (prices here were astronomically high then - a mass market paperback was 20-25 dollars - where as now ...
The story was interesting and the props fun. I can't say the mystery made any sense, but I couldn't figure out the clues, despite, for once, making the effort. Though I deduced the criminal by rights of narrative casualty. And the book is beautiful. Lots of illustrations, and the props really are we...