Hunting ghosts and solving the case before checkout? All in a weekend's work. Read the novel that New York Times bestselling author, Chris Grabenstein calls, "My kind of mystery!" When JJ Jacobson convinced his mom to accept a surprise invitation to an all-expenses-paid weekend getaway at the illustrious Barclay Hotel, he never imagined that he'd find himself in the midst of a murder mystery. He thought he was in for a run-of-the-mill weekend ghost hunting at the most haunted spot in town, but when he arrives at the Barclay Hotel and his mother is blamed for the hotel owner's death, he realizes his weekend is going to be anything but ordinary. Now, with the help of his new friends, Penny and Emma, JJ has to track down a killer, clear his mother's name, and maybe even meet a ghost or two along the way. "Agatha Christie references abound, and the hotel setting shines. A quirky, kid-friendly introduction to the murder mystery." - Kirkus Reviews "If you, like me, are a fan of Clue or The Westing Game , then don't miss Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley. This is a madcap mystery that I couldn't put down , with a cast of intriguing characters and twists and turns that were fun to puzzle through. Highly recommend!" -- Jennifer Chambliss Bertman , New York Times bestselling author of the Book Scavenger series. "My kind of mystery! Quirky, fast paced, and full of fun!" -- Chris Grabenstein , New York Times bestselling author of the Mr. Lemoncello series. "The characters are relatable, the writing is terrific, and the story is compelling. Fun illustrations by Xavier Bonet will help kids, even reluctant readers, stick with it. This is a winner." --5 stars from San Francisco Book Review "A fast-paced, lightly spooky entrée to mystery fare." -- Publishers Weekly Thank you for choosing to read Midnight at the Barclay Hotel ! I had so much fun writing the book, and I hope that translates as you're reading. This book really started with my love for mysteries, a love that was born long ago when I was about JJ, Penny and Emma's age. I was a very avid reader, but without a YA section (there wasn't one at the time), I moved from kids' books to the grown-up section pretty quickly. At the recommendation of a librarian, I read The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie, and I've been hooked on mysteries ever since. I wanted to write a mystery for kids that has some of the same ingredients of Agatha Christie's books: a good mystery, several suspects, and an interesting, closed-off setting. After visiting the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park (of the famous The Shining movie), I knew I had all the ingredients for a fun--and spooky--mystery for kids. What made the journey even better was the passion from my editor and everyone at Viking Children's to make the book the best it could be, and the illustrations from Xavier Bonet, which really brought the story to life. I'm really proud of this book, and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! All best in reading, Fleur Fleur Bradley is an active member of SCBWI and MWA, where she has judged for the Edgars. She regularly does school and Skype visits, as well as librarian and educator conference talks on reaching reluctant readers. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Colorado, not too far from the historic (and haunted) Stanley Hotel, which partly inspired this manuscript. Xavier Bonet is an illustrator and comic book artist who lives in Barcelona with his wife and two children. He has illustrated a number of middle grade books including Omnia by Laura Gallego; Michael Dahl's Really Scary Stories series; and the Keepers trilogy by Lian Tanner. He loves all things retro, video games, and Japanese food, but above all, spending time with his family. Visit him at xavierbonet.net and follow him on Twitter or Instagram @xbonetp. The invitations went out on Tuesday afternoon, because statistically speaking, that’s the best time to offer someone a weekend getaway. Or that’s what Mr. Barclay’s advisors told him (he had a lot of those). These advisors took very expensive and extensive polling and did research (actually, it was mostly asking random people at the mall). The letters were printed on fancy, thick parchment, the kind of paper that adults use for Very Special Occasions like weddings, or birthday parties with lots of guests and bouncy castles and bands. But this invitation was not for a party. It was for a weekend at the historic Barclay Hotel. Some said it was haunted, but there was no actual proof. Mr. Barclay owned the hotel, and he had a plan. He wanted these invitations to be sent out on Tuesday. Five invitations only. No more, no less. They were delivered by a courier—which was even more expensive than those advisors and the research. This was so that Mr. Barclay could make the whole thing seem important and official. He didn’t want anyone to think that this was some sort of scheme! Even though it was. His advisors t