Synopsis
A collection of twenty stories of crime, suspense, mystery, and humor, including "The Batman of Blytheville," "The Poison Flowers," and "The Dear Departed."
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From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up Twenty stories of mystery and suspense that sometimes cross the boundaries of fantasy or science fiction, and contain ghosts, spies, vampires, wizards, and detectives. Murders are solved, crimes are uncovered, bullies thwarted, and lives saved. The tone of the stories varies from serious thriller to tongue in cheek, and settings from city to country. Overall, the stories are good; some are quite funny, and others have readers on the edge of their seats. Only a few stories strain credibility or have unconvincing endings. Unfortunately, these tend to be the fantasy stories. A young person appears in almost every story, but in a few they are peripheral to the action, and when they are the point-of-view character, the tone is sometimes retrospective, lending a more adult viewpoint to the proceedings. When the stories contain only adults, the editors have chosen the stories with situations most likely to appeal to young readers. In spite of the few failures, the stories are enjoyable enough to pull readers eagerly on to the next one, and, even when they are slightly derivative, will be fresh enough to junior high aged readers and introduce them to a pleasant assortment of styles. Annette Curtis Klause, Montgomery County Department of Public Libraries, Md.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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