Falcon's Malteser by Anthony Horowitz

A classic hardboiled detective story. The detective is bumbling Tim Diamond, whose 13 year-old brother Nick has come to live with him since their parents moved to Australia. Nick has to work hard to overcome his older brother's incompetence. In the beginning of the book, a dwarf hires them to keep a package for them, and murder and mayhem follow. There's a master criminal named "The Fat Man" who's anything but, two bad guys named "Gott" and "Himmel" ("God" and "Heaven" in German), and a slew of other colorful characters. Some of you will know the author Anthony Horowitz for his espionage novel series featuring Alex Rider: Stormbreaker, Point Blank. Review by Stacy Church