Tag Archives: mystery

The Name Of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

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The Name of This Book Is Secret is about the mystery of a magician’s house burning down. Cass, an extreme survivalist always prepared for all kinds of disasters, becomes unlikely friends with Max Ernest, a very talkative kid who’s allergic to almost everything. The become collaborators and begin investigating the death of Pietro Bergamo, a magician that died in a house fire. They soon discover The Midnight Sun which is a hotel that restores youth. Cass decides to impersonate a famous person and books a reservation for the hotel. The hotel offers a special kind of treatment that makes a person young forever. As soon as Cass gets to the hotel she starts looking around trying to find out as much as she can. The leaders of the Midnight Sun soon discover her plan and capture her. In the basement she finds Max Ernest who came looking for her. They plan their escape and then proceed to escape with another kid from their school called Benjamin. Cass’s butler Owen also helps them to escape. Right as they’re escaping, the spa burns down. Cass, Max Ernest, Benjamin, and Owen get out safely though. Cass and Max Ernest then get recruited for the Terces Society, and their adventures continue.

-Emilio V.

The Name Of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

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Harry’s third year at Hogwarts is stressful in the beginning. He is constantly being buried under piles of homework. He also learns that Sirius Black, a mass murderer, is out to kill Harry. Mr. Weasley makes Harry promise that he won’t go looking for Sirius and Harry agrees. At Hogwarts, Dementors have been stationed around the school to prevent Sirius from getting in. The Dementors, however, have a worse effect on Harry than any other student because of Harry’s past. Mr. Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, teaches Harry how to cast a Patronus Charm which is the only spell that works against the Dementors. Ron and Hermione are constantly arguing because Hermione’s cat keeps trying to eat Ron’s rat. Soon they altogether stop talking because Ron thinks that Hermione’s cat did eat his rat. A few days later Sirius Black breaks into Hogwarts, but is quickly captured. Then as it turns out, Ron’s rat is not only alive, but a real human that transformed himself into a rat to spy on Harry. The man’s name is Peter Pettigrew and he was spying on Harry for Voldemort. Pettigrew quickly escapes before Harry can stop him. Harry finds out that it wasn’t Sirius Black that lead Voldemort to his parents, but that it was Pettigrew. Sirius is actually Harry’s godfather. Harry hopes that he can live with Sirius instead of the Dursley’s, but Sirius has to hide from the Ministry. Professor Lupin turns out to be a werewolf, and it was Sirius that saved the kids from Lupin.

-Emilio V.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

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Harry Potter’s second year at Hogwarts is even more eventful than his first. Before school starts, Harry is warned by an elf named Dobby that he should not return to Hogwarts. Harry dismisses Dobby’s warning and goes anyways. At Hogwarts, Harry hears a strange voice coming from inside the walls. Throughout the year, the voice becomes more fierce and soon students at Hogwarts begin to get attacked. Harry quickly finds out, by mistake, that he’s a Parselmouth. Parselmouth is the ability to speak to serpents. When Harry finds this out, people believe him to be Slytherin’s heir and the one who will open the Chamber of Secrets and release the monster inside. Harry then tries finding who is attacking the students. His, Ron’s and Hermione’s first guess is Draco Malfoy. They disguise as Slytherins and ask him if he is attacking the students. Draco responds by claiming that he’s not the one they’re looking for. Soon after Hermione gets attacked and petrified, and Ron’s sister Ginny gets kidnapped and taken down to the Chamber of Secrets. Ron and Harry go into the Chamber to find her and get split up. Harry quickly finds Ginny and destroys Slytherin’s heir who is a young version of Voldemort.

-Emilio V.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

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“Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!” With these ominous words begins one of the most celebrated murder mysteries of all time: The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Powerful and prosperous, the Baskervilles had always enjoyed a pleasant life, until a horrifying event results in Sir Charles Baskerville dying mysteriously, and his heir, Sir Henry, left to tend for land rumored to be haunted by an enormous, ferocious hound!!!

Naturally, such a extraordinary case can only be solved by an extraordinary detective, and one has to look no farther than Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the world’s only consulting detective. With his faithful companion Dr. Watson by his side, Holmes attempts to untangle the inexplicable circumstances surrounding the Baskerville household and the creepy Grimpen moor.

Packed full of horror, fear, and a touch of dark humor, The Hound of the Baskervilles is an intriguing novella that even the most mystery-averse readers will find irresistible. It has everything that makes a book timeless, with an unforgettable plot, fascinating characters, and a surprise ending that will startle even the most complacent of people.

Any and all fans of Sherlock Holmes, mysteries, crime, adventure, or all of the above should most definitely check out The Hound of the Baskervilles this summer – you will not regret it!

– Mahak M.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

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One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus tells the story of how deadly a rumor could end up. It started with an after school detention. Five kids walked in. Addy, Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Simon all have detention. They don’t usually hang out, so they don’t talk very much. Simon has a gossip app called About That. He posts rumors about kids at the school on the app regularly. Simon gets up to get a glass of water and as soon as he finishes the water he starts having an allergic reaction and dies.

The main belief that the police had was that someone had poisoned Simon because of a rumor posted on the app. The police assume it was one of the four in detention with Simon. In the police investigation, they find peanut oil in the water. Now the four have to do their own detective work to find out who really killed Simon. At the time of Simon’s allergic reaction, the nurse had no EpiPens, and an EpiPen was later found in Nate’s locker. The police then took Nate to have him questioned. Bronwyn hears about this and realizes that their lockers were searched the morning of Simon’s death so somebody must have put the EpiPen there to frame Nate.

The three students keep looking for clues, and their search leads them to one of Simon’s only friends, Janae Vargas. They continually ask Janae if she knows anything until she finally tells them who killed Simon. She tells them that somebody made a plan to kill Simon by putting peanut oil in the water and that the person was…(spoiler warning! highlight text to read!): Simon himself. Simon planned every detail like hiding the nurse’s EpiPens and hiding one in Nate’s locker. Simon’s apparent motive was that everyone in the detention class had been rude to him so he decided to try and frame them

-Emilio V.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston

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This was one of the best books I read. As always I enjoyed Natasha Preston’s book yet again; it was almost better than “The Cellar.” This book started with a scene of pure terror when all of a sudden two dorm mates get a letter signed to Sonny, one of their roommates. Included in the letter is a note that says “Your heart will be mine”, not only is it almost Valentines Day, but the note has no address stating who it came from. Not worrying too much about the note, Layla, Issac, Sienna, Charlotte, Chace, and Sonny go to a party to enjoy their break from college. Following their arrival at the party, they are accompanied with free drinks that were already paid for, but by who? Following the next day, Layla is startled to realize that Sonny never came home from the party, he is one to come home late, but with the startled advancement of the note, her roommates are questioning whether somebody killed him.

This book has the perfect amount of suspense, mystery, and action. This would definitely be a book I would recommend.

-Rylie N.

You WIll Be Mine by Natasha Preston is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Expelled by James Patterson and Emily Raymond

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Image result for expelled by james pattersonFor anyone, whether or not you are a James Patterson fan, Expelled is not a disappointment. When four students are expelled over a posted picture, they must team up, whether they like it or not. They have to make decisions on who they can trust, in a world of guilty and innocents. But who are the true guilty and innocent people? You can’t make your decisions  on looks and past events. Theo Foster  was expelled for a posted photo on his Twitter account. He wants to find out who framed him, but where can he start, the people in the photo? His friends? Every single person in the school?

Theo goes on throughout the book, trying to figure who framed him. After all, he is expelled, and now he has a large amount of time on his hands. People in public give him nasty looks. A 7-Eleven refuses to hire him. But that doesn’t stop him. With a  group of four expelled kids, a video camera, and a small strip of property, nothing can go wrong, right?

I would recommend this book to anyone that’s looking for a new mystery or James Patterson book. There’s beautifully written plot twists, and the real guilty person didn’t turn out to be who I expected. I personally don’t read many mysteries, so this wasn’t the best Patterson book I have read, but I still like it, and it wasn’t the worst either. This book has some mature themes and it for high school readers.

-Rebecca V, 9th grade

Expelled by James Patterson and Emily Raymond is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

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The sun shone through the window. It was a new day, a fresh start. The brightness made it easy to forget the dark events of the previous night. Horrified images began to take over her mind. The screaming echoed in her ears. It was a mistake, she cried to herself. She knew she wouldn’t be able to forget it, that all she could do was find a way to live with it. No one would ever know her secret. This new day was her chance to become someone else, someone incapable of the horrible truth that was her mind.

She stared at the rays of light, imagining this, when a spot of red on the wall caught her eye. It was small enough to go undetected, but she knew its source. Tracing her eyes along the wall, more spots appeared, forming larger and messier streaks of red. There she could see it clearly, as if the color was the very paint on the wall, the color she would now wake up to every morning. It dripped down, drying at the bottom, collecting together to create a puddle.

Even with all her strength, she couldn’t pull her eyes away from the scene. It was all her fault. No amount of paint would ever cover up her pain from last night, no amount would make the tragedy disappear. It was forever stained in front of her.

In her own blood. Who would do such a thing?

 

See Jane Run by Hannah Jayne

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The book consisted of two main characters that understood each other better then their parents did. Not only is Riley supposed to not interact with kids at her school, but she is also not allowed to  start having feelings for a juvenile delinquent.

It all starts when Riley finds a hidden birth certificate in her baby book. The only problem is it doesn’t have her name on it. On the birth certificate it includes her date of birth and even her parents names, but they aren’t the same as those who she thought were her parents.

Not only is Riley frightened, but she also starts getting notes in her purse and backpack everyday at school consisting of the words, “I know who you are, ” and even, “Your parents are liars.” Without having enough courage to confide in her parents, will Riley understand the consequences of living in a divided family?

-Rylie N.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

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This was a very good book if you enjoy suspense and mystery.

The book starts when Gemma is at the airport with her parents. After fighting with her parents before the flight starts Gemma goes to the local kiosk with a coffee shop; she then spots a gorgeous man named Ty staring at her. While Gemma is searching for her wallet in her purse she, Ty helps pay for her coffee. Not only is Gemma stunned, but she is surprised that some man would actually want to help her out. She is then offered a spot to sit with Ty while he “offers” to put cream in her coffee for her. While Gem is not looking he places a drug in her drink so he can abduct her. Before Gemma can even recognize what he has done to her, she finds herself stranded in the middle of the desert in Austrialia. Not only is Gemma frightened, but she starts to become attached to Ty and can’t stop thinking about him.

Even though I understood that Ty had stolen Gemma, I think that he actually crafted a better life for her. Not only did he show affection towards her but he also showed that he was selfless when he demonstrated that he would save her above everybody else even if it meant that he would go to jail for over fifteen years. At the end of the book dark secrets start escaping Ty’s lips and explains how he had been watching Gemma since she was five. Not only does Gemma feel attached to Ty, but well at home she can’t stop thinking about him.

This book would definitely be a good read for someone that enjoys suspense.

-Rylie N.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.