Annal:2008 Agatha Award for Best Children’s/Young Adult

The Crossroads

Chris Grabenstein

• 2009 Anthony-Young Adult winner
• 2008 Agatha–Children winner
• Score: 20.59

Zack, his dad, and new stepmother have just moved back to his father’s hometown, not knowing that their new house has a dark history. Fifty years ago, a crazed killer caused an accident at the nearby crossroads that took 40 innocent lives. He died when his car hit a tree in a fiery crash, and his malevolent spirit has inhabited the tree ever since. During a huge storm, lightning hits the tree, releasing the spirit, who decides his evil spree isn’t over…and Zack is directly in his sights.

Award-winning thriller author Chris Grabenstein fills his first book for younger readers with the same humorous and spine-tingling storytelling that has made him a fast favorite with adults.

The Great Circus Train Robbery: A Northern Spy Mystery

Nancy Means Wright

• 2008 Agatha–Children nominee
• Score: 6.58

A stolen antique! A bright red baggage car from Spence’s antique circus train is missing! Zoe’s mission, if she chooses to accept it, is to find the thief. Her reward: the honor of becoming Lieutenant of the Northern Spy Club.

Zoe’s suspects include: a reclusive neighbor, Juniper Boomer, a couple of Clowns, Tulip and Hackberry, who are in town with a visiting Circus, and a monkey who really likes the color red.

Zoe begins her investigation and finds that this puzzle is one of the scariest adventures the Northern Spys have ever tackled.

Into the Dark: An Echo Falls Mystery

Peter Abrahams

• 2008 Agatha–Children nominee
• Score: 6.58

In Echo Falls, secrets buried in the past don’t always stay there.

An idyllic day of snowshoeing on Grampy’s land with Joey Strade turns out to be less than idyllic when thirteen-year-old super sleuth Ingrid Levin-Hill stumbles upon a body lying in the snow. This discovery sends the town of Echo Falls into a tailspin in which secrets long hidden are revealed and Grampy gets sent to jail. While Ingrid works to clear Grampy’s name and uncover what really happened to the man in the snow, she discovers even more secrets she wishes she never knew. Just like the character Gretel, whom Ingid is playing in the Prescott Players’ production of Hansel and Gretel, Ingrid must go deep into the darkness to find the truth.

In the third book in the Edgar Award–nominated and national bestselling Echo Falls series, Peter Abrahams’s talent for building suspense shines as Ingrid embarks on her most harrowing adventure yet.

A Thief in the Theater: A Kit Mystery

Sarah Masters Buckey

• 2008 Agatha–Children nominee
• Score: 6.58

It’s 1935 and Kit Kittredge is volunteering backstage for a local theater company. She plans to write an exciting newspaper article about a new play that stars famous actors from New York City. But from behind the scenes, Kit and her friend Stirling discover more drama than they bargained for! Includes an illustrated “Looking Back” essay.

This story features characters from American Girl’s popular Kit series and is written by Sarah Masters Buckey, previously nominated for both the Edgar and Agatha Awards.