First Clues: Mysteries for Kids, your source for information on over 100 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; Sleuths in Training, ages 10 to 12; and Apprentice Sleuths, ages 13 and older), is pleased to announce a selection of new mystery, suspense and thriller books (including series books) scheduled for publication during May 2010. The titles are listed from early readers to young adults.
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The Speedy Car Mystery
David A. Adler
A Young Cam Jansen Mystery
At her school’s Green Fair, Cam and her friends are learning how to keep the earth green. Everyone is having fun at the exhibits—until a student’s remotecontrolled car goes missing! Was it stolen? It’s up to Cam and her amazing memory to find Speedy.
The 16th mystery in this Level 2 series for young readers.
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Framed!
Jodie Mellor
A Mystery Pups Mystery
The Puppy Club are back in Sleuth City—there's been a major theft from the biggest private art collection in the city. Surrounded by high walls and swarming with guard dogs, the girls can't work out how the thieves did it. But the Mystery Pups' super skills are soon at work, and when they find a mysterious parcel in the attic, the girls are curious. Could it be that the multi-million dollar painting hasn't been stolen after all?
The second mystery in this series for young readers.
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The Treasure of Dead Man's Lane
Simon Cheshire
A Saxby Smart, Private Detective Mystery
Put on your detective hat ... Take our your magnifying glass. The Saxby series lets readers solve the case!
Using wit, logic, and the help of his friends, young detective Saxby Smart is back to work, recovering a valuable comic book, searching for hidden treasure, and keeping intruders out of the neighborhood. Saxby records the facts for three new cases in his notebook, laying out all the clues readers need to solve the mysteries on their own.
The second casebook in this series for readers aged 7 to 9.
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The Case of the Gypsy Goobye
Nancy Springer
An Enola Holmes Mystery
As Enola searches for the missing Lady Blanchefleur del Campo, she discovers that her brother Sherlock is just as diligently searching for Enola herself—and this time he really needs to catch her! He is in possession of a most peculiar package, a message from their long-lost mother that only Enola can decipher. Sherlock, along with their brother Mycroft, must follow Enola into the reeking tunnels of London’s dark underbelly as they solve a triple mystery: What has happened to their mother? And to Lady Blanchefleur? And what does either have to do with Mycroft, who holds Enola’s future in his ever-so-proper hands?
The 6th mystery in this series for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
John Grisham
Non-series
In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom.
But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.
The stakes are high, but Theo won’t stop until justice is served.
The first young adult novel from this best-selling author of legal thrillers, which may also be the start of a new series.
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I So Don't Do Makeup
Barrie Summy
A Sherry Holmes Baldwin Mystery
What's better than a sleepover? A sleepover with makeovers! Sherry and her friends have an awesome time with eye shadow, glitter, and more hair products than a salon. But when the girls wake up the next morning with serious skin issues, Sherry is freaked. Someone must have tampered with her makeup!
It turns out that the mall's cosmetics kiosk has had lots of products returned by upset customers. Sherry is determined to get to the bottom of things. After all, she's a bit of a crime-solving celebrity (well, at least in the spirit world). Ghost academies around the world are impressed by Sherry's and her ghost mom's skills.
And if anyone can solve a mystery involving mascara, it's Sherry Holmes Baldwin.
The third mystery in this series for tween sleuths.
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Storm Warning
Linda Sue Park
The 39 Clues
Throughout the hunt for the 39 Clues, Amy and Dan have encountered some of the darkest aspects of history ... and had to deal with the role their family played. But are they ready for the truth?
In this thrilling ninth installment, Amy and Dan hit the high seas as they follow the trail of some infamous ancestors to track down a long lost treasure. However, the real prize isn’t hidden in a chest. It's the discovery of the Madrigals' most dangerous secret and, even more shockingly, the true identity of the mysterious man in black.
For readers aged 10 to 12.
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The Third Pig Detective Agency
Bob Burke
Non-series
Harry Pigg, the only surviving brother from the Big Bad Wolf attacks, has set up business as a private detective in Grimmtown -- only things aren't going too well. Down on his luck, with bills to pay and no clients in sight, the outlook is poor. But then in walks local businessman Aladdin who needs someone to help him track down an old lamp. What follows is far from an open-and-shut case.
Funny, thrilling, and always entertaining, Harry Pigg is an old breed of hero for a new generation. Although written for older children, Harry Pigg will appeal to grown ups as well with plenty of in-jokes for all ages.
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Bailey's Peoria Problem
Linda Carlblom
The Camp Club Girls Adventures
What can be tamer than spending time with a bunch of sheep? When Bailey and Alexis visit a cousin’s sheep ranch, they expect a low-key, relaxing hiatus from every day life. Instead, they’re thrust into the throes of a missing millionaire, code-infested animals, and hapless cries for help. It’s "shear" adventure as the Camp Club Girls furrow into the fields and plow the plot on these prairies!
This 5th book in the series is for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Kate's Philadelphia Frenzy
Janice Hanna
The Camp Club Girls Adventures
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words ...” can destroy your life! That’s what Kate learns when her friend, Andrew, faces the fears of his life as a smear campaign threatens to destroy his dad, a star player for the Philadelphia Phillies. Kate, Sydney, and the other Camp Club Girls cry "foul"! They’re determined to find the base of the problem and call a save!
This 6th book in the series is for readers aged 10 to 12.
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The Inside Story
Michael Buckley
A Sisters Grimm Mystery
After the shocking ending of The Everafter War, this book picks up with Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck stuck in the Book of Everafter, where all the fairy tales are stored and enchanted characters can change their destinies. The girls (and Puck) must chase the Master through a series of stories, where they’re willing to change what they need in order to save their baby brother. Soon, however, they are confronted by the Editor—the book’s guardian—who, along with an army of tiny monsters known as Revisers, threatens the children with dire consequences if they don’t stick to the stories. As they chase their quarry and dodge the Revisers, they meet Alice, Mowgli, Jack the Giant Killer, Hansel and Gretel, the Headless Horseman, and more. But will they find their brother in time?
The eighth enchanting novel in this series for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Twenty Gold Falcons
Amy Gordon
Non-series
Aiden hates moving to the city with her mother after her father dies unexpectedly. She mourns her father, misses the farm, and doesn't fit in at her snooty private school. But then she hears about the stash of valuable coins called gold falcons hidden in the Ingle Building. Her search for it unleashes a remarkable chain of events and brings her in touch with unforgettable characters, including smart-aleck elevator operators, an eccentric millionaire, and a mouse that appears to appreciate opera.
This stand-alone novel is recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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The Summer Camp Shakedown
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
A Lunch Lady Graphic Mystery Novel
Lunch Lady and the Breakfast Bunch kids are looking forward to a relaxing summer vacation with no funny business. What evils could befall them at summer camp?
Of course, there is the legendary swamp monster. Stories say he haunts the camp at night. But that's just a legend. Or is it?
Once again, Dee, Hector, and Terrence must help Lunch Lady prevail against a secret enemy!
The fourth graphic novel in this very funny series for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Conspiracy 365: May
Gabrielle Lord
A Conspiracy 365 Thriller
Don't blink. Don't forget to breathe. On New Year's Eve Cal is chased down the street by a staggering, sick man with a deadly warning ... They killed your father. They'll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Hurled into a life on the run, the 15-year-old fugitive is isolated and alone. Hunted by the law and ruthless criminals, Cal must somehow uncover the truth about his father's mysterious death and a history-changing secret. Who can he turn to, who can he trust, when the whole world seems to want him dead? The clock is ticking. Any second could be his last.
The 5th book in this series of thrillers for readers aged 13 and older.
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Bullet Point
Peter Abrahams
Non-series
Wyatt never really thought much about his dad—a hardened criminal, a lifer in a prison somewhere on the other side of the state. But then the economy had to go and tank, and the community had to go and cut the baseball program from Wyatt's high school. And then the coach had to go and show Wyatt a photograph of his dad at sixteen, looking very much like Wyatt himself.
Through a series of unfortunate—or perhaps they were fortunate—events, Wyatt meets a crazy-hot girl named Greer with a criminal dad of her own. A criminal dad who is, in fact, in jail with Wyatt's own criminal dad. Greer arranges a meeting, and Wyatt's dad is nothing like the guy he's imagined—he's suave, and smart, and funny, and cool, and—Wyatt's pretty sure—innocent. So Wyatt decides to help him out. A decision that may possibly be the worst he's ever made in his life.
A stand-alone thriller for teens.
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The Secret Fiend
Shane Peacock
A Boy Sherlock Holmes Mystery
It is 1868, the week that Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister of the Empire. Sherlock's beautiful but poor admirer, Beatrice, the hatter's daughter, appears at the door late at night. She is terrified, claiming that she and her friend have just been attacked by the Spring Heeled Jack on Westminster Bridge and the fiend has made off with her friend. At first Sherlock thinks Beatrice simply wants his attention, and he is reluctant to go back to detective work. He also believes that the Jack everyone fears is a fictional figure. But soon he is suspicious of various individuals, several of them close friends.
The fourth mystery in this young adult series.
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Homicide Related
Norah McClintock
Non-series
Ryan Dooley continues to struggle against circumstances that would defeat most teenagers, let alone kids who have been in serious trouble with the law. Dooley (as he prefers to be known) was involved in a break and enter a few years ago, served his time, and is now living with his hard-nosed uncle, a former cop determined that the boy will find a way to lead a blameless and useful life from henceforth. But there are threads that still link Dooley to his former life of aimless criminality, and one of them – with the affable Jeffie, a sometime drug dealer and one-time buddy – threatens to bring him down, especially when Jeffie turns up dead, while still owing money to Dooley.
This novel for young adults was recently nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award in the Best Juvenile category.
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The Deadly Sister
Eliot Schrefer
Non-series
Abby Goodwin is sure her sister Maya isn't a murderer. But her parents don't agree. Her friends don't agree. And the cops definitely don't agree. Maya is a drop-out, a stoner, a girl who's obsessed with her tutor, Jefferson Andrews ... until he ends up dead. Maya runs away, and leaves Abby following the trail of clues. Each piece of evidence points to Maya, but it also appears that Jefferson had secrets of his own. And enemies. Like his brother, who Abby becomes involved with ... until he falls under suspicion.
Is Abby getting closer to finding the true murderer? Or is someone leading her down a twisted false path?
A thriller for older readers.
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