The Falcon's Malteser

October 1, 2004
Gr 5-8 -Nick Simple's life is anything but simple. His parents have moved to Australia, leaving him in the care of his incompetent older brother who is trying to make a living as a private detective and changes the family name. They are visited by a dwarf who leaves a package with them for safekeeping and later turns up dead. Set in England and filled with a variety of colorful characters, the plot reads like a 1940s P.I. movie. Like Horowitz's "Alex Rider" series (Philomel), the teen protagonist relies on his wits to thwart the enemy. Short chapters, with a conflict in each one, will appeal to reluctant readers.-Kim Carlson, Monticello High School, IA

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2005
An inept and cowardly former police officer opens a detective agency, but it's his thirteen-year-old brother who ends up catching most of the bad guys. In these overbusy comic mysteries, the siblings guard a strange package containing malted milk balls and track down the head of a major fencing operation. The plots are over-the-top, and the glib dialogue often strains for humor.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)