First Clues Review: Stormbreaker 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.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
The Alex Rider Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240611-2 (0142406112)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240611-3 (9780142406113)
Publication Date: February 2006
List Price: $7.99

Review written by Andrew, Age 13, Grade 7. Date of review: April 2009.

Review: At the beginning of Stormbreaker, Alex Rider wakes up to voices from downstairs. They are men who have come to tell him his uncle is dead. All seems to be normal- for a funeral- until a man named Alan Blunt talks with Alex about his future and his uncle’s job. His natural curiosity aroused by Blunt, he is determined to find out how his uncle died. While investigating his office he finds out that Ian Rider was not a banker- he was a spy. Alex is then recruited by M16, the spy agency Ian worked for. In a short while, Alex is sent to investigate Sayle Enterprises, a computer company with seemingly beneficial intentions to the world. While investigating he meets such personalities as Harold Sayle, the eccentric head of the company, Mr. Grin, an aide to Sayle, and Yassen Gregorovich, a Russian assassin who may or may not be connected to Ian Rider’s death.

This story as a whole was enjoyable, comparable to a more kid friendly Hunt for Red October or a James Bond spy thriller. Alex’s personality is very enveloping, and right after you’ve digested it, the rest of the book’s characters are introduced. The scenery is very detailed, containing such locations as a country town, a network of underground tunnels and a giant fish tank. This series is one of my favorites, and the first book is still the best in my mind. If you enjoy action books, this one is for you. If you like thrillers, this one is for you. If you like mysteries, this one is for you. I do recommend a 10+ age for reading this since it does have violence in it.

This book has been made into a movie and won the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award in 2004.

If you are interested in purchasing Stormbreaker 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.

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Mystery Bestsellers for May 15, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending May 15, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Last week's featured bestseller, Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris, made the biggest move this week landing in the second spot behind First Family by David Baldacci. A debut mystery that just missed the cutoff last week edges up a few notches.

The widely praised The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley moves into 12th position this week. It is the summer of 1950—and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that 11-year-old Flavia de Luce calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.” To Flavia the investigation is the stuff of science: full of possibilities, contradictions, and connections. Soon her father, a man raising his three daughters alone, is seized, accused of murder. And in a police cell, during a violent thunderstorm, Colonel de Luce tells his daughter an astounding story—of a schoolboy friendship turned ugly, of a priceless object that vanished in a bizarre and brazen act of thievery, of a Latin teacher who flung himself to his death from the school’s tower thirty years before. Now Flavia is armed with more than enough knowledge to tie two distant deaths together, to examine new suspects, and begin a search that will lead her all the way to the King of England himself. Of this much the girl is sure: her father is innocent of murder—but protecting her and her sisters from something even worse. Mysterious Reviews calls the book a "well paced story, written with Dickensian flair, Sherlockian suspense and tongue-in-cheek fun" adding, "[i]t's a 5-star performance for young and old, and well worth applauding." (MBN note: Read the full text at Review of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.)

On our bestseller page, we've added an icon next to every title that is available for immediate download onto the Amazon Kindle. To learn about this wireless reading device, visit the Amazon Kindle page for more information.

The top four mystery bestsellers this week are shown below:

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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eHarlequin's Free Book Friday: Alpha Wolf by Linda O. Johnston

eHarlequin.com gives you another reason to love Fridays! Buy two or more books this Friday and they'll give you their weekly featured book absolutely free! That's right, every Friday, enjoy a featured free book with the purchase of two or more other titles! (Your free book will automatically be added to your cart.)

This Friday's free book (05/15/2009) is a paranormal suspense novel from Harlequin's Silhouette Nocturne imprint.

Alpha Wolf by Linda O. Johnston
Non-series

When Dr. Melanie Harding comes to rural Maryland to open a veterinarian clinic, she has no intention of buying into the area's absurd werewolf legends. Until she rescues an ordinary dog shot with a silver bullet, and meets his sexy owner, Major Drew Connell.

A founding member of the Alpha Force on a nearby military base, Drew has developed an elixir that helps werewolves control their shape-shifting abilities. Drew has always tried to keep his distance from the civilian population, but Melanie's sweet and gentle nature soon wears down his defenses. With the attacks on people and animals in the area mounting, can their fiery attraction withstand their toughest challenge?

Keep up to date by subscribing to eHarlequin.com's free newsletter that contains the latest information about their series of books as well as informing you about subscriber-only special offers and new products. Click on the banner below to subscribe for free:

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First Clues Review: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer

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 Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
The Enola Holmes Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240933-2 (0142409332)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240933-6 (9780142409336)
Publication Date: November 2007
List Price: $6.99

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

Review: Do you like mysteries and adventures? Then this is the book for you. The title of the story is The Case of the Missing Marquess, by Nancy Springer. It is the first book of the series and the main character is Enola Homes, a 14-year-old girl that will not give up at any point in the story.

In the beginning of the book, Enola and her mom weren’t very close to each other. They loved each other but kept out the other’s business. Suddenly, at Enola’s 14th birthday, her mom went away and didn’t come back to celebrate it. Enola thought she had something important keeping her busy, but when she didn’t come back, she got worried. So, when her brothers, the legendary Sherlock and Mycroft Homes, came to investigate, she runs off in an effort to find her mother. Using the gifts her mom gave her, she finds money and clues leading Enola to her. She disguises herself as a widow and a plain, middle class girl to escape the dangers of London, and stop her brothers from taking her to boarding school. She meets up with another runaway child and they help each other in a getaway from the criminals. Enola’s eyes are opened for the first time about the world around her.

Enola is strong minded and stubborn. She always tried her hardest in a situation. She was faced with many things, but she thought through it and came out on top. And, with her book of ciphers and messages on flower paintings, she would crack codes and hidden messages and find important things her mom left her.

I would recommend this book to children that are between the ages of 7-10. It was a very exciting book but sometimes, like in the beginning, it was slow. Once you read past Chapter 5, it got better. I can’t say it was a middle school level book; it was a little young for me. But it was still exciting and kept you guessing. It was well written, but at some times I got confused and re-read it. It was sequential and pretty easy to follow.

In conclusion, this book is exciting and adventure filled. It tells a story about what a 14-year-old girl in London with its many dangers trying to find her mom. She uses disguises and the money she finds through the ciphers her mom left for her to embark on her perilous journey.

If you are interested in purchasing The Case of the Missing Marquess 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.

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First Clues Review: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer

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 Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
The Enola Holmes Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240933-2 (0142409332)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240933-6 (9780142409336)
Publication Date: November 2007
List Price: $6.99

Review written by Mary, Age 13, Grade 8. Date of review: April 2009.

Review: Are you looking for an easy reader mystery book? The Case of the Missing Marquess is a children’s mystery by Nancy Springer. It is the first of three books in the “Enola Holmes Mystery Series”. This story takes place in England in 1880 about a 14 year old girl named Enola. Enola’s name spelled backwards is Alone, which fits her. Being the mistake and disgrace of the family, Enola was often alone and grew very independent. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal when her mother left one night, but minor clues like her mother’s wardrobe left Enola uneasy.

Following her instinct, Enola informs her brothers, the successful detectives, Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes. The siblings meet in London for a long overdue reunion. After brief conversation, Mycroft claims he has been giving money to their mother. Where did all that money go? Mycroft also insists Enola be sent to boarding school. Enola decides to take the journey to her mother alone.

Much to Enola’s advantage, she finds a hidden message from her mom. Following her mother’s clues, Enola uncovers money left in picture frames. Her mother had left the money Mycroft had sent for Enola. Disguised in her mother’s clothes, Enola takes off on a bike. She receives news that the Marquess of Basilwether had been kidnapped. She escapes to London only to be kidnapped herself. Coincidently, Enola finds herself captive on a boat with the Marquess! What happens to them? Will they escape? Will Enola find her mother?

This mystery was a great and adventure filled story. Written well, you feel as if you are in Enola’s shoes. Her feelings become real and understandable to the reader. This page turner leaves you hanging and on the edge of your seat. I would give The Case of the Missing Marquess a “thumbs up”. I along with many other readers cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.

If you are interested in purchasing The Case of the Missing Marquess 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.

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A&E Announces Upfront Programming Including New and Future Crime Dramas

A&E announced its upfront programming yesterday and crime dramas, both new and potential, are prominent.

In the new category is Cooler Kings in which an ex-Honolulu cop bent on revenge for the death of his girlfriend meets a mysterious crew of detectives called the Cooler Kings, who offer him an unlikely chance at redemption. Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI) is executive producing.

In the potential category are a large number of series including two set in Los Angeles, two set in New York, and one involving the FBI.

The Lead Sheet, developed in part by crime novelist James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia), follows the police work of the LAPD tracking the infamous Hillside Strangler in 1977; and Central Division which follows two female LAPD captains as they run a dangerous downtown division, the only division with women in the top two positions.

Night Falls in which a NYC beat cop survives a near fatal shooting and emerges with an unusual neurological side-effect. The secret he carries, which is triggered by how the darkness alters his brain chemistry, threatens to transform him into a modern day Jekyll and Hyde; and NY's Finest which tracks the new commissioner of a large U.S. city and his personal detail as he injects his own leadership style into the job, turning the city upside down.

The FBI project is untitled and has a unique twist on the procedural crime drama in which the tales of a group of up-and-coming criminals chasing their American dream are told in the first half of the show, while the second half tells the stories of the FBI Task Force charged with tracking them down. Instead of law and order, it's crime and punishment.

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Games of Mystery: Diamon Jones and the Amulet of the World, 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.

Explore the ancient world of Egypt in this mystical adventure game! Help Diamon Jones become the rich and famous hero he wants to be, as you explore the Pharaohs' temples and find amazing treasures. Travel all over the world on your incredible journey to first find the Amulet of the World, and then replace it, when the natural order of the world has been upended. Can you help Diamon Jones save the world?

Also available: Diamon Jones and the Amulet of the World Strategy Guide and a Diamon Jones and the Amulet of the World Game Walkthrough.

Diamon Jones and the Amulet of the World may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. Due to its large size, a demonstration version is not available.

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!

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Mystery Book Review: Snakehead by Peter May

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

Snakehead by Peter May
A Li Yan and Margaret Campbell Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-606-9 (1590586069)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-606-8 (9781590586068)
Publication Date: February 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: A deadly and contagious strain of Spanish Flu, illegal Chinese immigrants crossing the border at Mexico, a former lover that was never forgotten, all of these contribute to the success of Snakehead by Peter May. Snakehead is the second book in the Beijing series.

The story starts with the raising of a sunken submarine in the Arctic, filled with the corpses of men who died from an unexplained, terrible disease. Flash forward to Texas, where we meet Dr. Margaret Campbell, Chief Medical Examiner of Harris County, the third largest in the United States. She is called to investigate the mystifying deaths of 98 Chinese found hidden in the back of a truck trailer. Li Yan, the criminal justice liaison from China, and former lover of Dr. Campbell, is sent to Texas to help oversee the process and prevent further embarrassment for China. He has currently been living the Washington DC area, unbeknownst to Dr. Campbell, for the past year. During the autopsies of the bodies, a peculiar needle mark is found on the corpses. Blood tests eventually determine that each immigrant had been injected with Spanish Flu, a deadly virus that was thought to be eradicated. But who is the snakehead that is smuggling these Chinese into the country? At $60,000 a person, he stands to lose almost $6 million. Why are they being injected with the deadly virus? Is this some part of a terrorist plot? How many other illegal Chinese immigrants have already arrived in this country, carrying the deadly virus? What of Margaret and Li, can they bridge the gap between two cultures and live happily ever after? You will have to read Snakehead to find out.

Snakehead was an exciting, medical mystery that had me captured from the first page. May’s descriptive writing helped me to easily envision the scenes as they unfolded. “A frozen sun shone in the palest of clear blue skies … tiny colored ice particles dancing in clouded breath.” The description of medical forensics was just as thorough. The characters faced real life struggles, making the reader care about what happened to them. Margaret and Li clearly belong together, but can they get around their differences, forget the past, and forge ahead together in the future? The mystery itself was challenging, however, I was able to figure out who the snakehead was, and who engineered the Spanish Flu virus before I finished the novel. But that is what is so enjoyable about reading a mystery novel, being able to solve it before the last page.

This novel earns a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed reading this novel and want to read the first book in this series, and the sequels, to learn more about the relationship between Margaret and Li. If you enjoy medical mysteries with a romantic twist, then Snakehead is the one for you.

Special thanks to Ruth Miller for contributing her review of Snakehead and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — Ruth Miller — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): American pathologist Margaret Campbell finds herself back on home soil, only to be faced by a truck full of dead Chinese and an unavoidable confrontation with her past.

Beijing detective Li Yan, now based at the Chinese embassy in Washington, is dispatched to find out how his fellow countrymen suffocated in a sealed refrigeration unit in southern Texas only to find himself face-to-face with the woman who walked out of China, and his life, to return to the U.S.

Tasked to work together again to find out who is behind the $100 million trade in illegal Chinese immigrants which led to the tragedy in Texas, they discover that the immigrants were unwitting carriers of a deadly cargo.

And still wrestling with the demons of their pasts, Li and Margaret find themselves racing against time to defuse a biological time-bomb that threatens to wipe out not only their future, but that of humankind.

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First Clues Review: Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams

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.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams
The Echo Falls Series

HarperCollins (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-06-073701-8 (0060737018)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-073701-6 (9780060737016)
Publication Date: April 2005
List Price: $16.99

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

Review: Sherlock Holmes has been reborn again in Peter Abrahams’ Down the Rabbit Hole as the freshly thirteen year old Ingrid Levin-Hill solves a thrilling mystery. It turns out that Echo Falls wasn’t an ordinary town, but one filled with secrets, particularly a significant one.

Ingrid happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Deciding to walk to soccer practice, she somehow ended up in the oldest part of town: the Flats. A woman, nicknamed Cracked-Up Katie, invited her into her house and called up a taxi for Ingrid allowing her to get to the soccer fields. Having accidentally leaving her shoes, a pair of red Pumas, behind, Ingrid soon found herself waist deep in the middle of a murder investigation. Along with all this, she was also preparing herself to play the role of Alice in the Echo Fall’s production Alice in Wonderland. Strange things began to occur in the midst of the rehearsals as her director is injured as a piano crashes into her, the changing of the script, and that quiet, mysterious man who seems to have a past experience with stage acting. Why are the police on her tail? What did she do wrong? Maybe it was because of her Pumas …

Being as the first children’s book ever written by Peter Abrahams, I would have to say he has caught the sense of a relatively detailed story easy enough for kids to comprehend. Ingrid Levin-Hill is a likable ordinary girl who didn’t expect herself to be caught up in a mystery, let alone a one filled with twists and turns. An exciting tale of a murder mystery being solved by your typical teenage sleuth will keep you on the edge of your seats as you anticipate what will happen next. You wouldn’t be able to put down this book until you’ve finally solved the mystery, or rather when Ingrid does. Down the Rabbit Hole is indeed an adventure you would be willing to take.

Subject of many reviews, this mystery will interest you when you read it. I give a thumbs-up to this amazing, intense story hoping that you will also find yourself traveling through the exciting world of Down the Rabbit Hole.

If you are interested in purchasing Down the Rabbit Hole 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.

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The Halcyon Company to Adapt Philip K. Dick's Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said

FirstShowing.net is reporting that The Halcyon Company is adapting the Philip K. Dick novel Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. The Halcyon Company acquired the rights to Dick's entire body of work from his estate in 2007 and is free to develop any of his writings.

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, written in 1974, is the story of a celebrity who wakes up after an assassination attempt to find no one has ever heard of him.

Philip K. Dick is generally considered a science fiction writer but many of his novels and short stories have strong mystery or suspense elements. To date, several movies have been made from his work including Blade Runner (based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), The Minority Report, Next (based on the novel The Golden Man), A Scanner Darkly, and Total Recall (based on the novel We Can Remember It For You Wholesale).

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