The Spy in Alley

by Melanie Jackson

Overview

Confronting a prowler in the backyard, Dinah is determined to find out why someone has taken an interest in her older sister and herself. Who is the buck-tooth burglar? Why are the Rinaldi's tomatoes always involved? And what is the connection between Madge's boyfriend and GASP, a group of well-intentioned anti-smoking activists? When it becomes apparent that Wellman Talent, the modeling agency Madge works for, is making deals with an unscrupulous tobacco company, and that the spy is out to sabotage GASPís plans to expose the connection, Dinah has to call on all her talents, both sleuthing and singing, to solve the case. In the spirit of Sammy Keyes, Dinah gets by on pluck, courage and an irrepressible sense of humor as she is catapulted into a mystery that twists and turns from the blackberry patch to the corporate boardroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554695409
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	01/09/2002
Series:	Dinah Galloway , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	634 KB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

A 2018 CCBC-TD Book Week author, Melanie Jackson has written several books for young readers in the Orca Currents series, including Tick Tock Terror, Medusa's Scream and Death Drop. Every spring Melanie teaches a mystery unit at a Vancouver secondary school. When not devising diabolical mysteries, she works for corporate clients as a contract writer/editor. Melanie lives in Vancouver.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-6-When a bucktoothed prowler begins to stalk Madge Galloway, a local teen model in Vancouver, British Columbia, her inquisitive younger sister vows to track him down and bring him to justice. Dinah has an appetite for adventure as well as for gleaning fresh produce from the neighbors' yards. When she is not tormenting her sister over her stuck-up boyfriend, whose dad happens to own the agency where Madge works, the 11-year-old uses her resources to fight video-game monsters and sing for free ice cream at the local gelati shop. Dinah befriends a young man who is house-sitting for her neighbors, the Rinaldis, and who also does volunteer work for an antismoking organization. Before long, Dinah begins to suspect that there are connections among the prowler, repeated break-ins to the Rinaldi house, and a deal between the modeling agency and Fields Tobacco. The characters avoid broad stereotypes (Madge actually prefers painting to modeling) and have interesting backgrounds, even though the situations they find themselves in stretch credibility at times. Unfortunately, the vibrant personalities are often bogged down with forced dialogue and overexplained situations. Still, this is a fun, lighthearted story that also deals thoughtfully with serious issues such as substance abuse and self-esteem.-Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Bellevue Regional Library, WA

School Library Journal

"A great hit for mystery buffs everywhere. Excellent."

Resource Links

"Young mystery fans will look forward to Dinah's further cases. Highly Recommended."

CM Magazine

"Leaves us wanting to see much more of the Galloway family."

Children's Book News