In his usual meticulous fashion, Meltzer (Piracy and Plunder, below, etc.) explores the many facets of detective work, from the historical perspective to the contemporary sleuthing of the detective on the street and the laboratory scientist. Part one of this fascinating work explores the everyday lives of detectives, how detecting became a profession, what questions detectives have to answer, why they use scientific tools, and the techniques they use when they deal with witnesses and white-collar criminals. Part two describes the many ways forensic science solves crimes in the laboratory. Cogent explanations accompanied by black-and-white photographs detail how scientists use DNA testing or how scientists analyze fabrics, hair, or dirt found at the crime scene in the search for clues. The reader gets a short course in ballistics, visits a serological lab involved in blood testing, learns about the study of documents and handwriting as well as lie detectors and eyewitness identification and forensic anthropology. Part three details the many kinds of detective opportunities available outside the traditional police force. Here, too, Meltzer’s in-depth approach segues from the Pinkertons and the Molly Maguires and the growth of the private-detective sector to the current work of the Innocence Project at the Cardozo School of Law, where professors and their students have become detectives looking for evidence that frees unjustly accused prisoners. Meltzer blends historical narrative, scientific description, and practical career information to create an interesting, offbeat look behind the scenes of the detective story. An extensive bibliography, photo credits, and index increase its usefulness for student reports. (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-29315-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series.
An orphaned street urchin is recruited into an elite school for thieves.
In an alternate world where France is the dominant world power, 13-year-old Tom Morgan has had to scrimp, starve, and steal on the streets of London to survive. Born into a workhouse, he doesn’t know anything about his father, while his mother may have been from North Africa. One thing he does know is the sort of cruelty that awaits the poor who are sent to the workhouse, and he’s determined not to go back. But when their camp is raided and his friends are captured by workhouse agents, the only thing Tom can think of is how to get them out. Enter the Corsair, a cunning and mysterious man with a proposition: He wants to recruit Tom into Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts. From nabbing treasures to forging identity papers, Beaufort’s promises to teach Tom everything he needs to know to become a Shadow Thief and a member of the Shadow League, the secret global organization that helps keep the world’s political power in balance. But Beaufort’s has its own rules and secrets, and if Tom is to survive long enough to help his friends, he’ll need to figure them out quickly. Clever and gripping, this fast-paced boarding school story will appeal to fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spy School series.
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781665982283
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls.
Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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