An Alec Flint Mystery #2: The Ransom Note Blues [Mass Market Paperback]

Jill Santopolo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2009 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: An Alec Flint Mystery (Book 2)

Laurel Hollows's most undercover sleuth is back on the trail of an exciting new mystery! Will Alec Flint be able to crack the case of the missing something?

Alec Flint is a super sleuth in training, with one mystery under his belt, and a really great partner named Gina. When Gina's mom, a local newspaper reporter, gets a ransom note at work, Alec and Gina are on the case. The note claims that something belonging to the whole town has been stolen . . . but that something could be anything!

The partners do their best to spend as much time as possible sleuthing, but their schoolwork keeps getting in the way. The entire fourth grade is doing a unit on the abstract artist Jackson Pollock that's sponsored by a distant relative of Pollock's.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–5—Readers of Donald Sobol's "Encyclopedia Brown" (Puffin), David Adler's "Cam Jansen" (Viking), and Ron Roy's "A to Z Mysteries" (Random) will have something to cheer about with this series. Alec's father is a small-town chief of police, and Alec and his sidekick, Gina, are masters at observing the world around them and spend as much time practicing their sleuthing skills as they do on their schoolwork. They also enjoy communicating with one another in codes and a form of silent talking that they call "no noise" speech. Here, the fourth graders take on an art mystery while studying Abstract Expressionism and the style of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. Their world, families, and friendships are reassuring and easy. The tale is 12 chapters long, which will allow confident readers a chance to enjoy a more extensive story without having to deal with content that may be above their maturity level.—Kathleen Meulen, Sakai Intermediate School, Bainbridge Island, WA END

About the Author

JILL SANTOPOLO is not a supersleuth-in-training, though she does know how to open locked doors with her MetroCard. She lives in New York City and is currently pursuing her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College. Her second book, An Alec Flint Mystery: The Ransom Note Blues, is also being published by Orchard Books. When she's not writing, Jill edits children's books for a major publishing house.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books (June 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439912555
• ISBN-13: 978-0439912556
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #971,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jill Santopolo is an author, an editor, and an adjunct creative writing professor, but she is not a super sleuth (though she wishes she was). You can visit her online at www.jillsantopolo.com. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to email! (She responds to every message she gets--she promises.)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alec Flint Keeps His Town from Turning Blue and Keeps His Readers Smiling, July 9, 2009

By 

Theresa K. Read "TK" (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: An Alec Flint Mystery #2: The Ransom Note Blues (Mass Market Paperback)

Alec Flint Keeps His Town from Turning Blue and Keeps His Readers Smiling

With interactive clues and codes, The Ransom Note Blues will keep its readers turning pages to help Alec and his "super sleuth in training" partner, Gina figure out what has been stolen from their town in time to keep a bad guy from turning them all blue. Along the way, both young and adult readers will learn a thing or two about a famous artist and his paintings.
In this quick read, Jill Santopolo uses lively prose and interesting plot twists to keep her readers hooked until the very end.