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Summary

In this The Librarians meets Sherlock Holmes for kids, a thirteen-year-old American searches for magical objects in modern day London. 

Stats

Genre: Midgrade (8-12 years) supernatural suspense/mystery

Series length: Three books

Violence: Moderate, not graphic

Magic/Supernatural: Moderate, primarily unexplained supernatural objects and places. The main protagonist also has synesthesia-like abilities, which is said to be a genetic trait. 

Romance: None

Christian/spiritual element: Subtle underlying worldview.  

Recommendation: Great for geeky girls and boys who like brain-engaging reads.

You might like this book if you liked... 
Sherlock Holmes, The Librarians, or ​Indiana Jones.

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Opening Lines:

A pair of rather large, blue-green beetles buzzed north over the River Thames, weaving back and forth over the water's surface in that haphazard pattern that beetles fly. Had they bothered to look, the early-morning joggers in London's Victoria Tower Gardens--wrapped up against the December cold in their leggings and winter caps--might have caught the glint of the rising sun reflecting off iridescent wings. Had they looked even closer, they might even have wondered if those wings were made of some strange metal alloy.

But they did not look. No one ever does. 

The Lost Property Office 
(Section 13, Book 1)
by James R. Hannibal

Thirteen-year-old Jack Buckles is great at finding things. Not just a missing glove or the other sock, but things normal people have long given up on ever seeing again. If only he could find his father, who has disappeared in London without a trace.

But Jack’s father was not who he claimed to be. It turns out that he was a member of a secret society of detectives that has served the crown for centuries—and membership into the Lost Property Office is Jack’s inheritance.

Now the only way Jack will ever see his father again is if he finds what the nefarious Clockmaker is after: the Ember, which holds a secret that has been kept since the Great Fire of London. Will Jack be able to find the Ember and save his father, or will his talent for finding things fall short?

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Opening Lines:

Night had fallen on London's Baker Street. The orange glow of the streetlamps reflected off pavement that seemed perpetually wet. A good number of pedestrians still walked the sidewalks, mostly heading home from the cafes. Teatime had barely passed, and in London, tea was more than just hot drinks.

A little south of Regent's Park and a little north of Baker Street Tube station--near 221B--one particular pedestrian opened his palm and let an etched gold cube drop to the ground. He kept walking. No one shouted after the man to tell him he had dropped something. No one noticed at all.

The Fourth Ruby 
(Section 13, Book 2)
by James R. Hannibal

It’s been a year since Jack Buckles discovered the Keep beneath Baker Street, an underground tower no Section Thirteen was ever supposed to see; a year since his dad fell into a coma. Nothing has been the same since. Jack’s tracker abilities are on the fritz, Gwen’s not speaking to him and, what’s worse, there’s a pounding voice in his head calling for “the flame.”

Jack and Gwen are framed for the theft of a historic crown jewel—the Black Prince’s Ruby, one of three cursed rubies said to bring knowledge, loyalty, and the command of nations to whomever wields them all. Now, they must retrieve the other jewels before the true thief does, or risk unleashing a reign of terror unlike anything history’s ever seen.

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Opening Lines:

A bronze nano-drone rose from the cemetery behind Saint Paul's Cathedral and tilted northward, four spherical engines glowing blue. It ducked beneath a cab on Cheapside, weaved through hurrying knees and boots, and paused in the shadow of a white stone building. When the pedestrian traffic thinned, it popped up over the rooftop, dropping into a hidden courtyard and pushing in through the mail slot of a weathered black door.

The Clockwork Dragon
(Section 13, Book 3)
by James R. Hannibal

​Jack Buckles is on trial for his life.

The Ministries of Secrets and Guilds, led by Ignatius Gall, are conspiring to put the Ministry of Trackers down for good—starting with Jack’s very existence as a Section 13. His only hope is to prove that Gall is the real danger, not him, and it leads Jack and Gwen from the back streets of London, through the Austrian Alps, to the great reaches of central China.

Joined by their new friend Liu Fai, Jack and Gwen set out to stop Gall before he can uncover ancient Chinese artifacts, said to grant immortality. But a clockwork monster threatens them at every turn, and its ticking gears only serve as a reminder that Jack’s judgment day is fast approaching—and that he’s running out of time.