Tag Archives: Children’s Mystery

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | May 21, 2024 · 5:00 am

The Neighbors’ Secret Blitz

A Maddie Mystery series, Book 1

Middle Grade Mystery, Children’s Mystery

Date Published: 05/21/2024

Publisher: EverImagine Books (an imprint of Harbor Lane Books, LLC.)

Maddie’s life is a mess. Along with the usual hassles of eighth
grade, her best friend Rachel has gone boy-crazy and seems drawn to a new
crowd. To make matters worse, everyone’s teasing Maddie for
impulsively breaking into her neighbor’s home when her imagination
went wild thinking that she saw a mythical creature called a Yeti
inside.

Then, the new neighbors pull into their driveway and Maddie thinks she sees
a human hand push out the taillight of their car. Other strange events
follow. Are they kidnappers? Spies? Maddie convinces Rachel to help
investigate, hoping that working together will bolster their friendship. But
that looks unlikely after both of them crush on the new neighbors’ son
Alex.

Maddie is in a no-win situation. If she proves the new neighbors are spies,
Alex will hate her. If she finds out they’re not spies and dates Alex,
Rachel will hate her. But Maddie can’t resist solving a mystery and
soon finds herself on a collision course with her best friend, her first
crush, and the dangerous world of espionage. Her entire world – and
her life – is at risk.

About the Author

Since discovering Nancy Drew books as a child, Diana has been a lifelong
mystery fan. She wrote this story to share her passion with tweens and early
teens, to glorify girl power, and to pay tribute to female spies from the
American Revolution. Recent FBI counterintelligence investigation of Russian
spies, who portrayed themselves as typical Americans, known as Operation
Ghost Stories and an American scientist who was arrested for providing
intelligence to China inspired her to write this story. As a former
litigator, she also drew from her experiences defending FBI prosecutorial
targets and witnesses and handling a case involving someone who had led a
double life. She also did research on Agent 355 of the Culper Spy Ring. She
grew up near Cranbury, New Jersey, where her sister now lives. The
Neighbors’ Secret is a finalist in the Connecticut Tessa Awards.

Follow the Publisher on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook –
@harborlanebooks

Purchase Link

Amazon

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Filed under BOOK BLAST

Tagged as Children's Mystery, Diana Sussman, Middle grade mystery, The Neighbors' Secret

by Jennifer Reed/ bookjunkiez | April 4, 2024 · 5:00 am

Hidden Treasure at Little Lake Tour

Children’s Mystery

Date Published: January 29, 2024

Publisher: ‎Mindstir Media

It seemed like it would be another quiet, summer morning of fishing for
11-year old Charlie, her older brother, Finn, and his best friend, Tyler.
Their friendly lakeside town in west Michigan was usually peaceful and a bit
boring during summer vacation for these three mystery-loving middle
schoolers. Little did they know, they were about to stumble upon a thrilling
treasure hunt with tricky clues and a sinister thief who is determined to
beat them each step of the way. Join these three amateur detectives for a
small town Michigan mystery with twists and turns that will keep you
guessing.

EXCERPT

“What kind of a girl name is Charlie, anyways?” said twelve-year-old Tyler with a smug smile on his face. On a lazy summer afternoon, Tyler couldn’t think of anything better to do than pick on his best friend Finn’s younger sister.

Charlie used every bit of her eleven-year-old strength not to respond and completely ignore Tyler’s dig, knowing how disappointed he would be to not get a reaction. She kept working on organizing her tackle box, getting ready to head out fishing with the boys.

Tyler’s brown eyes flashed with irritation, but quickly changed to satisfaction as he blurted out, “I imagine your mom must have known you wouldn’t be much of a lady when she picked the name Charlie!”

Charlie, unable to remain quiet a moment longer, calmly replied, “And your mom must have known you would make quite the lady when she named you, Tyler Francis Welch.”

Tyler’s face turned red as Finn burst out laughing hysterically.

“Why don’t you stop trying to make fun of her, Ty?” Finn said through his laughter. “She is always one step ahead of you, Tyler Francis!”

“Francis was my great-grandfather’s name…it used to be a boy name all the time back then,” Tyler mumbled defensively as he ran his hand through his thick brown hair. “C’mon, let’s go fishing,” said Tyler, giving up on a comeback as he shook his head in defeat and started walking slowly down the drive, carrying his pole and tackle box.

“One of these days I’m gonna tell him your name is really Charlotte,” Finn whispered to Charlie with a small smile.

Charlie’s eyes got huge and then narrowed to slits as she glared at her older brother. “You wouldn’t dare!” Charlie whispered with as much threat as she could muster.

Finn strode off, laughing good-naturedly as he swung his pole and tackle box, following Tyler down the drive. He was easy-going and liked to laugh, especially when his best friend and little sister sparred.

Charlie really wasn’t like most girls her age. She enjoyed being outdoors, fishing, gardening, and doing many other hobbies that most eleven-year-old girls would find gross or boring. She really did have a skill with words too. Somehow, she always had a witty comeback at just the right time. Tyler would never admit it to her, but he admired her ability to brush off his insults and easily put him in his place.

About the Author