“A fun mystery with a likable main character and a lot of red herrings.”

-School Library Journal Review of Chase Against Time, August 2012

Awards for Chase Against Time

• Silver Medal, Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, Juvenile Mystery Category (October, 2012)

• Mom's Choice Award Winner (June, 2012)

 

The Chase Manning Mystery Series features single-day, real-time thrillers that occur on an elementary school campus. Written for readers 8-12 years of age, the series launched in March, 2009 when Steve self-published Chase Against Time. Since that time the book has enjoyed rave reviews from children, parents, and teachers. In the series debut fifth grader Chase Manning must investigate the mysterious disappearance of the cello that the school plans to auction off to save its award-winning music program. Brown Books has taken over as publisher, and the company released the new and improved version of Chase Against Time on March 15, 2012. The book is available for sale on this site.

	Chase Against Time (Release Date: March 15, 2012) In a last-ditch effort to save Apple Valley Elementary's award-winning music program from looming budget cuts, the PTA plans to auction off a recently-donated, handcrafted cello at the school’s annual fund-raising dinner. Confidence is high—until the cello turns up missing the morning of the event. The school principal charges Chase Manning, a fifth grader who has dreamed of playing in the Sixth Grade Honors Orchestra his whole life, with finding the cello by three o'clock. Each hour of the school day involves surprising and suspense-filled plot turns as Chase pursues the elusive cello. This single-day, real-time mystery thriller truly is a Chase against time! Learn More
	Chase For Home (Not Currently Available) Riding high in the Spring of his 5th grade year, Chase Manning joins the Apple Valley baseball team, and his clutch hitting leads the squad to within two victories of the school’s first ever league championship. Confidence is high—until Chase’s lucky batting glove turns up missing the day of the semifinal game. Unsure whether the theft represents an attempt to derail the baseball team as a whole or a personal attack against him, Chase must track down the culprit and find the glove before the team boards the bus at three o’clock. Surprising and suspense-filled plot twists fill the pages of this single-day, real-time mystery thriller. (Note: Steve self-published Chase Against Time in 2009 and Chase For Home in 2010, and both books have been available for sale on stevereifman.com since that time. Now that Brown Books has taken over as publisher of the Chase Manning Mystery Series, the new and improved version of Chase Against Time is due out March 15th and the book is currently available for pre-sale. Chase For Home is not currently available for purchase due to the fact that Brown is focusing exclusively on Chase Against Time. If all goes according to plan, a new and improved of Chase For Home will be released in the near future.) Learn More
	Chase Under Pressure (Not Yet Released) With huge prizes on the line at the state hamster competition, the Apple Valley Elementary science club has been working overtime to prepare for the big race. Dash, the school’s little speedster, is in the best shape of her life, and confidence is high—until the hamster turns up missing the morning of the event. 4th grader Chase Manning must overcome an unsupportive principal, the visiting members of a rival school, and even his own teammates to identify the thief and find Dash before the competition begins right after school. Expect the unexpected on the pages of this single-day, real-time mystery thriller. Learn More