Amanda Lester
and the
Pink Sugar Conspiracy
PAULA BERINSTEIN
The Writing Show
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s twisted imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2015 by Paula Berinstein.
Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.
If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the author at paula@writingshow.com.
The Writing Show
P.O. Box 2970
Agoura Hills, CA 91376-2970
www.amandalester.net
www.writingshow.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-9860304-8-2 (softcover)
ISBN-10: 0-9860304-8-1 (softcover)
ISBN-13: 978-1-942361-06-0 (ebook)
Cover design by Anna Mogileva
Maps by Alan Chaney
Text set in Garamond Premier Pro
Also by Paula Berinstein
Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle
Amanda Lester and the Blue Peacocks’ Secret
For Alan, and for Anna Banana
Acknowledgements
As with every book, this one would not have been possible without the help, love, and inspiration provided by friends, family, and colleagues, and I would like to thank those without whom Amanda would not exist. If I have inadvertently left anyone out, I apologize.
My friend Steven Short nudged me to actually make something of the ideas I’d been gathering for years. Without him, they would still be filed away gathering virtual dust.
My immensely helpful test readers included first and foremost my husband, Alan Chaney, who repeatedly dropped everything to help me and contributed incredibly incisive comments and suggestions. I would also like to thank my dear friends and friends of friends Kennedy Arsnoe, Greg Bolcer, Jackson Bolcer, Ella Bowen, Barry Chersky, Jim Cornelius, Cole Crouch, Sudie Crouch, Mary Fritsch-Derrick, Alex Hetzler, Barbara Javor, Blythe Kropf, Jerry Manas, Aden Mandel, Ayla Mandel, David Mandel, Ellen Ruderman, Alyssa Spillar, Keenan Spillar, LaShelle VanHouten, and Barbara Wong. In addition, I would like to thank my sister, Jan Berinstein, my stepson Alex Chaney, my stepdaughter Ellie Chaney, and my sister-in-law, Louise Argyle. You all provided invaluable feedback and helped keep me on track. I can’t believe how much time you put into this project!
My book designer, Jill Ronsley, and my cover designer, Anna Mogileva, are too awesome for words. Thank you, ladies, from the bottom of my heart, for your beautiful work.
The writers I’ve met through my podcast, The Writing Show, have been so supportive and inspiring I can’t begin to thank them properly. I appreciate all of you more than I can say.
I wouldn’t have been able to write fiction at all without the wisdom of the late screenwriting guru Blake Snyder. He was and continues to be my muse.
My friend Sudie Crouch was so enthusiastic about my writing that she took time out of many busy days to discuss it with me. She also made imaginative and insightful suggestions, which have greatly enriched the book.
And without the love and inspiration my husband, Alan, gave so freely, there would be no book at all.
Grab a Free Ivy Story!
Amanda’s friend Ivy Halpin may be blind, but she’s the best detective in the school. And now she’s discovered something no one else knows about.
Get the free “The Locked Room Mystery,” featuring Ivy and her friend Simon Binkle.
Visit https://www.amandalester.net
Table of Contents
Front Matter
The Legatum Garage Parking Area
Houses and Common Rooms
Legatum Floor Plans
Legatum Continuatum Class Descriptions
The Story
Chapter 1: The End of the Stick Dogs
Chapter 2: The Secret Detective School
Chapter 3: A Detective’s Mystique
Chapter 4: Mysterious Shapes
Chapter 5: The Inimitable Simon Binkle
Chapter 6: Funny Desserts
Chapter 7: The Monster Mash
Chapter 8: The Class Project
Chapter 9: Pink Powder
Chapter 10: Amanda the Spy
Chapter 11: Explosion!
Chapter 12: Cutting Class
Chapter 13: A Ticking Clock
Chapter 14: Holmes Productions
Chapter 15: The Garage
Chapter 16: Gluppy Things
Chapter 17: The Secret Room
Chapter 19: Thinking Like a Criminal
Chapter 20: Snow Globe
Chapter 21: Counting Calories
Chapter 22: Secret Room Redux
Chapter 23: Threats
Chapter 24: A Kick in the Nose
Chapter 25: 3D Printing
Chapter 26: Body Snatching
Chapter 27: Putting Two and Two Together
Chapter 28: Bunch of Nut Jobs
Chapter 29: Stowaway
Chapter 30: Monkeyshines
Chapter 31: The Sugar Factory
Chapter 32: Schola Sceleratorum
Chapter 33: Trapped
Chapter 34: Acting
Chapter 35: Confrontation
Chapter 36: The Class Project Explained