First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is pleased to announce a selection of new mystery, suspense and thriller books (including series books) scheduled for publication during June 2011, listed in approximate order of reading level, from books for younger readers to books for teens.
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Thea Stilton and the Star Castaways
Thea Stilton
A Geronimo Stilton Special Edition (5th in series)
Thea Stilton is out of this world!
A professor at Mouseford Academy is organizing a trip to outer space, and the Thea Sisters are invited. The mouselings are headed on a fabumouse mission ... to the moon! After much preparation, the mice blast off. But when they arrive at their lunar vacation spot, things start to go wrong, including spaceship wrecks and rebellious robots. Can the Thea Sisters save the day?
Geronimo Stilton books are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.
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The Missing Heir
Tracy Barrett
The Sherlock Files (4th in series)
Xena and Xander have just learned that their shy classmate, Alice, is the heir to a royal throne! Then they discover that their ancestor, Sherlock Holmes, had his suspicions about the kidnapping and return of Alice's grandmother, the princess of Borogovia.
Alice is to be crowned on her thirteenth birthday ... but she goes missing days before the ceremony. Who would kidnap a princess? Where would they hide her in a city where Xena and Xander Holmes — and the police! — are looking for her? And then there’s the biggest mystery of all: Is Alice really the princess?
The Sherlock Files are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Theodore Boone: The Abduction
John Grisham
A Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer Mystery (2nd in series)
When his best friend, April, disappears from her bedroom in the middle of the night, no one, not even Theo Boone -- who knows April better than anyone -- has answers.
As fear ripples through his small hometown and the police hit dead ends, it's up to Theo to use his legal knowledge and investigative skills to chase down the truth and save April.
The Theodore Boone mysteries are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Rue for Repentance
Felicity Pulman
The Janna Mysteries (2nd in series)
After her mother dies and her home is burned to the ground, Janna is forced to flee for her life. She is given shelter at a manor farm, but all is not as it seems. A child goes missing and Janna puts her life on the line to find him, but who can she turn to for help—Edwin, the outlaw who stole from her in the forest; the villain Godric, who has turned against her; or Hugh, the handsome nobleman, who stands to gain everything if the child dies? Janna needs all her courage, wit, and common sense to solve the mystery of the child's disappearance, but time is running out.
The Janna Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Pish Posh
Ellen Potter
Non-series
Super-snobby eleven-year-old Clara Frankofile has all she could possibly want. Her parents are rich, she lives in an apartment with its own roller coaster, and anyone who is anyone in New York City is terrified of her. Each night at her parents' fashionable restaurant, Pish Posh, Clara watches the celebrity diners, deciding who is important enough to stay and who must be banished. But Clara's world turns upside down when she discovers a mystery happening right under her nose. With the help of her new friend -- a brilliant twelve-year-old jewel thief -- Clara begins to look at life differently, and she may just be able to solve this most intriguing case.
This book is recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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The School for the Insanely Gifted
Dan Elish
Non-series
Daphna Whispers is insanely gifted. At age two and a half, she composed her first sonata. At age eight, she completed an opera. And now, at eleven and three-quarters, she is orchestrating a piano rhapsody.
With a résumé like that, it's no wonder she is a student at the prestigious Blatt School for the Insanely Gifted. But as sixth grade draws to a close, Daphna's mind is far from the upcoming "Insanity Cup" competition. She's preoccupied by her mother's disappearance two months ago.
When a mysterious man breaks into Daphna's small New York apartment, Daphna discovers that her mother's disappearance wasn't a random accident. Her mother knew something — and now somebody is after Daphna. What starts out as a simple fact-finding trip to the basement with her friends spirals into an international expedition. And while Daphna hopes to uncover the secret of her mother's disappearance on her global trek, the last thing she expects to uncover is an outrageous secret about the Blatt School.
And one insanely shocking secret about herself.
This book is recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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The Mistaken Masterpiece
Michael D. Beil
The Red Blazer Girls (3rd in series)
Sophie is nose to fist with her arch-rival, Livvy, all while taking care of movie-star Nate Etan's dog, when Father Julian hires the Blazers to help him authenticate a painting. Mayhem and mystery follows as the girls attempt to uncover the truth. Oh, and, uh, Sophie's friend-who-is-not-a-boyfriend, Raf, is back ...
The Red Blazer Girls books are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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The Bones of the Holy
Jennifer Allison
A Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator Mystery (5th in series)
When Gilda Joyce's mother announces her engagement to a man from St. Augustine, Florida, Gilda is appalled. She hasn't even given him the "Joyce Family Application" yet! But as the wedding preparations get under way, Gilda realizes she has much bigger concerns. Why does her soon-to-be stepdad keep calling Mrs. Joyce by his ex-wife's name? And why is Mrs. Joyce acting like she's possessed?
With only a few short days before her mother says "I do," Gilda knows this much for sure: it's going to take every ounce of her sleuthing skill and psychic savvy to solve this one!
The Gilda Joyce mysteries are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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California Schemin'
Carolyn Keene
A Nancy Drew, Girl Detective Mystery
The first book in the Malibu Mayhem Trilogy. No summary available.
Nancy Drew, Girl Detective Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 10 and older.
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Photo Booth
Lewis Helfand
Non-series
He wanted to change the past, but first he would have to alter the future ...
A new deadly drug is about to flood the streets of New York City. The police have no leads on who is producing the drug, or where it is coming from. As far as Praveer Rajani, a reckless Interpol agent, is concerned the only way to prevent countless deaths lies in a handful of mysterious photographs.
Within the photographs, Praveer can see images of places he has never known, and people he has long forgotten. But what are the photographs leading him to? Is Praveer being told that his life is spiraling out of control, and he now has one chance to put things right?
Or are the photographs related to a murder that Praveer is desperate to solve? Perhaps they are showing the love that his brother, Jayendra, let slip away or even the family that his sister, Nisha, wants back?
This graphic novel is recommended for readers aged 13 and older.
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Uncommon Criminals
Ally Carter
A Heist Society Thriller (2nd in series)
Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world.
That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners. There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long — and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous, and that is ... the emerald is cursed.
Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all, she has her best friend — the gorgeous Hale — and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses and realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time. Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.
The thrillers in this series are recommended for readers aged 13 and older.
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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; Sleuths in Training, ages 10 to 12; and Apprentice Sleuths, ages 13 and older).