The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

I have read books by Rick Riordan before and really liked them.  (Remember Percy Jackson and the Olympians?)  Well, Rick Riordan has started another series of books called The 39 Clues, and it has been so much fun to read!  I've read the first three books in the last three days and I'm really enjoying them.  It has helped to read them all together (so I can remember what is happening!) 

From the 39 Clues website:  The 39 Clues series centers around the Cahills—the most powerful family the world has ever known. But the source of the family's power has been lost. Grace Cahill, the last matriarch of the Cahills, changed her will minutes before she died, leaving her descendants an impossible decision: receive a million dollars or a clue. The first Cahill to assemble all 39 clues hidden around the world will discover what makes the family so powerful—a reward beyond measure. It's Cahill versus Cahill in a race to the finish, with readers hot on the heels of the main characters, fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her eleven-year-old brother, Dan.

From Heather:  The characters are really fun in these books.  I really like Dan and Amy, although it's a little hard to believe they are 11 and 14 and jetting around the world.  But it works!  :)  Their parents died when they were younger and they have been raised by Aunt Beatrice, who is stingy and grumpy.  Their only rays of sunshine come from their grandmother, Grace Cahill.  Right before Grace dies (at the beginning of the book!) she changes her will.  Her family members each have the option to take 1 million dollars or a clue that will lead them to one of the 39 clues.

The rest of the story is a non-stop adventure, as the other members of the Cahill family are out for blood and have no reservations about taking what they want - whatever the cost.  They race from place to place with their au pair (NOT nanny!) Nellie, who is a little crazy (but you would have to be to join the hunt for clues!)

These books are written for kids 8-12.  And the interesting thing about the series is that each book is written by a different author.  Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman (2), Peter Lerangis (2), Jude Watson (2), Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park and Margaret Peterson Haddix.  The last book is written by four authors, Riordan, Korman, Lerangis and Watson.

I am really enjoying this series and I can't wait to finish all 11 books.