Review and should you preorder - Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things

The book: Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things
Grade: A-
Why i Picked it up: A fellow Goodreads member mentioned that the NetGalley catalog had an excerpt of a different book that I am eagerly anticipating. The first story featured in the catalog was Ms. Voigt's captivating excerpt of Mister Max.

Why i Finished it:
Each chapter's title's in the eGalley looked interesting and I began to wonder how Max, a 12-year old who has misplaced his parents, would live independently with only his 'Grammie' (grandma) supporting. Soon enough, he is rewarded for locating a missing kid and that begins a career in detecting and not-so-incidentally in fixing his client's lives.
There is also an underlying mystery - where are his parents? Does his father's farewell letter have a second hidden message? When will he be reunited? And when he is, will that be a good thing?

Blurb:

Newbery medalist Cynthia Voigt is back with a rollicking mystery in three acts!

     Max's parents are missing. They are actors, and thus unpredictable, but sailing away, leaving Max with only a cryptic note, is unusual even for them. Did they intend to leave him behind? Have they been kidnapped? 

     Until he can figure it out, Max feels it's safer to keep a low profile. Hiding out is no problem for a child of the theater. Max has played many roles, he can be whoever he needs to be to blend in. But finding a job is tricky, no matter what costume he dons.

     Ironically, it turns out Max has a talent for finding things. He finds a runaway child, a stray dog, a missing heirloom, a lost love. . . . So is he a finder? A detective? No, it's more. Max finds a way to solve people's problems--he engineers better outcomes for them. He becomes Mister Max, Solutioneer.

     Now if only he could find a solution to his own problems . . .

Quote:

"So. They had sailed without him. His heart hit bottom. He had well and truly missed the boat. But what boat headed for what destination? And why had he been lied to about the time?"

Source: NetGalley
If you want a second opinion, here is another reviewer's thoughts
Finally, to help you decide, you can find the excerpt in the Buzz Books 2013: Fall/Winter collection published by NetGalley.