At the Sound of the Beep [Hardcover]

Marilyn Sachs (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

Mathew and Mathilda Green run away to San Francisco and take refuge in Golden Gate Park. But no one is safe in this haven for the homeless, because someone is murdering the people who call it home. And unknowingly, Mathew and Mathilda are being drawn into the world of the killer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ten-year-old twins Mathilda and Mathewstet run away because their separating parents plan to split them up. They intend to stay with an uncle in San Francisco, but he is away and the twins resort to sleeping in Golden Gate Park, where someone is murdering homeless people. The twins not only escape harm but they pinpoint the killer--an old woman who bakes poisoned angel-food cake for anyone she believes is hurting the park's birds. Then they rejoin their parents, who vow to try to keep the family together. Despite its gritty venue, this mystery/thriller is neither convincing nor suspenseful. It is weighted with contrived, implausible details, including the identity and modus operandi of the killer and the last-minute revelation that a battered woman the children have met (and bought food for) is actually an undercover cop. Neither the vagrants nor the twins and their family are fully realized figures, and uncertain pacing dissipates rather than builds tension. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-- Twins Mathew and Mathilda run away to their uncle's home in San Francisco after their parents tell them that they are divorcing and that the children will be separated. When they find that he is not home, they have no place to go but Golden Gate Park. There they encounter several homeless people, and are confronted with the mysterious murders of three people in the park. Mathew solves the crimes just before Mathilda is about to be poisoned. The conflict at the beginning of the story is realistic, but the plot drags when so many homeless characters are introduced, possibly because as minor characters they are not well developed. Mathew also undergoes an amazing change, from a nerd who never expresses his own opinion to an aggressive, outspoken person. The problems of the homeless (shelter from the cold, finding food in the garbage cans) do not seem to apply to Mathew and Mathilda, as readers know that living in the park is only a temporary situation for them. It also looks like the parents will reconsider their plans to divorce, which does not seem realistic. Plot implausibilities abound in this story that is written with less sensitivity about the homeless than Hahn's December Stillness (Clarion, 1988). --Bonnie L. Raasch, C. B. Vernon Middle School, Marion, IA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 154 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (April 19, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525445714
• ISBN-13: 978-0525445715
• Product Dimensions: 1.7 x 1.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,992,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A murder mystery that will leave you in suspense!, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: At the Sound of the Beep (Paperback)

For an out-of-print book, this book is absolutely perfect! (Too bad the publishers decided it wasn't printing enough copies!) It will tangle you up in a mystery about two 11-year-old twins who don't want to be separated after their parents get a divorce. I could NOT stop reading this book even after the end and I had to read more! Hopefully Ms. Sachs will do a sequel!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fond Memories, October 29, 2010

By 

Cass - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the Sound of the Beep (Paperback)

I read this book in fifth grade a couple years after it came out! I loved it and did my first book report on it!!! My daughter who is big into books at this level even for a 3rd grader would love this and I want to get it for her!!!It is a great little suspense for students!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My "Beep" on the book, March 2, 2008

By 

Dee Jay (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the Sound of the Beep (Hardcover)

I read this book to my class of high achieving 3rd graders in 1990 (when it was new). I loved the fact that San Francisco is our locale. (The school was on the SF Peninsula.) It initiated all kinds of discussion, especially about the homeless. It might not be very realistic, but it appealed to their sense of adventure and it was nice to have a boy and a girl as the protagonists. I'm glad I was able to find it again here (had even forgotten the title) and will purchase it for my grandkids.