TRADE SECRET, written by TJ Perkins, is a story about curiosity, adventure, danger and girlfriends.  The third book in the Kim and Kelly Mystery series takes the girls to Egypt where a procession of unusual characters and strange coincidences alert the girls to trouble. All of this happens under the watchful eye of their parents and other adults, who are oblivious to the whole situation. Their adventure introduces them to ancient artifacts, Egyptian tombs, archeological digs, the desert and daily Egyptian Life.

Kim and Kelly are in a serious detective phase in their lives. They are suspicious of everyone and everything. It is not their imagination, something sinister is going on and they are determined to find out what it is. The relationship between the girls is well defined and believable. When a boy, acting as their guide, prefers one girl over the other some jealously is noted.

However, given their strong friendship and mutual fascination for solving mysteries, they quickly forget about him.  TRADE SECRET is a simple story that is easy to follow and a little predictable. There are a few exciting moments and an unexpected twist at the
end of the book. Descriptions of the exotic settings are a little sparse but enough to give the young reader a good picture in their mind. 

Throughout the book, TJ Perkins demonstrates a wonderful use of higher-level vocabulary words, figurative language and sarcasm. Her use of language makes this an excellent read for the 9 to 12-year-old child. Little girls will especially identify with these strong, smart and independent characters.