Search This Blog
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (9)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (2)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (4)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (3)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (2)
- Washington, D.C.* (2)
International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (3)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (2)
- England (22)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (1)
- Russia (1)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Friday, January 26, 2018
MG Mystery Series Opener Fun, Enjoyable
4:45 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
As the daughter of New York City's first female police commissioner, 12-year-old Devlin Quick is hard-wired to sniff out mysteries wherever she goes. When one unexpectedly falls right into her lap, there's no way she can resist launching her own investigation. Even if her mother warns her to leave the sleuthing to the professionals. Policing is in Devlin's blood, so that kind of makes her legit, right? Right enough.
Liza de Lucerna—an exchange student from Argentina who's staying with the Quicks for the summer—is sure she witnessed a crime. While studying in the New York Public Library, she saw a man cut a page out of a valuable old book. Although she and Devlin both tried to chase him down, the girls lost their suspect. Now they have only a vague description of a possible criminal and an even more dubious account of his "crime." No wonder no one will take their accusations seriously.
Undeterred, Devlin vows to solve the mystery of the missing page. With Liza and her friend Booker Dibble by her side, she collects clues that lead her closer and closer to the perpetrator. And straight into the exact kind of danger about which her mother warned her. Can Devlin outwit the thief and solve her first case? Or will her unofficial investigation just get her officially grounded—or worse?
Into the Lion's Den is the first book in a new middle grade mystery series by Linda Fairstein, a bestselling author of crime fiction for adults. In her pre-teen heroine, Devlin Quick, we get a spunky narrator who's smart, brave, and a little mischievous. The novel's plot moves quickly, making for a fun, exciting story that will appeal to anyone who enjoys an engaging mystery. True, the kids don't always act/talk like their real-life counterparts and yes, Fairstein is excessively fond of using character names in dialog, which bugs, but still ... overall, Into the Lion's Den is a fast-moving, delightful tale. I enjoyed it and will definitely continue reading this entertaining series.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of York by Laura Ruby)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for scenes of peril
To the FTC, with love: I borrowed Into the Lion's Den from my daughter's elementary school library as part of my volunteer work with the school's reading program.
4 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
Quote of the Day!!1 hour ago
-
First Line Friday4 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
My Christmas Wish List 202422 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Telegram by Debbie Rix1 day ago
-
-
-
Open for Murder by Mary Angela2 days ago
-
-
A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson2 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
Middle-Grade Graphic Novel Round-Up4 days ago
-
Books read in October4 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
Reading Recap September 20245 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
Review: The Duke and I2 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus3 months ago
-
Sunday Post3 months ago
-
-
The Music of 2024: Q24 months ago
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ▼ 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
I love the idea of hooking students into reading mysteries while they are still in middle schoole!
ReplyDeleteI would have loved this as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI think I read about this one when it first came out. Sounds fun!
ReplyDeleteHa! I love your description, "yes, Fairstein is excessively fond of using character names in dialog, which bugs, but still ..." It made me laugh. And, that would bug. But, it sounds like it would be a fun story.
ReplyDelete