Hannah West on Millionaire's Row

HANNAH WEST is fun and fabulous. I love Hannah, who is an intriguing character that girls will relate to. The Seattle setting is an added bonus.

In the Seattle area, we have an author, Judy Jance, who writes mysteries that take place in the city, and she uses real locations, locations you can drive by if you wish. (If a death occurred there, she'll mess up the address to not upset the residents, but it's fun to visit the locations that are accurate.) Linda Johns has done a similar thing with her Hannah West series. Kids (and adults) who live in Seattle will know the places where Hannah practices her sluthing. Kids who live other places will enjoy the mystery and get a flavor of this Northwest city. Ms. Johns is an excellent writer, has captured the character of Hannah very well, and besides, this series is a fun read.

Twelve-year-old budding artist, amateur sleuth, dog lover, and all-around errand girl may not have a home to call her own, but she and her adoptive mother have had the opportunity to reside in a slew of delightful locations as house-sitters. But none of their temporary abodes, however, has been as lavish, luxurious, or as full of mystery and secrets as Millionaire's Row. When Hannah lands her mother a new house-sitting gig on Millionaire's Row - due in large part to her very personal connection to a dog next-door named Izzie - the two are thrilled to have the chance to live in the lap of luxury - even if it's just temporary. Millionaire's Row is full of unbelievable mansions containing antiques galore, three stories or more, and extremely friendly neighbors who watch out for one another - no matter what. Hannah feels instantly at home. And, even though she's in charge of watching five different cats, all named after country-western singers, as opposed to a dog, she can't help feeling that this new job is the cat's meow. The fact that her favorite pup, Izzie, from the animal shelter where she volunteers, is her new next-door-neighbor doesn't hurt matters much either. But the serene Millionaire's Row environment quickly takes a turn for the scary when people begin reporting break-ins. The strange thing, however, is that the burglars aren't actually stealing anything. Instead, they're rearranging furniture, and adding rocks with kanji characters to each house that they visit. With a little research, Hannah realizes that the houses are being feng shui-ed. Someone is putting things in order, and doing what they can to provide the owner's of the homes with a little peace of mind. Unfortunately, it's doing nothing more than freaking people out. The police are no help, thinking that the break-ins are some sort of joke. After all, without stealing anything, no harm, no foul. Hannah thinks otherwise. She knows that she's on to her latest case, and will stop at nothing to catch the culprit. But before she has a chance to narrow down her list of suspects, antiques begin disappearing from the homes. Hannah believes that the thefts have something to do with the reality television show ANTIQUES CARAVAN being in town. But she won't be able to announce her thoughts to her new friends and neighbors until she has complete and total proof - which, of course, she plans to get...pronto! Since the release of HANNAH WEST IN THE BELLTOWN TOWERS, I have grown more and more fond of young Hannah with each new release. None of the previous books, however, have captivated me as much as HANNAH WEST ON MILLIONAIRE'S ROW. Perhaps it's the added element of the rich and fabulous added in for good measure, but HANNAH WEST ON MILLIONAIRE'S ROW has truly left the greatest impression on me. As always, Hannah is her intelligent, kind, caring self. The friendliness she extends towards each and every one of her new neighbors makes her seem more mature, and quite older than her twelve-y