My middle-grade mystery series, THE CODE BUSTERS CLUB, won the Agatha Award for Best Children’s Mystery three times(!) and was nominated for the World Mystery Anthony Award for Best Children’s Mystery. The series features four kids who solve mysteries by cracking codes in each chapter.
THE CODE BUSTERS CLUB books are available from Lerner, as well as through bookstores and online retailers.
Short synopses of the 12 Code Busters Club books:
CBC #1 – SECRET OF THE SKELETON KEY – The Code Busters noticed a strange coded message in old “Skeleton Man’s” window that says “Help!” When Mr. Skelton disappears—and his house mysteriously burns down—the Code Busters find more codes and discover evil relatives trying to take the old man’s hidden money…
CBC #2 – THE HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSE – When the Code Busters take a field trip to eerie Alcatraz, they find a coded message scratched in Diamond Dave’s prison cell. They decode it to find it may lead to the thief’s hidden cache of diamonds… codes)
CBC #3 – MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S TREASURE – The Code Busters visit the Carmel Mission and quickly discover a coded journal and a coded map left behind by the notorious Argentine pirate Hippolyte Bouchard—who buried silver and jewels stolen from the missionaries…
CBC #4 – THE MUMMY’S CURSE – The Code Busters are excited about their school trip to an Egyptian Museum, where they get to see a real mummy. But when a theft occurs—and a coded message is left behind—they quickly go to work on deciphering the code and solving the crime…
CBC #5 – HUNT FOR THE MISSING SPY – The Code Busters arrive at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC to learn about spies and do some sight-seeing. When they’re sent on a coded hunt to the famous monuments and museums, they soon learn they’re being followed by a mysterious “spy” who is changing the coded messages…
CBC #6 – SECRET OF THE PUZZLE BOX – The Code Busters visit the immigration station at Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West, to learn about their immigrant relatives. When Rika discovers a Japanese puzzle box with a coded note inside, she realizes it’s a warning from her great-great-grandfather…
CBC #7 – A DISAPPEARANCE IN MAGIC LAND – The Code Busters visit Magic Land (think Disneyland with Magic), and Cody’s deaf sister gets lost… codes)
CBC #8 – THE SCIENCE FAIR SCHEME – The Code Busters compete with Matt the Brat at the Science Fair, but their projects are ruined by a mysterious drone…
CBC #9 – THE HAUNTING OF MYSTERY MANSION – The Code Busters go to the Winchester Mystery House with Luke and his Grandmere. The find a séance room, some evil “spirits,” and the “ghost” of a girl who’s in trapped inside…
CBC #10 – CLASH OF THE CODE CLUBS – Matt the Brat forms his own Super Spy Club and the competition with the Code Busters is on—until things go wrong…
CBC #11 – ESCAPE FROM BIG FOOT – The Code Busters go to the Gold Country with Cody’s family, find a mine where gold is supposedly hidden, and encounter “Big Foot”…
CBC #12 – THE SEARCH FOR THE MISSING MASCOT—Matt the Brat is blamed for stealing the school mascot, so the Code Busters must find the real thief before matt is kicked out of school for good…