Books with author Ron D. Voigts

LOOK OUT NANCY, HERE COMES PENELOPE!Sometimes birthdays can be deadlyAn isolated mansion in the country...stranded in a snowstorm...someone is murdered on Penelope's birthday.But who did it?Her gangster uncle on the run from the lawOr the Broadway actress who's her own biggest fanMaybe the jealous husbandDon't forget about the mob hit man hiding in the woods behind the mansionA young fortune teller weaves a tale of a gypsy curse where three people will die. And it happens on Penelope's 13th birthday. While the adults bumble along, trying to discover the killer, Penelope sleuths with the help of her friends to find the culprit. It's a race against time before Penelope becomes the third victim.This book for ages 9-12 weaves a mystery with madcap characters, who done it clues and non-stop action that's a fun read for the whole family. The story is full of humor, suspense and mystery that will keep the reader guessing until the very end.If you want to survive your next birthday, don't miss Penelope and The Birthday Curse!!! What others are saying about PENELOPE AND THE BIRTHDAY CURSE: "Wonderful, whacky and lots of fun. Just scary enough for juvenile readers." A.B."I found myself laughing out loud in parts and sighing in sympathy in others." M.W"On par with Harry Potter..." C.D."This book was awesome!" J.H."...there is plenty of mystery and merriment to keep all ages laughing and scratching their heads, trying to figure out, 'Who did it?'" C.B."All in all, a very good read, especially late at night, during a storm." T.P.

Despite Penelope's objections, her parents hustle her off to Tiffin Preparatory School, operated in the old Windorf Hotel. According to the rumors, secret passages and hidden rooms honeycomb the place. There’s talk about hidden treasure and may even be a ghost. First days at a new school never go well, and for Penelope it is a disaster. Within minutes of being at the school, a teacher falls over dead and everyone thinks Penelope caused it. Penelope enlists the help of her offbeat friends and a quirky professor to find the real killer in an adventure that leads across roof tops, through hidden passages and in the woods outside the school. Complications arise when a feud develops with some other students and when the wily principal plots ways to expel her. Before it’s over she must save herself and everyone in the school from the hands of the crazy killer and find the ghost's treasure.

Never having experienced Christmas, twelve-year-old Penelope finally gets her wish when her parents decide to celebrate it as part of her home-schooling education. Traditions become murky as her parents improvise curious ways to observe the holiday.To make things weirder, a moving van arrives at the old Compton house down the road and delivers a fully decorated Christmas tree, an arm chair and a lamp, and nothing else. Penelope sets out to discover who lives in the old house and why they only own those three items. As the holidays progress she gets a unique experience that she will remember for a lifetime.This short story is the prequel to PENELOPE AND THE BIRTHDAY CURSE and is sure to delight children and adults alike. After reading this, Christmas will never be the same.

Marvel Movies comes to Penelope’s school to shoot a motion picture against the backdrop of the old Windorf Hotel that now houses the school. She sneaks onto the set and watches them film a scene. Famous actors Priscilla Young and Clarence Dodd star in the movie and Penelope gets to see them up close. Regrettably, she also sees a spotlight fall on the director and kill him. Penelope claims she had her eyes shut when it happened, but the police think she may remember something. Unfortunately for her, the killer also thinks she may recall something.To complicate matters, the school has a new chef and Penelope’s friend Raddy thinks Chef Judy is trying to poison them. The new girl at school steals away everyone’s friends. As always Principal Merriweather keeps finding new ways to expel her. Between trying to get her friends back, starving and keeping away from the killer, she has her hands full in this next Penelope Mystery.

Despite Penelope's objections, her parents hustle her off to Tiffin Preparatory School, operated in the old Windorf Hotel. According to the rumors, secret passages and hidden rooms honeycomb the place. There’s talk about hidden treasure and may even be a ghost. The first day at a new school never goes well, and for Penelope it is a disaster. Within minutes of being at the school, a teacher falls over dead and everyone thinks Penelope caused it. Soon they learn that the teacher had been poisoned. Penelope enlists the help of her offbeat friends and a quirky professor to find the killer in an adventure that leads across roof tops, through hidden passages and in the woods outside the school. Complications arise when a feud develops with some other students and when the wily principal plots ways to expel her. Before it’s over she must save herself and everyone in the school from the hands of a crazy killer and find the ghost's treasure.

THE BIRTHDAY CURSE is set outside the town limits of Dillwood, in a strange old house called the Manor, with a detective who is bold, brassy and only thirteen. Her name is Penelope Amour. Her parents invite family and friends to the Manor to celebrate Penelope's birthday, assembling an odd mix of characters that includes fortune tellers, hoodlums, crazy relatives and a real life drama queen. Complications soon arise when a snowstorm knocks out the power, stranding them in the country, fourteen miles from town. On the morning of Penelope's birthday, they find one of the guests dead. Another guest spins a tale of a triple curse, claiming that two more will die in the next two days. While the adults bumble along trying to find the killer, Penelope enlists the help of friends Ruthie, Wendell and Orson to find the murderer. THE BIRTHDAY CURSE is a blend of humor, mystery and suspense that is a fun read for adults as well as tweens.