Asbury High and the Parcels of Poison
Asbury High Book 2
by Kelly Brady Channick
Genre: YA Mystery
Asbury's fearless foursome are back! Is their favorite restaurant to blame for customers falling ill? Or is there something more sinister at work?
After an unprecedented first year of high school, the gang is ready for a relaxing summer vacation, although in Asbury that may be easier said than done. This summer, the Food Network is running a summer special highlighting local hot spots; Carly, Maddie, Pilot and Cornelious are psyched to have the world's best restaurant featured – their very own Brady's! In fact, Maddie can almost forget that her arch-nemesis, Alexis Johnson, will also be on TV for winning the logo design for Caulfield's Candies... almost.
However, after patrons start falling ill, rumors of food poisoning cause many to point their finger at Brady's. When Brady's threatens to close it's doors, Pilot realizes his mother's job is in jeapordy, as well as his future in Asbury. With the aid of Cornelious' wealthy cousin Dane, who spends every summer with the quartet, the gang is once again thrust into an investigation. Unfortunately, they find themselves thwarted by both the local police (who believe their recent success was due to luck rather than skill), and Cornelious' father, who has decided to run for Mayor of Asbury and cautions his son on the need to maintain a spotless public image.
With a new pancake house on the boardwalk, Mainlanders invading their beaches, and the Pitbulls sneaking around and terrorizing shoobies (as usual), there's no shortage of suspects. But can they solve the case before the summer, and Brady's, are finished?
Asbury High and the Thief's Gamble
Asbury High Book 1
Asbury, although a haven to shoobies (tourists) in the summer, is a divided coastal town. With the rich half living in the East, and the rest living in the West, most friendships stay within their boundaries. Luckily for a spunky-smart tomboy, a clever billionaire athlete, a gossipy-in-the-know cheerleader, and a wrong side of the tracks technological genius, boundaries are a foreign concept. In fact, Maddie, Cornelious, Carly and Pilot have been Asbury’s strongest quartet for years, despite their vast differences. Nevertheless, after a few weeks of starting high school, the foursome’s friendship is tested.
After a string of burglaries in East Asbury, the gang decides to solve the crime as a reason to make time for each other. The further they investigate, the more they find themselves constantly side-stepping tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum-like policemen, outsmarting local bully JB and his gang of misfits, and dealing with Cornelious’ billionaire father and Governor---who has disapproved of his son’s choice of friends for years. In addition to these obstacles, the foursome must also adapt to their evolving friendship with each other and their peers.
With upperclassmen, teachers, and teammates vying for their attention, the gang must work even harder to root out the red-herrings from the true thief. Aided by Carly’s gossip, Maddie’s boldness, Cornelious’ quick-wit, and Pilot’s knack for technology, the gang soon discovers its edge over the local police department.
7
During the weekend,
Asburyans faced something they never before dealt with: a major break-in into
one of East Asbury's most prominent families had resulted in a
two-thousand-dollar theft. Although this amount wasn’t a lot for an East-sider,
the town was full of unrest. For everyone knows the first break-in, is never
the last.
"This sucks! My mom
tried changing the locks four times before she let us out of the house! Mia had
to calm her down just so she wouldn't end up locking us inside of the
house."
"Lucky you
Carly," Cornelious mumbled, "My mom said that she would die if
someone harmed the cat! Not the money. Not the car. Not even me! And then my
dad said I’m to come right home after practice and no more hanging out with
those hooligans. He honestly thinks you guys broke into the Lomlings!"
Maddie turned to view
Kirk Lomling and the pity party he was throwing. If I had been ripped off two
grand I wouldn’t sit around and ask for everyone’s sympathy, Maddie thought
watching Kirk spew details and statistics of the improbability of a theft
occurring in his security-ridden home---scratch that---mansion. She was about
to crack a joke over Kirk’s mansion-theft, but when she faced her friends she
felt the awkward tension beginning to rise. Suddenly, she thought of a bright
idea, "Hey guys! I know what we should do!" Maddie exclaimed and
motioned for them all to move closer. Seeing as they were in lunch it was hard
enough to hear each other. "We should try to solve this ourselves!"
"Great idea! Why
didn't I think of it?!" Carly's voice got higher as she spoke. "Four
fourteen-year-olds trying to solve a break-in, now that's hilarious. Oh! I do
have one question...why?"
"Well, seeing as our
schedules are very different after school, this will be an excuse for us to get
together, and we could think of it as an adventure. Plus, we did win the
murder-mystery night in middle school each year, eh?"
“Oh yeah I forgot, the
robber is obviously Mr. Hayfield dressed up as Colonel Mustard.”
"Maddie, it sounds
fun. But where would we even start?" Pilot asked, while nervously glancing
at Carly, afraid to disagree. The table went silent for a few minutes to
reflect on this idea.
“I can’t believe we’re
honestly considering this,” Carly interjected, effectively breaking the silence.
"Well, we could
start at the Lomling's. You know, it was Kirk's family that was robbed. We
could try to find their security room and look at the tapes to see if anything
is out of place." Cornelious announced out of nowhere.
"Okay. Cool. So
let's----” but before Maddie could finish they were interrupted by the bell.
"STUDY HALL!"
Maddie boomed shuffling out the door, and into the hall.
****
28
Cornelious reached the
doorway first and slowly stuck his head out. After sensing no danger, he
motioned for the other three to come join him in the hallway. With everyone in
the hallway, they all stood still and strained to make sure they didn’t miss a
sound. They silently edged forward until they reached the top of the staircase.
Maddie slid over to
Cornelious and started to gesture that they should slowly make their way
downstairs, when she thought she heard a door opening or closing. The only
problem was, it sounded like it was coming from behind them. Apparently,
Cornelious had heard it too, for he slowly turned and raised the flashlight
over to where Carly was nervously playing with her nails. Standing right behind
Carly, raising a dangerous-looking object above his head, was a figure clad in
all black, without an inch of skin showing. Immediately, all three knew it was
the thief. Carly was literally the only one left in the dark.
Although Maddie and
Cornelious had heard the noise and turned around first, Pilot was the first one
to spring into action. As the thief began to swing his weapon, Pilot lunged
forward and knocked Carly to the ground.
“Ouch! What the---,” but
Carly cut herself short as she realized what had taken place. Pilot had pushed
her out of the way and ended up leaving himself totally vulnerable to the
thief. Before anyone could make a move, the thief swung his weapon at Pilot and
instantly made contact. As Pilot crumpled to the ground, Maddie and Cornelious
lunged at the thief. Using only his body, he bowled over Cornelious and threw
his weapon at Maddie---who luckily ducked down in time.
“Neal! You okay?” Maddie
asked rushing over to his side.
“Yeah, fine. Let’s go!
He’s getting away!” Cornelious sprang up and ran down the stairs in pursuit of
the thief.
Before joining him,
Maddie ran to where Pilot lay unconscious. She, thankfully, felt a pulse and
ordered Carly to call 911 immediately. Carly wiped away her tears and dug her
phone out of her pocket. Not wanting to waste any more time Maddie sprinted
down the staircase, and into the den, to the left of the main door.
To Maddie, it looked like
a fight scene ripped out of a badly choreographed movie. Cornelious had
temporarily stopped the thief from leaving out the far side window in the den.
The thief was holding a bulging bag (full of stolen goods) in one hand, and a
poker he had grabbed from the fireplace in the other. The only thing between
the thief and Cornelious was the leather couch and stained wooden coffee table.
However, the only thing between Maddie and the thief was, well nothing.
Cornelious realized this too, and tried to distract the thief by keeping his
full attention.
“So you’re pretty
tough... strong.... fast,” Cornelious said as he kept shifting left and right
to keep the thief cornered. “Did you ever play football?”
Apparently, this proved
to be the wrong thing to say. The thief stopped moving and completely stiffened
up. Hence, he heard Maddie moving behind him. Before anyone could make a move,
the thief hit Maddie across the stomach with the poker and kicked her against
the wall.
“NO!” Cornelious yelled
as he tackled the thief and landed some punches on his chest. Unfortunately,
the thief was stronger and able to maneuver his way out of Cornelious’ grasp.
Cornelious managed to get up quickly, but received a straight punch to the
nose. Hearing his nose crack, Cornelious dived and grabbed the thief’s legs.
The thief stumbled for a second, but freed himself by kicking Cornelious in the
face, leaving him no choice but to give up the fight.
Maddie, although pretty
sure she had cracked or at least bruised her rib cage, staggered up and attempted
to fight the thief. Laughing, the thief swung at Maddie. She dodged the first
two punches, but the third one connected on her jaw and she fell back, yet
again. Cornelious, blinded by his bloody and definitely broken nose, tried to
stand up, but discovered his legs felt like jello.
Realizing they had been
beat, they watched as the thief threw the bag of stolen goods out of the window
and followed suite. Too tired and too sore to follow, the two pulled themselves
up onto the couch and collapsed. About four minutes after the thief fled,
Maddie and Cornelious heard the cop sirens and hoped that maybe they had caught
the thief fleeing the premises---although they figured that was highly
unlikely.
“My dad’s gonna be pissed
there’s blood all over this couch,” Cornelious laughed.
“At least it’s not mine.
Or he’d probably have you arrested too.”
“GUYS! Pilot’s coming
to!” Carly exclaimed from upstairs.
Maddie and Cornelious
considered that maybe they were lucky after all. Considering that no one had
gotten killed or anything. But after the cops burst through the door, led by an
angry Officer Chip, Cornelious and Maddie reconsidered their luck.
Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie? If
your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
I
combined these two questions because I felt like the same answer pretty much
goes for both. With my Asbury High series (which is already completely mapped
out), I feel like I created a whole world and can see all of the characters and
settings perfectly. Therefore, I feel as if it would be easy to translate over
onto the screen. However, because they are mysteries and get more intensive
(both the mysteries and teenage drama), as the characters get older and
progress through high school, I feel as if a series would be better. This way
no important or much-loved details would be left out. Also, I can’t necessarily
see anyone playing the lead. If it was up to me, I would look to cast unknowns
for each role, that way they wouldn’t be known for anything else before
becoming each character.
What can we expect from you in the future?
A lot
more books! Ask anyone who knows me and I love to talk---in addition to be
voted most athletic, I was also the class clown. Part of that goes with the
ability to tell stories that others enjoy listening to. Thus, in addition to my
seven-part Asbury High series--- which will be released over the next two and a
half years, I have also written an adult crime novel, and have plans for three
other books from various genres.
Who designed your book covers?
Susan
Schafer--- and I highly recommend her, she is an amazingly talented artist!!
Although only one of my books in the Asbury High series is out, the second one
comes out early summer and the third is due out in September. Sue is currently
hard at work designing the covers, and I am so excited. I have always
gravitated more towards the book covers where you could tell they are
hand-drawn and not just stock images pulled together. This way I can honestly
say my books feature one-of-kind artwork--- look at the Harry Potter or Sammy
Keyes covers, how could you resist reading them after seeing those drawings?!
How did you come up with name of this book?
As I
have mentioned earlier, I grew up outside of Ocean City, NJ. Furthermore, I
wrote the first draft of Asbury High and the Thief’s Gamble when I was 18! I
specifically remember driving to high school and picturing the story in my head
(I had the idea running around my head for a few years before I put pen to
paper), and stopping on Asbury Ave. Driving past both of my favorite bookstores---
both of which are located on Asbury Ave, I thought, “That’s it! That’s the name
of my town,” in homage to SunRose and Bookateria II.
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel
like you have the reigns of the story?
This
is a funny one--- and one I feel that most writers will agree with. Sitting
down to write, although I have an outline and general idea of how I want the
story to progress, I think I’m in control. However, after jumping into my
character’s world, I realize that they tend to hijack my plans more often than
not. In fact, one of my characters in Asbury was meant to be a complete jerk
the whole series, but I found myself maturing and softening him as the series
continued. Which, I guess, is better than I even planned, for I love when
characters evolve.
Convince us why you feel your book is a must read. What
inspired you to write this book?
I was
inspired to write this book because, and although I LOVE SCI-FY AND PARANORMAL,
I wanted to read a book where the main characters were dealing with real-life
issues, without the excuse or aid of powers. At the time of writing Asbury
High, Twilight was huge and it seemed as if every book started having powers or
paranormal happenings. Like I said, that’s cool and I enjoy reading them too,
but I wanted a book where the teens had to overcome issues and solve a mystery
that was believable. Furthermore, I wanted to make my story have more than one
main character, and in this case there are four. Each of my characters (Maddie,
Cornelious, Carly and Pilot), are so close with each other, but also have
different strengths (and weaknesses), interests, and even home-lives, so they
each bring a different perspective to the table.
All authors
say this about their work, but I honestly feel like this series is a MUST-READ!
Not just the first book but all seven. I will also admit something… this first
book is not the best in the series, although it is quite awesome. Because the
characters are just starting high school and only fourteen, I didn’t want to
throw all of the high school drama at them in one year. For those out of high
school reading this, think back, it’s not as if you experienced everything high
school and growing up had to offer in one year! Therefore, as the series goes
on, the book does deal with more relationships, and tougher mysteries. However,
I will add this: JK Rowling is my favorite author and I love how she sprinkles
little, seemingly-unimportant details in each of her books, which end up being
important later on. So, if you love series and mysteries, you NEED to read
these books…and start paying attention. I wrote each novel with all the books
outlined and knowing I wanted to hide details and future plots (and plot
twists) in each story. HAVE FUN!!
For as long as she could remember, Kelly Brady Channick loved making up stories, and leaving her listeners/readers on the edge of their seats.
Perhaps that’s why she always managed to talk herself out of trouble...
After graduating from NJ’s own Ocean City High School, Kelly accepted a basketball scholarship to Holy Family University, in Philadelphia. As a lifelong athlete, Kelly understands the importance of teamwork and overcoming adversity, something she hopes translates into her books.
Before writing page-turners, she taught first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade — like a dessert menu, she simply had to test them all out. But her favorite job is the one she’s now doing full time: writing. Kelly loves to craft whodunit mysteries, leading readers through various twists and turns filled with red-herrings, hidden clues, and more peculiar characters than a reality show.
Kelly lives in South Jersey with her handsome husband, energetic baby boy, two cookie-stealing dogs, and an awfully smart cat.
If you want to know when Kelly’s next book will come out, please visit her website at http://www.kbchannick.com, where you can sign up to receive emails providing updates for new releases, or contact her directly, as well as win fun giveaways, and receive up to date news.
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