Andy Russell, Not Wanted by the Police

David A. Adler's Andy Russell, Not Wanted by the Police is a funny neighbourhood mystery for 7 year olds about a boy who's sure somebody is living in the empty house next door.

What happens

The Perlmans are away in South America, and Andy and his friend Tamika are keeping an eye on the place. Tamika used to live there (she's staying with the Russells while her parents recover from a car accident).

Then they lift the lid of the Perlmans' dustbin. It's full of rubbish that shouldn't be there. A cereal box nobody eats, green-tea bags, one big army boot and a single purple stocking. Andy decides straight away it all belongs to a one-legged pirate.

After that things get spookier. A light snaps on in the empty house in the middle of the night, then off again the moment anyone else looks. Andy ends up locked out in his pyjamas, throwing stones at his sister's window. Even the police come round and find nothing.

What makes it such fun is Andy himself. He has a VERY busy imagination. In class he pretends so hard to be listening that his teacher praises him for it (he hasn't heard a word). When his big sister Rachel wants his gerbils for a science-fair maze, he makes sure there are raisins and cheese waiting at the finish.

Tamika is the sensible one. She reads the clues properly and rolls her eyes at his jokes, and the two of them make a lovely team.

It's gently spooky rather than scary. The creaking outside is a branch against the roof, and the face at the window turns out to be Andy's own reflection in a mirror. But there are plenty of odd clues to keep your reader guessing about who's really in there.

Have you got a reader who loves to play detective? They'll enjoy writing their own list of clues alongside Andy's.

What to read next

For another mystery from David A. Adler, try The Snowy Day Mystery. Cam Jansen has a photographic memory, and on a very snowy morning three computers go missing from her school.