Best Selling Books by Joan Lowery Nixon

For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes Nobody’s There from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon. Furious at her father for breaking up their family, Abbie Thompson acted without thinking and got arrested for malicious mischief. Now the judge has assigned her to volunteer in a program that matches teens with the elderly. But Abbie doesn’t get just any elderly person. She gets Edna Merkel, a cranky, difficult woman who’s a member of the town’s crime prevention group. In fact, Mrs. Merkel is too active a member, and after she brags that she’s on to something big, she is attacked and ends up hospitalized. Suddenly the private investigator game is real, and only Abbie—with the help of Mrs. Merkel’s indecipherable notebook—can figure out who did it. But will Abbie get to the assailant before the assailant gets to her? “Fast-paced and involving.” –Kirkus Reviews “Well drawn and distinct…Nixon’s fans will no doubt enjoy.” –School Library Journal “Another great mystery.” –VOYA

For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes The Stalker from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon. When Jennifer Lee Wilcox returns home from the beach, she finds that Stella Trax, her best friend’s mother, has just been murdered. The police think Stella’s daughter Bobbie did it. Jennifer sets out to prove Bobbie’s innocence, but as she uncovers clues, she realizes she’s only leading herself to danger! “An exciting, fast-moving thriller.” –VOYA “A dandy suspense tale.” –Publishers Weekly

Sixteen-year-old Mary Elizabeth''s summer job at an expensive health club turns out to be more exciting than she bargained for when a series of mysterious events culminate in murder.

After being robbed by someone he knows, Eddie Compo becomes a victim of his own fear.

Novelist Augustus Trevor has written a manuscript that reveals the darkest secrets of his guests. Whoever can solve Trevor''s clues can have his story removed from the book. But when Trevor is bludgeoned to death, the survivors (along with the reader) are challenged to find both the manuscript and the murderer.

Sixteen-year-old Cassie, daughter of a famous comedienne, wishes she could spend more time with her sought-after mother and at the same time be recognized as a separate identity.

On a walk in the woods, Sean and Brian find a scary footprint Sean Quinn does not like the sound of spending a weekend in a neighborhood named Grizzly Hill. Although his friend Alan assures him the development has been bear-free for a century, Sean is not convinced. The woods are thick and dark, and there''s an old grizzly den not far from Alan''s house. And when Brian discovers a strange footprint on a forest path, Sean starts to wish he had stayed at home with Mrs. Peabody, the babysitter. She''s not any fun, but at least she''s not a bear! Brian decides the print is too small to be a full-grown grizzly, but it could be a cub. Against Sean''s wishes, they follow the tracks into the forest. If there are bears in the woods, Brian wants to know. And if the animal is something even stranger, he can''t wait to find out!

Irish immigrant Rose Carney has a difficult life in Chicago. She’s working to help pay for her mother’s and sisters’ passages, dealing with her father’s drinking problem, and worrying about her brothers’ involvement in questionable activities. Rose becomes committed to a campaign to clean up Chicago and fight for world peace, but she knows her family responsibilities come first. With everything that’s happening in her life, can Rose hold on to her American dream?

In 1879 seventeen-year-old Sarah travels from Chicago to the violent town of Leadtown, Colorado, to locate her missing father, but she finds that the mention of his name brings her strange looks and an attempt on her life.

For fans of Gillian Flynn, Caroline Cooney, and R.L. Stine comes The Trap from four-time Edgar Allen Poe Young Adult Mystery Award winner Joan Lowery Nixon. Julie has the perfect summer plan. She’ll be with her friends on the swim team, and this year, for the first time, they have a chance to make the Interstates. So when her family tells her she’s being sent to spend the summer with her great-aunt and great-uncle at Rancho del Oro, their ranch in Texas, she feels resentful. Once she’s at Rancho del Oro, however, Julie quickly learns that something strange is going on. Pieces of jewelry and other little objects are missing. The older people on the ranch say they may have misplaced the items—but something doesn’t add up. Julie’s Uncle Gabe only broke his ankle when he fell down the stairs from his observatory, but two other men on the ranch have recently died. The deaths have been ruled accidents, but were they? When Julie figures out that Uncle Gabe’s fall was not an accident, she knows she must discover the killer’s identity. Or she could be next. Joan Lowery Nixon expertly combines a family story with a compelling mystery to keep her readers guessing until the very end. “With its twists and turns, this page-turner is a must for mystery fans.” –School Library Journal “[The Trap] maintains a fast pace, with likeable, interesting characters and a dash of romance.” –VOYA “A teen reader can identify with…Julie.” –Kirkus Reviews

Ann, a young girl in eighteenth-century Williamsburg, wants to become a doctor like her father, but she is not allowed even to study Latin or mathematics.

While on vacation at a dude ranch, the Casebusters chase a horse thief Sean and Brian Quinn can''t think of anywhere cooler than the Austin Dude Ranch. Although neither has ever ridden a horse, they''re positive that playing cowboy is going to become their favorite pastime. But before they can learn to rope and ride, they''re going to have to practice their other favorite hobby: solving mysteries. A racehorse has been stolen from the neighboring farm, and the ranch''s owners think that their horses may be the next to disappear. To find the missing pony, Brian and Sean will have to confront something even more scary than horse thieves: the ghost of the crazy old gold prospector who is said to haunt a nearby abandoned mine. Whether the culprit is living or dead, Brian and Sean must catch him faster than they can say, "Giddy-up!"

Joan Lowery Nixon is the acclaimed author of more than a hundred books for young readers. Over the years, many of her readers have written to her to ask how they, too, can become published writers someday. From her first publication at age ten to her graduation from Hollywood High during World War II, this memoir, which includes advice as well as anecdotes, is her answer. Listening to her favorite programs on the radio, performing puppet shows at orphanages and hospitals, and writing love poems for high school classmates to send to soldiers overseas all planted the seeds from which a prolific writing career grew. Joan Lowery Nixon never forgot what her ninth-grade journalism teacher told her: “A writer must always have faith in herself. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.” Both informative and entertaining, The Making of a Writer is a charming look at one writer’s beginnings. “Nixon tucks her tips into a memoir that stands alone…A delightful look back at a time and a life.” –Booklist “Her writing is clear and interesting, admirably blending her personal history, that of the nation, life lessons, and writing tips…[readers] will appreciate the insights she offers into her own life as well as the development of her signature style.” –VOYA “A lively read…[with] clear and concise advice to writers.” –School Library Journal “A lighthearted biography…It is a nicely focused take on something about the author.” –Kirkus Reviews

Swedish immigrant Kristin Swensen lives on a farm in Minnesota. She hoped for a new life in America, but she realizes that her parents are clinging as closely as possible to the life they knew in Sweden. Kristin can’t accept coming all this way only to re-create what she left behind. She longs to speak English and help the cause of women’s rights. Her parents, however, want her to settle down and get married. Must Kristin give up her dream of independence and accept her parents’ Old World values?

The Casebusters investigate accidents at an abandoned theater—where a ghost is the chief suspect! Ever since the new mall opened on the other side of Redoaks, the area around the historic Culbertson Theater has been abandoned. But when a local developer wants to bulldoze the area and turn it into a shopping center, someone inside the theater decides to take matters into his own hands—hands that may be alive or dead. After a sandbag falls on a building inspector''s shoulder—the latest in a string of suspicious accidents—kid detectives Brian and Sean Quinn decide to investigate. Sean''s friend Sam suspects it is the work of the ghost of Horatio Hamilton, an actor who died in the theater decades before, but Miss Beezly—the strange old woman who runs the theater—says that Horatio''s ghost is too polite for such misbehavior. Someone is pulling these dangerous pranks, and Brian and Sean better find out fast—in case the next sandbag falls on a detective!

The sons of a private detective investigate a crazy art museum caper—and try to avoid a spooky statue! Ever since they were very young, Brian and Sean Quinn have helped their father solve mysteries. Even though their dad is a professional detective, he always likes to hear his kids'' opinions. Sometimes they even help him catch a crook! But when a pair of priceless Leonardo da Vinci drawings disappears from the local art museum, their father is stumped, and only the boys can crack the case. The robbery was an inside job, which means the drawings could be anywhere—even inside the museum. Sean and Brian inspect the premises and get to know the staff. And everything goes fine until they get to the Anubis Room, where the famous Egyptian statue is rumored to come alive at night. The Quinn boys will nab the thief—as long as the statue doesn''t catch them first!

Great middle greats fiction.