with a reading by guest author Chris Wieland and his daughters Grace and Rose

The Body on the Beach (The Second Kat Dylan Mystery)

 IN CRABTREE, MICHIGAN, WINTER CAN BE MURDER.

Thirteen-year-old girl detective Kat Dylan and her little brother, Alec, are back!

 Even after cracking the case of the century, Kat and Alec are still stuck in Crabtree, and suffering through a long, cold winter. When a middle school mean girl approaches her with a problem, Kat can’t imagine it’s worth her time—or that there’s a chance it will lead to the next big mystery. But then Gabby becomes the focus of the local police, especially Kat’s Grandpa Nick. Before Kat can get to the bottom of things, she finds Gabby dead.

 Kat wonders if she should have paid closer attention to the mean girl’s troubles. With Alec in tow, she sets out to find Gabby’s murderer. Along the way, she learns that the case is tied to the kidnapping of a rich kid from Chicago.

 As Kat and Alec try to solve the murder, they find themselves at odds with kidnappers and killers, private eyes and cops, and more than a few kids and adults who would just like them to go away.

 Chris Wieland is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. He is also the father of two fierce children, including a tough, smart tween who helped him find the voice of his protagonist, Kat Dylan. He lives in Southern California with his family.