Middle Grade Books
The TEXTEr's Secret
A Maddie Mystery—Book Two
Secrets. Suspects. Stakeouts. Maddie's on the case!
But this time it's personal.
Just when Maddie Braverman thinks life is finally settling down, a mysterious text message changes everything. Someone is watching her and Maddie is determined to find out who.
With help from her best friend, her first crush, her code-cracking cryptogram crew, and her enthusiastic little brother, Maddie launches a new investigation filled with suspicious clues, secret messages, burner phones, and daring stakeouts.
As the clues multiply, so does the danger. Could the mysterious messages be connected to the world of espionage Maddie thought she'd left behind? Perfect for fans of Nancy Drew, clever puzzles, thrilling adventures, and fearless young detectives.
The Texter's Secret is the second installment in Diana Sussman's Maddie Mystery Series, following the award-recognized The Neighbors' Secret. Like the first book, it delivers another fast-paced mystery packed with suspense, friendship, and unexpected discoveries.
Also like The Neighbors' Secret, I love to be inspired by real life and to weave history into a mystery.
One of Maddie’s suspects in The Texter’s Secret, a red-headed realtor, was inspired by a real life spy named Anna Chapman. Anna also had red hair and used being a real estate agent as a cover. After being arrested by the FBI along with nine other agents through an operation deemed “Operation Ghost Stories,” Anna was exchanged for an American agent and became a tabloid sensation in Russia.
I also put in references to the importance of Cranbury’s location during the American Revolution and to Mary Queen of Scots, who wrote numerous letters containing hidden messages written in complex cyphers while imprisoned for almost two decades by her cousin Queen Elizabeth the First.
The Texter’s Secret is perfect for fans of fast-paced adventures, clever puzzles, and fearless girl detectives.
AVAILABLE NOW!
The Neighbors' Secret
2024 American Fiction Awards Finalist
2023 Tassy Walden Awards Finalist
Ever since reading Nancy Drew books as a little girl, I have always loved reading mysteries and spy novels in particular. I spent hours researching spies, especially ones undercover. Imagine how excited I was as an attorney to represent clients being questioned by the FBI during an investigation. The FBI’s office was a few floors below our firm’s office and one of the attorneys I worked with left to become an agent. Of course, as a litigator, I handled many types of cases. One of my favorite cases involved a man who led a double life.
In 2020, I read a news article about a professor at Harvard University who had been arrested for selling secrets to another country. I wondered whether other spies were living in our country and after researching learned about an FBI investigation called Operation Ghost Stories that led to the arrest of ten foreign agents in 2010 who had been posing as everyday Americans.
These articles inspired me to write a middle-grade novel called The Neighbors’ Secret about a 12-year-old girl–Maddie Braverman–who sees something that makes her believe her new neighbors are spies. Being a feminist, I chose to include information about a female agent known only as Agent 355 who helped the Colonists win the American Revolution. I also drew from the experiences I had in my legal cases.
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