Herculeah Jones is a young lady with the natural instincts of a detective. Self-reliant and resourceful, she is determined to get to the bottom of any mystery that crosses her path. She and her friend, Meat, have a chance to meet an author famous for his murder mysteries and his name most appropriately is The Murder King. Have a familiar ring to it? His plots seem to resemble actual unsolved cases which leads Herculeah to wonder if perhaps he knows the cases more intricately than anyone for a very unsettling reason. Can she find out? Will she show up in his next book?

These wonderful Betsy Byars books have been around a while and are standing the test of time especially for girls who are looking for a mystery that involves a girl and has just enough suspense to keep them turning the pages. 144 pages Ages 9-13