The Viking Claw [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Dahl (Author)

Book Description

Series: Finnegan Zwake Mystery

Finn," he said, "Don't go in."

What was his problem? After days of climbing and trudging through the snow, I wasn't going to turn around now. I pushed past Uncle Stoppard into the cave and then froze. The murky light from the mouth of the tunnel gleamed on something a few feet in front of me. Something white lay on the floor of the cave. Bones.

Finn and his mystery-writer uncle head to Iceland in search of the Haunted City of Tquuli, where Finn's archaeologist parents were last seen before their odd disappearance eight years ago. Finn doesn't believe the creepy legends about the Haunted City and the ancient Vikings who lived there -- until a member of the rock-climbing expedition vanishes from inside a sleeping bag...one that was dangling a hundred feet from the base of an icy cliff!

Then another climber disappears, leaving a trail of footprints that abruptly end in a Þeld of snow. Is it modern-day murder, or the revenge of phantom Viking warriors?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 5-9. Packed with action and told almost entirely in dialogue, the latest book about 13-year-old Finnegan Zwake and his uncle is as much a climbing adventure as a mystery. It continues the story of Finn's search for his archaeologist parents, who disappeared eight years earlier on an expedition to find Viking treasure. Most of the book takes place on a mountain climb in Iceland, where Finn and Uncle Stoppard and a group of climbers struggle with precipices, snow drifts, hidden caves--and a murder. This adventure isn't as funny as Dahl's The Horizontal Man (1999), and there are just too many contrivances. But the combination of the Viking history, the gruesome clues (shown in a suitably gory cover), and the mystery of the lost parents (why did their footprints suddenly stop in the snow?) will keep Finn's fans waiting for the next stage of his quest. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Michael Dahl, the author of more than a dozen nonÞction books, has also published poetry and plays. The Viking Claw is Dahl's fourth Finnegan Zwake mystery. The earlier titles in the series are The Horizontal Man, The Worm Tunnel, and The Ruby Raven. Dahl is also the author of Scooter Spies, a series of mysteries for younger readers, whose titles include The Wheels That Vanished and The Ghost That Barked. A theater director, actor, and comedian in Minneapolis, Dahl has a wide variety of unusual creatures in his household: Venus's-Þytraps, Þddler crabs, African dwarf frogs, an elementary school teacher, and an Australian red-heeler named Gus. He can be e-mailed at Þ[e-mail].

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; 1st PB Edition edition (June 26, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074341697X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743416979
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,250,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Dahl is the author of more than 200 books for children and young adults. His nonfiction has won the AEP Distinguished Achievement Award three times. His Finnegan Zwake mystery series published by Simon & Schuster won rave reviews and two of its titles were shortlisted for the Edgar and the Anthony Mystery Awards. He has written The Everything Kid's Joke Book as well as Gotcha Covered! (with Kathleen Baxter from School Library Journal) on nonfiction books that get kids excited about reading. Dahl is the Editorial Director for Stone Arch Books based in Minneapolis, where his books have won national design awards and been selected by the Junior Library Guild. His fantasy series, The Library of Doom, is the most-read series by hi-lo readers across the country. He has spoken at numerous schools, libraries, bookstores, and conferences inn the US and UK, including ALA, AASL, Renaissance Learning, TLA and IRA. He lives in a haunted house.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Suspense and Mystery, June 26, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Viking Claw (Mass Market Paperback)

The Viking Claw like many of the other Finnegan Zwake Mysteries is very interesting to read. Micheal Dahl just keeps you guessing until the very end. In The Viking Claw, Dahl fills the book with useful facts from history and also to techniques in mountain climbing. Once you pick this book up and read a chapter you will never put it down again. In this book you start to think one person is the killer when another is causing the mischief. The person you least expect comes out at the very end as the crook. So I would highly recommmend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for all Finnegan Zwake fans!, June 26, 2001

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Viking Claw (Mass Market Paperback)

Finnegan Zwake and his uncle, mystery writer Stoppard Sterling, are finally traveling to Iceland to search for the lost city of Tquuli. Finn's archaeologist parents were last seen searching for the legendary city before their sudden and mysterious disappearance eight years ago. To reach Tquuli, Finn and his uncle must climb up the extinct volcano Thorsfell. Their party also consists of their guides - two Finnish brothers and their younger cousin, who is Finn's age - and members of an expedition led by Ruben Roobick, who wants to find new flavors for his line of ice cubes, Roobick's Cubes. Even after a freak accident and the disappearance of one of the guides, Finn is determined to continue on, desperate after all these years to find some trace of his vanished parents. Fans of the first three books about Finnegan will love this mystery, which is both scary and funny.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and witty, April 11, 2003

By 

Ather (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Viking Claw (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoy reading Finn Zwake books, and this mystery in itself is intriguining. Finn and his mystery-writer Uncle Stoppard are on a trip to Iceland chasing the last reminants of rumors as to where Finn's parents are. Of course they have to go somewhere potentially dangerous, this time it is the Haunted City of Tquuli. Finn isn't spooked about the legends about the Haunted City and the Vikings that once lived there. That is, he isn;t spooked until a member of their rock-climbing expadition vanishes while hanging off the side of a mountain in a sleeping bag... another disapperence and some odd footprints...
Ah ha! Now see how alluring it is. Believe me all is explained and if you read carefully and think critically you might just solve the mystery before hand. Enjoy!