The Fourth Stall

Mac is a kid who can make things happen.  If you have a problem, he's the guy who can fix it...with the help of his best friend, Vince, of course.  Together they are the secret rulers of the school from their office in an unused, out of the way bathroom.  They use their profits to expand the business and to feed the Game Fund in hopes that maybe this year the Cubs will make it to the World Series.

Things are going great for Mac.  There's a line of kids outside his office everyday clamoring for his services.  If they can't pay with case, there is always the favor option, or for real hard luck cases, Mac might do the work pro bono.

Things are great, that is, until a third grader named Fred shows up with a story about gambling debts and the biggest bully in town, a bully so big that kids have been telling stories about him forever, so big that Mac always sort of believed he was just a story, a horror story, but no one to really worry about.  But Fred insists that Staples is real and that he is running an extensive gambling ring on Mac's turf.

Mac knows this case will be tough, but he has no idea how bad things will eventually get.  Maybe he's not as smart as he thought.  Maybe Staples really can take down his business and destroy his life.

What a great read!  This book is part mafia saga, part hard boiling private detective story, and part middle school; it has action, suspense, baseball, and humor.  You won't be able to put it down!

Don't forget to check out Chris Rylander's website.  It's also pretty entertaining. :)

2012-2013 Lone Star List

Watch this video from Chris Rylander.  It's AWESOME!