Death's Door (Herculeah Jones Series) Book

When her best friend, Meat, narrowly escapes a hired gunman's bullet, Herculeah Jones has another mystery on her hands. Just as she begins to piece together the clues, she's kidnapped and taken to Death's Door, a deserted bookstore that may be too aptly named. Because somewhere in the dark, stalking Herculeah, is the assassin— and this time, he's determined not to miss. "An intense and suspenseful mix of mistaken identities and assumptions." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6Herculeah Jones is at it again! The young super sleuth and her sidekick, Meat, find themselves in double trouble. First, Meat becomes the target of a hired killer, and then Herculeah is kidnapped by Meat's uncle. The connection? The gunman has mistaken Meat for the uncle and the uncle has taken Herculeah to help him escape the killer. Byars manages to tie together incidents and characters to form a very readable, fast-paced mystery. She adds delicious tidbits of dialogue: references to "the cat in the hat"; Meat's discussion of his aunts and uncles being named after stores (his mother's name is Sears); and the exchanges between Herculeah and Meat's uncle add dimension to the characters. Although there are no great surprises and the gunman is captured quickly by the police, readers will still enjoy meeting Herculeah, her family, and friends. For more action, fans may want to read about Herculeah in The Dark Stairs (Viking, 1994).Mary M. Hopf, Los Angeles Public Library