Flight to the Lonesome Place

On the run from killers, a boy genius looks for strength in numbers

When he steps on stage, Ronnie Cleveland feels his troubles slip away. He is the Blue Boy, a genius who sings, plays piano, and solves math problems faster than any calculator. His nightclub act is a great success, but he feels fear creeping into his heart. When a young Spanish girl warns him that trouble is coming, he knows she is right—and that it’s too late to stop it.
 
Before his time in the spotlight, Ronnie worked for a pair of underworld accountants. Because he remembers every number he ever crunched, the Blue Boy’s head holds enough dirt to put the entire mob in jail—and that makes him a target. When his manager and bodyguards disappear, Ronnie runs to find the mysterious girl, and seek refuge in the most lonesome place in the world.

“A fast-moving mystery.” —Kirkus Reviews on Mystery of the Sassafras Chair Alexander Key (1904–1979) started out as an illustrator before he began writing science fiction novels for young readers. He has published many titles, including Sprockets: A Little Robot, Mystery of the Sassafras Chair, and The Forgotten Door, winner of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Key’s novel Escape to Witch Mountain was adapted for film in 1975, 1995, and 2009.