The Giant Print Library
Mysteries and thrillers
for younger readers
Updated: January 2013
Any UK member of our library service
may borrow up to a maximum of 6
books per service for a 3 month loan
period.
Most of the books have been produced
by the National Blind Children's
Society and are in 24 point type with
identical covers to the ordinary print
versions of the books.
Please be aware that due to their size,
many of the books are split into two or
Logo – RNIB supporting blind and partially sighted people
Registered charity number 226227
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more volumes, and these will have the
same covers.
For details on borrowing any of the
titles listed or for further information
regarding the Giant Print collection
please contact Liz Farrell or Hazel
Sharrock, Children's Librarians at
RNIB National Library Service on 0161
429 1975.
Mysteries and thrillers
Balliett, B.
Chasing Vermeer. 2004.
Suggested reading age 13+. 2v.
A stolen painting, a series of
unexpected events, and two smart
children. Petra and Calder live in a
neighbourhood where strange things
have started to happen. Seemingly
unrelated events connect, a sharp old
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woman seeks their company - and a
priceless Vermeer painting disappears.
Blyton, Enid
The mystery of the disappearing
cat. 1944 . Suggested reading
age 9+. 1v.
Lady Candling lives next door to Pip
and Bets, and owns some very
expensive, pedigree Siamese cats.
When her most famous cat, Dark
Queen, goes missing, the gardener's
help, Luke seems the obvious suspect.
Blyton, Enid
The mystery of Tally-ho Cottage.
1969 . Suggested reading age 9+.
1v.
Fatty and the Find-Outers are plunged
into an exciting mystery. Who stole
the valuable picture from the art
gallery? What connects the glamorous
Lorenzos with the old Larkins? How
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does a poodle called Poppet fit into the
puzzle?
Bowler, Tim.
Storm catchers. 2005 .
Suggested reading age 13+. 2v.
Fin is devastated by guilt when his
sister, Ella, is kidnapped. As the
kidnappers make their demands
though, his guilt is replaced by a fierce
determination to find his sister by
whatever means and bring the
criminals to justice. As the drama
unfolds, a complex web of family
secrets is revealed.
Breslin, Teresa
Divided city. 2006 . Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
A young man lies bleeding in the
street. It's Glasgow. And it's
May - the marching season. The
Orange Walks have begun, graham
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doesn't want to be involved. He just
wants to play football with his new
mate, Joe. But then he witnesses a
shocking moment of violence...
Broad, Michael.
Zombie cows. 2007 . Suggested
reading age 9+. 1v.
These are the secret agent case files
of Amelia Kidd. She's saved the world
loads of times from evil geniuses and
criminal masterminds, thanks to her
great disguises, her own gadgets and
her brilliance at improvising in sticky
situations.
Brooks, Kevin.
Bloodline. 2004. Suggested
reading age 8+. Suggested
interest level 12+. 1v.
A Barrington Stoke book.
Finbar Black's day is turned upside
down when a crazy, beautiful girl
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bursts into the house with a gun and a
bag full of cash. Here we meet the
Black family: four generations of
schemers, liars, cheats and losers
and, via a succession of twists and
turns, we find out why she's there.
Brooks, Kevin.
Martyn Pig. 2002. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
Faced with the possibility of living with
a dreadful aunt, fifteen-year-old Martyn
Pig decides not to tell authorities when
his alcoholic father dies accidentally,
instead asking a friend for her help in
disposing of the body.
Cassidy, Anne.
Looking for JJ. 2004. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
This book explores the circumstances
and motives behind the murder of a
child - by her friend. Six years later, JJ
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has been released, and has a new
identity. But is there any way that she
can lead a "normal" life?
Cassidy, Anne.
Forget me not. 2008. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
A child has been stolen. Jade
Henderson is missing, taken from her
cot. Stella Parfitt watches the police
investigation unfold, and begins to ask
her own questions. Where was her
mother that night? The woods hold a
dark secret.
Coben, Harlan.
Shelter. 2012. Suggested reading
age 15+. 2v.
Myron Bolitar discovers that his
mysterious tearaway younger brother,
Brad, has a son - now teenaged.
When our hero's father, Brad, dies in a
mysterious accident in South America,
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Myron is his closest, albeit estranged,
relative left and is assigned to be his
legal guardian. Will uncle and nephew
be able to live with one another?
Cole, Steve.
Z Rex. 2009. Suggested reading
age 11+. 2v.
Z Rex is a living, breathing, maneating dinosaur who has been brought
to life by Adam's dad. He can talk,
think - and kill. And, he has no idea
why he's here. Zed wants answers,
and Adam's dad has them but he's
missing. Boy and dinosaur set out to
find Mr Adlar. But there are people
desperate to stop them and they seem
to be going to extreme lengths to do
so.
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Crowley, B.
Ship's angel. 2004. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
With no friends and no family, John
must make his way alone. He boards a
ship, heading for a new life. But the
ship is wrecked and John is washed
up on the coast of England. He
befriends a girl who is engaged to be
married to a man she hates. Then her
husband-to-be is found murdered and
John finds that he is falsely accused.
Finally released when new evidence
appears, he boards another ship. But
during a stormy night on board, John
finds out the identity of the killer...
Doder, Joshua.
Grk and the hot dog trail. 2006.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
New York might be the Big Apple, but
for Tim it's sausage city! A priceless
golden statue has been stolen and Tim
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has a vital clue. He follows the trail of
hot dogs in a sizzling chase - helped
by the hottest dog of all, Grk!
Donnelly, Jennifer.
A gathering light. 2004.
Suggested reading age 13+. 2v.
Set in 1906 and built around the real
life murder of a young woman in a
popular holiday resort. When Mattie is
given the letters by a guest at the hotel
in which she has a summer job she
thinks the giver is simply upset. But
when the woman is found drowned in
Big Moose Lake, Mattie has to decide
if she will read the letters, or burn
them. But Mattie has problems of her
own as she is growing up and trying to
decide on her future.
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Dowd, Siobhan.
Bog child. 2008. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
Set in Ireland during the Troubles
Fergus is digging for peat in the
mountain with his Uncle Tally when he
finds the body of a child. Who is she?
Suddenly a little voice comes to him in
his dreams, and the mystery of the bog
child unfurls.
Dowd, Siobhan.
The London Eye mystery. 2007.
Suggested reading age 9+. 2v.
When Ted and Kat watched their
cousin Salim get on board the London
Eye, he turned and waved before
getting on. But after half an hour it
landed and everyone trooped off - but
no Salim. Where could he have gone?
How on earth could he have
disappeared into thin air? So Ted and
his older sister, Kat, become sleuthing
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partners, since the police are having
no luck.
Doyle, Arthur Conan.
Sherlock Holmes short stories.
1989. Suggested reading age 9+.
1v.
A collection of short stories from the
greatest detective of them all.
Edge, Christopher
Twelve minutes to midnight.
2012. Suggested reading age
11+. 2v.
Penelope Tredwell is the feisty 13year-old orphan heiress of the
bestselling magazine, 'The Penny
Dreadful'. Her masterly tales of the
macabre are gripping Victorian Britain,
even if no one knows she's the author.
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Green, John.
Paper towns. 2010. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime
loving Margo Roth Spiegelman from
afar. So when she cracks open a
window and climbs into his life dressed like a ninja and summoning
him for an ingenious campaign of
revenge - he follows. After their allnighter ends, Q arrives at school to
discover that Margo has disappeared.
Grisham, John.
Theodore Boone. 2011.
Suggested reading age 11+. 2v.
Half the man, twice the lawyer. In the
small city of Strattenburg, there are
many lawyers, and though he's only
thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks
he's one of them. Theo knows every
judge, policeman, court clerk - and a
lot about the law. He dreams of being
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a great trial lawyer, of a life in the
courtroom. But Theo finds himself in
court much sooner than he expected.
Because he knows so much - maybe
too much - he is suddenly dragged into
the middle of a sensational murder
trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to
go free, and only Theo knows the
truth.
Haddon, Mark
The curious incident of the dog
in the night time. 2003.
Suggested reading age 15+. 2v.
This is a murder mystery novel like no
other. The detective, and narrator, is
Christopher Boone, who is fifteen and
has Asperger's, a form of autism. He
has never gone further than the end of
the road on his own, but when he finds
a neighbour's dog murdered he sets
out on a terrifying journey which will
turn his whole world upside down.
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Harrison, Cora
The Montgomery murder. 2010.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
In the mean streets of Victorian
London lies the body of wealthy Mr
Montgomery. When Inspector Denham
makes him an offer he can't refuse it's
up to Alfie and his gang to sift clues,
shadow suspects and negotiate a
sinister world of double-dealing and
danger - until the shocking truth is
revealed.
Hinton, Nigel.
Collision course. 2004.
Suggested reading age 11 +. 1v.
When Ray sees a motorbike with its
engine running and the key left in he
can't resist going for a joy ride - he
can't see that it could do anyone any
harm. But Ray is wrong about that and
by accident he kills an old woman. No
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one sees the accident, there is nothing
to link Ray to the death, the only
problem comes from Ray's
conscience. Will he be able to ignore
its promptings and enjoy being in the
football team and falling in love for the
first time, or will he go to the police?
Hinton, Nigel.
Timb bomb. 2005. Suggested
reading age 11+. 2v.
The bomb was our strength. Our
secret weapon. Set in post-war
Britain, the story follows 11-year-old
Andy and his three friends as they
experience a growing-up summer
before going on to secondary school.
A misunderstanding on the last day at
primary school, which results in a
terrible injustice, sparks off anger
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Hinton, Nigel.
Until proven guilty. 2006.
Suggested reading age 8 +.
Suggested interest level 12+. 1v.
When Nathan's father is arrested on
suspicion of murder, his whole life falls
apart. He's shunned at school, bullied
by neighbours, targeted by vigilantes.
Nathan clings onto the hope he can
prove his father's innocence - but what
if he can't? And what if his Dad is
guilty?
Horowitz, Anthony
The blurred man. 2007.
Suggested reading age 13+. 1v.
The man in the photo is so blurry, it's
impossible to make out what he really
looks like. And that's before he was
run over by a steamroller! His name
was Lenny Smile and he ran a
children's charity called Dream Time,
financed by millionaire author Joe
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Carter. Now Carter wants to know
what happened to Smile and the
money.
Horowitz, Anthony.
The Falcon's Malteser. 2007.
Suggested reading age 11+. 1v.
Book 1 in The Diamond Brothers
series (some other books in the series
are also available). When a dwarf
comes into the office and leaves a
package, Tim Diamond, the world's
worst private detective, is faced with
his toughest case yet. The office is
ransacked and the package is found to
contain simply a box of Maltesers.
Who was the dwarf and why was he
murdered shortly after his visit?
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Kennen, Ally.
Berserk. 2007. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
When Chas finds a website asking
people to write to prisoners on death
row, he decides it would be funny to
get letters from a murderer. He writes
to an inmate, but the replies are not
what he expects. His own escapades
land him in a young offender's institute,
where he learns his penpal has been
released.
Kemp, Gene.
Nothing scares me. 2006.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Petra can predict the future, and it's a
talent that she hates. People think
she's weird and she knows that if she
wants any friends she'll have to keep
her gift a secret. Then a student from
her school goes missing, it becomes
clear that Petra's visions may hold the
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key to the disappearance. But danger
lies much closer to home and Petra is
going to need all her talents to face
what lies ahead.
Lawrence, Caroline.
The thieves of Ostia. 2001.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Book 1; Roman mysteries series In
Rome in the year 79 A.D., a group of
children from very different
backgrounds work together to discover
who beheaded a pet dog - and why.
Lawrence, Caroline.
The secrets of Vesuvius. 2001.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Book 2; Roman mysteries series. It's
August AD79. Around the bay of
Naples, tremors shake the ground.
Mount Vesuvius is about to erupt.
Flavia Gemina, a Roman sea captain's
daughter is spending the summer with
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her uncle near Pompeii. When the
volcano erupts Flavia and her friends
Jonathon, Nubia and Lupus find
themselves in desperate danger.
Lawrence, Caroline.
The pirates of Pompeii. 2002.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Book 3; Roman mysteries series. AD
79, following the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius and the destruction of
Pompeii. Among the thousands of
people huddled in refugee camps
along the bay of Naples are Flavia
Gemina and her friends Jonathan the
Jewish boy, Nubia the African slavegirl, and Lupus the mute beggar boy.
Their discovery that children are being
kidnapped from the camps- among
them the daughter of the powerful
Publius Pollius Felix- leads them to
solve the mystery of the pirates of
Pompeii. A terrifically exciting and
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dramatic story and a brilliant picture of
the aftermath of a great disaster.
Lawrence, Caroline.
The assassins of Rome. 2003.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Book 4; Roman mysteries series.
Jonathan goes on a secret quest to
Rome, and Flavia, Nubia and Lupus
set out to find him. Their dangerous
mission takes them to the Golden
House of Nero where a deadly
assassin is rumoured to be at work and they learn what happened to
Jonathan's family during the terrible
destruction of Jerusalem nine years
earlier.
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Lovegrove, James.
Kill swap. 2007. Suggested
reading age 8+. Suggested
interest level 12+. 1v.
A Barrington Stoke book. Tom has a
big problem. A stranger says he has
the answer. Now a man is dead and
Tom's world has become a nightmare.
McGowan, Anthony.
The knife that killed me. 2008.
Suggested reading age 15+. 1v.
This thought-provoking and original
novel highlights the terrible
consequences of peer pressure and
violence, and casts a spotlight on the
worrying rise in knife crime among
teenagers.
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McKenzie, Sophie
Blood ties. 2008. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
Book 1 in the Blood series. When
Theo discovers the father he thought
died when he was a baby is still alive,
he's determined to find him. The clues
lead him to the lonely Rachel, who has
problems of her own, including parents
who compare her unfavourably to her
long-dead sister. But when Rachel and
Theo are attacked by men from RAGE
- the Righteous Army against Genetic
Engineering - at Rachel's school disco,
they are rescued by strangers and
taken to meet a mysterious figure.
There, they both make some startling
discoveries about their identities,
which will affect their past, present,
and future in dramatic and life-altering
ways.
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McKenzie, Sophie.
Girl, missing. 2006. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
Book 1 in the Girl, missing series
(Book 2, Sister, missing, is also
available).Lauren has always known
she was adopted but when a little
research turns up the possibility that
she was snatched from an American
family as a baby, suddenly Lauren's
life seems like a sham. How can she
find her biological parents? And are
her adoptive parents really responsible
for kidnapping her?
McKenzie, Sophie.
The set-up. 2009. Suggested
reading age 13+. 2v.
Book 1 in the Medusa Project series
(some other books in the series are
also available). 14 years ago, scientist
William Fox implanted four babies with
the Medusa gene - a gene for psychic
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abilities. But Fox died and the babies
were hidden away for years. Now the
children are teenagers - and unaware
that their psychic powers are about to
kick in.
McNab, Andy.
Terminal velocity. 2011.
Suggested reading age 13+. 2v.
This mission lands Ethan and the team
in the most perilous adventure of their
careers. The bodies of homeless
teenagers are turning up dumped on
the street, having been beaten to
death. At first no one really seems to
care, but then one survives long
enough to talk of being forced to fight
in a cage.
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MacPhail, Catherine.
Nemesis into the shadows. 2006.
Suggested reading age 13+. 2v.
Ram has no memory of who he is, his
background, or where he has come
from. He awakes in a darkened
corridor of a block of flats with no idea
of how he has got there. And then, the
lift doors nearby open and inside is a
dying man. Ram is now the murder
suspect and on the run.
Mahy, Margaret
Foxman. 1997. Suggested
reading age 9+. 1v.
It was Harley's idea that he and David
should take a ride in the abandoned
car. But when the boys find
themselves in a mysterious research
station, David suspects it's all part of a
sinister plan? But who wants to trap
them? And why?
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Muchamore, Robert
The escape. 2009. Suggested
reading age 11+. 2v.
Book 1 in the Henderson's Boys series
(Book 2, Eagle day, is also available).
Summer, 1940. Hitler's army is
advancing towards Paris. Amidst the
chaos, two British children are being
hunted by German agents. British spy
Charles Henderson tries to reach them
first, but he can only do it with the help
of a twelve-year-old French orphan.
The British secret service is about to
discover that kids working undercover
will help to win the war.
Palmer, Tom
Foul play. 2008. Suggested
reading age 9+. 1v.
Book 1 in the Football Detective series
(some other books in the series are
also available). Danny is obsessed
with two things: football - especially
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City Football Club - and investigating
crimes. So when England and City
footballing hero Sam Roberts is
reported missing the day after Danny
saw him being taken, blindfolded, into
the bowels of the City FC stadium late
at night, he's determined to get to the
bottom of it. But is Danny getting into
something he can't handle?
Paulsen, G.
Foxman. 1977. Suggested
reading age 13+. 1v.
With a storm coming on fast, Carl and
his cousin are desperate for shelter.
The remote shack, deep in the woods,
is their best chance of survival. But the
man who saves their lives that night is
the Foxman - a hideously mutilated
survivor of unspeakable horror. A man
who should, by rights, be dead...
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Pullman, Philip.
The adventures of the New Cut
Gang. 2012. Suggested reading
age 7+. 2v.
Thunderbolt, Benny, Bridie and Sharky
Bob are a mixed bunch of vagabonds
and urchins who come together to
form the New Cut Gang in two comic
tales of stolen silver, skullduggery and
desperadoes.
Pullman, Philip.
The ruby in the smoke. 1985.
Suggested reading age 13+. 2v.
Book 1 in the Sally Lockhart
series (other books in this series
are also available).
Sally Lockhart's father was an
unconventional man. When he dies
suddenly on a voyage to the Far East,
Sally receives a mysterious letter
containing a strange warning. Soon
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Sally finds herself at the heart of a
deep and dangerous mystery, one she
is determined to solve at all costs.
Pullman, Philip (editor).
Whodunnit? : utterly baffling
detective stories. 2007. 2v.
Suggested reading age 9+.
Unexplained disappearances, daring
thefts, perplexing mysteries and the
greatest sleuths of all time combine to
make this a page-turning read. From
Sherlock Holmes to Hercule Poirot,
these detectives puzzle their way
through a maze of alibis and motives
in the very best of classic and
contemporary crime fiction.
Swindells, Robert.
Stone cold. 1995. Suggested
reading age 15+. 1v.
Homeless on the streets of London,
16-year-old Link feels he has become
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an invisible outcast. When he meets
streetwise Ginger life becomes more
bearable and he learns the tricks of
survival. When Ginger goes missing,
Link is anxious. Then other homeless
kids disappear and, guessing at a
gruesome possibility, Link starts to
track down his suspect with an
ominous sense of foreboding.
Thompson, Kate
Creature of the night. 2008.
Suggested reading age 13+. 2v.
When Bobby's mother moves the
family into a rented house in the
country, a neighbour tells him that a
child was once murdered there. Bobby
doesn t care. He wants to get back to
Dublin and resume his wild life there,
stealing and racing stolen cars.
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Townson, Hazel
The deathwood letters. 2003.
Suggested reading age 9+. 1v.
Damian Drake rescues his dog from a
well and gets his name into the
newspapers. He then receives a letter
from a girl he has never met which
sparks off a long correspondence
between the two. As more letters are
exchanged a sinister thread creeps in
and the story gathers speed for a final
amazing drama.
Wynne-Jones, Tim
A thief in the house of memory.
2007. Suggested reading age
13+. 1v.
Dec hasn't seen his mother for six
years. Having moved into a new home
with his father, Dec rarely visits the old
family home, until one day he makes a
horrific discovery there - a man
crushed to death in the hall. Was it an
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accident or something more sinister?
As Dec tries to piece together the
mystery memories from the past begin
to reveal the elusive truth about his
mother's disappearance.