Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy

After she had ended the call, Amanda decided to write to Darius Plover to tell him how much she appreciated his help. But as she looked at the screen on her new phone, she spied a text she hadn’t seen before. It was weeks old. She couldn’t understand why she hadn’t noticed it. Maybe it was because her phone had been out of commission.

  Astonishingly, the text was from Nick. He’d obviously sent it before the whole London thing. She didn’t want to read it. Thinking about him was too painful. But then she saw that he’d sent her a link to some sort of app. If this is a virus . . .

  What would it matter? All the data was gone. A virus couldn’t hurt her. Why not look?

  She read the message. It said, “4 U Amanda. Thought it might help.”

  What could Nick possibly have given her that would help now? He really was slick. Now he was trying to hurt her from the grave.

  Whatever, she thought, and tapped the icon. There on the screen was some kind of cloud storage app, and on her user dashboard was the name of every video clip she’d made for their investigation. She hadn’t lost the film after all! Nick had installed an app on her phone that had automatically archived everything she’d shot.

  She threw the phone onto the bed. He had done this nice thing for her, a girl who by all rights was his archenemy. There was no need to. He could have just as easily planted some kind of malware on her phone, and yet he hadn’t. Who was this Nick Muffet, aka Moriarty?

  She wanted to scream at him. How could he do this to her? She had resolved all her feelings about him, or at least she’d thought so. Now she’d have to start all over, without ever being able to talk to him again. Why, why, why?

  There was one thing she could do. It would take some time, but somehow, some way, she’d go see his father, Blixus Moriarty. Not tomorrow, but someday. And then, one way or another, she’d learn the truth.

  She opened up her mail program and started a new message.

  Dear Mr. Plover,

  I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you. I want to tell you how invaluable your advice has been. You told me not to micromanage. You told me to persevere. And you told me to trust the story.

  I have just begun to learn these things. It will take a lifetime to get there, but it doesn’t matter. What’s important is the process and giving myself over to it. How right you were.

  I will soon be thirteen and will no longer be able to offer you a tween’s perspective on your films, but I hope that won’t keep you from calling on me. I would be delighted to offer a teen’s perspective if you’ll have me.

  Sincerely, your friend

  Amanda Lester, Filmmaker.

  As soon as she had sent the note, she received a text from Professor Thrillkill asking her to come to his office. This was going to be it: her expulsion. She’d broken the rules by leaving campus, and despite the positive results she’d achieved he was going to go by the book and kick her out. It was probably for the best. She’d go back to L.A. and resume her old life, minus the stick dogs. That’s what she’d wanted anyway.

  When she arrived at the headmaster’s office, Thrillkill motioned for her to sit in front of that huge antique desk of his. He looked particularly stern and Amanda braced herself. Then suddenly he broke into a grin.

  “Miss Lester, I want to talk to you about next term.”

  Here it comes. I’m out. He must think this is funny to be smiling like that.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I have a little assignment for you when you come back from your holiday.”

  I’m coming back?

  “You thought we were going to expel you, didn’t you?” he said, his grin widening. She’d never seen this expression on him before. It looked weird. “On the contrary, despite the fact that you broke the rules by leaving campus, we see a lot of promise in you.”

  Promise? Me?

  “There’s going to be a new student at Legatum next term, and I’d like you to take him under your wing.” He moved some papers around on his desk until he found the one he wanted.

  “Yes, sir. Of course. No problem.”

  He held up a page for her to see. She couldn’t read a thing with him moving it around like that.

  “Good. I’m glad you feel that way. He’s a very special young man and I think he would benefit from some personal attention. You’ll like him. His name is Scapulus Holmes.”

  Some Famous Detectives

  Roderick Alleyn. A gentleman police detective who appears in thirty-two novels by New Zealand author and theater director Ngaio Marsh (a woman) starting in 1934. He attended Oxford University and served in the army during World War I. He also worked briefly for the British Foreign Service. His older brother is a baronet. In his younger days he was attracted to actresses, but eventually he married a painter, Agatha Troy.

  Sir John Appleby. Originally a detective inspector at Scotland Yard, then a police commissioner, Sir John Appleby appears in the works of Michael Innes beginning in 1936. Even after retiring, Sir John continued to solve crimes. He had one of the longest careers of any of the great detectives.

  Martin Beck. A Swedish police detective who appears in ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö starting in 1965. He tends to get sick a lot, perhaps because he smokes so much.

  Father Brown. A Catholic priest who appears in fifty-one short stories by G.K. Chesterton beginning in 1910. His methods for solving crime are intuitive rather than deductive. Because of his position as a priest and confessor, he is acutely aware of human evil and its possibilities and is able to use that knowledge and experience in his cases.

  Albert Campion. A gentleman detective featured in the works of Margery Allingham beginning in 1929. He was originally created as a parody of Lord Peter Wimsey but became a complex character in his own right.

  Nancy Drew. An amateur teenage detective featured in works created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer, who hired a series of writers to work collectively under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Nancy Drew first appeared in 1930.

  C. Auguste Dupin. An amateur detective created by Edgar Allan Poe. He made his first appearance in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” which is widely considered the first detective story, even before the word “detective” was coined. In Dupin, Poe laid the foundation for the detective fiction genre.

  Dr. Gideon Fell. An amateur sleuth created by John Dickson Carr, making his first appearance in 1933. He is a portly man with a mustache, who wears a cape and walks with two canes. He began as a lexicographer but was later described as working on a monumental history of the beer-drinking habits of the English people.

  Sherlock Holmes. A private consulting detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes first appeared in “A Study in Scarlet,” which was published in 1887. He is the seminal detective who solves cases by using his exceptional powers of observation and deduction, not to mention disguise. He was an early practitioner of forensic science. He is popularly recognized by his cape, deerstalker hat, magnifying glass, pipe, and violin. Holmes’s archenemy, the criminal mastermind Professor James Moriarty, originally appeared in only two short stories so that Doyle could kill off Holmes. However, Moriarty features prominently in derivative works. Moriarty is a mathematical genius and heads a crime ring, though he often functions alone.

  Monsieur Lecoq. A detective with the French Sûreté created by 19th century writer and journalist Émile Gaboriau. Lecoq preceded the creation of Sherlock Holmes and influenced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his characterization. Still, Holmes dismissed Lecoq in “A Study in Scarlet” as a “miserable bungler.” Lecoq was the first fictional detective to assiduously analyze crime scenes and evidence by inspecting them visually. He was also a master of disguise. “Lecoq” means “the rooster.”

  G. Lestrade. A Scotland Yard detective who appears in many of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, starting in 1887. Nowhere does Doyle mention his first name, only the initial G. Although Lestrade ascended to the upper ranks of the Yard, he did so by being unimaginat
ive and conventional rather than brilliant, and to a certain extent by taking credit for cases that Holmes actually solved, with Holmes’s approval and complicity. He sometimes clashes with Holmes and his sidekick Dr. John Watson, although as the stories progress, Lestrade seems to appreciate Holmes’s unconventional methods more.

  Jane Marple. Usually referred to as “Miss Marple,” amateur sleuth Jane Marple appears in many of Agatha Christie’s novels and short stories starting in 1926. She is an intelligent and astute elderly woman who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead.

  Pradosh C. Mitter. Pradosh C. Mitter is the anglicized name of Prodosh Chandra Mitra, or Feluda, as he is known in Bengali. He is a private investigator appearing in works by film director and writer Satyajit Ray. He made his first appearance in a Bengali children’s magazine called Sandesh in 1965. Satyajit Ray was a devotee of the Sherlock Holmes stories and his character resembles Holmes.

  Allan Pinkerton. A Scottish-American detective and spy who founded the Pinkerton National Detective agency. Pinkerton was a real person who lived from 1819 to 1884.

  Hercule Poirot. A Belgian private detective living in England, created by Agatha Christie. He made his first appearance in The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1920. Poirot is famous for solving cases by using his “little gray cells” and is known for being fussy, bombastic, and egotistical.

  Lucy Pym. A psychologist who solves a crime in a physical training college for girls. Lucy Pym was created by Josephine Tey, whose real name was Elizabeth Mackintosh. She appeared in Lucy Pym Disposes in 1946.

  Parker Pyne. A consulting detective in several works by Agatha Christie. He first appeared in 1932. He is a retired government employee turned philanthropist who is more concerned with making his clients happy than investigating crimes. He believes that there are five types of unhappiness, all of which can be cured logically.

  Joseph Rouletabille. A teenage journalist created by Gaston Leroux. Joseph Rouletabille is a nickname for Joseph Josephin. The character first appeared in 1907 in The Mystery of the Yellow Room (Le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune), in which he solved a locked room puzzle.

  The Secret Seven. A group of child detectives created by Enid Blyton, first appearing in 1949. They are Peter—the leader—Peter’s sister Janet, Jack, Barbara, George, Pam, and Colin.

  Gerard Van Helden. A detective superintendent in the Birmingham City Police Force. He was a real person who was born in the Netherlands in 1848. Rapidly promoted, he found success as a result of his uncanny ability to remember faces and because he spoke three languages: Dutch, German, and English. He was so successful and effective that he became known as “The Famous Detective.”

  Harriet Vane. A mystery writer turned sleuth invented by Dorothy L. Sayers. Vane eventually marries Lord Peter Wimsey, despite the fact that she initially finds him to be overbearing and superficial. Early on she is arrested for the murder of her lover, Philip Boyes, but is acquitted with Wimsey’s help. After the trial she remains notorious, a fact that helps her sell a lot of books.

  Dr. John Watson. A character in the Sherlock Holmes stories created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Watson makes his first appearance in “A Study in Scarlet,” which was published in 1887. While not all that bright, Watson often helps Holmes reach important conclusions by acting as a sounding board and foil.

  Lord Peter Wimsey. Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a gentleman detective who solves murders for his own amusement in works by Dorothy L. Sayers. He is descended from the 12th century knight Gerald de Wimsey, who accompanied King Richard the Lionheart on the Third Crusade. Peter Wimsey eventually marries another of Sayers’s detectives, Harriet Vane. He collects rare books, is an expert on food and wine, and is an accomplished pianist.

  Discussion Questions for Your Reading Group

  Who is your favorite character in the book? Why?

  When we meet her, Amanda has a strained relationship with her parents. How do you think it could be improved?

  How does Amanda change over the course of the story? What causes those changes? 

  If Legatum Continuatum were a real place, would you want to attend? Why?

  Who is Amanda’s worst antagonist: her parents, the Wiffle kid, Nick, Blixus, Mavis, or someone else? Why do you think so?

  Have you had any teachers who were like the Legatum ones? Who is your favorite Legatum teacher? Would you like to teach at Legatum? Why?

  Were you surprised that Nick turned out the way he did? How do you feel about his death?

  Does being a criminal make a person evil? Is it possible for a criminal to have good in them? Do any of the criminals in the book have good in them?

  Have you ever solved a mystery? What was it, and how did you solve it? If you haven’t solved a mystery, would you like to?

  Would you like to make films? If so, what kind would they be?

  Do you think Amanda has good judgment? Why?

  Are you interested in creating disguises? If you were to make one, what would it be? Why that one?

  How observant are you? If you had to take a pop quiz every time your environment changed, how do you think you’d do?

  In the story, Professor Also tells the Wiffle kid that he’s going to learn more than he ever wanted to know about buttons and motor oil. If you had to learn about obscure things to become a better detective, what would you choose?

  If you were going to draw a scene from the book, which one would you pick? Why?

  Which Legatum class is your favorite? What new classes would you add? There’s a complete list in the book for reference.

  What do your fingerprints look like? Are they very swirly, or more straight? How do they compare with those of your friends and family?

  If you were a detective, what would be your mystique? What would you select as your area of specialty?

  If you were one of the décor gremlins, how would you decorate the Holmes House common room? Why?

  Do you know any martial arts? Would you like to?

  Why do you suppose Headmaster Thrillkill is so afraid of icicles?

  What would you like to make with a 3D printer?

  Q and A with Author Paula Berinstein

  Where did you get the idea for this story?

  I love mysteries, and I’ve always wondered if I could write them. But before I could start, I had to invent a detective. I wanted it to be a woman because I thought I could get inside a woman’s head better than a man’s, and I wanted her to be unusual. I came up with the idea of a young woman who would rebel against her upbringing. Her family would be intellectual and college-educated, but she wouldn’t want to be anything like them, so she’d become a plumber. And so I made her a plumber’s apprentice. In the first story, she’d find a dead body under a house when she crawled underneath to fix a pipe.

  I got the idea of her being descended from the fictional character Inspector Lestrade because unlike Amanda, I love Sherlock Holmes and I wanted to use him in the story, but only indirectly. Trying to follow Conan Doyle’s amazing act was just too intimidating, so I didn’t want to write about Holmes himself. Since I like the idea of finding out more about minor characters, Lestrade was the perfect choice.

  I also thought that being American, I would naturally be able to write about an American character, so I made Amanda American. At first the entire setting for the story was going to be Los Angeles—specifically Woodland Hills—which I know really well. But I couldn’t make that setting interesting enough, so I moved the story to England, which is where my husband, Alan, comes from.

  But I still had difficulty—until I came up with the idea of making Amanda a kid. Once I did that, I was able to invent a school for her to attend, and everything fell into place. Writing for kids allowed me to come up with some crazy ideas, such as a sugar conspiracy, which adults might have trouble taking seriously.

  How do you come up with names for your characters?

  A combination of ways.

  Some of the names in the story come from people in my
life. For example, some of the teachers’ names come from my own teachers. Miss Sidebotham, for example, was my junior high sewing teacher. Miss Also was my gym teacher.

  Amanda’s stick dog friends are based on real friends, although the personalities are completely different. When I was about seven, I really was in a stick dog club with two friends named Laurie and Jill. The last names I gave the girls, Wong and Javor, come from two other friends I met in junior high and am still friends with.

  Some of the names come from other people I know. Halpin, for example, is the name of a writer friend. Simon is the name of my son-in-law. Mukherjee, the legal issues teacher, is another writer friend. Of course none of the real people are anything like these characters either.

  Many of the names are made up. I invented many of them myself, either by tweaking real words, or using them verbatim. These names include Owla, from owl; Binkle, which is totally made up using funny English-sounding letter combinations; Amphora, which is a Greek jar; and Peaksribbon, which is completely made up. I can’t remember where I got Thrillkill. It probably just popped into my head, as so many names do. Some of the names are taken from places as well, like Ribchester, the name of Bill Pickle’s pickle-making rival. By the way, the name Bill Pickle just popped into my head too.

  There was a reason for using the name Amanda, but I don’t remember what it was now. Nick is my favorite male name, so I had to use that.

  Why aren’t more characters specifically named as descendants of famous detectives, such as Lord Peter Wimsey, Nancy Drew, and Hercule Poirot?

  Intellectual property restrictions. Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, and Moriarty are in the public domain, but most other famous fictional detectives aren’t. Getting permission to use them is possible but not easy, so I decided to avoid the problem for now and leave those sorts of names out.

  How did you come up with the sugar idea?

  Originally the story was going to be about candy. In fact, the original title was Amanda Lester and the Great Candy Conspiracy. However, I couldn’t figure out an original way to make candy dangerous. I researched ways of making it lethal, but they were all humdrum, like spiking it with poison. So I tried to think of something similar to candy, and when I discovered that a sugar factory had exploded in Mexico, I decided to use sugar instead.

  Why isn’t Amanda’s name Amanda Lestrade?

  I wanted her to be able to hide who she was and fear that she’d be discovered.

  Did Amanda ever repay the publican for the train fare?

  She certainly did. As soon as she got back from the factory explosion.

  Are you Amanda?

  Not at all. She’s much gutsier than I am. Actually, the only thing we have in common is that we’re both from L.A. Of course she gets to live in Calabasas, which I’d love to do, but it’s pretty pricey.

  Are any of the other characters in the story based on people you know?

  Only Simon, and he’s only vaguely based on a friend of mine.

  Who are your influences?

  Well, obviously J.K. Rowling. I’m in awe of her. Her world-building is amazing. I’d also say just about every detective story I’ve ever read, including many I read as a kid, such as those featuring Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and the Bobbsey Twins. I was also influenced by the Edward Eager books, like Half Magic, the Oz books, and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, as well as fairy tales. My favorite writers of adult fiction include Elizabeth George, who writes the Inspector Lynley mysteries, Val McDermid, especially the Tony Hill stories, C.J. Box, who writes the Joe Pickett books, and of course, Conan Doyle. I am also a huge fan of Charles Dickens.

  Do you do a lot of research for your stories?

  A lot more than you’d think. For this first Amanda book, I researched everything from the sugar mile in London to viruses. I also gathered lots of images, such as those of UK boarding schools, factories, the roads between Windermere and Edinburgh, and even English trains and train stations. I’ve already written the next two books in the series, and I did at least as much research for those, if not more.

  How did you hone your writing skills?

  I’ve been writing for a long time. I studied literature in college and have written fiction as a hobby. I also write nonfiction and do technical writing as part of my living. But I really began to understand how to write fiction when I started my podcast, The Writing Show. I spoke to so many people about how they write, and read so many books, both about writing and the stories themselves. However, without the late Blake Snyder and his Save the Cat! screenwriting books, I doubt I’d ever have understood story structure as well as I do. What a great loss it is that he’s no longer with us.

  How did you change the story after you completed the first draft?

  The biggest change I made was in softening Amanda and her relationship with her parents. I made her much more combative at first. Many of my test readers didn’t like that, so I ended up making her less angry and her parents less overbearing. I thought the way I wrote her originally was fine, and so did my husband, but some people didn’t get Amanda that way, so I tried to make her more likeable. She can still be prickly, of course, but she’s not quite as difficult as she was.

  How can you kill off so many characters?

  Easily. Their deaths serve the story, and anyway, they’re fictional. You can’t really hurt them.

  Is there anything you’d like to add?

  You would not believe some of the things that are going to happen to these characters! For example, in the next book, Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis, Amanda meets a descendant of Sherlock Holmes, who becomes a thorn in her side and a central figure in her life. In Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle, she and her friends tangle with one of the most dastardly enemies you can imagine, and it isn’t who you think. I’ve got lots of juicy surprises in store. You’ll see.

  About the Author

  Paula Berinstein is the former producer and host of the popular podcast, The Writing Show (www.writingshow.com). She lives in Los Angeles.

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  Other Books by Paula Berinstein

  Thank you for reading my book! If you enjoyed it, you may want to check out the other books in the Amanda Lester, Detective series.

  Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis (Amanda Lester, Detective #2).

  Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle (Amanda Lester, Detective #3)

  Amanda Lester and the Blue Peacocks’ Secret (Amanda Lester, Detective #4)