Skull Creek Stakeout (Caden Chronicles) - Softcover

Jones, Eddie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1946016969 ISBN 13: 9781946016966

Publisher: Illuminate YA, 2013

Synopsis

Hi. Nick Caden. Teen reporter, amateur detective, and the only person who solved a murder in a Wild West ghost town last summer and still had to ride home in a minivan.

I was at Disney World — Tower of Terror, to be exact — when my editor called with a new assignment. A man was found dead in Transylvania, North Carolina. Fangs. Cape. Stake through the heart.

I took the assignment. At my age — and with AI taking over — making money from writing is kind of a big deal.

Now, Transylvania is a real place. A lot of people don't know that. My parents didn't. It's a perfectly normal mountain area in North Carolina that happens to be named Transylvania, have a castle, and turn up a dead guy dressed like a vampire. Perfectly normal.

My editor booked me into Randolph Manor — a bed and breakfast run by the victim's family. Because apparently that's how journalism works. I also arrived with Aunt Vivian, who is seventy-something, drives a Cadillac, goes to church more than seems strictly necessary, and plays a ruthless hand of bridge. She had absolutely no business being anywhere near a murder investigation.

She was indispensable.

Then there was Meg. Local girl. Wants to be a pathologist. Or a mortician. Or a coroner. One of those people who solves crimes by looking at dead people's skin and stuff. Smart. Skeptical of me specifically. Showed up everywhere I didn't expect her and turned out to be the most useful and aggravating person in all of Transylvania County.

I see a pattern forming. I don't love it.

Here's what I figured out: in a town this small, everybody knows something. Suspects. Witnesses. The guy who runs the occult bookstore. The problem is, nobody tells you the same thing twice. So I did what I always do — I followed the clues, ignored the warnings, and walked alone into the woods at night with no phone because a cryptic note told me to.

In my defense, Meg's life was at stake. Possibly Aunt Vivian's too, though she seemed less worried about it than I was.

Your kid is going to finish this book and immediately want to call their grandmother. Not because anyone told them to. Because Aunt Vivian makes the best sugar cakes, and you can never have too many sweets in your life — and this story has a way of reminding you that the people who show up for you, drive you places in a Cadillac, and pray over you when you're too stubborn to ask for help are the ones worth holding onto.

Also: no actual vampires. I want to be clear about that.

Skull Creek Stakeout. Book 2 in the Caden Chronicles. Spooky but not scary. Funny but not foolish. Satisfying in all the right ways.

About this title

About the Author

Eddie is an award-winning author known for crafting suspenseful mysteries and humorous adventures that captivate readers, young and old.  Through the ministry, Send Jesus to Prisons, his books are read by countless inmates and used to introduce others to Christ.

From the Back Cover

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Edition details

• Publisher: Illuminate YA
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1946016969
• ISBN 13: 9781946016966
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 192