When Neale and Margie Lawson hear that their father will have to sell his shore land and their beloved horse, Firefly, they are miserable. They can find no way to help until a strange red car, a lost cat, and the odd behavior of an eccentric old man draw them into a mystery involving the lost letters of a famous New England artist. The Lawsons and their friend Rupert Reed, son of the Ranger at the camp across the lake, are plunged into a bewildering tangle of strange doings. Neale thinks that his robot-burglar alarm might help to solve the mystery, and Margie is sure that her grandfather's books hold the key to the problem. Both children are right, but it takes two discoveries -- one in a cave on the mountain and one in the middle of Shadow Pond -- to set things straight. Mary Jane’s earlier mysteries, all exciting and fun to read, have found an appreciative audience. "Mystery at Shadow Pond" will add new friends to the large number of boys and girls who look forward to a book by this favorite author.

Benni Harper—spirited ex-cowgirl, quilter, and folk art expert—finds herself on the trail of a storybook killer in this mystery from Agatha Award-nominee Earlene Fowler. Hoping to relax after solving a murder in Wichita, Kansas, Beni and her new husband Gabe Ortiz are back in San Celina, California. But while Benni is jogging in the park, she happens upon the dead body of a library storyteller. It's an odd and disturbing scene—the woman is still dressed in her Mother Goose costume, lying facedown in the lake. Benni's investigation takes her inside the Storyteller's Guild, where she finds out that Mother Goose was telling more than fairy tales. She was capable of airing the kind of secrets that destroy lives—and inspire revenge...

Amy and Freddy Connors can't believe their ears when their Uncle Ken tells them he is going to stay in Mr. Sargent's big old house in Hidden Hollow all winter. And, when their father says that they can stay with Uncle Ken, they can't believe their luck. They can be near their friends, Marcia and Jim, and best of all, they won't have to stay in their father's trailer and be part of "that shiftless Connors tribe." Mr. Sargent wants Ken to take care of his house and his dog, but Amy and Freddy decide that being in the house will give them the chance to look for a lost inheritance. Before they have time to search for it, other mysteries pop up. Who is the young woman whose portrait hangs in the Sargent house? Who is sneaking around the house at night? And why is someone trying to make trouble for Amy and Freddy? The two children, with help from their friends, must find answers to all the mysteries -- and, in the process, learn how to hold up their heads and keep their self-respect in spite of what neighbors might think of their family.

By Sunday evening Prue Tenney was despondent. She and the others in her class were supposed to write about something exciting that had happened over the weekend. All of her friends had either found an adventure or caused one to happen, but Prue had thought of nothing. Suddenly she remembered the one exciting event in her town -- an unknown young man had been mysteriously shot eight years earlier. Although he was never identified, every year, on the anniversary of his death, someone placed red carnations on his grave. Neither the mystery of the shooting nor that of the flowers had ever been solved. Perhaps Prue could make an adventure out of visiting the grave. She slipped out into the waning daylight, and hurried over to the cemetery. As she started toward the wooden grave-marker, Prue realized that someone else -- a man -- was already there. He turned and strode away. Prue tiptoed closer. A bouquet of red carnations was lying on the dead stranger's grave! This was the beginning of real adventure for Prue, her brother, and two friends, one that lasted much longer than a weekend. As in all Mary C. Jane's mysteries, the excitement and pace of her story build up to a satisfying climax. While her characters are confronted with a hidden gun, a strange woman prowling around an empty house, and a suspicious neighbor, these details fit plausibly into the everyday world of a small New England town.

Only young Phil Holt suspects that the distinguished-looking Mr. Tate is looking for more than poetry in old Miss Goddard’s library. Miss Goddard thinks the self-styled poetry expert is charming. But Boz, the dog, takes an instant dislike to the elderly "scholar." And Phil is sure he has seen Mr. Tate outside Miss Goddard’s house in the middle of the night, talking with a sinister stranger. The unusual setting -- Portland, Maine’s famous Longfellow Square -- and the reality and appeal of the characters make this one of Mrs. Jane’s best stories. Family skeletons, a dognapping, and some furtive figures lurking in a closed-up church add to the excitement, as Phil proves that "bookish" boys can also be brave!

In Mystery Behind Dark Windows, a young girl tries to discover the source of mysterious sounds coming from her aunt’s deserted mill. Acclaimed New England author Mary C. Jane (1909-1991) raised her two sons in Newcastle, Maine. Reading aloud to them sparked her interest in children’s literature. After the boys were grown, she returned to teaching, where she soon realized many reluctant readers could be encouraged to read with mysteries. In 1955, she wrote her first book, Mystery in Old Quebec. Many more followed, delighting her fans.