When the newspaper announces that something belonging to the whole town has been stolen, fourth-grade sleuth Alec Flint investigates, aided by his partner, Gina.

Want to identify fiction books that boys in grades three through nine will find irresistible? This guide reveals dozens of worthwhile recommendations in categories ranging from adventure stories and sports novels to horror, humorous, and science fiction books. In Get Those Guys Reading!: Fiction and Series Books that Boys Will Love, authors Kathleen A. Baxter and Marcia A. Kochel provide compelling and current reading suggestions for younger boys—information that educators, librarians, and parents alike are desperate for. Comprising titles that are almost all well-reviewed in at least one major professional journal, or that are such big hits with kids that they've received the "stamp of approval" from the most important reviewers, this book will be invaluable to anyone whose goal is to help boys develop a healthy enthusiasm for reading. It includes chapters on adventure books; animal stories; graphic novels; historical fiction; humorous books; mystery, horror, and suspense titles; science fiction and fantasy; and sports novels. Within each chapter, the selections are further divided into books for younger readers (grades 3–6) and titles for older boys in grades 5–8. Elementary and middle school librarians and teachers, public librarians, Title One teachers, and parents of boys in grades 3–9 will all benefit greatly from having this book at hand.

Amateur sleuth Alec and his sidekick Gina ignore their class project on artist Jackson Pollock to devote attention to investigating the meaning of a ransom note sent to the Laurel Hollows newspaper claiming something has been stolen from the whole town.

Presenting Artie Cohen, Reggie Nadelson's streetsmart, good-looking New York cop, with a supporting cast that includes Artie's glamorous girl Lily Hanes, and his gnarly superior Sonny Lippert. Russian by birth, Artie has a taste for girls and jazz and a secret past. In Red Mercury Blues he has scarcely returned from a month's leave and thoughts of quitting his job when he becomes involved with a case that drags him painfully back into that past. His investigations take him first into the heart of the Brighton Beach Russian mafia, and then deeper into the terrifying world of atomic smuggling and the secrets of the lethal but elusive substance known as Red Mercury.

Chrys Chime, a postgraduate student at Southampton, writes a book: The Wacky World of Dark Dictators. Many Publishers were not impressed, but Pete Alott, an upstart publisher and son of a British publishing mogul decides to gamble on it. The book stirs up the Rastamuffins, an obscure group of fundamentalist Rastafarians, who considered it heretical and a collective insult that Haile Selassie should be maligned as a dictator. The media take up the story, and cowboy publishing triumphs. Chrys's wife, Amanda, is shot in Lagos, Nigeria. Chrys is abducted in London, England. The arrows point to the controversial book. But investigations also reveal a shocking web of intrigues, cultism, family lies, and scams.

"Lanie Price, a 1920s Harlem society columnist, witnesses the brutal nightclub kidnapping of the "Black Orchid," a sultry, seductive singer with a mysterious past. When hours pass without a word from the kidnapper, puzzlement grows as to his motive. After a gruesome package arrives at Price's doorstep, the questions change. Just what does the kidnapper want--and how many people is he willing to kill to get it?" -- Publisher.

"Readers will relish this story's superior tension ... A riveting mystery designed to keep readers on their toes." ~Midwest Book Review Laurel Falls, N.C. 2005: "Our small town is in an uproar—there’s a serial killer on the loose in the mountains of North Carolina. At first we thought it was just one tragedy, but by the third murder, the FBI finally got involved. Trouble is, I know they’re looking in all the wrong places. I have a keen sense of what’s really going on, but of course the FBI won’t take me serious. I’ll keep at it—too much at stake. I’m working with Wallis Harding, a well-known musicologist, and we’ve got a theory we’ll keep at till they can’t ignore us. Bluegrass music may sound like something to practice and perform, but we know it’s the key to finding the killer. And keeping our families safe. Usually Della Kincaid, my longtime friend, helps me out when I get into something like this. But she’s too busy with troubles of her own. A former crime reporter in Washington, D.C., she’s investigating some kinda fraud case that a whistleblower laid in her lap. She can't let a good story pass, but the deeper she goes, the darker it gets. Turns out we both have information that could help the FBI, if they’ll just listen to us … before the culprits strike again." ~Abit Bradshaw You'll enjoy this suspenseful standalone mystery because who doesn’t long to find justice in this crazy world? If you love Jacqueline Winspear, Sue Grafton, and Cheryl Bradshaw (no relation to Abit Bradshaw that we know of), you're sure to enjoy the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series. Get it now—for the rich natural setting, colorful characters, and suspenseful investigations. Murder Ballad Blues is the fourth book—and a standalone novel—in the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series by award-winning author Lynda McDaniel. Interview with the Author Q: Where does this fourth book pick up in the lives of Abit Bradshaw and Della Kincaid? A: It's a year after the last scenes in Welcome the Little Children, but eight years after they solved the family secrets and lies surrounding Astrid Holt's mother. Life has been reasonably quiet for the two. Abit, Fiona, and their 8-year-old son, Conor, perform regularly with the Ramblin' Rollers, and Della has settled into a natural rhythm at Coburn's General Store. Then everything goes crazy with murder and money-laundering crimes. Q: What's new in the series? A: New crimes, of course--especially the murders across Western North Carolina. Abit and Della get involved, working with new characters like Wallis Harding, a self-taught expert on mountain music, and Ezra Stoltz, an FBI agent. I am especially smitten with Wallis Harding. I named him after Phil Harding, archaeologist with the British television show "Time Team." Phil is such a live wire, and his namesake doesn't let him down. Wallis' physical appearance is modeled after Mick Aston, fellow archaeologist on "Time Team." Q: Why should readers give this series a try? A: Because these are serious mysteries without over-the-top violence. And readers tell me the character development makes them eager to read more: "a pair of unforgettable crime-solving characters," one reader shared, and another wrote, "I became intrigued by and attached to the characters -- Della, Abit, Alex, even the dog, Jake, the villagers and their dialogue." Q: In what order was this series written? A: Murder Ballad Blues is a standalone, so readers won't be confused if they start with this book. Actually, I worked to make all the books in the series easy to understand, wherever readers started in the series. The other books in the series: A Life for a Life, The Roads to Damascus, Welcome the Little Children, Deep in the Forest, Up the Creek, Unwrapped, After Dusk, and Waiting for You (free prequel novelette).