Grk: Operation Tortoise (The Grk Books)

Tim is in paradise. Vacationing with his parents, the Raffifis, and Grk in the Seychelles, he is looking forward to two weeks of fun.

But one afternoon, while walking the beach with Grk, Tim stumbles over a body in the sand. Washed up from the ocean and barely alive, the man utters a few words and then dies.

Frantic to help the police discover the cause of the man’s death, Tim and Grk search for clues on their own. But what starts out as a baffling mystery soon becomes a bone-chilling investigation as they encounter armed guards who’ll shoot to kill, a mad scientist’s dream laboratory, and a powerful man determined to live forever, no matter what the cost.

But most puzzling of all is the mysterious Calypso. What is this place? Where is it? And if Tim and Grk venture there alone, will they come back alive?

When he isn’t traveling the world, or writing about Grk, Joshua Doder is a reporter for The Guardian. He lives in London, England.

The fourth Grk title finds 12-year-old Tim vacationing with his parents, his friends Max and Natascha, and his dog Grk in the tropical Seychelles. On the beach, Tim discovers a dying man, whose final words—“help them”—send boy and dog on an island investigation that leads to an underground science lab, where inhumane experiments on animals and humans are carried out. The descriptive prose, told in alternating narrative, includes a few graphic references to violence, but the everykid protagonist, droll humor, and suspenseful adventure will capture both series fans and newcomers. Grades 5-8. --Shelle Rosenfeld