Books Nick of Time
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - Fantastic book!
So far this book is great. It is very interisting and exciting. I recomand this for all readers!

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Rating: - An Instant Classic!!
Wow. This book blew me away. And not just to sea, either. It is an epic adventure story told
in a way that will remind older readers of books like Treasure Island and Jules Verne's classics.

I've read all of Ted Bell's adult books at least once (one of them three times!) and have loved everyone of them. I was a little skeptical about this author going into the younger reader area, but I was dead wrong.

This book, I believe, is destined to be a classic. In fact, it may be one already.

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Rating: - exciting Twin City Noir
In St. Paul, Minnesota sixth grader Victoria and fourth grader Katie Dunston were walking home from St. Mark's Elementary School when a man in white coveralls and a black ski mask abducts the older sister. Their father Bobby, the city's homicide chief, asks his long time friend former cop Rushmore McKenzie to help rescue his daughter although the detective knows his buddy lacks a sleuthing license.

The kidnapper demands Mac deliver the ransom, which he is willing to do. Mac begins racing through St. Paul following tips while someone places a $50,000 bounty on him. Soon Mac and Bobby begin to realize who the abductor is and why this snatch is personal. The knowledge brings fear to both men not for themselves, but for what their former childhood buddy might be capable of doing to this preadolescent girl out of an obsession to avenge what he believes was a betrayal of their friendship.

This is an exciting Twin City Noir that never slows down from the opening abduction to the final confrontation. Part of the fascination with this strong series (see DEAD BOYFRIENDS).is Mac makes mistakes that can prove costly as he does in MADMAN ON A DRUM. Although action-packed, the tale also focuses on loyalty between friends as Bobby was doing his job when the betrayal occurred (though not quite as potentially dangerous and it was a law enforcement matter, but think in terms of the heroic parents who turned in their son recently because they feared a Columbine). This is a strong entry in a powerful series.

Harriet Klausner

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Rating: - Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Set in 1939, NICK OF TIME is about young Nick McIver and his adventuresome spirit.

Nick loves to sail and be out on the water with his trusty dog, Jip. He loves it so much that he often loses track of time and comes home late for dinner, which irritates his tough yet loving mother. One night, Nick also discovers that his father is no ordinary lighthouse keeper. He's also a spy for England. What would become World War II was brewing, and Nick joins his dad in his efforts of spying for Nazis.

This story has a lot going for it. The writing is excellent, the story includes sailboats, Nazis, submarines, secret castles, mysterious villains, pirates, squawking parrots, dogs, cats, spies and, as the title implies, travel through time. The one downside is that it takes more than one hundred pages to get to the time travel promised by the title.

Nevertheless, it's a fun story, full of adventure and suspense, with a dose of history thrown in.

Reviewed by: Marie Robinson