The Drowned Violin

#1 in the Alan Nearing mystery series

by Mel Malton

A Books For Everybody Spring 2006 Selection

"...a funny, lively story about four 11-year olds trying to recover a Stradivarius violin. The Drowned Violin is good fun, with credible, likeable characters." - The Quill & Quire

There was something floating in the water ahead of the canoe. “It looks dead, whatever it is,” someone said. That’s where the mystery begins, and eleven-year-old Alan and his friends are determined to solve it on their own, without adult interference. They have all the tools they need—Ziggy’s canoe, Josée's ability to impress parents, and Alan’s detective instinct. Mix in a gang of bullies on jet-skis, an eccentric hermit, and the theft of a priceless violin, and the stage is set for a fast-action summer adventure in cottage country. This is a new series for younger readers by Mel Malton, author of the Polly Deacon mysteries for adults under the name H. Mel Malton.

ISBN 978-1894917-23-0 / Ages 9 and up / Softcover / 5 1/8" x 7 1/2" / 160 pages / CDN $9.95, U.S. $8.95

Pioneer Poltergeist

#2 in the Alan Nearing mystery series

Something is haunting the Laingford Pioneer Village Park, a mysterious presence that seems determined to get Alan and his two friends in trouble. They are spending the tail-end of the summer working as costumed helpers at the historical site, and when things get weird, the Alan Nearing detective agency starts investigating. Is the poltergeist just a prankster, or are there sinister forces at work?