"WHAT IS THE TURTLE'S NAME?"

"MY NAME'S FINN," I SAID.

THE PIRATES GASPED.

THE GIANT PEERED DOWN AT ME. I FELT LIKE A BUG UNDER HER BOOT. "FINN," SHE SAID. "A GOOD NAME FOR SOMEONE WHO WILL JOIN THE FISH."

Swept overboard during a thunderstorm in the South Seas, thirteen-year-old Finn lands on a tropical island, with palm trees, nesting turtles, beautiful sunsets, and...a dead body. Finn and his famous mystery-writer Uncle Stoppard traveled to the Great Barrier Reef in search of Finn's long-missing archaeologist parents. Instead they are both picked up by a ship full of fierce modern-day pirates and their fearless female leader, Blue Jade.

No sooner are Finn and his uncle onboard when mayhem breaks loose: someone is secretly poisoning the crew members, one by one. Furious, Blue Jade gives Finn and Uncle Stop twenty-four hours to find the killer and prove their own innocence. Otherwise they will face her deadly pets Mittens and Fluffy, two man-killing blue-ringed octopuses....

About The Author

Michael Dahl

Michael Dahl, the author of more than a dozen non?ction books, has also published poetry and plays. The Viking Claw is Dahl's fourth Finnegan Zwake mystery. The earlier titles in the series are The Horizontal Man, The Worm Tunnel, and The Ruby Raven. Dahl is also the author of Scooter Spies, a series of mysteries for younger readers, whose titles include The Wheels That Vanished and The Ghost That Barked. A theater director, actor, and comedian in Minneapolis, Dahl has a wide variety of unusual creatures in his household: Venus's-?ytraps, ?ddler crabs, African dwarf frogs, an elementary school teacher, and an Australian red-heeler named Gus. He can be e-mailed at ?nnswake@aol.com.