Mary Anne and the Silent Witness is the 24th book in The Baby-Sitters Club Mystery series.
Back Cover Summary[]
Luke Martinez, one of the BSC's newest charges, acts like he doesn't trust his sitters. He's definitely hiding something from them, and he seems afraid to let anyone discover his secret. But Mary Anne and the BSC plan to do just that. They think Luke's secret holds the answer to a mysterious fire at his house...and information that could help stop a mean developer from taking over Stoneybrook. Can they win Luke's trust before it's too late?
Summary[]
Characters in this book[]
Mary Anne's Family
- Mary Anne Spier
- Richard Spier
- Sharon Spier
- Dawn Schafer (mentioned)
BSC Members
- Kristy Thomas
- Claudia Kishi
- Stacey McGill
- Jessi Ramsey
- Mallory Pike
- Abby Stevenson
- Shannon Kilbourne
- Logan Bruno
Kids
- Luke and Amalia Martinez
- Tiffany Spencer - girl who wrote to the Stoneybrook News
- Stieg Retlin
Preteens
Teenagers
- Cary Retlin
- Allie Newbern - student at SDS and former baby-sitter
- Beau Robbins
Adults
- Mr. and Mrs. Martinez
- Berta Frank - women who wrote a letter to the editor
- Jane Kellogg - president of the Stoneybrook Historical Society
- Reginald Fowler
- Mr. Fontecchio - Martinez's neighbor
- Officer Cleary and Officer Pelkey
- Mrs. Braddock (mentioned)
Places in this book[]
- Schafer/Spier House
- Kishi House
- Martinez House
- Ambrose's Sawmill in Miller's Park
- Stoneybrook Police Station
- Stoneybrook Public Library
- Stoneybrook General Hospital (mentioned)
- Lawrenceville (mentioned)
- Stoneybrook Day School (mentioned)
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Rosebud Café (mentioned)
- Stoneybrook Town Hall
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- The Lion King on page 24
- Polly Pocket reference on page 26
- Mary Anne considered giving the police a fake name "Annette Funicello" a nod the actress with the same name on page 53
- A Power Rangers reference is on page 63
- An Oscar award on page 33.
- Peter Rabbit and the Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle on page 67.
- Cookie Monster on page 83.
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- There's a call back to Mary Anne Breaks the Rules on page 124 and 125.
- On page 8, when Sharon says that the historical society raised money to fix the sawmill, some money raised was from Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic.
- On page 115, Mary Anne narrates that Claudia went into the paint store to follow up on a lead in another mystery, which was in Claudia and the Clue in the Photograph.
Inconsistencies
Trivia[]
- Mary Anne says she and her dad are "mostly vegetarian" now and she doesn't miss red meat that much.
- Stoneybrook was described as an old fashioned small town when Mary Anne was younger and it's starting to get built up.
- The BSC doesn't have to really advertise anymore because of great word of mouth.
- Kristy barely remembers to call a BSC meeting to order.
- Logan comes to a BSC meeting with Mary Anne.
- This is the first time a BSC member, Mary Anne, gets escorted by the police away from a sitting job.
- Mary Anne has been called both mom and Kristy by the charges before.
- Jessi wears beads in her braids, which is mentioned on page 69.
- Dawn calls in this book.
- Mr. and Mrs. Martinez are the first teachers from Stoneybrook High School to be shown in the series.
- Jobs lined up but not seen include: Claudia for the Braddocks.
- Richard has a book called Who's Who in Southern Connecticut which is a directory about people who are in business, politics or law. It has Richard and Watson listed. This book is also mentioned in Baby-sitters Beware.
- Dawn has a bike stored in the barn so she has one when she comes back.
- This is one of the few mysteries Shannon is involved in.