First Clues Review: Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz
The Alex Rider Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240612-0 (0142406120)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240612-0 (9780142406120)
Publication Date: February 2006
List Price: $7.99

Review written by Jason, Age 14, Grade 8. Date of review: April 2009.

Review: Point Blank is one of the many exciting stories in the “Alex Rider” series written by Anthony Horowitz. The book is full of Alex’s ways of solving his problems, and the problems of MI6, British Intelligence.

Alex Rider returns in his second exciting book, Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz. In this book Alex, a 14 year old schoolboy in London, goes back to his double life as an MI6 spy. In this story his mission is to simply find the relationship between two millionaires who suddenly died. It sounded easy to Alex at first, but he was meant for a more particular task. He would be sent to a school for unruly boys high in the French Alps to find his top secret information. That school was the place where these two millionaires’ sons attended, that is all the information MI6 knew. After being transformed to look like an unruly boy by MI6, Alex went to the school Point Blanc to get MI6 top secret information. Dr. Greif, the head of the school, and his assistant, Mrs. Stellenbosch, were obviously two people getting in Alex’s way of snooping around the school and getting his information. He had to live a normal life with the rest of the boys to fit in, but something strange was happening to them. They were turning … good. These were boys who were at the school for a short while and now they turned their lives completely around. Alex knew it would be a race against time to get his information and get out, or he would receive the same fate.

On a personal note, I felt that Point Blank was a good book overall. I liked the action and suspense, but there were a few minor problems. The biggest problem was that a lot of extra life in the school was put in, which wasn’t necessary to the plot, but a good aspect of this was that the author was able to make it flow together. I also liked how the author had shown the true and fake sides of the young MI6 agent, and included the traits from the first Alex Rider book.

Extra information that you may want to know about Anthony Horowitz and his other books is that he has already written 28 books, 7 of which are in the Alex Rider series. His two other main series of books are the “Power of 5” books and “The Diamond Brothers”. He has also written 3 motion pictures one of which was the first book in the Alex Rider series.

If you are interested in purchasing Point Blank from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

Return to Mystery Books News ...

Games of Mystery: Mae Q'West and the Sign of the Stars, New at PlayFirst Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce a new mystery game available from PlayFirst Games. You can find out more about these games from our Mystery Games: PlayFirst Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

Mae Q’West is a widow and single mother of two children. She lost her husband Jack, a fisherman in the Pacific Northwest, to a boating accident of which no remains were ever found. One summer morning, Mae sends her children off to their annual camp trip and plans a relaxing week of antiquing and spa treatments. The same morning over coffee Mae reads her horoscope. The message feels oddly written for her and sends Mae on a mysterious adventure through Washington’s Puget Sound. With help from the stars, Mae soon starts to uncover the truth of Jack’s disappearance.

Mae Q'West and the Sign of the Stars is available to purchase for $9.95 with the PlayPass program. A trial version is available to download for a 60 minutes of play (Windows PC, 77.5 MB).

Other popular games on our download PlayFirst Mystery Games page include the Mystery PI series of casual games, Mystery P.I.: The Vegas Heist and Mystery P.I.: The Lottery Ticket, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet, and Private Eye.

And don't forget to visit Games of Mystery for all kinds of mysterious fun!

Return to Mystery Books News ...

CBS Moves Harper's Island to Saturdays

CBS announced today that starting May 2nd, Harper's Island will be moving to Saturday nights at 9 PM (ET).

CBS attributes the move to strong DVR playback data, with relatively few people actually watching the show on its regular night opting instead to view it later. "This move gives us an opportunity to improve the time period on Thursday while experimenting with more original programming on Saturday, and continuing to serve an audience that is clearly engaged in the ongoing Harper's Island story, " says Kelly Kahl, Sr. VP of Prime Time at CBS.

We think the real reason may be two-fold. The plotline has been weak to date and certainly strains viewer credulity at times. (Is it really believable no one has yet found Uncle Marty on the bridge or the priest hanging outside the church?) And the sheer number of commercials interrupting the show every few minutes makes viewing in real time difficult at best.

We're intrigued with the idea behind Harper's Island but its execution (no pun intended) has been disappointing.

Return to Mystery Books News ...

Mystery Book Review: Lords of Corruption by Kyle Mills

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Lords of Corruption by Kyle Mills. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Lords of Corruption by Kyle Mills
Non-series

Vanguard Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59315-499-2 (1593154992)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59315-499-8 (9781593154998)
Publication Date: March 2009
List Price: $25.95

Review: Kyle Mills explores the relationship between official governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), wealthy donors, organized crime, an impoverished nation on the edge of civil war, and a single naive young man in Lords of Corruption, the author's fifth non-series thriller.

Josh Hagarty is an ex-con with a graduate degree. Unfortunately, potential employers can't see past the ex-con part. Except one. NewAfrica, a NGO that provides assistance to people in need, wants Josh to manage their operation in Africa. Josh doesn't necessarily want the job, but he needs to provide for his family and their offer of employment is extremely attractive. Once Josh lands in Africa, however, he realizes the task is beyond his capabilities. Mostly, he is completely unprepared for the rampant corruption that exists. But when he tries to back out, to quit, he's met with surprising resistance. And when he tries to learn more about his own organization, he puts his life, and those of his family back home, in danger.

Almost by definition, thrillers are supposed to proceed at a rapid pace; most are described as "page-turners". But Lords of Corruption moves at such a glacial speed that it gives readers plenty of time to ponder the gaping plot holes that are at the core of this ill-conceived novel (a thriller it is not).

Probably the most glaring plot problem is why Josh Hagarty is hired in the first place. NewAfrica is a multi-million dollar fraud, raking in cash from government agencies and clueless donors and laundering it through an unnamed country in Africa. Why would its criminal operators risk this cash bonanza by spending a paltry $30,000 a year on a neophyte? It's clear NewAfrica is capable of staging all the photo ops it needs to keep donations flowing in and government agencies funding its operations. What role does Josh play here? Why is it even necessary to hire him? In fact, it isn't, so the whole premise of the book is as fraudulent as as everyone involved in NewAfrica. Some irony there. If Josh had had a legitimate purpose for being in Africa there might be the foundation for a story here.

Still the plot dictates that Josh be in Africa in the midst of all this strive and chaos and corruption, so be it. But he has this miracle satellite phone that has a battery that never runs down, and never needs charging, and even operates underground. He can call anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. But does he ever call for help? No, that would be far too logical.

And that's really the problem with Lords of Corruption. Little makes sense. Josh never seems to have any money or anything of value, yet his Land Rover always has a full tank of gas even after driving hours over rugged terrain. Other characters don't seem to have any problem entering or exiting the country at will, yet Josh is trapped, unable to leave. And so on.

The last quarter of Lords of Corruption actually is a thriller in every sense of the word and is really quite interesting in its own way, but by the time the author deigns to get to this point all credibility in the story, and reader interest therein, has long since been abandoned.

Special thanks to FSB Associates for providing a copy of Lords of Corruption for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing Lords of Corruption from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. Lords of Corruption (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): When Josh Hagarty is recruited by the charitable organization NewAfrica to manage a farming project in an underdeveloped African country, he signs on, figuring that he can put his newly acquired graduate degree in engineering to good use. However, when Josh gets situated in Africa, he finds that NewAfrica may not be the philanthropic charity it purports itself to be.

As Josh delves deeper into his work, secrets begin to unravel, throwing him into a world of violence, turmoil, and political corruption. He soon learns that Gideon, the man responsible for heading the local organization, is not only a relative of the African country’s president, but also a strong-arm thug with a tendency towards aggression and dishonesty. In his hunt for both truth and justice, Josh also discovers that his predecessor may have been murdered to cover up something he had discovered about the project, something that should have remained buried. And why has Gideon uprooted the very people that Josh thought he was supposed to be helping? Is NewAfrica merely a scam?

With the help of Annika Gritdal, a beautiful Scandinavian aid worker, and journalist J.B. Flannary, Josh must fight to uncover the truth behind NewAfrica. In doing so, the trio must struggle to survive by evading those who are trying to prevent them from uncovering a dangerous secret—a secret that might just get them killed.

Return to Mystery Books News ...

First Clues Review: The Stowaway Solution by Gordon Korman

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

The Stowaway Solution by Gordon Korman
The On the Run Series

Scholastic (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-439-65139-5 (0439651395)
ISBN-13: 978-0-439-65139-4 (9780439651394)
Publication Date: October 2005
List Price: $4.99

Review written by Suman, Age 12, Grade 7. Date of review: April 2009.

Review: The Stowaway Solution is the fourth novel in Gordon Korman’s “On the Run” series. Once again, the reader is treated to 15-year-old Aiden and 11-year-old Meg’s narrow escapes and hair-raising adventures as they elude the law in order to assist their parents who have been imprisoned for alleged treason.

This novel centers on the siblings’ escaping from a police-infested L.A. in their attempt to make it to Denver where they believe they will find evidence to support their parents’ innocence. As all airports, train stations and bus stations are being closely monitored, Aiden and Meg hide in a car aboard a transport. They soon find themselves at the port where they stowaway in empty barrels which are loaded onto a freighter bound for Denver. Discovered by the crew, Aiden and Meg manage to escape on a life raft in the middle of a rampant storm. When Aiden is thrown overboard, he escapes brutal waves and frigid waters, and eventually washes ashore. He is taken to the hospital where FBI agent Emmanuel Harris is waiting to place him under arrest. Meanwhile, Meg paddles to safety aboard the raft, fakes an injury to gain access to the hospital, and frees her brother from the long arm of the law. Once again, the brother and sister team are “on the run.”

Korman continues to captivate his audience and keep them on the edge of their seats. Readers barely have time to catch their breath between enthralling action scenes. The plot is lightning-fast and it is easy to understand. Even though the siblings’ actions seem, at times, eccentric, Korman’s obviously well-researched details add credibility to these scenes. As well, thanks to Korman’s creativity, readers are able to think like the characters and feel their own pulses quicken in synchronicity with the fictional characters.

The only disappointment in this novel is the fact that no new evidence regarded to Aiden and Meg’s parents is revealed. Though the individual plot of this novel is excellent, it shows little effort to further elaborate on the grand scheme of the series other than give Aiden time to think about Agent Harris’s motives and wonder if perhaps there is a chance this arch-nemesis may be willing to help them after all. There are no exhilarating clues revealed, thus leaving this reader slightly frustrated.

If you are interested in purchasing The Stowaway Solution from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

Return to Mystery Books News ...

A Special Note about HSMB.com

We are moving our very first registered domain, HSMB.com, to a new server this week. The target date is Thursday, April 30th. There will be a day or two before or after when it will be inaccessible as the name servers are updated and we apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

At this same time, we are retiring all e-mail addresses associated with the HSMB domain. If you have not already updated your address books to our new Omnimystery e-mail addresses, please do so.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books (HSMB) will continue to be the gateway to our family of mystery websites and we're grateful to everyone who visits and explores all we have to offer.

Return to Mystery Books News ...

Mysteries on TV: Kavanagh QC and Mission Impossible, New This Week on DVD

Mysteries on TV, your source for the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD, is profiling one series that has a season DVD being released this week and one that is releasing a number of its episodes on multiple DVDs.

John Thaw starred as Kavanagh Q. C. a superb courtroom drama series that aired over 6 seasons from 1995 to 2001 in the UK. James Kavanagh, a top member of Queen's Counsel, is fiesty and fierce, his relentless mind pursuing the truth with insatiable hunger and rapier-like skill. Often facing unexpected twists in testimony and surprising crucial moments at trial, Kavanagh maintains his reputation as a formidable opponent who will go to any lengths to see justice served.

Ten episodes are being released this week on 3 separate DVDs. Episodes from March 1998 are on the Memento Mori Set (which includes Momento Mori, Care in the Community, and Briefs Trooping Gaily); episodes from April 1998 are on the Bearing Witness Set (which includes Bearing Witness, Innocency of Life, and Dead Reckoning); and episodes from March 1999 are on the Previous Convictions Set (which includes Previous Convictions, The More Loving One, Time of Need, and End Games).

One of our favorite series, Mission: Impossible aired on CBS over 7 seasons from 1966 through 1973. The penultimate season saw the departure of Leonard Nimoy as Paris aand Lesley Ann Warren as Dana Lambert, and the addition of Lynda Day George as Lisa Casey. Having exhausted virtually all foreign enemies as plot devices, for the sixth season Jim and his team focus mainly on targets in the US but outside the reach of conventional law enforcement agencies, as they successfully bring master criminals, corrupt politicians, and syndicate bosses to justice.

The Mission: Impossible: Season Six DVD set of 6 discs contains the 22 episodes that aired from September 1971 through February 1972.

Visit the Mysteries on TV website to discover more television mystery series currently available on DVD.

Return to Mystery Books News ...

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for April 27, 2009

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

This week's letters and mystery clue:

C E I O P R S V W

Gary Lovisi is the author of a hard-boiled crime series featuring this PI (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

   

Return to Mystery Books News ...

Games of Mystery: Real Crimes, The Unicorn Killer, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game from Big Fish Games released today. You can find out more about these games by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

Help rookie FBI Agent Jennifer Lourdes, and veteran detective Alan Michaels catch the infamous Unicorn Killer! Track down the murderer, Ira Einhorn, as you bring him to justice in this exciting hidden object game. Travel all around the globe and explore important crime scenes. Based on a true story, Real Crimes: The Unicorn Killer takes you on the long-running chase and extradition of this dangerous criminal!

Real Crimes: The Unicorn Killer may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. A demonstration version (97.43 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Also available: Real Crimes: The Unicorn Killer Game Walkthrough.

Watch a preview video below:

Other popular games on our download Big Fish Mystery Games page include several Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew games, games in the Mystery Case Files series and in particular the latest, Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, Adventure Chronicles: The Search for Lost Treasure, Syberia and Syberia II, The Serpent of Isis, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey, and Nick Chase: A Detective Story.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

And don't forget to visit Games of Mystery for all kinds of mysterious fun!

Return to Mystery Books News ...

Winners of the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Announced

The 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were awarded last night in a ceremony at the Los Angeles Times building.

In the Mystery / Thriller category, the winner was Envy the Night by Michael Koryta.

Visit LATimes.com for a complete list of winners in all nine categories.

Visit Mystery Book Awards for a complete list of previous winners as well as winners of over 30 other awards recognizing excellence in mystery fiction.

Return to Mystery Books News ...