Firebug

by Marianne Mitchell Narrated by Jennifer Ikeda

Overview

When Haley shows up at her uncle's Sedona, Arizona, bed and breakfast ranch to help for a couple weeks, she is met with panic: a guest cabin is on fire! Everyone is ok, so good-natured Uncle Jake writes it off as just another stroke of bad luck-but Haley isn't so sure. Soon, Haley is certain something is up. It looks like the fire may have been intentional, because more weird things are going on at the ranch. The horses are spooked, Uncle Jake is getting threatening postcards, and computer viruses are erasing important information. But between greed, jealousy, and a rumor of buried treasure, everyone has a motive. Haley's got to figure out who is behind these crimes before her uncle loses the ranch for good. Author Marianne Mitchell uses her considerable knowledge of ranching in the Sedona area for plenty of plot twists, and narrator Jennifer Ikeda is superb as determined sleuth Haley. "There's enough intrigue and suspense here to keep readers engaged and guessing until the end ..."-Booklist

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Gr 4-7-When her Uncle Jake asks her to fill in for a week as a housekeeper on the ranch he converted from her grandparents' homestead in Sedona, AZ, Haley hesitantly agrees. She arrives to find one of the cabins on fire, and it soon looks like arson. All of the guests are suspects. Ostensibly, Aquanetta Real and her son, Zach, are staying there so she can perform in a folk concert, but then Haley learns that the woman's deceased husband was Jake's childhood friend. Bill and Martha Craig were friends of Haley's grandparents and frequent visitors who tried to buy the ranch before the area became prosperous. Their 20-year-old granddaughter, Vivica Dove, spouts New Age lingo about vortexes and crystals. The plot, which includes Jake's financial troubles, an old miner's map, spooked horses, a computer virus, and threatening postcards, overshadows character development. Children familiar with the area might find the setting interesting; others will prefer the more fully rounded characters of Wendelin Van Draanen's "Sammy Keyes" mysteries (Knopf) and Betsy Byars's "Herculeah Jones" series (Viking).-Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170997329
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	09/16/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Videos