The Shadow Thieves, the first book in The Cronus Chronicles, takes you to the Underworld--the Greek Underworld, that is. Turns out Greek myths are real, but nobody knows it, especially not redheaded eighth grader Charlotte Mielswetzski. But she's about to find out. The Underworld has been ruled by King Hades for millennia, but now someone else has his sights set on his ebony throne. Philonecron wants to stage a coup in this netherest of netherealms. But any good coup requires an army, and armies are hard to come by in the Kingdom of the Dead. So Philonecron begins to look upwards, to the Upperworld, home of you and me. Soon, Charlotte and her cousin Zee become ensnared in Philonecron's diabolical plan. And when they do, the fates of everyone--living and dead--are in their hands. It's tough being thirteen.