Death, Diamonds, And Dirty Socks Series

Sitting at the reading of Grandpa’s will, thirteen-year-old Jarod Dailey never knew that any of this had belonged to his family. Not only were a mansion and title suddenly a possibility, but he also had a one-in-seven chance of inheriting an item worth five hundred million dollars. As the clock ticked down for him to make his selection from the will’s items, he used his heart instead of his head. Taking an old brown pair of shoes and fuzzy socks as his inherited item, the others walk away not only smiling at their new treasures, but laughing at his. It is the summer after eighth grade and suddenly Jarod’s life has changed drastically. Jarod is plunged into the excitement of this new world of wealth the inherited items have brought his family. Him and his best friend Tommy try to figure out why the shoes could be so valuable to Grandpa, then he finds a secret message inscribed on them (To walk a mile in a man’s shoes is to know the secrets of his heart) and learns that when used with the socks, he can connect with anyone, dead or alive! His first visit...is from Grandpa.

In one day Jarod Dailey inherited his grandfather’s old shoes and socks, learned they could be used to talk to the dead, and then was given the secret message by Grandpa himself that made Jarod the next Lord of Kentwood. When his best friend Tommy shows up at the mansion to help Jarod explore his new estate, things start to take a darker turn from fun and adventure. Jarod’s was only one-of-even priceless items the family inherited when Grandpa died. As underhanded outsiders try to grab, ransom or steal what they can from the new family member’s, Jarod and Tommy dive into figuring out why everyone wants these things so badly. Thinking if Jarod’s shoes and socks are magical, maybe the other items have powers too, they decide to test them all. But how do they get their hands on each one separately to try things out? That’s the question that gets them into trouble...

As Lord Kentwood the Third Jarod Dailey has learned there is much more to Greenhaven Estates than it first appeared. Finding the Master book and breaking the code for all the other books in the library, Jarod and Tommy think they have it all figured out; decode the rest of the books and learn how to use the other powerful items the family inherited. But nothing is ever as easy as it seems. Even though their butler Brindly offers his help with decoding the books, Jarod and Tommy begin to doubt who they can trust at all any longer. Friends, family and foes all start to look suspicious as the appraisers come with their offers and buyers, and kidnappers come for their ransom. With nowhere else to turn, Jarod and Tommy must rely on each other and their own skills to protect Grandpa’s items. And maybe even their lives...

With the Kentwood encoded books now safely housed at an all-girls school, Jarod and Tommy have a new summer assignment from Brindly. Armed with junk food and a copy of two lines of code from the master book, they head into the school to try their hand at each decoding a book on their own. But once inside the high-security walls, they discover there are even more secrets inside the library than just his collection of magical books. Everything is a great new adventure until the girls of the school step in to help, and the secret items so carefully encoded into the books for hundreds of years are now in danger of falling into the wrong hands. It’s suddenly up to just them to get their mission back on track and all the items safely secured in the Greenhaven vault.

Jarod and Tommy’s first assignment from Brindly to each decode one of Jarod’s Grandfather’s mystical books has gone very wrong in one afternoon. They went to the girl’s school where the books were hidden, they decoded the odd messages, and then headed back home to Greenhaven. What they didn’t know was that someone had been monitoring their every move and now that someone had found the hidden ring Brindly had intended for them to find for their first mission: the powerful ring of King Solomon. Legend has it that whomever wears the ring can control the demons of the earth, but by demons back then they meant genies, and not just bad genies, but any genies with powers they wanted to harness. Now the only safe genies are the ones hidden inside their own bottles. Any genie within range of the wearer of Solomon’s Ring will be forced into submission. Being a genie, Brindly is trapped in his bottle as long as the painful call of Solomon’s Ring summons him. He is unable to aid them at all and it’s up to Jarod and Tommy to find help and get the ring safely hidden away again...before the call of Solomon’s Ring gathers an army of genies that becomes unstoppable.

It comes down to this.... With the ancient Ring of Solomon in the hands of Jarod’s worst enemy, time is running out for Jarod and Tommy to find a solution to get it back. If even one genie is turned into a slave by the powerful ring, its owner will control unlimited magic that would lead to a terrible end for everyone, most especially the enslaved genies. At their disposal are armed body guards, military commandos, elite ninja forces, and of course Jarod’s own protector monks. Every plan they come up with using these combined forces requires risk engaging the enemy, blowing them up or minimally risking lives. Together with their new friends from the girl’s high school, Jarod decides to try something on their own using his inherited socks and shoes from his grandfather, and the power of real friends. If it works the ring will be theirs and safely back in the vault at Greenhaven Estates before dinner, if not, they could all be risking their lives for nothing.