Looks at the history and cultures of ancient Europe, and describes the artifacts and ruins left behind

Someone stole a cake from the cake contest—who could it be? Twelve animal bakers are potential suspects but Detective Duck uses his deductive reasoning skills to “quack” the case. After all, the thief left hairs behind so the thief wasn’t a bird. Follow along as he subtracts each suspect one at a time to reveal just who the culprit was. This clever story will have children of all ages giggling at the puns and the play on words.

Though a small town at heart, Lawrenceton, Georgia, has its dark side-and crime buffs. One of whom is librarian Aurora "Roe" Teagarden, a member of the Real Murders Club, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It's a harmless pastime-until the night she finds a member killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss. And as other brutal "copycat" killings follow, Roe will have to uncover the person behind the terrifying game, one that casts all the members of Real Murders, herself included, as prime suspects-or potential victims.

"Archaeologist Genevieve von Petzinger looks past the horses, bison, ibex, and faceless humans in the ancient paintings and instead focuses on the abstract geometric images that accompany them. She offers her research on the terse symbols that appear more often than any other kinds of figures--signs that have never really been studied or explained until now"--

In a series of different chapters Michael Baigent examines a number of enigmas surrounding such ancient mysteries as Atlantis and the Pyramids. He investigates such questions as whether there were ancient contacts between Europe and America,and whether a great catastrophe hit the planet around 10000 BC. And in the process he calls into question much of today's orthodoxy on such subjects.

Susan Ford, daughter of Former President Gerald R. Ford, brings her White House insider perspective to this sparkling debut novel, the first in a series of First Daughter mysteries. In Double Exposure, Ford introduces photographer Eve Cooper, daughter of the newly elected President, as she is swept into killer politics in Washington, DC... Double Exposure Eve and her family have barely settled into their new surroundings after the Inauguration when chaos and scandal erupt. White House photographer Michael Cauffman is taking Eve's picture in the Rose Garden when they stumble upon a corpse in the snow. It's one of the White House ushers and in his pocket is a torn photograph of an unclad and unidentified couple in the Lincoln bedroom-clearly involved in very unofficial activities. The story (complete with photos) is on the front page of The Washington Post, and the press is in a feeding frenzy. With the help of Michael, Eve sets out to clear her father, the President, by discovering exactly who took those pictures, and when, and why. As Eve closes in on the truth, she opens a vast Pandora's box of new troubles, both public and private. As the body count rises, Eve must race against the clock to find a killer who will stop at nothing to compromise the President... "Has charm...sure to attract [an] audience." -Publishers Weekly "Ford's debut offers some pleasant glimpses behind the scenes at the White House." -Kirkus Reviews

Equal parts Sherlock Holmes and P.G. Wodehouse, Charles Finch's debut mystery A Beautiful Blue Death introduces a wonderfully appealing gentleman detective in Victorian London who investigates crime as a diversion from his life of leisure. Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The grand house where the girl worked is full of suspects, and though Prue had dabbled with the hearts of more than a few men, Lenox is baffled by the motive for the girl's death. When another body turns up during the London season's most fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle a web of loyalties and animosities. Was it jealousy that killed Prudence Smith? Or was it something else entirely? And can Lenox find the answer before the killer strikes again—this time, disturbingly close to home?