Synopses & Reviews
Murder in the lab! The famous forensic scientist Dr. Ramachandran is stone-cold dead, and Ruby Rose’s father is the prime suspect. It’s one more reason for Ruby to hate the Gardens, the funky urban neighborhood to which she has been transplanted. Wise but shy, artistic but an outsider, Ruby must marshal everything and everyone she can to help solve the mystery and prove her father didn’t poison his boss. Everyone? The list isn’t too long: there’s T. Rex, Ruby’s big, goofy but goodhearted friend; maybe those other two weird kids from class; and that mysterious old lady in the apartment upstairs, who seems to know a lot about chemistry . . . which could come in very handy.
Praise for Poison Most Vial
“Carey mixes toxic chemistry and logic problems in his second middle-grade mystery to good, if not great effect. Budding chemists and crime-scene investigators will especially enjoy this science whodunit.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Awards
VOYA Top Shelf for Middle School Readers 2012 list
Review
"Balliett...has taken the literary craze for intellectual sleuthing...and combined it with a fidelity to old-fashioned trail-of-clues children's books, resulting in a novel...that is suspenseful, exciting, charming and even unexpectedly moving." Meg Wolitzer, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Art, intrigue, and plenty of twists and turns make this art mystery a great read....Fans of...From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler or...The Westing Game will find equal pleasure in this debut by a talented writer." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Adults who understand the links between children's reading and their developing minds and imaginations will see this as special....Helquist, who has illustrated the Lemony Snickett books, outdoes himself here, providing an interactive mystery in his pictures." Ilene Cooper, Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"[An] engrossing and engaging debut novel....This is an unusual story that should appeal to all the Calders and Petras who know or hope that there is more to the universe than what can be rationally explained." Claudia Mills, Children's Literature
Synopsis
This bewitching first novel is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art.
When a book of unexplainable occurances brings Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth they must draw on their powers of intuition, their skills at problem solving, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has left even the FBI baffled?
Synopsis
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.
Synopsis
In the fourth volume of the New York Times bestselling Books of Elsewhere series, Olive thought she had uncovered all the house's secrets. She was wrong.
It's Halloween night when strangers come to Linden Street . . . and something absolutely vital to Olive goes missing. To what lengths will she go to get it back? Can she trust the strangers? Will she turn to a new and dangerous magic within the paintings of Elsewhere? Or will Olive put her faith in her own worst enemies to save the people and home she loves?
The stakes grow higher, the secrets more dangerous, and mystery and magic abound as Olive, the boys, and the magical cats uncover the true nature of the old stone house on Linden Street.
A must-read fantasy series for fans of Pseudonymous Bosch, Coraline, and Septimus Heap.
About the Author
Blue Balliett is the author of several bestselling, acclaimed mystery novels, including Chasing Vermeer (a Book Sense Book of the Year and an Edgar Award winner), The Wright 3, The Calder Game, and The Danger Box. She writes in the laundry room of her home in Chicago, Illinois, and you can find her online at www.blueballiettbooks.com.
Brett Helquist was born in Ganado, Arizona, and grew up in Orem, Utah. He entered Brigham Young University as an engineering major, but soon realized this was not the right choice for him. Having decided to take time off from college, he headed to Taiwan where he stumbled into a job illustrating English textbooks, which he enjoyed. There, a friend introduced him to an illustration student, also from Brigham Young University. This introduction inspired Brett to eventually switch majors. After spending a year in Taiwan, he went back to BYU and transferred to the illustration department. In 1993 he received a fine arts degree in illustration.