The Crime Scene: Crime Writing for Children

One way or another, one day or another, everybody reads mysteries and likes them, and of what other genre may this be said?Yes, the staff of the New York Review of Books will leap to their collective feet, claiming they are above that sort of thing, that they wouldn’t soil their pince-nez by reading a mystery. Oh, please. They’ve read “Crime and Punishment,” “Bleak House,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Les Misérables,” “Native Son” — all outstanding crime novels — and, if they’ll come clean, they will even admit they liked the Sherlock Holmes stories.Being without progeny, I have had little cause to read children’s books until recently, when I noticed that some of my favorite authors had turned their talents to writing for young readers. Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, Robert Parker, and Ridley Pearson (with Dave Barry) all have had great success with their young-adult novels, and, of course, so have James Patterson and his writing factory. However, it should be pointed out that once one dips into these books, they can be as compelling and addictive as their adult counterparts.F. Paul Wilson is a best-selling science-fiction writer whose most famous character is Repairman Jack, a heroic figure who helps people with serious problems that cannot be addressed lawfully. He has protected innocent, desperate victims who find themselves in situations involving blackmail, terrorism, designer drugs, etc., and have nowhere to turn.When Jack was a teenager, his mother was killed when a criminal dropped a cinder block from an overpass onto the family car. Jack waits for the punk to show up again and, when he does, kills him. This begins his life’s work.After 11 Repairman Jack novels for adults, most of which have strong elements of science fiction and fantasy, Mr. Wilson has written “Jack: Secret Histories” (Tor, 302 pages, $15.95), his first for teenagers — which also provides an excellent backstory for adult fans of the series. In the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Jack and his two best friends come across a rotting corpse, the victim of a ritual murder. Then there is another killing, and Jack knows he has to do something about it. It is easy to see why Stephen King identifies himself as the president of the Repairman Jack Fan Club.Another exciting book with adult themes for teenagers is Robert Parker’s “The Boxer and the Spy” (Philomel, 210 pages, $17.95). A high school student’s body washes up on a New England shore and the authorities decide that the cause of death is suicide, induced by steroid use. Terry, a classmate who is devoted to boxing and who liked the quiet, artistic teenager, knew he wasn’t the type to use ‘roids, and so begins to investigate.Good boxing lessons are described in these pages, and so are good life lessons with the same high moral tone that permeates Mr. Parker’s adult novels.For somewhat younger readers (8-12), Jennifer Lanthier has produced a captivating, Nancy Drew-like mystery, “The Mystery of the Martello Tower” (Laura Geringer, 265 pages, $16.99), that crams into one volume just about everything that could scare the snot out of a child.At the start of a summer vacation, Ned (not Nancy Drew’s friend) and Hazel’s father suddenly disappears. Then the babysitter leaves. Then Interpol gets involved. Then their apartment is burgled. Then two scary thugs seem to be stalking them.This is the author’s first book, and it seems as if she was determined to get every idea she ever had into it. With all the activity, there is no time for readers to catch their breath, which is exactly the idea.Adam Rex, which, let me make a giant leap of conjecture here, may not be the author’s real name, has just produced his second book, “Frankenstein Takes the Cake” (Harcourt, 40 pages, $16). It may be a children’s book, a young-adult book, or merely a silly, weird, oversize picture book for adults. Whatever it is, I guarantee it will make you laugh.The opening chapter features the Frankenstein monster’s mother-in-law making wedding plans and complaining about the cost–she’d just finished paying for the now-reanimated bride’s funeral.When she meets the groom, she tells her daughter: “I’m an open-minded person. I’m not trying to be mean, but I never thought my little girl would marry someone green.”It’s all enough to make you want to be young again.Mr. Penzler is the proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan and the series editor of the annual Best American Mystery Stories. He can be reached at ottopenzler@mysteriousbookshop.com.

The Crime Scene: Crime Writing for Children

The Crime Scene: Crime Writing for Children

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