Category Archives: Mystery

Nightmares!

Series: Nightmares

Author: Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

AR Level: 4.8

Miss Library Lady Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

Nightmares!

Everyone gets them.

They aren’t real.

You always wake up.

Right??

Charlie isn’t so sure.  What he is sure of is his stepmo(m)nster is really a witch and there is a witch who wants to eat him in his nightmares.  Charlie can’t sleep and he can’t tell his friends about his nightmares, they’ll just laugh at him or think he’s going crazy.  So, Charlie keeps it to himself and slowly becomes more paranoid because the witch is going to come for him at any moment.  Finally, she comes, but not for Charlie; she takes his brother Jack to the Netherworld, where your worst nightmares live.  Charlie follows after, but wait…. Charlie isn’t asleep, both his spirit and body have crossed over, this can’t be good.  Now, not only is he living inside his nightmares, but those of his friends as well.  Can Charlie help his friends overcome their nightmares while facing his own fears and saving his little brother?

The Revelation of Louisa May

Author: Michaela MacColl

AR Level: 4.9

Miss Library Lady rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

15 years old

In charge of taking care of her father and sister

Harboring a fugitive slave

Solving a murder

This is the fictional tale of Luisa May Alcott’s life.  Louisa’s father is an intelligent and handy man; the problem, though, is he no longer provides financially for his family.  This financial burden has left Louisa’s mother no choice but to take a job herself, but in the 1840s, jobs for women were hard to come by.  Louisa’s mom takes a 3 month position, but 150 miles away (that was far back then).  It is up to Louisa to take care of her sister Beth (1 of 3 sisters), who is recovering from fever and her father, who she doesn’t get along.  How can she possibly take care of her family while her mom is away?

Just before Louisa’s mom is to leave, George and fugitive slave shows up to the Alcott house, which is a refuge for slaves until they have a home further North to move along to.  Louisa hope this will change her mom’s mind and stay home, but unfortunately their financial need is much greater.  Can Louisa keep George hidden?  Will the slave catcher, Mr. Finch, find George and take him back to his owner?

On her way to visit her father at a friend’s home, Louisa finds a man dead and her father on the ground disoriented.  Did her father really kill a man?  If he didn’t do it, who did?  Finding clues and figuring out who wanted this man dead, Louisa must now try to prove her father didn’t do it.  Will she be able to clear her father’s name?

Will Louisa survive the next 3 months with her mother gone?

All Fall Down

Series: Embassy Row (book 1)

Author: Ally Carter

AR Level: 4.3

Miss Library Lady Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

How would you feel if you think you saw something happen or someone do something but no one believed you?  What would you do if everyone made you feel like you were crazy but you just knew what you remembered actually happened?

Grace is NOT crazy!  Three years ago she witnessed her mom’s death, actually murder.  Grace saw the man with a scar on his cheek, even talked to him, while her mom’s body burned in the fire.  What did Grace see on her mom’s chest?  Was that blood?  A bullet wound?  How could that be though when EVERYONE is telling her, no, it was just an accident?

Now, three years after ‘the accidental’ death of her mother, Grace is living with her grandfather at the US Embassy in Adria.  She used to visit every summer until her mom’s death, but that changed everything!  Through a series of unfortunate events, Grace can not seem to stay out of trouble.  During one of Grace’s misadventures she see’s the man with the scar! Or is it just a man with a scar?  Grace is positive this man is who killed her mom!  So, Grace and her friends set off on a spy adventure to bring justice to her mom’s killer, or so they think.

So many thoughts, memories, and emotions cause Grace to question everything and everyone.  Did she find her mom’s killer?  Was her mom murdered, or was it truly just an accident?

 

The Bullet Catch

Author: Amy Axelrod

AR Level: 4.8

Miss Library Lady Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

Leo is a thief!

What else is he supposed to do in 20th Century New York after the orphanage he lives in burns down?  He has no family, other than 3 other boys whom he befriended while at the orphanage.  3 of the boys are of age to sent off to be apprentices the other would be sent to another orphanage but they don’t want to be split up.  So, what other choice to they have?  Live the life of thieves, picking pockets to make it through each day until they catch a big break.

Leo is fascinated with magic!

When he gets an opportunity to see Harry Houdini be hoisted up while being restrained in a straight jacket and somehow free himself, Leo takes the chance to do his own magic making other men’s wallets disappear.  Leo finds a write up for a newspaper ad, the Great Barzini is looking for a magician’s apprentice.  Maybe now he can get away from his current life and live honestly.  Can Leo get the job even though he doesn’t know magic?

BETRAYAL

LIES

MURDER

Can Leo turn his life around?  Can he run away from his dark past?  Or is the lowly life of thievery all Leo will ever know?

 

Footer Davis Probably is Crazy

Author: Susan Vaught

AR level: 4.9

Miss Library Lady Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

Have you ever thought you were going crazy?

Do you like a good mystery?

Footer Davis does!  After a neighbor is shot, his house and barn burned down and his grandchildren go missing, Footer and her friend Peavine decide to investigate.  What else would an aspiring journalist do? Sit around and let someone else figure out what happened?  I think not!

During the investigation Footer begins seeing things that happened the night of the fire, but she thinks she’s dreaming.  There’s no way someone could have realistic sightings like this if they weren’t there, right?  But she was in bed sleeping, how could she have been at the fire?  What really happened?

The lines between what is real and what isn’t really begin to blur.  Footer begins to think she’s going crazy (or have a brain tumor or something).  Her mom went temporarily crazy and is in a psych ward, so could Footer be like her?

Read what happens throughout Footer’s investigation and how she overcomes crazy, betrayal and grown ups in ” Footer Davis Probably is Crazy,” by Susan Vaught.