Constable & Toop

Constable & Toop

By Gareth P. Jones

Sam Toop is just a kid, but he’s the son of an undertaker and has been around death all his life.  Sam can also see ghosts, and London in the mid-1800s is filled with them.  Sam’s a Talker, and ghosts come to him for help with their unfinished business.

Sam doesn’t like being a Talker although he knows that most ghosts are harmless.  But when resident ghosts start to go missing in London, Sam knows something terrible is happening.  Not only that, but living people are being murdered too.  Now there’s a killer on the loose, and somehow he’s linked to the missing ghosts.

Not for the faint of heart, Constable & Toop doesn’t shy away from gruesome scenes, and the grim atmosphere of Victorian London permeates the book.  But if you like ghost stories and mysteries (and don’t mind being a little freaked out), you will love Constable & Toop.

The World's Greatest Detective

The World's Greatest Detective

By Caroline Carlson

Eleven-year-old Toby Montrose is an orphan who is continuously being shuffled around to the homes of his aunts and uncles.  Eventually, all of them send Toby away.  He has finally landed at the home of his Uncle Gabriel.  Toby knows that if Uncle Gabriel rejects him, he’s off to the orphanage.

Since Uncle Gabriel is a detective living on Detective’s Row, Toby does his best to assist.  When Hugh Abernathy, self-declared World’s Greatest Detective, invites Uncle Gabriel to a murder mystery competition, Toby is certain he will attend with his uncle.  After all, Hugh Abernathy is about to retire; the winner of this mystery contest will be crowned the next World’s Greatest Detective!

To Toby’s dismay, Uncle Gabriel despises Hugh Abernathy and has no intention of participating in his contest.  But when Uncle Gabriel goes out of town, Toby manages to get himself into the competition, hoping to win $10,000 in prize money and all the accolades he can handle.

Many of the detectives from Detective’s Row are present on the Webster Estate for the contest.  None of them take Toby seriously except one: Ivy Webster, also eleven years old.  Calling herself Inspector Webster, Ivy wants to win.

As the detectives await the unfolding of the mystery, something terrible happens.  Someone in the house is found dead.  Now they’ve got a real murder mystery on their hands.  Everyone on the estate is a suspect and no one can leave.  Can two children, Inspectors Webster and Montrose, work together to solve the mystery?  Or will the murderer stop them?

Caroline Carlson’s The World’s Greatest Detective is fast-paced and suspenseful.  It’s an Agatha Christie-style mystery full of twists and turns.  Mystery lovers, read on!