Invisible Detective: Double Life [Hardcover]

Justin Richards (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Invisible Detective

Who is the Invisible Detective? To the people of London, 1936, he’s a shadowy crimefighter whose face has never been seen. Truth is, he’s the creation of four extraordinary kids who solve mysteries in his name. And neither an army of murderous zombie mannequins nor a subterranean monster can stop the Invisible Detective once the kids are on the case.

Meanwhile, in present day, fourteen-year-old Arthur Drake finds the casebook of the Invisible Detective in a strange old antique store. Stranger still, the casebook is in his own handwriting. With a little help from his grandfather, Arthur not only uncovers his link to the Invisible Detective, but soon finds himself plunged into mysteries of his own.

Filled with spine-tingling suspense and a good dose of humor, The Invisible Detective is a fun new series that will leave mystery fans hungry for more.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–Brandon Lake resolves various crimes around London in 1936, even though people never see him. Actually, he doesn't really exist–he is four young people, led by 14-year-old Art. They call themselves theCannoniers, with several comparisons to the Baker Street Irregulars. A parallel story line follows a modern-day Art as he finds the casebook of the Invisible Detective, recognizes the handwriting as his own, has flashes of memories of the cases discussed in it, and, with explanations from his grandfather, figures out what's going on. In Double Life, the Cannoniers' meeting place, an old abandoned building, is taken over by a man who is presenting a paranormal puppet exhibit. At the same time, people keep disappearing all over the neighborhood. The group helps Art's dad, a Scotland Yard Detective, along with their new friend Charlie, solve the case. As it turns out, the puppets have been trained to kill; their most important target, the Duke of York, is soon to be the next king of England. Shadow Beast concerns a monster living in the sewers of London who is killing and mutilating cats. But Art's father is more concerned with the recent robbery of a bank over the sewer lines. Could the two events be related? The modern-day Art helps his grandfather find out about the reappearance of the monster in the sewers. Two fast-paced, action-packed stories for mystery fans.–Diana Pierce, Running Brushy Middle School, Cedar Park, TX
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About the Author

Justin Richards lives in Warwick, England.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; 1St Edition edition (May 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399243135
• ISBN-13: 978-0399243134
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,091,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Justin Richards has written dozens of novels as well as non-fiction books. He has also written audio scripts, a television and stage play, edited anthologies of short stories, been a technical writer, and founded and edited a media journal.

Justin is the author of The Death Collector, The Chaos Code, The Parliament of Blood and The Invisible Detective series. He is also Creative Consultant to the BBC's best-selling range of Doctor Who books.

His novel 'The Skeleton Clock' is available as a Kindle eBook.

He lives in Warwick with his wife and two children, and a lovely view of the castle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Deliciously Creepy Mystery that should Appeal to Reluctant Readers, May 18, 2006

By 

Jennifer Robinson "Editor of Jen Robinson's B... (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Invisible Detective: Double Life (Hardcover)

I found the book to be both creepy and appealing. It's a historical mystery, crossed with a present-day mystery, with supernatural overtones, and plenty of Gothic menace. The story is told mostly in the past, just before World War II, with the shadow of [...] looming over London. The end of each chapter, however, features a page or two set in modern-day London.

Both stories feature a boy named Arthur Drake, and in each story, Arthur has odd flashes of knowledge about a different world. The modern-day Arthur acquires an old notebook and a mysterious stone from an antique store, and struggles to understand how this more than 60-year-old notebook can be in his own handwriting. Meanwhile the 1930s Arthur is part of a posse of kids who work for Brandon Lake, the Invisible Detective. The Invisible Detective solves small mysteries for local citizens, even though Brandon Lake doesn't actually exist.

In this book, the four children (who call themselves the Cannoniers) work together to solve a mystery featuring disappearing people and strangely life-like puppets. The characters of the four kids are well-drawn, and the plot (featuring late night chases through London, mysterious black cars, government officials, and a beautiful girl with metal cages on her legs) is deliciously creepy.

All in all, I found it to be an odd little tale, but the alternating past and present viewpoints really kept me turning the pages. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, because I want to know what happens next to the young Cannoniers. I think that this series will be a big hit with young readers looking for mysteries with a bit of a spooky, supernatural slant. I can see the books appealing in particular to boys who are reluctant readers, perhaps those who have outgrown the Goosebumps books, but still want something relatively short, and definitely suspenseful. The same boys who, a little bit later, will become fans of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider adventures.

This series was originally published in the U.K. The first three books are now available in the U.S., and at least five others are available in the U.K. Justin Richards lives with his wife and two sons in Warwick, England. He is also a creative consultant for BBC Books Doctor Who titles.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on May 18th, 2006.

5.0 out of 5 stars original and eerily captivating story. great fun, June 23, 2008

By 

S. Golden (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Invisible Detective: Double Life (Hardcover)

Loved this book. I'm an adult and couldn't put "Double Life" down. This book contains magical ingredients: likeable (for the most part) and original characters, paranormal puppets, and a creepy overall vibe.
Look forward to reading more in this series.