The World-Famous Nine
$16.99 USD
hardcover
In this thrilling mystery from an award-winning author, Zander is determined to do whatever it takes to save his grandmother’s nineteen-story out-of-this-world department store—perfect for fans of The Swifts and The Mysterious Benedict Society.
Zander Olinga’s grandmother is the owner of the fabled Number Nine Plaza, the spectacular nineteen-story skyscraper. The Nine, as it’s called, has everything imaginable, including a massive Ferris wheel on its rooftop, monorail tracks suspended from its ceiling, and twenty-five glass elevators. But there’s something evil looming in the shadows, and strange accidents start befalling the guests. When Zander and his friend Natasha come across a series of inscriptions hidden throughout the walls of The Nine, they discover that the clues will lead them to a magical object which protects the store’s very existence. With the future of The Nine on the line, the pair are determined to recover the mysterious object before the luxury plaza and its many guests are destroyed.
Featuring an unforgettable setting and a larger-than-life cast of characters, here’s a spellbinding mystery involving puzzles, art, and high-stakes adventure.
Ben Guterson is the award-winning author of The Einsteins of Vista Point, which has sold into seven languages, as well as Winterhouse, an Edgar Award and Agatha Award finalist and an Indie Next List Pick, and its sequels, The Secrets of Winterhouse and The Winterhouse Mysteries. The Winterhouse trilogy is available in eleven languages worldwide. Ben created all the intricate mandala art for The World-Famous Nine. He lives near Seattle.
"Imaginative and entertaining … Guterson makes excellent use of his trademark ability to create puzzles and conjure clues in this innovative tale that pits clever and intrepid preteens against dark forces, dodgy family secrets and dastardly adults. Readers will breathlessly turn the pages as they wonder: Can the duo solve the mysteries of The Nine in time to save it from those who wish it—and them—ill? Impressive illustrations by Kristina Kister capture the wild grandeur of The Nine, and hand-drawn mandalas by Guterson himself add to the book’s uniquely appealing mystique."
—Bookpage
"A wholesome and elaborate middle-grade mystery with fantastical themes…. The department store offers a rich setting for adventure, and Ben Guterson spares no details in elaborate descriptions.… Mystery in a wondrous environment melds with family history and a tinge of magic in this tale for detail-oriented young readers."—Shelf Awareness
"Ben Guterson dives headlong into adventure, employing flights of fancy and imagination and humorous situations to instantly charm readers. A large, multiethnic cast of secondary adult characters balances the tweens’ youthful exuberance with caring, patient instruction, while [illustrator] Kristina Kister brings the grandiose setting to life, imbuing it with a wonder reminiscent of department stores of yesteryear."—Publishers Weekly
"Like Hogwarts, Narnia, or Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, the luxury department store The Nine is a place full of wonders and secrets. Add a kid with a brave heart, and this puzzly, page-turning mystery swept me away."—Elise Broach, award-winning author of Masterpiece and Duet
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