Super Puzzletastic Mysteries Quotes

“story together?”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Why are we here again?” Derrick asked, his green eyes narrowing into slits. Beads of sweat gathered along the edge of his hair and his hands were trembling. For someone who studied monstrous creatures from the ocean, Derrick seemed surprisingly nervous about the supernatural. Of course, thought Min, if Derrick didn’t want to see a vampire squid all he had to do was stay out of the ocean. A ghost could find you anywhere.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Lame.” Jayid Kafir yawned, not even looking up from a map of glowing stars. He was stocky, with ears that stood out from his head like large seashells. Jayid was the one who geeked out over everything in the night sky. He always wore tee shirts with a different planet on the front. Today it was Mars.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“The three “Geekers” met almost every other day to figure out science riddles, just to keep their thinking sharp during the hot summer months. Today they had landed at Min’s, a white-and-gray modern home with lots of large, shiny windows and square furniture that looked like boxes. Since it was a hundred degrees with 87 percent humidity outside (Min knew it precisely, because at the moment she was studying meteorology), the Geekers were sprawled out in the family room, which was air-conditioned to a crisp seventy-two degrees.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Frowning in concentration, the three of them looked closer. Suddenly, the image came into much sharper focus. Brian stood in an old-fashioned basement, one with a high-bricked ceiling and an earthen floor. In an instant Min knew exactly where he was filming, because everybody knew about the most haunted house in Indiana, especially Min, who lived two short blocks away. She’d grown up hearing the stories: ghost children who ran through hallways, throwing pebbles—three at a time—at anyone who dared to come inside. Whispers of a man who haunted its empty windows, his withered skin as white as bone. Tattered curtains moved by the curl of a skeletal finger. Everyone called that house the Scary Place.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Riley scooched through a hole he knew about in the fence and carefully headed toward Mr. Jenkins’s elevated back porch. It was made of concrete and free of snow, shielded by an angled aluminum awning overhead. As he moved closer, Riley could see the tops of a pair of tan boots peeking out of a wooden crate pushed into a corner where the porch’s railings met the house’s brick wall.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Riley put on his snow boots and coat and trudged across the ballfields to the scene of the “crime.” The edges of the FART letters were crusting over with ice. Riley wondered why Mr. Ball hadn’t sent out the custodians to plow away or cover up the word. Probably because it was on Old Man Jenkins’s property, not the school’s.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Riley and his crew usually met up in the library every morning before the first bell. After school, they’d meet up again at the Pizza Palace on Main Street. They were a little like firefighters or the Avengers. They were always ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Jamal Wilson came strutting into the library. He was the youngest and newest member of Riley’s “gnat pack.” That’s what Fairview’s sheriff, Big John Brown, called Riley Mack and the “other known troublemakers” he associated with. The sheriff thought they were a bunch of annoying little pests. Probably because the bully they busted most often was his son, Gavin Brown.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Briana would hit the locker room, change into her New Goth Girl disguise/costume, and then try to find a seat at Elyssa Shapiro’s table. It shouldn’t be hard. Nobody much wanted to sit with Elyssa except her nose- and eyebrow-studded friend with the purple hair, Charlotte Edelman.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Why, hello, Mr. Mack,” said Briana in a snooty, lockjaw voice, like she went to college in Connecticut. “I’m ever so delighted to see you again.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“In truth, Riley’s crew didn’t make trouble. They were fixers. The school’s go-to team of Robin Hoods. They only tried to right wrongs, protect innocent kids from bullies, look out for abused animals, and, basically, use their talents to do all the good they could.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Riley had a strict ethical code for his team’s operations, too. They would never execute a caper that was just plain wrong. For instance, on Monday, an eighth grader named Steve Duffy had come to Riley’s office in the media center, begging for help.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Mr. Ball came through the front doors wrapped in a dull gray parka that made him look like a quilted pork sausage. He stomped snow off his rubber boots; shook it off his pant cuffs. Then he wiggle-waggled the large pair of tan hiking boots he held in his hand.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Mr. Ball was Fairview Middle School’s vice principal. Its disciplinarian. The guy who liked nothing better than running detention hall. He’d strut up and down the rows of chairs, tapping a ruler behind his back, his eyes darting from one inmate to the next, just itching to whip out his pink pad and give one of the troublemakers another hour in the after-school punishment zone.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“Briana came up the hall, hugging her books to her chest, trying to blend into the background of lockers. Riley touched his ear. She nodded and moved to the nearby water fountain where she could eavesdrop.”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

“That’s what some grown-ups called Riley and his friends Ben, Briana, Jamal, and Mongo (whose real name was Hubert Montgomery but, because he was so huge, everybody called him “Humongo,” which quickly morphed into “Mongo”).”
― Chris Grabenstein, Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America