Book Review – The Black Circle by Patrick Carman
Book Five in The 39 Clues Series Adventure Novels and Competition
Aug 27, 2009
With the release of The 39 Clues book #5, The Black Circle (Scholastic, 2009) by Patrick Carman, this exciting adventure series continues with Amy and Dan Cahill travelling to Russia to search for more clues.
The 39 Clues #5: The Black Circle
The fifth of ten books in The 39 Clues series, The Black Circle brings readers to a halfway point in the adventure of 14-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother Dan. Previous instalments have seen the clue-hunting siblings travel around the world looking for the answers to the Cahill family mystery.
Launched into their adventure by the mysterious message in their grandmother’s will, Amy and Dan have travelled around the world, often accompanied by other members of their extended family or by their au pair, Nellie.
In The Black Circle, Amy and Dan strike out alone and find themselves in Russia, discovering secrets about the disappearance of the Russian princess Anastasia and the murder of her family. Amy and Dan must decide whether to risk falling into a trap set by the scheming Lucians in order to gather more clues and possibly find out what happened to their parents on the night they died.
The 39 Clues Books, Cards, Website and Competition
The launch of the first The 39 Clues book in 2008 began a 2 year competition that will conclude in late 2010. The 39 Clues series will ultimately include ten titles each written by a different author. The current titles are:
- #1 The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
- #2 One False Note by Gordan Korman
- #3 The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis
- #4 Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson
- #5 The Black Circle by Patrick Carman
The books contain clues within the stories as well as hidden in illustrations, cover details and page number codes. Each book comes with a set of game cards and separate game card packs can also be purchased. These cards contain further clues and can be entered online to open further clues and puzzles.
The 39 Clues website allowed readers to register and gain additional information about the Cahill family members featured in the stories. Once they have registered, readers can keep track of their game card collection online and there are a number of logic puzzles and games to play.
The 39 Clues competition is being run concurrently in several different regions internationally. The major competition winner will not be announced until after the final book is published in September 2010. Mini-competitions are run periodically and registered users are notified of these by email or updates on the website.
Intrigue, Mystery and Lots of Fun
For kids who love solving puzzles and detective stories, The 39 Clues is a fantastic combination of intrigue and mystery with an exciting storyline and a great combination of puzzles and interesting facts about famous people and places. The website is a safe online environment for kids to continue searching for clues between books.
The next book in the series, #6 In Too Deep by Jude Watson will be available on 3rd November 2009.
The Black Circle (ISBN: 978-0-545-15291-4, 168 pages)
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