Football Detective by Tom Palmer 5 Books Collection Set - Ages 9-14 - Paperback
Title In This Set:
1. Foul Play
2. Foul Play: Own Goal
3. Foul Play: Dead Ball
4. Foul Play: Killer Pass
5. Foul Play: Off Side
Description:
Foul Play
Danny is obsessed with two things: football - especially City Football Club - and investigating crimes. So when England and City footballing hero Sam Roberts is reported missing the day after Danny saw him being taken, blindfolded, into the bowels of the City FC stadium late at night, he's determined to get to the bottom of it. But is Danny getting into something he can't handle?
Foul Play: Own Goal
Meet Danny Harte.
Football fan and crime detective.
Danny loves supporting his local team, City FC. So when everyone starts supporting the Italian team Forza FC, Danny is angry. His club is in jeopardy and needs their support. Danny decides to investigate the sudden popularity of the new team - starting with Forza's billionaire owner - and that's when the danger really kicks off. . .
Can Danny uncover the sinister reasons behind Forza's success - and save City at the same time?
Foul Play: Dead Ball
Russian billionaire Dmitri Tupolev and a mystery Englishman agree to fix an important match in Russia's favour by intimidating the England goalie, Alex Finn. But Alex goes against their wishes. His punishment: an 'accidental' car crash and he's out of the return game in Russia.
Something is going on with England's replacement goalie, and Danny soon finds himself caught up with the criminals of the footballing underworld. Will he unravel the match-fixing mystery?
Foul Play: Killer Pass
In recent months there has been a spate of burglaries at the houses of players from Danny's favourite football club, City FC. Danny wants to know who's behind it all and is on the case.
But after scouting out the crime scenes, there are newspaper reports of a young boy having been seen hanging around.
Danny needs to find out who's behind these crimes - and fast. If he doesn't, he might have turned from crime detective into the biggest suspect of them all...
Foul Play: Off Side
When Danny Harte finds out there's been an anonymous foreign buy-out of his favourite club, City, he's furious - the fans were about to buy it themselves. The club is being secretive and Danny is determined to find out what's going on - until he's caught staking out the club by the police and cautioned. His parents are furious, and his friends too. No one is talking to him.
But when Danny discovers Adam, a kid from Ghana, dumped by his agent who'd promised him a place as a junior at City, and lost in a foreign country he knows nothing about, Danny realizes there are worse ways of being alone. He decides to take Adam's story to the press - with terrifying consequences for them both . . .
| Feature | Specification |
| Author | Tom Palmer |
| Publisher | Puffin Books (Penguin Random House) |
| Books Included | Foul Play, Foul Play: Own Goal, Foul Play: Dead Ball, Foul Play: Killer Pass, Foul Play: Off Side |
| Total Books | 5 Paperbacks (Complete Series Box Set) |
| Target Age Range | Ages 9 to 14 Years (Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3) |
| Genre | Children's Mystery / Sports Fiction / Crime Sleuthing |
| Core Motifs | Match-Fixing Underworld, Kidnappings, Stadium Conspiracies, Local Team Loyalty |
| 2026 Context | Brilliant crossover fiction choice ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 starting next month |
Tom Palmer is an internationally acclaimed British children's author widely celebrated for his monumental contributions to youth literacy, having received the National Literacy Trust's prestigious Ruth Rendell Award. As a former official coordinator for the Premier League Reading Stars scheme, his unique text structures are explicitly designed to align with Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 educational benchmarks. Published by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House globally revered for its strict editorial and typography guidelines, this official UK edition guarantees outstanding textual integrity. In 2026, this 5-book collection remains heavily recommended by librarians, literacy charities and junior training coaches as a premier resource to bridge the gap between physical activity and reading development.
Description
Title In This Set:
1. Foul Play
2. Foul Play: Own Goal
3. Foul Play: Dead Ball
4. Foul Play: Killer Pass
5. Foul Play: Off Side
Description:
Foul Play
Danny is obsessed with two things: football - especially City Football Club - and investigating crimes. So when England and City footballing hero Sam Roberts is reported missing the day after Danny saw him being taken, blindfolded, into the bowels of the City FC stadium late at night, he's determined to get to the bottom of it. But is Danny getting into something he can't handle?
Foul Play: Own Goal
Meet Danny Harte.
Football fan and crime detective.
Danny loves supporting his local team, City FC. So when everyone starts supporting the Italian team Forza FC, Danny is angry. His club is in jeopardy and needs their support. Danny decides to investigate the sudden popularity of the new team - starting with Forza's billionaire owner - and that's when the danger really kicks off. . .
Can Danny uncover the sinister reasons behind Forza's success - and save City at the same time?
Foul Play: Dead Ball
Russian billionaire Dmitri Tupolev and a mystery Englishman agree to fix an important match in Russia's favour by intimidating the England goalie, Alex Finn. But Alex goes against their wishes. His punishment: an 'accidental' car crash and he's out of the return game in Russia.
Something is going on with England's replacement goalie, and Danny soon finds himself caught up with the criminals of the footballing underworld. Will he unravel the match-fixing mystery?
Foul Play: Killer Pass
In recent months there has been a spate of burglaries at the houses of players from Danny's favourite football club, City FC. Danny wants to know who's behind it all and is on the case.
But after scouting out the crime scenes, there are newspaper reports of a young boy having been seen hanging around.
Danny needs to find out who's behind these crimes - and fast. If he doesn't, he might have turned from crime detective into the biggest suspect of them all...
Foul Play: Off Side
When Danny Harte finds out there's been an anonymous foreign buy-out of his favourite club, City, he's furious - the fans were about to buy it themselves. The club is being secretive and Danny is determined to find out what's going on - until he's caught staking out the club by the police and cautioned. His parents are furious, and his friends too. No one is talking to him.
But when Danny discovers Adam, a kid from Ghana, dumped by his agent who'd promised him a place as a junior at City, and lost in a foreign country he knows nothing about, Danny realizes there are worse ways of being alone. He decides to take Adam's story to the press - with terrifying consequences for them both . . .
| Feature | Specification |
| Author | Tom Palmer |
| Publisher | Puffin Books (Penguin Random House) |
| Books Included | Foul Play, Foul Play: Own Goal, Foul Play: Dead Ball, Foul Play: Killer Pass, Foul Play: Off Side |
| Total Books | 5 Paperbacks (Complete Series Box Set) |
| Target Age Range | Ages 9 to 14 Years (Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3) |
| Genre | Children's Mystery / Sports Fiction / Crime Sleuthing |
| Core Motifs | Match-Fixing Underworld, Kidnappings, Stadium Conspiracies, Local Team Loyalty |
| 2026 Context | Brilliant crossover fiction choice ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 starting next month |
Tom Palmer is an internationally acclaimed British children's author widely celebrated for his monumental contributions to youth literacy, having received the National Literacy Trust's prestigious Ruth Rendell Award. As a former official coordinator for the Premier League Reading Stars scheme, his unique text structures are explicitly designed to align with Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 educational benchmarks. Published by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House globally revered for its strict editorial and typography guidelines, this official UK edition guarantees outstanding textual integrity. In 2026, this 5-book collection remains heavily recommended by librarians, literacy charities and junior training coaches as a premier resource to bridge the gap between physical activity and reading development.
