I teethed on Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Encyclopedia Brown; I dove further into mysteries with Agatha Christie, Donald Westlake, Mary Higgins Clark, Harry Kemelman, Dashiell Hammett, and whatever my parents had at home. Meanwhile, I couldn’t get enough of TV game shows plus puzzles and brainteasers of all kinds. So, when it came to writing my first novel, it naturally followed that I combined what stirs some excitement within. Even now, with No Way Home, my first YA thriller, I’ve found myself combining mystery with a puzzle-like element. I suppose there’s no escaping what intrigues me when I write and even when I read.
AKA a book I wish I’d have written; then again, it was a groundbreaker.
I’ve almost never (since childhood) read a book more than once. I’ve read this three times and partially because it’s, perhaps, the first book that also reads like a puzzle. I was smitten as I followed the various characters—potential heirs to Sam Westing’s fortune, who must work in assigned pairs, each using the unique clue given to them—to solve the mystery of his death. I was so close to figuring it out the first time and needed to read it a second time to see where I missed what might have put me over the edge. The third time, years later, just because. It may be time to read it again.
"A supersharp mystery...confoundingly clever, and very funny." —Booklist, starred review
A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead…but that won’t stop him from playing one last game!
Winner of the Newbery Medal Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award An ALA Notable Book
"Great fun for those who enjoy illusion, word play, or sleight…
AKA a book I wish I’d written except I’d never have come up with this plot twist.
Contemporary fiction and mysteries may be my go-to genres but, please, give me more genre-busting stories like When You Reach Me. Not only does it combine friendships and friend issues, science fiction, historical fiction, and mystery but there’s also a game show element. Oh, and puzzling notes: strange instructions the main character must follow in order to prevent a tragic death. I’m there for every word. Full disclosure: I was on a message board with the author while she was writing this. But even if she didn’t talk about the challenges of writing her Newbery Award-winning book, I would have found it anyway.
Miranda's life is starting to unravel. Her best friend, Sal, gets punched by a kid on the street for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The key that Miranda's mum keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives: 'I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favours. First, you must write me a letter.'
The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realises that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she…
October 1962. Recently turned 21, France Leighton travels to Luxor, Egypt, taking with her two legacies—an antique cello and an emerald ring. Instead of the archaeological adventure she expects, she gets a lecherous dig director, hidden agendas, and an enigmatic nuclear physicist.
AKA the book I wish I’d written. but I’m not a colored boy from the 1910s nor a 1940s Negro tennis player nor a contemporary Black girl.
Varian Johnson has so expertly woven rich heritage and unique characters in these three time periods that this book is a master class in writing. More than that, it’s a compelling story that centers on a girl who temporarily moves to her late grandmother’s house, where she finds a letter revealing the first clue to a puzzle, one that may lead to a fortune. The excitement of the plot, a page-turning mystery, also showcases a remarkable depth of culture that has brought me a greater understanding of the Black South then and now.
When Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn't sure she should read it. It's addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle.
So with the help of Brandon, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert's history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into…
AKA a 4th book I wish I’d written, but not sure I could have pulled off the setting.
Each floor of the Whippet Hotel is well… you judge. The floors may be haunted or have caves and ponds or a flying farm or just might be a giant pinball area where the couches act as flippers. That may be intriguing enough, but there’s also a missing owner plus the son of the caretaker (living in the more normal but ultra-cluttered basement) who is given a series of boxes that may help him save everything that’s important in his life. Within the wild and wacky, this is a book filled with heart.
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The Whippet Hotel is a strange place full of strange and mysterious people. Each floor has its own quirks and secrets. Leo should know most of them - he is the maintenance man's son, after all. But a whole lot more mystery gets thrown his way when a series of cryptic boxes are left for him... boxes that lead him to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances. Leo had better be quick on his feet, because the fate of the building he loves is at stake... and so is Leo's own future!
This fresh retelling of the Trojan War is action-packed and fun. Hector’s intelligent wife, Andromache, spins the story as if she's sitting across from you at a campfire, finally setting the record straight. Her wry perspective brings ancient Troy to life, with Paris, the lighthearted lover of beauty, dependable Hector,…
AKA yet another book I wish I’d written, but I hadn’t yet ventured into writing YA yet; oh, and there’s the matter of the huge and, somehow, believable premise.
As a kid, I would knock on walls, hoping to find a hidey-hole for something valuable or, at least, mysterious. The Inheritance Games, set in a vast estate with secret passageways and even more secrets, lets me experience that dream vicariously… and safely, unlike the main character, who must live there for one year if she is to inherit $46.2 billion left to her by a total stranger. The setting, the puzzles, the sense of mortal danger had me forgetting to eat anything that day except the words that hurtled to a thrilling climax.
1.5 MILLION COPIES SOLD OF THE #1 BESTSELLING SERIES!
Don't miss this New York Times bestselling "impossible to put down" (Buzzfeed) novel with deadly stakes, thrilling twists, and juicy secrets -- perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out.
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why -- or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.
Gil Goodson’s future happiness depends on winning Golly Toy and Game Company’s ultimate competition. If Gil wins, his dad has promised the family can move away from all the gossip, false friends, and bad press that have plagued them ever since The Incident.
Gil has been studying, training, and preparing for months, and once he makes it through the tricky preliminary rounds and meets his teammates, the competition gets tougher. Brainteasers, obstacle courses, mazes, and increasingly difficult puzzles and decisions—not to mention temptations, dilemmas, and new friends (and enemies)—are all that separate Gil from ultimate victory. Does Gil have what it takes to win? Do you?
In 1660, Amsterdam is the map-printing capital of the world. Anneke van Brug is a colorist, paid to enhance the black-and-white maps for the growing number of collectors. Her talent brings her to the attention of the great Joan Blaeu, owner of a prestigious publishing house. Not content to simply…
Secrets, misunderstandings, and a plethora of family conflicts abound in this historical novel set along the Brazos River in antebellum Washington County, East Texas.
It is a compelling story of two neighboring plantation families and a few of the enslaved people who serve them. These two plantations are a microcosm…