The Mystery of the Missing Money: The Mystery Series Short Story, #1

By Paul Moxham

Are you up for a thrilling adventure?

The seaside village of Smugglers Cove is proving to be anything but quiet for the Mystery Kids as they encounter yet another mystery while exploring Brackness Castle. This ruined fortress sits on the outskirts of the village and, as they soon discover, holds more secrets than they could ever imagine.

Who is hiding in the dungeons? What is in the bag? Where does the secret tunnel lead to?

Set in 1950's Britain, this adventure story will suit anyone who enjoys Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys or the Famous Five.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Moxham
• Release date: Jul 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781501405082

Paul Moxham

Paul Moxham hails from Australia. He has written four novels, two novellas, and two short stories. Sign up for when he releases a new book - http://eepurl.com/tC4_v Check out his official website for more info - www.paulmoxham.com

Book preview

Table of Contents

The Mystery of the Missing Money (The Mystery Series Short Story, #1)

The Mystery of the Missing Money

The Mystery Series – Short Story No. 1

By Paul Moxham

Copyright 2012 Paul Moxham

Version Updated: 16th June 2021

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All rights reserved, without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means  without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE MYSTERY SERIES

This adventure series set in 1950’s Britain will delight children of all ages.

Summer Holidays:

The Mystery of Smugglers Cove

The Mystery of the Missing Money

The Mystery of the Missing Gnomes

The Mystery of Adventure Island

The Mystery of the Mysterious Man

The Mystery of the Strange Notebook

The Mystery of Hidden Valley

Winter Holidays:

The Mystery of Claw Mountain

The Mystery of the Golden Elephant

The Mystery of the Red Balloon

The Mystery of the Golden Dragons

The Mystery of the Howling Dog

The Mystery of the Hidden Suitcase

The Mystery of Treasure Island

Easter Holidays:

The Mystery of Four Towers

The Mystery of the Burning Plane

The Mystery of the Russian Spy

The Mystery of Ghost Island

The Mystery of the Perfect Thief

The Mystery of the Underwater Car

The Mystery of the Crown Jewels

Summer Holidays:

The Mystery of the Amphibious Jeep

The Mystery of the Escaped Prisoner

The Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle

The Mystery of the Runaway King

The Mystery of the Secret Lake

The Mystery of Crocodile Island

The Mystery of the Fake President

Winter Holidays:

The Mystery of the Secret Hideout

Unbelievable Adventures:

Mystery of the Invisible Woman

Escape from Inner Earth

The Secret Alien Invasion

Worldwide Adventures:

International Spy and Midnight Intruder

Haunted Lighthouse and Blizzard Peak

Choose Your Own Way:

Danger in Monrovia

Lost in the Bermuda Triangle

Escape from Sylvania

Standalone Short Story:

The Mystery of Santa Claus

Interactive Fiction:

Earthquake

Outer Space

Mystery Series Box Set:

The Mystery Series Collection (Short Stories 1-4)

The Mystery Series Collection (Short Stories 5-8)

The Mystery Series Collection (Short Stories 9-12)

The Mystery Series Collection (Books 1-3)

The Mystery Series Collection (Books 4-6)

The Mystery Series Collection (Books 7-9)

The Mystery Series Collection (Books 10-12)

PRAISE FOR THE MYSTERY SERIES

I was drawn in by the fast-paced plot. I enjoyed reading the book and couldn't wait to see how things turned out. -—Smashwords Reviewer 

Paul Moxham takes the reader on a whirlwind of chase scenarios that up the ante with each narrow escape. -—Amazon USA Reviewer  

I love this book, could not put it down and I felt as if I was standing beside the characters. -—Shelfari Reviewer 

"This is an entertaining adventure story that would make pleasurable holiday

Reviews for The Mystery of the Missing Money

[grampy-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“The Mystery of the Missing Money” by Paul Moxham is another cleverly crafted mystery for middle grade readers, similar to The Hardy Boys Mysteries of my youth. Three siblings, Joe, Sarah and Amy are spending summer break in the village of Smuggler’s Cove, where they befriend a local boy, Will. Their naturally inquisitive nature and strong sense of adventure lead them into several mysteries during their vacation. “Missing Money” is just one of those adventures in which the four friends become involved, and ultimately solve for the local police.Exploring an old castle outside the town, our intrepid explorers soon tire of that activity and decide to go build a sand castle on the beach instead. While at the beach, Will relates a local legend about a pair of twins who allegedly committed a robbery, but hid the money before they were captured and sent to prison. Many locals believe the money is hidden somewhere on the old castle grounds, but no one has ever found it. The four youngsters decide they could find the money if it really was hidden at the castle, so they return to search for it. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a prison transport vehicle carrying prisoners, including the twin robbers, is involved in a minor accident on a slick road. Police quickly round up all the prisoners, except the two robbers. As you might well imagine, the robbers are heading for the castle at the same time the kids are discussing doing the same. The two groups meet up, and the children are forced to run for their lives… but not before they manage to get the money away from the robbers. The two groups lead one another on a merry chase, with both groups insistent on keeping the money away from the others. In the confusion, Will slips away and reports everything to the local constabulary, which quickly mobilizes to apprehend the escaped prisoners. Once again the four children have helped solve a local mystery, and earned the further respect of the local police. This story is well developed, and the participants remain true to character throughout. I heartily recommend this story for not only middle grade readers, but also for older youth and adults who just want to relax with a short mystery for a while. Paul Moxham has written several engaging mysteries starring these four children in Smuggler’s Cove; all of them provide fun entertainment, and are well worth reading.

[rhonda1111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 STARSMystery of the Missing Money (the Mystery series) is a short story. It takes place a week after their first adventure in The Mystery of Smugglers Cove. This is a really short story that stands alone but the characters are really introduced and fleshed out in the first book.The story takes place in the 1950's where the children play outside and explore thier world. Thier is a empty Castle and the four kids explore.Will tells the story to the three other kids about the bank robbers that were caught in town on his 9th birthday and the money was never found.While the children go back in the castle to look for a braclet one of the girls lost. They find the two escaped prisoners who came back to retrieve thier stolen money.I liked the story and would like to read more longer stories in the series.This one was really short one that I got free on Smashwords.I will read more books by Paul Moxham in the future. This was an adventure with lots of action for a short story.Published: May 14, 2012 ISBN: 9781476323237

[mirrordance · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Just a short story narrating the adventures of four children. We get very little information about our "heroes" apart from names anche the fact that three of them are siblings. Their parents don't ever appear and the childrens adventures acquire a fantastic halo as if they weren't real. Immediately the thought goes to the Hardy Boys, The three investigators or Nancy Drew but any comparison would be unfair. They're just short stories but they appear as rough sketches, even childen and teens want detail about their heroes and bneed to identify emotionally.

[jbarr5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Mystery of the Missing Money (FREE BOOKS FOR KIDS CHILDREN MIDDLE GRADE MYSTERY ADVENTURE) (The Mystery Series, Short Story Book 1) by Paul MoxhamThis book starts out with listing of other works by the author-in series format but each can be read as a stand alone. I am reading them in order so I am familiar with the children in the story.Love the part about being bored and just relaxing it's summer and the girls are lying back looking at the clouds making shapes out of them. I remember doing that when it was in the 60's also, but from RI, they are in the UK.Joe and Will bring up the bank robbery and how the money was never seen as they head towards the Blacknesh Castle and learn that the twins are still alive and think that's where the money is. They slowly investigate and know they are on target when they hear their voices.Interesting how short this story is and it gets the job done with all the clues and investigating..Can't wait for the next mystery.

[funstm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bit simplistic for my own tastes but will no doubt be a hit with young children who enjoy a bit of mystery and adventure. Reminds me a bit of The Three Investigators series or Teen Power Inc - inspires a nostalgic feeling of old school mysteries. It wasn't long enough to really introduce four main characters with any depth but fans of the main series will likely love revisiting the characters. 2 stars for me, 3.5 stars for target audience.

[superphoenix_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This short story is part of a series written by the author on the adventures of 4 children, who because of their quick thinking and resourcefulness (in this book) go on to unravel the mystery of the stolen money and capture notorious felons while facing a rocky adventure.The writing style of the author is simple and compact. The story moves fast, though there were places where I personally felt that a bit more detail and a smoother flow would have made is pleasant. The idea of the preface was nice but a little more history about the children, woven into the narrative, would have been ideal for a reader like me who is not familiar with the earlier books in the series. I liked it, though I wouldn’t say I was hooked. I am an Enid Blyton fan and I may have been a bit biased while reading this book. The story reminded me too much of one of her books and I kept making comparisons between the two. Nevertheless, it is a good attempt by the author and children and adults will surely delight reading it.{I received this book as part of a LibraryThing giveaway, in exchange for a review}