Ulysses Moore #2: The Long-Lost Map by Pierdomenico Baccalario

My name is Rick, and I was so excited yesterday to be invited into Argo Manor, that huge, strange house up by the ocean cliffs. Twenty-four hours later I find myself in ancient Egypt, standing in a dark room full of hundreds of slimy snakes. Jason and I can't get back through the time-traveling door until we solve the riddle clues left by Ulysses Moore. We must find a map hidden in The Room That Isn't There, but everyone says the room and map don't really exist. That doesn't make sense. A young girl named Maruk is helping us, and it's a good thing too. We must search through underground tunnels that lead to thousands and thousands of possible hiding places. We now know we're in a race, because a woman named Oblivia Newton is here too. I first met her on my way to Argo Manor when her car knocked my bike off the road. We need to beat this evil woman to the map. 

The story picked up immediately where the first book ended, and you need to read it first. The speculative fiction aspect of this book was the time travel. Nothing else amazing happened, although there was something different about Jason that hasn't been explained yet. He was able to mentally guide their boat to the time portal, and he used his senses to search in a darkened room. Different from the first book, this one added more danger, as Oblivia and her henchman had more prominent roles in the events. Oblivia bribed and threatened Egyptians to help find the map. Manfred was left in the present day setting and planned an assault on Argo Manor. Jason's twin sister Julia had already returned from Egypt and needed to help with defending the home. You know how most (not all) books have happy endings? Well, this one wasn't exactly like that and ended with the conflicts for the next book in the series. Overall, it was a good mystery but didn't knock my socks off.