All The Wrong Questions - Who Could That Be At This Hour?
by Lemony Snicket
This is book 1 in a series, and being Lemony Snicket, it is a bit weird and off-centre, but a great spy adventure for 9+.
Lemony is 13 and is assistant to S.Theodora Markson (she never tells us what the 'S' stands for), who is a secret agent/private detective. Their job is to find a stolen object 'The Bombinating Beast' (a mythical monster) and return it to its rightful owner. However, many people seem to be involved in the 'theft', if it is indeed that, and there are many people not telling the truth. Lemony attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery (without much help from Theodora - as it turns out she is quite a useless private detective), and along the way makes friends with a few unusual, colourful characters. A bizarre, but good, read.
Liar and Spy
by Rebecca Stead
What a great story! Georges and his parents have to move from their large house to an apartment after dad loses his highly paid job. Mum works as a nurse in the local hospital and takes on extra shifts to make ends meet. Georges only manages to communicate with his mum through messages left via Scrabble letter pieces. He makes friends with Softer, a boy in the apartment above, who gets him to join his spy club. He is spying on one of their neighbours, 'Mr X', who Softer is convinced is a murderer. Together they try to find out what Mr X is up to, by watching his comings and goings on the block's video intercom system, and by breaking and entering his flat. However, Georges finds he is mixed up in rather more than a schoolboy spy club, and events at school with the classroom bullies, together with events taking place within his family, all lead him to question friendship, loyalty, truth and love.
Rebecca has also written the wonderful When You Reach Me, which was shortlisted for Waterstones Childrens Book Prize 2011.
