Death and the Arrow

by Chris Priestly and Chris Priestley

Book Overview

Fifteen-year-old Tom lives in the murky, sooty city of London, where he helps his father to run a print shop. Among the customers is wise old Dr Harker, a retired physician and seafarer, whose patient... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375824669
• ISBN13: 9780375824661
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 161 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

books

The book was in good shape and it came in a timely fashion. I will be purchasing more books in the future.

jake fausetts review for his history class

you should read this book because it is an extrodinary book it gives you good ideas not bad unless you look at the bad ones anyway. this book is and exiting book it has action and history on the settlement on america so read this book.

I shot an arrow in the air...

There are lots of remarkable things in this world. The fact that a butterfly comes from a creepy little caterpillar. The array of colors visible in a soap bubble. And the perpetual unending ravenous hunger kids have for murder mystery tales. They just can't get enough. Hardy Boys books obviously were one of the first tales to capitalize on this need, but they were by no means the last. Over the years various authors have made forays into the world of kids-solving-mysteries. Some of the best also take care to tread closely to the original Hardy Boy formula. You take a basic mystery (someone dies) and then add on a potentially supernatural element for the fun of it. Even Scooby-Doo knows that there's nothing like a ghost or phantom to make an already creepy tale just a bit more enjoyable. And few authors have adhered so closely to this formula as historical mystery writer (and resident Brit) Chris Priestley. His books are basically Hardy Boys novels sucked back in time to the 1700s and involving (instead of two boys) a boy and a friend who happens to be an old and wise doctor. Like any other printer's boy in 1715, Tom Marlowe wants a lot out of life. He wants to see the world and have some fabulous adventures under his belt. He may only be fifteen, but Tom's been itching to get out from under his father's protective gaze for some time, and he enjoys spending time with his good friend and pickpocket Will Piggot. When mysterious murders begin occurring in London, Tom's just as interested in them as anyone. The men killed are always found with cards showing a figure of death throwing an arrow. More mysterious still, the men die of arrows in the heart. Arrows that are Native American (Mohawk, to be exact) in make. Perhaps none of this would have interested Tom were Will not found murdered with one of those very cards in his pocket. Now it's up to our teenaged hero and family friend Dr. Harker to track down the murderer and determine whether or not these deaths are really the work of a demon after all. This is the first of the Tom Marlowe Adventure series. Subsequent novels are near identical to the form established in this book. Therefore, if you like the way this title reads, you're bound to enjoy its sequels. A review of "Death and the Arrow" from the British "Guardian" newspaper said of it, "a tightly woven plot ... lightly but vividly drawn". I quote this review here because I think its wording is spot on. Priestley doesn't mince words with this slim 161 page novella. You want action, adventure, and a bit of historical mystery? You got it. Because the author and the book itself originally hail from England, it suffers a little from that perpetual and sometimes unhealthy British fascination with Native Americans. Fortunately, for the most part the people in this book are given a fair shake. Some readers may take issue with the ways in which they are presented, but there's certainly a lot of very careful political c

Death and the arrpw

My Book Death and the arrow is about a mysterious death in London England. All of these deaths occur with a arrow, and a little card is left behind with a skeleton and a arrow on it. When I started this book I could not put it down. It makes you want to keep reading to find out who is behind the mysterious murders. This book is a must read if you are a murder mystery.

SPECTRUM Children's Book Club Recommendation

Reading Level: Ages 9 and UpIn the Spring of 1715, London is beset by a string of sensational murders where each victim is found to be in the possession of a card with an ominous depiction of Death holding an arrow engraved upon it.Fifteen-year-old Tom Marlowe works for his widowed father in the family print shop. He yearns for adventure. Perhaps that is why he is drawn to the likes of Dr. Harker, a well-traveled scholar, and to Will Piggot, a young pickpocket. When Will is found murdered with a Death and the Arrow card upon his body, Tom seeks the aid of Dr. Harker in his quest to bring Will's murderer to justice. Chris Priestly has crafted a wonderful tale that is a rousing blend of Robert Louis Stevenson adventure and Sherlock Holmes detective story. Priestly's bits of historical detail add texture to the tale without losing sight of his action/adventure pacing. Although the reading level says ages 9 and up, this is a terrific book for anyone who reads to younger children at bedtime, for it will keep them entertained and will inspire them to revisit the book on their own when they are older.- KB SHAW, Publisher Spectrum Children's Book Club - www.incwell.com Member SCBWI