First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is pleased to announce a selection of new mystery, suspense and thriller books (including series titles) scheduled for publication during September 2013, listed in approximate order of reading level, from books for younger readers to books for teens and young adults.
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The Screaming Staircase
Jonathan Stroud
Lockwood & Co.
Recommended Age Group: 7 to 9.
The plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England. Will Lockwood & Co. survive the Hall''s legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day?
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Treasure Hunters
James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein
Recommended Age Group: 7 to 9.
The Kidd siblings have grown up diving down to shipwrecks and traveling the world, helping their famous parents recover everything from swords to gold doubloons from the bottom of the ocean. But after their parents disappear on the job, the kids are suddenly thrust into the biggest treasure hunt of their lives.
They'll have to work together to defeat dangerous pirates and dodge the hot pursuit of an evil treasure hunting rival, all while following cryptic clues to unravel the mystery of what really happened to their parents — and find out if they're still alive.
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The Mystery at Red Herring Beach
Lucinda Landon
Meg Mackintosh Mysteries
Recommended Age Group: 7 to 9.
Meg Mackintosh is spending an afternoon at Red Herring Beach with her grandfather. After going for a swim, and after several suspicious characters come in and out of the beach area, Meg's grandfather realizes that his gold watch has gone missing. Meg tackles this mystery with her cousin Maxwell as they search for clues and are led off the track by some red herrings, all adding to the mystery. Clues can be found in the illustrations and questions are posed to the reader to help them solve the case with Meg and Max.
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The Secret of the Fairies
Thea Stilton
Geronimo Stilton
Recommended Age Group: 7 to 9.
Thea Stilton and the Thea Sisters are on an expedition to the fantastical Land of Erin. While they are searching for a missing friend, they learn that the land itself is in peril! The mouselets are ready to help.
On their journey, they encounter fairies, pixies, and other magical creatures — some helpful, but some out to trick them! Can the Thea Sisters save the Land of Erin before it's too late?
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The Secrets at the Chocolate Mansion
Leslie Margolis
Maggie Brooklyn Mysteries
Recommended Age Group: 10 to 12.
"Take your cookies elsewhere." That's what the note said in neat, block-like print, attached to a box of Girl Scout Cookies. Someone is out to sabotage the new sweet shop in the neighborhood, and Maggie Brooklyn is on the case. If only she weren't so freaked out herself lately.
Maggie's new dogsitting gig has her and her twin brother Finn hanging out in what they fear may be a real haunted mansion. And it's hard to solve real life mysteries when you think you're seeing ghosts!
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The Book of Lost Things
Cynthia Voigt
Mister Max
Recommended Age Group: 10 to 12.
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 theyintend 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 …
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Once Upon a Thriller
Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew Diaries
Recommended Age Group: 10 to 12.
A rash of crimes in a neighboring town — a blazing fire at a bookstore, a boat that sinks in the harbor, and a valuable dog's dognapping — are eerily similar to the plots from famous mystery writer Lacey O'Brien's popular books. So who's behind the crimes? Could it be Lacey looking for publicity? One of Lacey's superfans? Or maybe it's Paige Samuels, owner of the bookstore that burned.
Nancy, Bess, and George will have to read between the lines as they dig deep into a dangerous mystery.
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Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise
Wendelin Van Draanen
Sammy Keyes
Recommended Age Group: 10 to 12.
Sammy knew that getting to know her new rockstar dad on a cruise would be a little uncomfortable. But when the heiress to a perfume empire disappears from the ship, it turns out everyone's in for a rocky ride.
A classic locked-room whodunnit — Sammy Keyes style.
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The Copycat Caper
John Madormo
Charlie Collier, Snoop for Hire
Recommended Age Group: 10 to 12.
Super-sleuth Charlie Collier is thinking about taking a hiatus from his detective agency to play a private eye in a school play — but when some real robberies stump the police, Charlie realizes that detective work really is his true calling.
He and his sidekicks Henry and Scarlett team up with Charlie's grandma and her old buddy Eugene to set a trap for the robber — one they're sure will catch him. But the trap doesn't work out quite the way they thought it would, leaving Charlie, Henry and Scarlett in grave danger.
This high-stakes adventure is filled to the brim with brainteasers. Charlie can solve them all — can you?
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Cry Woof
Jane B. Mason and Sarah Hines-Stephens
A Dog and His Girl Mystery
Recommended Age Group: 10 to 12.
Dodge and Cassie can't visit the senior center or take a walk without landing in a mystery or two. Something's up with the vitamins some people in town are taking — and something doesn't seem right about an eccentric neighbor's mysterious "fall" that leaves thirteen pets in need of homes. The former K-9 and his girl will leave no ladder unclimbed or rosebush uninvestigated to get to the bottom of the case!
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United We Spy
Ally Carter
Gallagher Girls
Recommended Age Group: 13 and older.
Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to this series, she finds her greatest mission yet.
Cammie and her friends finally know why the terrorist organization called the Circle of Cavan has been hunting her. Now the spy girls and Zach must track down the Circle's elite members to stop them before they implement a master plan that will change Cammie — and her country — forever.
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Dead Is Just a Dream
Marlene Perez
Dead Is …
Recommended Age Group: 13 and older.
The people of Nightshade, California, are dying in their sleep, and fifteen-year-old warrior Jessica Walsh is determined to find the killer … or killers. Justice isn't the only thing on Jessica's mind, however. In fact, some days she's not sure which is worse &mdasph having a creepy clown lurking outside her window or having her rock star boyfriend's hot ex-girlfriend back in town.
Nightshade is crawling with paranormal people like Jessica … and it's possible that the anti-paranormal group the Scourge is back to get rid of them. Or are the disturbing works of a strange painter somehow at the heart of the mystery? Jessica is losing sleep — but she's got to figure it out before the night terrors strike again.
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First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is your source for information on over 200 mystery series for children and young adults, where each series is conveniently listed under four different age categories (New Sleuths, ages 4 to 6; Future Sleuths, ages 7 to 9; Junior Sleuths, ages 10 to 12; and Apprentice Sleuths, ages 13 and older).