Suzy's Secret Snoop Society

Manhattan's Upper West Side and other noted N.Y. locales are the most vivid aspects of this only middlingly successful mystery. Preteen Suzy, a recent arrival from Connecticut, conspires with her neighbor Jesse to form a ``Snoop Society'' and shadow their older siblings Sarabeth and Calvin--who are now dating. In a convoluted story line that features trips to Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the girls become involved in a dangerous horsenapping plot. Unfortunately the characterizations are so thin that Anderson's audience may easily mix up her cast members. Aficionados of New York settings would do better with Sheila Greenwald's Rosy Cole series, although readers looking for a break from teenage series novels will find this a cut above Nancy Drew. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)