Posts Tagged «mystery»
Sunday, September 4th, 2011
by Andrew Lane, 311 pages, Grades 6-9
Maybe you have heard of Sherlock Holmes the grown man who solved impossible crimes with his sidekick Watson, but did you ever wonder what he was like as a teenager?
Death Cloud is the first adventure of the teenage Sherlock. He is not yet officially the mastermind he will become, but you can see his mind already has those keen sensibilities that make him the superior detective he is as an adult.
“‘You came in Father’s carriage,’” the young Sherlock tells his older brother when he sees him.
“‘How on earth did you deduce that, young man?’
Sherlock shrugged. ‘I noticed the parallel creases in your trousers where the upholstery pressed them, … Father’s carriage has a tear in the upholstery that was repaired rather clumsily a few years ago. The impression of that repair is pressed into your trousers…’”
Brilliant deduction! But can he solve the mysterious murders taking people around him in a cloud of death while being pursued by the criminals themselves? Is the teenager up to the task?
Connections: If you like a good mystery you might also enjoy Heist Society, by Ally Carter, or Montmorency: Thief, Liar Gentleman?, by Eleanor Updale.
Click here to see if it’s available for check out.
Tags: adventure, detective, London, mystery, teens
Posted in Library News | Comments Off
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
by Maryrose Wood, 278 pages, Grades 7 and up.
Even Jesamine, who is the daughter of the apothecary and a skilled gardener, is not allowed beyond the locked gate of the poison garden. Jesamine lives with her father, who heals the sick in and around London, in a country house in the mid 1800s.
One day the man in charge of the local home for the insane delivers a mysterious young man he calls Weed to their doorstep. Jesamine’s father agrees to take him in even though he seems dangerous; he might be to blame for curing those in the asylum, and creating an epidemic of insanity in town.
The arrival of Weed reveals things to Jesamine that she has not realized about herself, about her father, and about the nature of poisons. Her life will never be the same.
If you like romance, mystery and fantasy you might also like Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, or Matched by Allie Condie.
Tags: family problems, fantasy, historical fiction, love stories, mystery, teens
Posted in Library News | Comments Off
Friday, May 13th, 2011
by Ally Carter, 287 pages, Grades 6-10
Kat knows a lot about famous works of art, she is an expert when it comes to museums, but she is not a museum curator or an art history major; she is a teenager. Kat was raised surrounded some of the greatest criminal masterminds in history; her mom died when she was young, but her dad and her Uncle Eddie taught her everything she knows, and she knows a lot!
Kat thinks she is taking a break from the family business; she is enrolled in a private boarding school, but then her dad is in trouble and she has to pull a heist herself to save him.
If you liked any of the Oceans movies you’ll enjoy Heist Society; it is Oceans Eleven with teen criminals and a female in charge.
Tags: adventure, crime, families, mystery, suspense, teens
Posted in Library News | Comments Off
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
by Kate Klise 196 pages Grades 6-7
Daralynn’s father, brother and baby sister died in a plane accident, and Daralynn is only alive because she was grounded that day and had been forced to remain behind.
After the tragedy, her mother becomes the hairdresser for the dead at the local mortuary to make ends meet, but it is not easy to recover from such a shattering loss. Daralynn’s mother is not only over-protective of her, but also seems to be angry about everything, and kind to no one.
Even Daralynn’s Aunt Josie, her father’s sister, is often the victim of Mother’s attacks. When Josie starts dating Daralynn’s mother’s competition, things really heat up. But, there is something suspicious about “Uncle Clem,” Josie’s new beaux, and Daralynn’s investigation might just prove to be the thing her family needs to pull them back together.
If you enjoyed Regarding the Fountain by Klise, you won’t be disappointed by this sweet narration. Another great book about family perseverance in the face of tragedy is Mockingbird, by Kathryn Erskine
Tags: families, family problems, identity, mystery, realistic fiction, sad stories
Posted in Library News | Comments Off
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
The Mysterious Howling (Book 1)
by Maryrose Wood
The book begins with Penelope Lumley, a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, on a train headed to her first job. Miss Lumley is a teacher and governess; she is especially excited (and nervous) about this first job at Ashton Place. Her interview with the lady of the house goes quite well and she is hired on the spot, even though they were often interrupted by some mysterious howling from outside. The noise, she is surprised to find out, was being made by the children she has been hired to teach. It turns out the master of the house had found these children while hunting and until now they had literally been raised by wolves. Many would run away from such a daunting task, but Miss Lumley is not only optimistic, she is determined to do a good job for these “three waifs;” their predicaments are often funny, and their story is sweetly told.
The Hidden Gallery (Book 2)
by Maryrose Wood
This sequel is even more exciting than the first book. Miss Lumley suggests that she might take the children, who had been raised by wolves until Miss Lumley arrived, to London to visit Miss Mortimer, her former headmistress from the Swanburne Academy. Lady Constance, who has been terribly bored and out-of-sorts because the house at Ashton Place has still not been completely repaired after the children destroyed it while chasing a squirrel in the previous story, is delighted and decides to move the entire household to London for a spell. A number of suspicious adventures follow, and Miss Lumley and the children narrowly escape danger while trying to unravel the mystery of the children’s condition and other strange goings on about London.
Another difficult-to-put-down sequel is sure to follow.
Tags: families, friendship, humor, mystery
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Monday, February 7th, 2011
by Benedict Carey, 259 pages, Grades 6-8
Until now living in Folsom Adjacent, a trailer park bordering the Folsom Power Plant on a circular island, has been pretty boring. In fact, Diaphanta, a.k.a. Lady Di, and Tamir al-Khwarizmi, a.ka. Tom Jones, had nothing to do but work on trying to pass math and stay out of the way of the bullies until people in their community start to disappear. The Crotona police don’t seem to be doing anything, so when their friend and math tutor vanishes from her trailer leaving behind a clue Lady Di and Tom Jones decide to see if they can solve the puzzle and save their teacher. Di and Tom, and eventually a few other allies, follow a series of math clues through the tunnels under Adjacent and battle adolescent and grown-up bullies trying to save their friend and the dirty little town that is their home.
This book will satisfy fans of Blue Balliett’s Chasing Vermeer, Trenton Lee Stewart’s Mysterious Benedict Society, or anyone who enjoys puzzling out math problems from different points of view.
Tags: bullies, friends, friendship, math_clues, mystery, outsiders, puzzles, suspense, Young Adult
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Monday, January 17th, 2011
Mary Downing Hahn, 182 pages Grades 5-8
Logan is unhappy to have to move to a new city. He knows his family’s new house is a fixer-upper, but he isn’t prepared for the wreck they find or the annoying kid next door. Logan also finds that his parents were hiding the fact that the previous owner died in the house. It turns out that his parents weren’t informed of the whole story… Her murder remains a mystery and it seems that the answer might be found in the creepy, over-grown, abandoned amusement park nearby.
Check out the author’s video trailer - Closed for the Season
Connections: For other recent, creepy tales by the same author, try reading All the Lovely Bad Ones, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, and The Old Willis Place. Other favorite scary, mystery writers include: Lois Duncan, Joan Lowry Nixon and Barbara Brooks Wallace.
Tags: friendship, murders, mystery, neighbors, Virginia
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Monday, November 29th, 2010
by Mark Haddon, 195 pages. Science-Fiction Mystery.
Jimbo’s sister, Becky, tries to scare him into thinking he is about to be kicked out of school, so Jimbo and Charlie bug the teachers’ room with walkie talkies to find out if it could be true. Instead of finding anything out about Jimbo, they catch two of their teachers speaking a strange language, and it isn’t a human language!
The boys are determined to solve the mystery, and when none of their other tactics yield answers, the boys decide to sneak into Mrs. Pearse’s house. This a big mistake; now they know too much. They are sure aliens are after them, but their families think they are crazy, and then Charlie disappears!
What would you do if your best friend might have been abducted by aliens? Go after him, of course. Jimbo and his sister Becky are on their own in the wilds of Scotland trying to save Charlie, and maybe a lot more than that!
For other crazy alien stories try: Nosepickers from Outer Space by Gordon Korman, or The Doom Machine, by Mark Teague
Tags: adventure, aliens, friends, humor, mystery, science fiction
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
By Blue Balliett, 306 pages mystery for Grades 5-8
Zoomy is legally blind, but he can see things if he holds them close up. He loves to read and play games on the computer, and he also loves to investigate and collect things.
He arrived on his grandparents’ front step when he was a newborn baby. They love him and take him in; they know their son, Zoomy’s father, can’t take care of a baby, because he is running wild; an alcoholic who is always in a lot of trouble with the law.
Zoomy’s life is going along just fine until the summer his dad shows up in a stolen truck and dumps a stolen box in their garage. His father’s mysterious appearance is the beginning of Zoomy’s life spiraling out of control. First, his grandparents let him investigate the contents of the stolen box, then his dangerous dad threatens Zoomy while he is alone at the library, then his grandparents are visited by a mysterious stranger, and finally there is a big fire at his grandparents’ shop that doesn’t seem like an accident.
What will happen to Zoomy? Could it all come down to the contents of the stolen box?
If you enjoy this book you might also like: A Dog for Life, by L.S. Matthews, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon, or The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly.
Tags: adventure, coming of age, Darwin, endurance, families, family problems, fathers and sons, friendship, identity, mystery, visually impaired
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Friday, September 24th, 2010
By Michael Scott – p. 375 – Grade 6-9 – fantasy
Michael Scott is a professor of mythology and was inspired by the TRUE story of Nicholas Flamel. He was actually a real person! He was born in Paris on September 28, 1330, and buried 1418, but the tomb is empty! Thus begins the myth, or history, of the alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel, immortal and still alive in today?
The Alchemyst begins in modern day New York City; teenage twins Sophie and Josh have moved there for the summer. The brother works in a bookstore for Nick Flemming (name sound familiar?) and the sister works at a cafe across the street. Right away the bookstore is blown up by mud people and a menacing character named Dr. John Dee. When Dee and his muddy henchmen storm into the bookstore, Josh is watching from a hiding place. Dee grabs Flamel’s wife, Perry, and almost makes off with the most powerful book of magic, but Josh manages to grab a few key pages before he and Mr. Flemming have to escape the explosion. Flamel believes Josh and Sophie might be the twins of the prophecy, so he wants to keep them close in the hopes of finding his precious wife and the stopping Dee from destroying the world as we know it. From the moment the bookstore explodes Josh and Sophie are on a roller coaster adventure, full of magical, mythical creatures and frightening beasts. Sequels The Magician and The Sorceress continue the perilous adventure.
Connections: Other adventure fantasies The Lightning Thief series, by Rick Riordan, Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, The Alchemist’s Cat, by Robin Jarvis
Tags: Add new tag, adventure, brothers and sisters, fantasy, heroes, mystery, mythology, survival, suspense, teenagers, teens
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
by Martin Chatterton p. 212 Grades: 6-8
Farfetched but fun! The Brain does find a leg. It used to belong to Biff Manly, a seventeen-year-old surfer, who has been found dead at the bottom of a quarry. Theophilus Brain, a thirteen-year-old self-described genius and Sherlock Holmes disciple, has figured out that a saltwater crocodile (who thinks he’s a dog) severed the leg and hid it underwater. The crocodile is just the first of list of bizarre-behaving Australian wildlife who show up in this zany science fiction mystery which includes koalas that attack in gangs, possums that steal SUVs, kangaroos that rob supermarkets and whales that toss tourist boats. The Brain enlists Sheldon McGlone as his sidekick, and the two are fast on the trail of the murderer and the secret to what’s making the animals act so strangely.
Connections: Other creepy creature stories include The Cryptid Hunters, The Underneath, and Loch.
Tags: animals, Australia, crime, detectives, geniuses, humor, mystery, science fiction, suspense
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
by Mary Downing Hahn p. 182 Grades 6-8
Just before starting seventh grade, thirteen-year-old Logan moves to a small Virginia town with his parents. The house looks pretty rundown and has been on the market a long time. The real estate agent had neglected to tell Logan’s parents that an old lady was killed in the house–pushed down the stairs–and the crime has never been solved. In fact, the kids in town call it the Murder House. The murderer appears to have been looking in the house for over $1,000,000 that Mrs. Donaldson was suspected of embezzling from the Magic Forest amusement park. The Magic Forest has been “closed for the season,” and it too has fallen into disrepair–entangled in fast growing kudzu. With his neighbor Arthur, Logan sneaks into the Magic Forest to try to find the money and the key to Mrs. Donaldson’s demise. More than the kudzu is creeping around in the amusement park! Dangerous suspects, unsavory characters, and clever heroes make this an exciting mystery.
Connections: Other suspenseful mysteries with middle school sleuths include View from the Cherry Tree and Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts and Someone Was Watching by David Patneaude.
Tags: amusement parks, bullies, crime, friends, friendship, mystery, suspense
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
by Nancy Springer. p. 181 Grades 6-8
Fans of feisty, nonconformist Enola Holmes will enjoy this fourth installment in the Victorian mystery series. Sixteen-year-old Lady Cecily has been kidnapped and is being forced into an arranged marriage. Enola, the fourteen-year-old much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, is trying to locate and rescue the poor girl while avoiding being captured herself by older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft, who do not approve of her independent ways. Disguises, humor, and high jinks abound.
Connections: The Case of the Missing Marquess; The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline are titles in this series by Nancy Springer. Other mystery series with strong female sleuths include: Grace Cavendish by Patricia Finney; Herculeah Jones by Betsy Byars; Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen; and Gilda Joyce by Armstrong. For a more challenging read, try The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King, which introduces fourteen-year-old Mary Russell and another great series based on Sherlock Holmes or read the Arthur Conan Doyle short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes himself.
Tags: detectives, female protagonists, feminists, mystery, Sherlock Holmes, suspense, Victorian England
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Sunday, October 11th, 2009
by Dene Low. p. 196 Grades 5-8
What a funny, frothy farce! Set in Victorian England, this improbable mystery concerns sixteen-year-old Petronella who is about to have her London debut when her guardian Uncle Augustus swallows a giant beetle and develops an insatiable hunger for all insects. The story begins at Petronella’s sixteenth birthday party on her large country estate where her uncle swallows the bug, two of her celebrity guests disappear, and we meet the romantic Lord James Sinclair. Filled with Petronella’s witty observations and banter, lots of slapstick, luscious language,and some romantic possibilities, this books is a delight to read.
Connections: If you enjoy this book, try the short stories and novels by P.G. Wodehouse such as How Right You Are, Jeeves, Carry on, Jeeves, and Leave It to Psmith.
Tags: adventure, girls, guardians, historical fiction, humor, insects, London, melodrama, mystery, orphans, romance, teens, uncles, Victorian England
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
by Siobhan Dowd, p. 323 Grades 5-8
Ted loves the weather, listening to forecasts and tracking changes, but he wasn’t sure that he was going to like having his aunt (called Hurricane Glo by his father) and his cousin come for a visit. When Ted’s cousin, Salim, disappeared from the ferris wheel-like London Eye, Ted initially came up with 8 theories about what could have happened to him, including the more mundane, we missed him getting out, to the outrageous possibilities of a time-warp or Salim spontaneously combusting (Ted’s favorite). Salim’s mother and Ted’s parents are frantic with worry, and don’t listen to Ted’s ideas about where he could have gone. His older sister, Kat, does listen, and together they try to use the available clues (pictures in Salim’s camera and a souvenir photo) to solve the mystery.
Connections: Other books that have characters with Asperger’s syndrome or Autism include: Rules by Cynthia Lord, The Very ordered existence of Merilee Marvelous by Suzanne Crowley, and Al Capone does my shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.
Tags: Asperger's syndrom, brothers and sisters, cousins, first person narrative, London, meteorology, missing children, multicultural, mystery, self-awareness, Siobhan Dowd, urban adventure
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Monday, September 14th, 2009
by Jen Bryant. p. 257 Grades 5-8
It’s summer vacation and what could be better than sneaking out at night to look for buried treasure with your two best friends?! After thirteen-year-old Lyza’s grandfather dies, she finds an envelope in his attic marked ”For Lyza ONLY.” It containis three maps, a key, and a letter with rather crypic directions which lead Lyza, Malcolm and Carolann on an adventure to find pirate William Kidd’s buried treasure. Set in 1968, this novel is told in verse against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the cultural revolution of the sixties.
Connections: The Voyage of the Arctic Tern by Hugh Montgomery is another pirate adventure in verse. For more books on pirates, try Sea Queens : Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen, Piracy & Plunder : a Murderous Business by Milton Meltzer, Piratica by Tanith Lee, Bloody Jack by Carolyn Meyer, Voyage of Plunder by Michele Torrey, and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Tags: adventure, buried treasure, families, mystery, novels in verse, pirates, single-parent families, sixties, summer, suspense, teens, Vietnam War
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
Monday, April 27th, 2009
by Elise Broach, p.292 – Grades 4-8
Marvin (a beetle and the narrator of the story) lives under the sink in the house in NYC where James lives with his mother, step-father and baby brother. Marvin remains hidden with his family until one day he uses ink from James’ new pen and ink set to make the boy a birthday drawing. Their growing friendship and Marvin’s drawing talent lead the two to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and into a mystery around some missing Albrecht Durer drawings.
Connection: The talented bug is remniscent of The Cricket in Times Square, and the mystery surrounding the art brings a couple of books to mind: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Chasing Vermeer. –CRW
Tags: Albrecht Durer, artists, beetles, divorce, Elise Broach, family life, fantasy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, mystery, New York City
Posted in New Book Reviews | Comments Off
