Murder at Midnight

by Avi

Book Overview

The tantalizing prequel to Avi's bestselling MIDNIGHT MAGIC is now in paperback A plot to overthrow King Claudio is brewing in the Kingdom of Pergamontio.Scholarly Mangus the magician-along with his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0545080908
• ISBN13: 9780545080903
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Murder blends with Renaissance history in this story of magic

Avi's MURDER AT MIDNIGHT tells of a deadly plot to overthrow King Claudio in Italy, where a magician has been marked as a scapegoat for a traitor and a faithful new servant boy decides to prove his master's innocence. Murder blends with Renaissance history in this story of magic.

A Great Book for Fans of Mystery

Fabrizio has finally made it off the streets. He is now the servant boy of the finest magician in Pergamontio, Italy--Mangus the Magician. Fabrizio has everything he's ever wanted: a home, food, and family. However, one thing can take it all away from him. King Claudio's fear of magic has made it difficult for Mangus to make a living. One day, the king's guards show up at Mangus's door accusing him of producing treasonous pamphlets. All of Pergamontio is abuzz with news of exactly identical messages posted around the city. King Claudio believes only an evil, devil-dealing magician could have created such flyers. Has Mangus the Magician sold his soul to the devil? Or is he the unfortunate victim of court politics? Fabrizio, with his new friend Maria, must find out soon before Mangus is killed, and Fabrizio finds himself back on the streets again. Avi's 70th book, Murder at Midnight, is set in the late 15th century, the time of the Renaissance. Although it is the sequel to Midnight Magic, Murder at Midnight is easy to understand and not filled with confusing references to the first book. Both mystery and historical fiction fans will rave about this exciting and enchanting novel. -- Reviewed by Veronica L. Hernandez

The best creepy book ever!

I liked is book because it's one of the best creepy books I've ever read.It's an easy reader.It's a lot of creepy,and scary book. I hop you read this book because it's spectacular!

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Mangus the Magician is in serious trouble. A plot to overthrow the king has surfaced, and Mangus is the perfect scapegoat for a traitor lurking inside the castle walls. The whole city of Pergamontio is on edge, including poor Fabrizio, loyal servant to Mangus and his wife. Fabrizio foolishly believes that the magic Mangus creates is "real," but does not believe that his Master would try and kill the king. Mangus' real passion is philosophy and the betterment of the mind. These concepts escape Fabrizio, a simple street boy, who uses his wits to keep himself safe. Fabrizio, with the help of a fellow misfit, must bring the true conspirator to light and save Mangus from certain death. Readers are once again thrown into a story set within the confines of Renaissance Italy in MURDER AT MIDNIGHT. The story precedes the events that occur in Avi's novel MIDNIGHT MAGIC, which also features the young Fabrizio. While the story remains a mystery at heart, one cannot help but chuckle at some of the dialogue that takes place between Fabrizio and his Master. It is a fun story that moves quickly and is easy to read. Lovers of all things Avi will enjoy this light-hearted mystery. Reviewed by: LadyJay

Illusion, Intrigue and Murder

Ten-year-old Fabrizio is an orphan, entirely dependent on the goodwill of people like Mistress Sophia and her husband, Mangus the Magician. For the past month, Fabrizio has been doing his best to make himself indispensable to his new master, hoping against hope that Mangus will show him the secrets behind his most mind-boggling feats of magic. Mangus, however, sees little value in Fabrizio's earnest but sometimes irritating enthusiasm, and he hopes that his young charge will redirect his zeal toward learning something useful --- like reading --- instead of magic tricks. For even though Mangus earns his livelihood by staging magic shows in the town of Pergamontio, the magician holds little stock in the supernatural, preferring to put his faith in reason instead: "Here is Plato. Aristotle. Petrarch. Boccacio. The sublime Dante sits before you," says Mangus to his young servant as they sit in the magician's library. "Fabrizio, these are the world's true magicians. Learn to read them and all mysteries shall be revealed." Little does Fabrizio know that his powers of reason --- and his newly forged skills at reading --- will be put to the test just a few minutes later, when Mangus is accused of treason by Pergamontio's chief prosecutor. It turns out that a mysterious someone, maybe someone in league with the devil, has been plastering the walls of the city with messages maligning King Claudio and calling for a change. The spooky part? Every single broadsheet seems to be written in the same, imperfect hand, something that seems impossible without the aid of magic. Mangus is well known for being able to make many copies of something out of nothing. Could he have used sorcery to conjure up these treasonous sayings? Soon Fabrizio finds himself caught up in a web of court intrigue, superstition and suspicion. Who could want to overthrow the king? His own son, the equally superstitious Prince Cosimo? Or the prince's rival, Count Scarazoni, who values rationality over magic? Fabrizio must summon his own powers of reason and his understanding of illusion, as well as the help of a new friend (and a key piece of technology), to get to the bottom of the mystery and help save Mangus's life --- and his own future. MURDER AT MIDNIGHT marks award-winning author Avi's 70th published book. It's a prequel of sorts to 1999's MIDNIGHT MAGIC, which starred a 12-year-old Fabrizio and many of the same supporting characters. But MURDER AT MIDNIGHT can certainly be enjoyed on its own terms, as both a terrifically suspenseful, complicated mystery and an exploration of philosophical issues at the heart of medieval culture. Avi skillfully manages to incorporate the conflicts between rational, Renaissance philosophy and medieval superstition, between enlightenment and misunderstanding, between education and ignorance, into the very plot of the mystery. Like Fabrizio himself, readers will enjoy challenging themselves to see if their own powers of reason can stand up to illusion