Gilda Joyce: The Dead Drop

Gilda Joyce #4

by Jennifer Allison

When Gilda lands a summer internship at Washington, D.C.'s International Spy Museum, she finds herself embroiled in both a museum haunting and a real case of espionage. While investigating a cemetery where Abraham Lincoln's son was once buried, Gilda stumbles upon a spy's ?dead drop? of classified information. Gilda's efforts to decode the cryptic message lead to further intrigues: Is she on the trail of a mole operating inside the U.S. intelligence community? Aware that ?nothing is what it seems? when it comes to spies in Washington, D.C., Gilda faces the most serious challenge yet in her career as a psychic spy.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal, Childrens, Fantasy

300 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Jennifer Allison is the author of the Edgar-nominated GILDA JOYCE: PSYCHIC INVESTIGATOR mystery series for readers age nine and up (www.gildajoyce.com). The first book in her new series, IGGY LOOMIS: SUPERKID IN TRAINING (www.iggyloomis.com), focuses on the sometimes stormy relationship between two brothers -- Daniel and his younger brother Iggy, who mysteriously develops strange superpowers. IGGY lOOMIS is a smart, funny read-aloud that will engage both avid and reluctant readers.

Ms. Allison holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.F.A. from American University. Her various careers have included work as a news reporter and high school English teacher. She has also held numerous odd jobs — piano player in a shopping mall, assembly-line worker for General Motors, waitress, preschool teacher — that have helped her generate ideas for characters and stories. Jennifer Allison currently lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.

Reviews

[Alice Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer Allison really knows how to convey the depth of childhood emotion and thought. Through action, word, and diary, Allison shows the healthy ways that Gilda processes conflicting emotions. Rather than suppress negative or unsuitable thoughts, Gilda works through them, providing young readers many teachable moments by showing them how to process their emotions and thoughts. For example, in The Dead Drop Gilda has snagged an internship at a spy museum. In the course of the book's mystery, Gilda stops to assess if she really wants this dream job of being a spy: Spying is exciting and fulfilling, but it also involves being lonely and lying, and Gilda isn't so sure that that's the kind of life she wants, nor does it represent the kind of person she wants to be.

[McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Its witty, suspenseful and fun. I have always though that these books were rated too young. The content and some of the content in these books seems far too dark and mature for the age rating it was given. (ex: Suicide, murder, illegal activities, hazing) However, no matter my age, I thoroughly enjoy these books and think people of all ages can appreciate something about that. Gildas character is charming and an oddball which makes her interesting to read about. The characters are relatable and it is well written.

[Julia Szydlik]

I really enjoyed the mystery and the clues that lead up to the main point. :)

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reader must suspend maternal worries and belief when reading the Gilda Joyce series. I thoroughly enjoy this series and this one, #4, was probably the best one yet. Gilda is a psychic investigator and a completely nosy 15 year-old. Knowing her penchant for getting into trouble and her brashness, I'm not sure why her mother would allow this almost 15 year-old girl to go off to spy camp in Washington DC alone but there would be no story if she had acted like a normal mother and said "no". She should have at least checked out where Gilda was staying and the safety of this job instead of allowing Gilda to go on a bus from the north mid-west to Washington DC. So, in this book Gilda is indeed working at a spy camp in the nation's capital where her all-too-real dreams of Abraham Lincoln's ghost and alternately, a mysterious Russian woman, lead her into a real-life espionage game involving national security. I did find the coded message to be very simple and wonder why a spy would use such a simplistic form that surely anyone could easily figure out. I could quickly decode it myself. All in all, though, the story held my interest and kept me reading.

[Pixiegurl10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilda is deciding to spend her summer working as an intern in the National Spy Museum in Washington D.C. As soon as she gets there, she is haunted by a face that appears in her dreams. Along with the help of Abraham Lincoln's ghost, her favorite pshycic spy Balthazar Frobenius, her college roomate Caitlin, and a bunch of 8 year olds, Gilda finds out the truth behind a evil psychics true identity. This is the 4th book in the Gilda joyce series

[Serina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. I love Allison' s hint of mystery. I throughly enjoyed reading it. Gilda is great.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be great if I was still 12 years old but I thought it was actually rather boring...

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun one, though I did listen to #5 before this one, so some of the comments from the last book made more sense.

Gilda continues to be the most latch-keyed kid of all, as she takes off to DC alone to stay with a 20-something young professional for the summer and she nor her mom reach out to eachother for days [weeks? it's unclear how long this "internship" lasts for]. The remote viewing was interesting, and based off of real military research. Overall, a fun adventure sans parents, and it reminded me that I want to visit the Spy Museum.

Randomly, I started this book the day I was asked insanely-late-notice to chaperone a trip to DC, and one of my coworkers gave me such a dire warning about being careful there that while I was reading this I kept thinking WHY IS GILDA ALONE? WHY DOES SHE KEEP TALKING TO STRANGE MEN?? I would've been thinking this anyway, but I cannot even imagine going to a big city ALONE as a teenager OR as an adult.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read for upper elementary and young teen readers. Thoroughly zany Gilda is off on another adventure; this time, she is spending the summer working as an intern at the Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. While there, she becomes involved in a mystery which seems to indicate that there is a ghost at the museum. Could it be the ghost of Abraham Lincoln? Or could it have something to do with the now-retired Soviet spy? Gilda learns a bit about the Cold War and much hilarity ensures. A good next book for readers who want something with a little more length and maturity than Linda Johns' Hannah West series.

[reading with rylanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, I struggled a little bit more with getting into The Dead Drop than I did with the previous books in the series, but I still ended up having a lot of fun with it! Gilda is truly such a fun character to follow, and I've enjoyed watching her develop through this series. This mystery was probably the most complex yet, and the Washington DC setting was super creative and enjoyable to dive into. I love that Gilda always finds her way to new places and becomes curious to explore things even if maybe she shouldn't be. Overall, this was yet another fun middle grade book, and I am excited to finish up the series soon.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gilda Joyce has her hands full as she interns at the Spy Museum in Washington D.C.. The museum is haunted and Gilda is faced with psychic vibes, strange dreams and a tingley feeling. Trying to solve the mystery of her dreams plus finding a secret message that leads her to investigate a cemetery, a former Russian spy and weird flashing lights coming from across the street....Gilda has a lot going on. Plus she's in charge of the youngest group at Spy Camp. There's a lot of intrigue, secrets, odd happenings and weirdness to make this book interesting and fun.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spies! Spies! Spies! This book takes place in a spy museum, and look, I could quibble with how Gilda Joyce is allowed to vacation on her own in Washington DC, or call this book overly pro-government, but I can’t hate this book. I love it for the setting, because I want to go to that spy museum, the side characters, who are some of the most interesting in the Gilda Joyce series, and the mystery, which has a chapter told from the ghost’s point of view. This is definitely a unique Gilda Joyce book, and my favorite of the series.

[Tammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am totally infatuated with Gilda and her enthusiasm for adventure. I am also thrilled by her unapologetic approach to living authentically, driven by her obscure passions.

The writing is brilliant, charming, clever. Jennifer Allison has a wonderful writing style that is sharp, carefully crafted, and subtle.

[Evan Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was actually boring like those movies where they just talk about information all day and stress out about their "cover" being blown etc and snoop around wasting time until they get some subtle hints and over analyze it until they solve the case.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable! I love the Spy Museum Washington D.C. setting and Gilda's restless productivity.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this book on a road trip with the kids and it was great! A little bit over the kids heads at some points, but the whole family did enjoy it!

[Caroline Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best of the set

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes little gems like this book are found after a random search on RBdigital! Gilda is such a refreshing voice in the world of mysteries. I love her enthusiasm and her can do attitude!

[Hannah Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best Gilda book yet! Love the characters and the plot and the spy games!

[Kassie Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is funny,beautifully written,suspenseful, but also very addictive I got hooked from the first page I highly recommend reading this book for mystery loving readers.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilda Joyce: The Dead Drop (Gilda Joyce, #4)
by Jennifer Allison (Goodreads Author), Jessica Almasy (Narrator)

This was such a cute book and the reader really did a great job bringing a bouncy 14-yr-old girl to life. Gilda's 60's spy outfits are hilarious.
I will definitely listen to other stories about Gilda.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the series. I loved the pacing and attention to detail. The author did some great research for this story and created a wonderful setting for her characters. I enjoyed Gilda’s character growth, and I loved the way the secondary and tertiary characters were included. I got to say hi to old friends from past books while meeting new interesting characters. I now want to visit the real spy museum!

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator, Gilda Joyce and the Ladies of the Lake, and Gilda Joyce and the Ghost Sonata - the three preceding books to this one - were disturbing, and I'm not entirely certain why I read the next two after the first one. They weren't good right-before-bedtime reads, and some of the content pertaining to the murders was disconcerting (i.e. in one of them, a girl almost purposely takes a drug overdose because she's tired of living). What I did like about the other three as opposed to The Dead Drop was the fact that at the end, Jennifer Allison did not specify whether or not there actually was a ghost. She more or less left it up to the Reader; a ghost could have actually been involved, but at the same time she offered a realistic, plausible explanation. The Ghost Sonata is when she stopped doing this and got ghosts more involved.

In The Dead Drop, there is no question of there being ghosts. The Dead Drop is not as disturbing as the other three, and I was able to read it comfortably before going to bed. There are some instances that are, of course, spooky, but not quite in the same way as, say, The Ladies of the Lake.

But the main reason I keep reading Gilda Joyce is because while actual ghosts are involved, the stories themselves really are intriguing mysteries, and Gilda herself is a very fun and unique character. I can share her love for vintage (though, in my opinion, she chooses the wrong era) and her love for working on a manual typewriter. There is simply no denying that fact that Gilda is a great heroine that keeps a Reader laughing. While the first three books have some pretty creepy and disturbing content, I think it can be a fun series to read. At times.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gilda Joyce: The Dead Drop by Jennifer Allison
Engl 420
Read in Feb 2012

PRESENTATION CATEGORY
Spunky fourteen year old, "practically fifteen," will take you on the adventure of a lifetime through the nation's capital. Gilda lands her self an internship at the Spy Muesum in Washington D.C. Gilda is a physic investigator herself, and it doesen't take long before she is tangled in a myseterious investigation. There if the mysterious Russion Borris, the strange bearded man the follows her, the flashing lights coming from her neighbors room at night, and the appearance of a ghost at the museum. When Gilda uncovers a dead drop, readers are kept on their toes. Pulling together all of their wit along with Gilda, readers are on a quest to discover who the mole in the CIA really is. Allison, also deals with several themes that will connect deeply with young adolescent readers. Gilda is learning to overcome the absence of her father who died several years ago from cancer. The pyschic investigator is also learning how to deal with the idea that her brother and best friend might start dating and even more dramatic is that idea that her mom is starting to date again. These issues will relate well with teens who are going through similar events. This mysterious and intriquing coming of age book will be most appealing to young adolescents or middle grade readers.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Melissa Mahle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am embarrassed that I took so long to finished this book. I normally read a middle grade novel in a couple of days. What was the problem? Not the story, which is really fun. It is set at one of my most favorite places, the International Spy Museum in DC. I do lots of programs there, for kids and adults. I love Gilda Joyce! She has confidence, style and an unending supply of guts. My kind of girl. And the plot? Just plain fun.

No, the problem creating the delayed reading was that I downloaded the story onto MY ipad. However, my family doesn't recognize that the iPad is MY ipad. Whenever I wanted to read, MY ipad was in the hands of one of my loving family members. Since we do practice first come, first serve, I was out of luck.

But I fixed that problem. In cleaning out my daughter's bookshelf, I came across the paperback version, signed by the author, Jennifer Allison. Jennifer gave it to Hana after Jennifer and I did a writer's workshop together at the Spy Museum. Thank you Jennifer! Great story!

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 4 out of 5]

after being a wee bit underwhelmed by the last gilda joyce, i was a little worried about "the dead drop." totally unfounded though, i'm happy to say. yes, the very premise requires a wee bit of suspension of disbelief - i'm pretty sure that a spy museum internship would be a bit harder to come by and they'd check out ones credentials - i sunk into the story and finished thinking that it's probably my favorite of the series. the spy museum is such a perfect location for ghosts and intrigue and the book totally made me want to hop down to d.c. on a visit. and you do really get a sense of the city and the adventure gilda's having here. and i think the fact that she was surrounded by a different cast of characters reduced the sort-of-annoying characteristics that i'd found in her last outing.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this spunky psychic investigator and enjoyed the quirky members of her team for Spy Camp. Even though this is book 4 in the series, it is a good standalone book. Maybe the first book had her discover her psychic talent so that might be interesting to read. The only reference to previous books was when she talked about already solving cases before. I enjoyed the story enough to want to find and read the other books.

I started listening to this story with the kids, but then stopped when it looked as if this was going to be a ghost story. However, the overall story was more mystery with the supernatural element of a ghost leaving messages to right a wrong. After finishing the book, this would be ok for my children to listen to, as long as I forewarn them about the hauntings in the book.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some times I think people must think I rate books kind of willy-nilly. I mean I just gave Henry James three stars and this 'light' read four - what is wrong here!? But this light read fulfills all the promises a fun, mystery, with a teenage protagonist sets up when you take on a light read. But the Henry James book did not fulfill all the promises a story of literature needs to fulfill (but that is a whole other review).

First of all if you want a fresh, Nancy Drew-like character with a supernatural twist this book is that book. It was well researched and explained. The clues came together and it was emotionally engaging too. It didn't get the full five stars because it was a little young for me, but that probably more my problem and it was a bit over the top at times. Minor things.

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anytime you add history to something it makes the book all the better for me. In this fourth book Gilda sees something she wants and goes for it. She wants an internship with the International Spy Museum at Washington, D.C. and she gets it. Here she has the opportunity to work with a real spy to unwind yet another mystery. The International Spy Museum is a real place dedicated to all things having to do with spies and spying. This book unlike the others shows us a more mature Gilda. I guess from the very first book we have watched Gilda grow up before our eyes. I don't think you will be disappointed with this book. If you like a good mystery then you'll definitely love the quirky Gilda Joyce.