Mystery Round-up

Okay, you have to read a mystery book over school break. Let's see, people tell you the only mystery books written are by Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark. Well wake up and smell the coffee. There are some great new books out there just for teens as well as some great classics to fit the bill.


Check it out!
Acceleration - by Graham McNamee

This fast-moving and sometimes disturbing story will keep readers riveted.- Good for older readers looking for nonstop action and a mature read.




The Beekeeper's Apprentice, or on the segregation of the queen - by Laurie R. King

In his retirement, the great detective Sherlock Holmes grooms a young woman to follow in his footsteps. 15-year-old Mary Russell and the elderly beekeeper Holmes are led into a series of adventures which escalate in gravity until Holmes is in peril of his life. At the frightening climax, the maturing Mary proves herself a worthy partner and successor.

I thought all the Mary Russell books were great. Part history, part classic, they're a great read.



Finding Lubchenko - by Michael Simmons

When his father is framed for murder and bioterrorism, high-school junior Evan, using clues from a stolen laptop, travels from Seattle to Paris with two friends to find the real culprit.


South by Southeast - Anthony Horowitz

Fourteen-year-old Nick and his bumbling detective brother Tim Diamond investigate a mystery involving international spies and assassins.

Sort of like James Bond meets the Hardy Boys. Another good series by this author is the Alex Rider mysteries: Point Blank, Scorpia, Skeleton Key.

All of these pack a lot of action into one short paperback. Good for those who hate the thought of having to pick up a book at all outside the classroom.




Hurricane Power - by Sigmund Brouwer


After he moves to Miami, seventeen-year-old David, who is an unusually fast runner, gets invited to join the Hurricanes' track team, but he soon finds himself mixed up in a mystery involving a toy gun, a Cuban American boy, and the gang called the Black Roses.

Sports and a mystery - hey why is this one still on the shelf?

Okay, get the idea?
Here's a few others to try:










I Know What You Did Last Summer - by Lois Duncan (classic fare)
In the Middle of the Night - by Robert Cormier
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found - by Sara Nickerson
The House on the Gulf - by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Man in the Woods - by Rosemary Wells
Minerva Clark Gets a Clue - by Karen Karbo
Never Trust Dead Man- by Vivian Vande Velde
The Name of the Game was Murder - by Joan Lowery Nixon
Of Heroes and Villians - by Mark Delaney
The Ruby in the Smoke - by Philip Pullman
Public Enemy Number Two - by Anthony Horowitz
Tightrope - by Gillian Cross
The Vanishing Chip - by Mark Delaney
Batman: the Ultimate Evil - by Andrew Vachss

New Year, New Books

It's a new year, well pretty soon, and we have a lot of new books at the Amherst Public Library. I was trying to think of a new way to let you know about some of these great books and decided to hit the Internet and try my hand at blogging.

Let me know what you think of some of these and as always, send me any ideas you have for new kids or young adult books.


Macaroni Boy - by Katherine Ayers
Published 2004, 187 pages
JF-AYE

Need a historical fiction book for that report that's due Friday? This one might be perfect. In Pittsburgh in 1933, sixth-grader Mike Costa notices a connection between several strange occurrences, but the only way he can find out the truth about what's happening is to be nice to the class bully.



Andy Warhol: Prince of Pop - by Jan Greenberg
Published 2004
193 pages

Did you know Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh? Learn more about this Prince of Pop Art, like what was the deal with Marilyn Monroe, and why Campbell's Soup?










Open Ice - by Pat Hughes
Published 2005

I just finished this book. I had originally given it to a junior high hockey player who needed a book for a language arts report. He never read it - I'm not sure what he did for his report. But needing a quick read one day I opened it up. Well written, the book chronicles Nick Taglio and his experience with the hard-hitting sport of hockey. Forced to quit the game due to a brain injury Nick learns about life off the ice. I did tell that certain student that after reading this book myself I wasn't comfortable giving him a book with as many references to sex, drugs, and rock and roll and that it was a good thing he didn't read it. (Yes, I've studied a bit of reverse psychology myself). Better put this one on reserve.