Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano


Book Description

A smart and charming middle-grade mystery series starring young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, inspired by the imagined life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. Aggie Morton lives in a small town on the coast of England in 1902. Adventurous and imaginative but deeply shy, Aggie hasn't got much to do since the death of her beloved father . . . until the fateful day when she crosses paths with twelve-year-old Belgian immigrant Hector Perot and discovers a dead body on the floor of the Mermaid Dance Room! As the number of suspects grows and the murder threatens to tear the town apart, Aggie and her new friend will need every tool at their disposal -- including their insatiable curiosity, deductive skills and not a little help from their friends -- to solve the case before Aggie's beloved dance instructor is charged with a crime Aggie is sure she didn't commit.




Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano


Book Description

A smart and charming middle-grade mystery series starring young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, inspired by the imagined life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of Lemony Snicket and Enola Holmes. Aggie Morton lives in a small town on the coast of England in 1902. Adventurous and imaginative but deeply shy, Aggie hasn't got much to do since the death of her beloved father . . . until the fateful day when she crosses paths with twelve-year-old Belgian immigrant Hector Perot and discovers a dead body on the floor of the Mermaid Dance Room! As the number of suspects grows and the murder threatens to tear the town apart, Aggie and her new friend will need every tool at their disposal -- including their insatiable curiosity, deductive skills and not a little help from their friends -- to solve the case before Aggie's beloved dance instructor is charged with a crime Aggie is sure she didn't commit. Filled with mystery, adventure, an unforgettable heroine and several helpings of tea and sweets, The Body Under the Piano is the clever debut of a new series for middle-grade readers and Christie and Poirot fans everywhere, from a Governor General's Award--nominated author of historical fiction for children.




Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: Peril at Owl Park


Book Description

For young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, Christmas becomes a lot more exciting when a dead body is found in this second book in the Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series, inspired by the life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency. Aspiring writer Aggie Morton is looking forward to Christmas. Having just solved a murder and survived her own brush with death inal her small town of Torquay on the coast of England, Aggie can't wait to spend the holidays with her sister Marjorie, the new Lady Greyson of Owl Park, an enormous manor house in the country; Grannie Jane and her fellow sleuth and partner in crime, Hector Perot. Owl Park holds many delights including Aggie's almost cousin Lucy, exciting and glamorous visitors from Ceylon and disguises aplenty in the form of a group of travelling actors, not to mention a secret passageway AND an enormous, cursed emerald. Not even glowering old Lady Greyson (the Senior) can interfere with Aggie's festive cheer. But when Aggie and her friends discover a body instead of presents on Christmas morning, things take a deadly serious turn. With the help of a certain nosy reporter, Aggie and Hector will once again have to put their deductive skills and imaginations to work to find the murderer on the loose. Filled with mystery, adventure, unforgettable characters and several helpings of tea and Christmas pudding, Peril at Owl Park is the second book in a new series for middle-grade readers and Christie and Poirot fans everywhere.




Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Dead Man in the Garden


Book Description

For young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, a spa stay becomes a lot more thrilling when TWO dead bodies are found in this third book in the Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series, inspired by the life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of Enola Holmes. Aspiring writer Aggie Morton is ready to enjoy an invigorating trip to a Yorkshire spa, where her widowed mother can take the waters and recover from a long mourning period. Having solved yet another murder and faced extreme peril with her best friend Hector over Christmas, Aggie’s Morbid Preoccupation is on alert when rumors abound about the spa's recently deceased former patient . . . and then another body appears under mysterious circumstances. Together with Grannie Jane, and often in the company of George, a young patient at the spa, Aggie and Hector take a closer look at the guests and staff of the Wellspring Hotel, and venture into the intriguing world of the local undertaker. Has there been a murder—or even two? As Aggie and Hector ignite their deductive skills, their restful trip takes a sudden, dangerous turn.




How It Happened in Peach Hill


Book Description

Annie's mother has special powers.Annie's mother is a master at drawing out secrets.Annie's mother is the one and only, the irresistible Madam Caterina.Annie and her mother come to Peach Hill, the latest in a string of towns where Mama sets herself up as a spiritual adviser who can put people in contact with the "dearly departed." Fifteen-year-old Annie is Mama's invisible secret weapon—she gathers important information about clients by pretending to be an idiot. After all, people will say anything in front of an idiot.But Annie isn't invisible, she's smart as a whip, and she longs to break out of this role and into a real life with friends and school. Annie may be under Mama's spell—but not for long.




The Pear Affair


Book Description

"First published by Faber & Faber Limited (UK) 2020"--Title page verso.




The Secret of White Stone Gate


Book Description

Emmy and her friends battle the Order of Black Hollow Lane in the exciting sequel to the bestselling mystery series, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Blackthorn Key series. When Lola is framed for a crime she didn't commit, the Order wants Emmy to give up her secrets about her father ... and if she doesn't someone she loves will pay the price. We were best friends. We still betrayed each other. Trust no one. After spending the summer at home, Emmy cannot wait to return to Wellsworth for the new school year and reunite with her best friends, Lola and Jack. Before she leaves Emmy receives a note from her father telling her to hide the remaining relics The Order of Black Hollow Lane are after—and to trust no one. When Lola is framed for a serious crime she didn't commit, Emmy knows that she and her friends are not safe. The Order wants Emmy to give up her father's location... if she doesn't, those she loves will pay the price. Emmy and Jack need to figure out a way to clear Lola's name without bending to the Order's sinister demands. And Emmy needs to figure out who she can trust with her secrets before it's too late. The Black Hollow Lane series is perfect for middle schoolers and 10 year olds who love twisty mysteries with: Boarding schools Secret, sinister societies Clandestine relics Cryptic letters A fantastic group of friends




Deadman's Castle


Book Description

For most of his life, Igor and his family have been on the run. Danger lurks around every corner--or so he's always been told. . . . When Igor was five, his father witnessed a terrible crime--and ever since, his whole family has been hunted by a foreboding figure bent on revenge, known only as the Lizard Man. They've lived in so many places, with so many identities, that Igor can't even remember his real name. But now he's twelve years old, and he longs for a normal life. He wants to go to school. Make friends. Stop worrying about how long it will be before his father hears someone prowling around their new house and uproots everything yet again. He's even starting to wonder--what if the Lizard Man only exists in his father's frightened mind? Slowly, Igor starts bending the rules he's lived by all his life--making friends for the first time, testing the boundaries of where he's allowed to go in town. But soon, he begins noticing strange things around them--is it in his imagination? Or could the Lizard Man be real after all? Iain Lawrence is a winner of Canada's Governor General's Children's Literature Prize and the California Young Reader Medal. In Deadman's Castle, he brings readers a mystery filled with intrigue and moments of heart-stopping danger. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection




What We Hide


Book Description

Teenagers in an English boarding school tell their very different stories. What they hide is who they are, and who they hope to be. Can be described as a literary Gossip Girls set in a Quaker boarding school in 1970s Yorkshire. Or, in terms of format, a sort of A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD for teens. Americans Jenny and her brother Tom are off to England. Tom to university to dodge the Vietnam draft, Jenny to be the new girl at Illington Hall, which the students call Ill Hall. This is Jenny's chance to finally be special and stand out, so when she arrives she tells everybody a lie. But in the small world of Ill Hall, everyone has secrets. Jenny pretends she has a boyfriend. Robbie and Luke pretend they don't. Brenda won't tell what happened with the school doctor. Percy won't tell about his famous dad. Oona lies to everyone. Penelope lies only to herself. Deftly told from multiple points of view in various narrative styles, including letters and movie screenplays, What We Hide ia a provocative, honest, often funny and always intriguing look at secrets.




Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing


Book Description

Nancy Drew meets Harriet the Spy in this action-packed and heartfelt debut middle grade following an overzealous amateur sleuth as she investigates a shocking family secret—and unravels the mystery of her developing feelings for girls. Rule One: Your loyalty is to the case. Amateur detective Pepper Blouse has always held true to this rule, even if it meant pushing people away. But when the results of Pepper’s latest case cost her any hope of the girl she likes returning her feelings, she decides that maybe she should lay low for a while. That is, until her Great Aunt Florence passes away under mysterious circumstances. And even though her dad insists there’s nothing to investigate, Pepper can’t just ignore rule fourteen: Trust your gut. But there’s nothing in the rulebook that could’ve prepared her for the family secrets her investigation uncovers. Maybe it’s time to stop playing by the rules.