South By Southeast (Diamond Brother Mysteries)
Grade 5-9–Horowitz has created another well-written, well-paced spy melodrama. This fifth addition to the series will engage readers with its hilarious, nonstop story line. Tim Diamond, the world's worst detective, has few cases to solve, so he and his younger brother, Nick, are destitute until a stranger offers Tim a fistful of much-needed cash in exchange for his raincoat. With the stranger's violent death, Tim and Nick find themselves dealing with disbelieving police and people claiming to be government agents. The brothers have a multitude of hair-raising adventures, including one in which they are chased by a small plane in a scene reminiscent of Hitchcock's classic filmNorth by Northwest(hence the book's title). The story ends as the sibs meet the chief villain on a village fair's Tunnel of Love ride. Tim is likable but clueless, and Nick, the narrator, the true brains behind their act.–Alice DiNizo, Plainfield Public Schools, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.