The Falcon's Malteser (Diamond Brothers Series #1) Book

Tim Diamond is possibly the world's worst detective. He's dense, he's distracted, he's unbelievably dim-it's a good thing his younger brother Nick is around! Nick knows there'll be trouble when Tim's entrusted with a package worth over five million dollars, but he doesn't know how much trouble. When the owner of the package is murdered, Tim gets the blame, Nick gets the package, and every crook in town is out to get them! Can Nick outwit them and turn this candy caper into a sweet deal for the Diamond Brothers?
Full of humor and non-stop action, this mystery series by the author of Stormbreaker will leave readers eagerly awaiting more.

Michael Levy - VOYA

First published in the U.K. in 1986 and subsequently made into a film called variously Diamond's Edge and Just Ask for Diamond, The Falcon's Malteser is the first in Horowitz's long-running Diamond Brothers Mystery series, now being reissued in an Americanized edition. Herbert Simple, who was fired from the London police department for stupidity and who is a coward to boot, is trying to scratch out a living as the world's worst private detective under the rather romantic name of Tim Diamond. Fortunately his thirteen-year-old brother, Nick, the book's narrator, is made of sterner and smarter stuff. When a mysterious dwarf leaves a package in their hands for safekeeping and is then found murdered, the Diamond brothers leap-or perhaps stumble-into action. The package, it turns out, contains a box of malted milk balls, the Maltesers of the title. Several of the most important criminals in London, among them a near-anorexic known as the Fat Man and a pair of hitmen named Gott and Himmell, apparently believe it to be the key to millions of dollars in diamonds. The book features some nice word play, and Horowitz takes great pleasure in parodying the various cliches of film noir and the hardboiled detective novel, although many of these references will be lost on the story's intended audience. On the other hand, more sophisticated teen readers might wonder why British kids in London are paying for things in dollars and cents. In the sequel, Public Enemy Number Two, Nick Diamond is framed for a jewelry heist and finds himself behind bars, sharing his cell with Johnny Powers, public enemy number one. Nick must break out of jail in order to clear his name and catch the guy who set himup, but he has only his incompetent brother to depend on, which means that things do not look good. The Diamond Brothers stories are invariably funny and full of excitement. Mystery readers with a sense of humor will enjoy both tales and look forward to further books in the series. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2004, Philomel, 224p., Ages 11 to 15.