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 August 2012, listed in approximate order of reading level, from books for younger readers to books for teens.
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Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries and Other Sneaky Stuff for Super-Sleuths
Megan McDonald
Chock-full of advice for the would-be sleuth and bursting with activities, here is a fun diversion for fans of Judy and for anyone who loves a good mystery. "The Great Class Heist" is just one of the whodunits tackled by Judy Drewdy and agents Dills Pickle (aka Frank), Spuds Houdini (Rocky), and James Madagascar (Stink), who need readers' help in cracking these addition to six solve-it-yourself missions, kids can get in the mood to: Create a detective kit … Sketch suspects … Test powers of observation … Puzzle through ridonkulus logic puzzles … Write super-sneaky codes … And more!
This entertaining reference book is recommended for readers aged 6 to 10.
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The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy
Nikki Loftin
Lorelei is bowled over by Splendid Academy — Principal Trapp encourages the students to run in the hallways, the classrooms are stocked with candy dishes, and the cafeteria serves lavish meals featuring all Lorelei's favorite foods. But the more time she spends at school, the more suspicious she becomes. Why are her classmates growing so chubby? And why do the teachers seem so sinister?
It's up to Lorelei and her new friend Andrew to figure out what secret this supposedly splendid school is hiding. What they discover chills their bones — and might even pick them clean!
This stand-alone supernatural mystery is recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.
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The Case of the Crooked Campaign
Lewis B. Montgomery
The Milo & Jazz Mysteries
Campaign mania hits Westview when Jazz decides to run for school president. But is someone stealing all her best ideas? And how? Milo and Jazz must solve the mystery … before Election Day!
The Milo & Jazz Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.
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Raining Cats and Detectives
Colleen AF Venable
The Guinea Pig Mysteries
It's a dark and stormy afternoon when Sasspants, PI(G), leaves Mr. Venezi's pet shop to live with a new owner. Soon there's a mystery afoot back at the shop: the cat from the bookstore next door has disappeared. All the pet shop animals are putting on their detective hats, but their fluffy-but-faraway guinea pig detective can't help them follow the clues! Can Hamisher the hamster solve this cat-napping without Sasspants? He's going to try his furry best not only to crack the case, but to reunite with his best friend and fellow sleuth too.
The Guinea Pig Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.
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Turkey Trouble on the National Mall
Ron Roy
The Capital Mysteries
Every year, the president pardons one turkey for Thanksgiving. One. But KC and her best friend, Marshall, think one isn't enough! This year, they want to gather lots of turkeys to be spared. The night before the holiday, the turkeys are in a big flock on the National Mall waiting to be set free. The next morning, they're gone! Who would steal 117 Thanksgiving turkeys? KC and Marshall have to ruffle some feathers to find out!
The Capital Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.
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The Case of the Ruined Ram
David Lewman
The Club CSI Cases
The students in Miss Hodges's forensic science class have been given a tough case to crack: The high school's Rocky the Ram mascot costume was stolen and destroyed! The class divides into teams to investigate, and the first team to solve the crime wins extra credit and gets VIP tickets to Rams games for the rest of the year!
Corey, Hannah, and Ben quickly get to work. They discover that a very similar crime happened twenty-five years ago, and back then the rival high school confessed to the vandalism. Is this just a copycat prank? Or could someone else be to blame? Club CSI: is determined to be the first team to uncover the truth!
The Club CSI: Cases are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Till Death Do Us Bark
Kate Klise
When a dog arrives at Spence Mansion, Seymour is overjoyed. His adoptive parents, Ignatius B. Grumply and Olive C. Spence, are less enthusiastic — especially when Secret, the dog, begins barking all night long. Is it possible Secret just misses his old companion, the late Noah Breth, whose children are fighting like cats and dogs over their father's money? Or does Secret have a secret that, in the end, will make the entire town of Ghastly howl with delight?
This spooky novel is recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Kentucky Thriller
Lauren St. John
The Laura Marlin Mysteries
Laura Marlin's two greatest loves in life are detective novels and animals, so she is ecstatic when her uncle agrees to let her keep a horse after they rescue it, crazed with fear, from an overturned horsebox. But he has a condition. Before he will allow her to adopt it they have to find its former owner, just to ensure that it hasn't been stolen. A visit to Newmarket to investigate the thoroughbred's origins leads Laura to the Kentucky Derby in the US and deep into the murky world of race-fixing.
The Laura Marlin Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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The Big Flush
Trina Robbins
The Chicagoland Detective Agency Series
Poor Megan — history's repeating itself. She's been booted from Stepford Prep, and her father is sending her to visit Pine Lake Academy … a boarding school. This could mean the end of the Chicagoland Detective Agency! Raf and Bradley come along to get a sniff at the new school, but when Megan ducks into a restroom marked do not enter and Raf takes a sip from an old fountain, school becomes the least of their problems. Something spooky is knocking around in the pipes, and now it has its hooks in them.
Have Raf and Megan really been taken over by a ghost from a hundred years ago? Can Bradley dig up the mystery that's dogged Pine Lake Academy for a century? What deeply buried dastardly deeds will bubble to the surface?
The Chicagoland Detective Agency Series books are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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The Case of the Piggy Bank Thief
Martha Freeman
The First Kids Mysteries
Although a stolen piggy bank is normally no big deal, this particular bank belongs to seven-year-old Tessa, whose mother is the president of the United States. When her eleven-year-old sister, Cammie, finds out that the piggy also held an old coin their dog, Hooligan, dug up from the White House lawn, the case really gets complicated — and delicate. The coin in question, they realize, is probably the one archaeologists have been trying to uncover and is worth millions! The girls have got to find the culprit and the coin and turn it in or their mother will have a major scandal on her hands.
The First Kids Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Hocus Pocus Hotel
Michael Dahl
Tyler Yu asked Charlie Hitchcock to meet him after school, and Charlie assumed it was for a fight. But when it turns out Ty just needs help solving a magical mystery at the Abracadabra Hotel, an unlikely friendship is formed.
This novel is recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.
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Don't Turn Around
Michelle Gagnon
Sixteen-year-old Noa has been a victim of the system ever since her parents died. Now living off the grid and trusting no one, she uses her computer-hacking skills to stay safely anonymous and alone. But when she wakes up on a table in an empty warehouse with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there, Noa starts to wish she had someone on her side.
Enter Peter Gregory. A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance, Peter needs people with Noa's talents on his team. Especially after a shady corporation called AMRF threatens his life in no uncertain terms.
But what Noa and Peter don't realize is that Noa holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who'd stop at nothing to silence her for good.
This first YA novel by the author of several adult thrillers is 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).
