Best of
Mystery

1999

Journey Under the Midnight Sun


Keigo Higashino - 1999
    He begins to piece together the connection of two young people who are inextricably linked to the crime; the dark, taciturn son of the victim and the unexpectedly captivating daughter of the main suspect. Over the next twenty years we follow their lives as Sasagaki pursues the case - which remains unsolved - to the point of obsession. Stark, intriguing and stylish, Journey Under the Midnight Sun is an epic mystery by the bestselling Japanese author.

Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories


Agatha Christie - 1999
    There's a bonus, a story not seen for more than 70 years!'My name is Hercule Poirot and I am probably the greatest detective in the world.' The dapper, moustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head, curious mannerisms and inordinate respect for his own 'little grey cells' has solved some of the most puzzling fictional crimes of the century. Appearing in Agatha Christie's very first novel in 1920 and her very last in 1975, Hercule Poirot became the most celebrated detective since Sherlock Holmes, appearing in 33 novels, a play, and these 51 short stories. These short stories provide a feast for hardened Agatha Christie addicts as well as those who have grown to love the detective through his many film and television appearances. This edition also includes Poirot in "The Regatta Mystery, "an early version of an Agatha Christie story not published since 1936!Some may dispute whether "all" is the correct word. Several Poirot short stories have earlier, alternate, or expanded versions, and we shouldn't forget the dozen or so not here; they were re-purposed into the 1927 novel "The Big Four." Others appeared under different titles. Most importantly, "Hercule Poirot The Complete Short Stories" will delight newcomers to Christie's famous detective, as well as those who just want to remember how good their read was the first time around.The stories in order are: (1) The Affair at the Victory Ball, (2) The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan, (3) The King of Clubs, (4) The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim, (5) The Plymouth Express, (6) The Adventure of The Western Star, (7) The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor, (8) The Kidnapped Prime Minister, (9) The Million Dollar Bond Robbery, (10) The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, (11) The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge, (12) The Chocolate Box, (13) The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, (14) The Veiled Lady, (15) The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly, (16) The Market Basing Mystery, (17) The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman, (18) The Case of the Missing Will, (19) The Incredible Theft, (20) The Adventure of the Clapham Cook, (21) The Lost Mine, (22) The Cornish Mystery, (23) The Double Clue, (24) The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, (25) The Lemesurier Inheritance, (26) The Under Dog, (27) Double Sin, (28) Wasps' Nest, (29) The Third-Floor Flat, (30) The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, (31) Dead Man's Mirror, (32) How Does Your Garden Grow? (33) Problem at Sea, (34) Triangle at Rhodes, (35) Murder in the Mews, (36) Yellow Iris, (37) The Dream, (38) The Labours of Hercules, the Foreword, (39) The Nemean Lion, (40) The Lernean Hydra, (41) The Arcadian Deer, (42) The Erymanthian Boar, (43) The Augean Stables, (44) The Stymphalean Birds, (45) The Cretan Bull, (46) The Horses of Diomedes, (47) The Girdle of Hyppolita, (48) The Flock of Geryon, (49) The Apples of the Hesperides, (50) The Capture of Cerberus, and (51) Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds.Librarian's note: this entry is for the collection, "Hercule Poirot The Complete Short Stories." Entries for each of the individual stories can be found elsewhere on Goodreads.

The Quiet Game


Greg Iles - 1999
    Natchez, Mississippi, is the jewel of the antebellum South, a city of old secrets and older money. Upon learning that his father is being blackmailed, Penn finds himself reopening the most highly charged murder case in the town's history, searching for the evidence that could bring down the judge who nearly destroyed his father years ago. As the town closes ranks against him, Penn is joined by Caitlin Masters, a young newspaper publisher, on a deadly quest to find answers to one of the darkest chapters of American history, a quest that pits them against the FBI, a band of brothers still fiercely guarding the tainted legacy of J. Edgar Hoover. But Penn's most dangerous journey must be made alone--into the abiding mystery of his own past, into the mind and heart of a woman he lost twenty years ago, and who still has the power to save or destroy him.

Final Witness


James Scott Bell - 1999
    Will there be a final witness to the truth? Young, idealistic law clerk Rachel Ybarra has just been handed a career-making opportunity––helping in the prosecution of an infamous leader of the Russian Mafia. But when the star witness turns up dead, Rachel discovers the case is not merely a battle for the truth––it's a battle for her life. The Legal Thriller That Won The First Christy Award for Suspense! "In this fast-paced story of good vs. evil, Bell expertly creates a believable picture of federal law-enforcement activities. But it's the more immediate struggle between Rachel and an absolutely chilling villain that will have readers biting their nails until the very end." - CBA Marketplace

Old Soldiers Never Die


Margaret Mayhew - 1999
    He moves to a quiet country cottage in Dorset, which he’d once visited with his late wife.He finds it easy to slip into local society and decides that Frog End’s upcoming annual fete will be the start of his mission to be a pillar of the community.But when Lady Swynford is found dead on the night of the fete, it becomes clear that Frog End has a darker side. And as Inspector Squibb investigates the case, the Colonel finds himself more involved than he could possibly have imagined.DISCOVER FROG END, A BEAUTIFUL ENGLISH VILLAGE WITH SOME DARK SECRETSPerfect for fans of Faith Martin, Agatha Christie and Stella Cameron.THE DETECTIVEAt the grand old age of 55, the Colonel had been put out to grass by the British Army. In the same year, his beloved wife, Laura, died after a long illness. He found himself facing a bleak and lonely future. There were the children, of course, but they were grown up and had busy lives of their own.One summer, years before, he and Laura spent their leave in England, touring the West Country. They stopped at a village in Dorset called Frog End which had a spit-and-sawdust pub called the Dog and Duck. Laura had fallen in love with a stone cottage seen across the village green. She had admired the thatched roof and the pink roses round the door. Years later, after her death, the Colonel had revisited the same village alone and seen Laura’s dream cottage had aged badly and that it was up for sale. Against his better judgement, he bought it.THE SETTINGThe cottage was called Pond Cottage and the Colonel soon discovered that he had made a big mistake. The two-hundred-year-old building had deathwatch beetle, rising damp, a falling roof, rot and decay throughout. There was no heating and the wiring was a dangerous disgrace. Logs for an open fire were kept in a tin bath in the scullery and the nettle-infested lavatory was housed outside in a jungle. There was no sign of any pond.But there were compensations: a view over the beautiful village green, clusters of other stone cottages, a Norman church built on Saxon foundations, a graveyard of ancient tombs leaning at perilous angles. And, of course, the Dog and Duck.

A Place of Execution


Val McDermid - 1999
    On a freezing day in December, another child goes missing: 13-year-old Alison Carter vanishes from the isolated Derbyshire hamlet of Scardale. For the young George Bennett it is the beginning of his most difficult and harrowing case: a murder with no body, an investigation with more dead ends and closed faces than he'd have found in the inner city; an outcome that reverberates down the years.Decades later he tells his story to journalist Catherine Heathcote, but just when her book is poised for publication, Bennett tries to pull the plug. He has new information that he will not divulge, and that threatens the very foundation of his existence. Catherine is forced to reinvestigate the past, with results that turn the world upside down.A taut psychological thriller that explores, exposes and explodes the border between reality and illusion in a multilayered narrative that turns expectations on their head and reminds us that what we know is what we do not know...

Thunderhead


Douglas Preston - 1999
    In it her father, long believed dead, hints at a fantastic discovery that will make him famous and rich---the lost city of an ancient civilization that suddenly vanished a thousand years ago. Now Nora is leading an expedition into a harsh, remote corner of Utah's canyon country. Searching for her father and his glory, Nora begins to unravel the greatest riddle of American archeology. but what she unearths will be the newest of horrors...

Rebus: The Early Years


Ian Rankin - 1999
    Now a third is missing. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of the policemen hunting the killer. And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve … HIDE & SEEK: A junkie lies dead in an Edinburgh squat. Just another addict, until Inspector Rebus begins to chip away at the indifference, treachery, deceit and sleaze that lurk behind the façade of the city familiar to tourists. And only Rebus seems to care about a death that looks more like murder every day, a death that appeals to the darkest corners of his mind. TOOTH & NAIL: Drafted down to the Big Smoke thanks to a supposed expertise in the modus operandi of serial killers, Inspector Rebus is on the trail of a man who, due to his penchant for taking a bite from each of his victims, is known as the Wolfman. When Rebus is offered a profile of the Wolfman by an attractive lady psychologist, it seems too good an opportunity to turn down. But in finding an ally, he may have given his enemies an easy means of attack

Messiah


Boris Starling - 1999
    Three bodies are found with their tongues cut out and replaced with silver spoons. The killer's motives and methods are so elusive that talented investigator Red Metcalf must search the darkest corners of his own soul to stop the killings.

The Unexpected Guest


Charles Osborne - 1999
    She admits to murder, and the unexpected guest offers to help her concoct a cover story.But is it possible that Laura Warwick did not commit the murder after all? If so, who is she shielding? The victim's retarded young half-brother or his dying matriarchal mother? Laura's lover? Perhaps the father of the little boy killed in an accident for which Warwick was responsible? The house seems full of possible suspects ...Charles Osborne has adapted the novel from Agatha Christie's original play of the same title from 1958.

Ashes to Ashes


Tami Hoag - 1999
    He has already claimed three lives, and he won’t stop there. Only this time there is a witness. But she isn’t talking. Enter Kate Conlan, former FBI agent turned victim/witness advocate. Not even she can tell if the reluctant witness is a potential victim or something more troubling still. Her superiors are interested only because the latest victim may be the daughter of Peter Bondurant, an enigmatic billionaire. When Peter pulls strings, Special Agent John Quinn gets assigned to the case. But the FBI’s ace profiler of serial killers is the last person Kate wants to work with, not with their troubled history. Now she faces the most difficult role of her career—and her life. For she’s the only woman who has what it takes to stop the killer . . . and the one woman he wants next.

The Deadline


Ron Franscell - 1999
    Wracked with pain, he still smolders from the injustice done to him all those years ago, and pleads with the newspaper editor, Jefferson Morgan, to clear his name and find the one who really killed the child.Morgan finds the request abhorrent, and is unable to believe that Gilmartin could be innocent. He refuses to help, until he does a little research and realizes that Gilmartin could indeed be telling the truth-the local sheriff won't release the trial records; the library has the microfiche files in a safe; Morgan's own newspaper clippings of the event hint at a cover-up by the town fathers at the time of the murder. Everything points to Gilmartin's innocence, and when someone burns down the newspaper office -- apparently to kill Morgan himself -- Morgan is sure of it.But what else will Morgan lose before he can print the truth?

The Alibi


Sandra Brown - 1999
    After they spend the night together, she mysteriously disappears. Later, while prosecuting the biggest murder case of his career, Hammond discovers that Dr. Alex Ladd, the prime suspect, is also his mystery woman. Now, he faces a moral dilemma and a haunting question. Is she innocent of the crime or was he used as her perfect alibi? And if she isn't the killer, is she the next victim?

The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes: The Adventures of the Great Detective in India and Tibet


Jamyang Norbu - 1999
    Then, to its amazement, he reappeared two years later, informing a stunned Watson, 'I traveled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhasa.'Nothing has been known of those missing years until Jamyang Norbu's discovery, in a rusting tin dispatch box in Darjeeling, of a flat packet carefully wrapped in waxed paper and neatly tied with stout twine. When opened the packet revealed Huree Chunder Mookerjee's (Kipling's Bengali spy and scholar) own account of his travels with Sherlock Holmes.Now for the first time, we learn of Holmes's brush with the Great Game and the world of Kim. We follow him north across the hot and duty plains of India to Simla, summer capital of the British Raj, and over the high passes to the vast emptiness of the Tibetan plateau. In the medieval splendor that is Lhasa, intrigue and black treachery stalk the shadows, and Sherlock Holmes confronts his greatest challenge.(back cover)

The Pumpkin Seed Massacre


Susan Slater - 1999
    Still struggling with the demons of his past, he is plunged into the nightmare rampage of a mysterious illness that is killing the residents of the pueblo, including his own grandmother. One of the victims, the powerful tribal governor, had made powerful enemies, and Ben suspects his murder was premeditated—but that doesn't explain the insidious killer now stalking the innocent. Undaunted, Ben digs deep into the motives of power and greed to root out a killer whose deadly agenda is spiraling out of control. Newly edited e-book edition

Miss Seeton's Finest Hour: A Prequel


Hamilton Crane - 1999
    Everyone is preparing for the battle that, as Winston Churchill said, would see the “whole fury and might of the enemy turned upon us.” Everyone including the young Miss Emily Seeton, London art teacher, who finds her strangely prophetic sketches do not go unnoticed by the secret services. At first suspected of being a fifth columnist, she soon finds herself recruited by the dashing Major Gerry Haynes and sent to carry out a very special observance task at a rural Spitfire factory. Faced with bombs, sabotage and murder, Miss Seeton must summon all her courage – it is after all her nature to Keep Calm and Carry On!

Nightmare Town: Stories


Dashiell Hammett - 1999
    A woman confronts the brutal truth about her husband in the chilling story, The Ruffian's Wife. His Brother's Keeper is a half-wit boxer's eulogy to the brother who betrayed him. The Second Story Angel recounts one of the most novel cons ever devised. In seven stories, the tough and taciturn Continental Op takes on a motley collection of the deceitful, the duped, and the dead, and once again shown his uncanny ability to get at the truth. In three stories, Sam Spade confronts the darkness in the human soul while rolling his own cigarettes. And the first study for The Thin Man sends John Guild on a murder investigation in which almost every witness may be lying.In Nightmare Town, Dashiell Hammett, America's poet laureate of the dispossessed, shows us a world where people confront a multitude of evils. Whether they are trying to right wrongs or just trying to survive, all of them are rendered with Hammett's signature gifts for sharp-edged characters and blunt dialogue.Hammett said that his ambition was to elevate mystery fiction to the level of art. This collection of masterful stories clearly illustrates Hammett's success, and shows the remarkable range and variety of the fiction he produced.As a novelist of realistic intrigue, Hammett was unsurpassed in his own or any day. - Ross MacDonaldA legend of a different kind: exemplary, not only of a certain kind of American fiction, but also of a certain kind of American life - Margaret AtwoodCover photograph: Mark Adams

California Fire and Life


Don Winslow - 1999
    Jack could turn away from the case, but he won't because some old scores need to be settled. So Jack takes the plunge into a world of crime, ambition, and evil.

The Devil's Teardrop


Jeffery Deaver - 1999
    After an early morning machine-gun attack by a madman called the Digger leaves dozens dead in the Washington, D.C., subway, the mayor’s office receives a message demanding twenty million dollars by midnight or more innocents will die. It is New Year’s Eve, and with the ransom note as the only evidence, Special Agent Margaret Lukas calls upon retired FBI agent and the nation’s premier document examiner Parker Kincaid to join the manhunt for the Digger --- or for hundreds, the first moments of the new year will be their last on earth.

In the Event of My Death


Carlene Thompson - 1999
    Full of mischief. Acting wild. Having good times. And getting into trouble. they called themselves the Six of Hearts. Then one night things went to far. One of them died. The rest swore to never tell what really happened.Now, thirteen years later, someone has decided to kill the remaining Six of hearts. The first to die is Angie, a successful New York City actress. And flower-shop owner Laurel Damron, still living in Wheeling, may be next. She has gotten a chilling message in the mail. She knows a killer is watching her. But who? Only by searching the past can she uncover a haunting truth...only by looking deep with herself can she uncover a lost memory...and only by suspecting everyone she knows, does she have one slim chance of staying alive...

Shaded Light: The Case of the Tactless Trophy Wife


N.J. Lindquist - 1999
    But the weekend is doomed: Ellen's husband invites his two legal partners and their quarrelling wives A black sheep nephew shows up One of the legal partners brings his wife’s wallflower sister Ellen’s son brings his devastatingly handsome best friend A new neighbour throws herself on Ellen’s mercy because of renovations If that isn’t enough, Lorry discovers a body in the Japanese garden, and the law arrives in the form of a tired Paul Manziuk and his brand new, totally unwanted partner, Detective Constable Jacqueline Ryan. Note: Discussion Questions for Book Clubs are in the back of the book along with some Bonus Features not in the print versions.

The Other Daughter


Lisa Gardner - 1999
    Gifted with a loving family, Melanie has always considered herself lucky. Until tonight.Tonight, a has-been reporter turns up investigating her past. Tonight the first note arrives, saying, "You Get What You Deserve." And tonight, Melanie has her first, horrifying vision of the past.Melanie has no memory of her life before the adoption. Now someone wants to give it back, even if it includes the darkest nightmare the Stokes family ever faced: the murder of their first daughter in Texas. As Melanie desperately searches for her real identity, two seemingly unrelated events from the past will come together in a dangerous explosion of truth.

Faded Coat of Blue


Owen Parry - 1999
    Now, firmly rooted on the shores of his adopted land-where American has taken up arms against American in this most terrible of conflicts-he has signed on as a confidential agent to General George McClellan, the man touted as the savior of the Union. Within hours Jones finds himself in a dark and unexpected world, where questions lead not to answers, but to other deaths Set against the backdrop of battles and bordellos, of the intrigues of war-time Washington and the elegant mansions of old Philadelphia, FADED COAT OF BLUE reaches behind the myths and heroics to paint a ravishing, disturbing and deeply moving portrait of the United States in the midst of our harshest trial. A determinedly moral man in a troubled age, Abel Jones triggers a drama involving greedy immigrants and impassioned patriots, vicious politicians and the greatest president the country has ever known. His investigation draws him into a web of sinister relationships that reveals a hidden side to Fowler's life and a shocking secret the youth may have died for. As a nation begins its long march into war-and as President Lincoln agonizes over the coming carnage-Abel Jones discovers that good and evil are easily intertwined, while heroes may be betrayed by those who cherished them the most. Vividly told, rich in history and compelling authentic detail, Faded Coat of Blue is a riveting tale of crime and punishment set amid the blood and tumult of the American Civil War; a startlingly original work of fiction that introduces Abel Jones, a most unusual crime-solver, a true American hero, and a keen observer of a world on fire.

The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis


Lawrence Block - 1999
    It was 1994 before a sixth Burglar book came along, but by then I’d written a pair of short stories about our lad.The first, “Like a Thief in the Night,” was exceptional in that it’s told from the point of view of the young woman who walks in on Bernie while he’s burgling a suite of midtown offices. (She’s pretty and personable, and he’s Bernie, so everything works out just fine.) A few years later I was holed up at a writers colony in Virginia with time on my hands, and a whole batch of short stories was the happy result. One was this one, in which Bernie’s enlisted by a supermarket tabloid to take forbidden photos at Graceland.That same stint in Virginia also yielded “Answers to Soldier,” about a hit man on a job in a small city in Oregon. Each story went straight to Alice Turner at Playboy, who bought them both. A couple of years later I found I had more to say about that hit man, whose name was Keller; there have now been four books about him, and I suspect there’ll be at least one more to come. And as for Bernie, there have been five more books, making a total of ten. And there’s been one more short story, “The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke.” And every once in a while an entire day goes by without someone asking me when I’m going to write another book about the fellow…

Lilian Jackson Braun 2 Pack The Cat Who Wasn't There & The Cat Who Blew The Whistle


Lilian Jackson Braun - 1999
    Polly suggests they take a trip to Scotland, including Jim's cats, Koko and Yum Yum. Then a tarot card reading predicts danger for a mature women. Will the Scots tour turn out to be fatal for Polly? — The Cat Who Blew the Whistle (The Cat Who...Bk 17)When the residents of Moose County board the old steam locomotive on its inaugural round trip, little do they realize that this first trip would be the last. The engine owner has gone, along with millions of dollars belonging to depositors.

Every Dead Thing


John Connolly - 1999
    Tortured by the unsolved slayings of his wife and young daughter, he is a man consumed by guilt, regret, and the desire for revenge. When his former partner asks him to track down a missing girl, Parker finds himself drawn into a world beyond his imagining: a world where thirty-year-old killings remain shrouded in fear and lies, a world where the ghosts of the dead torment the living, a world haunted by the murderer responsible for the deaths in his family—a serial killer who uses the human body to create works of art and takes faces as his prize. But the search awakens buried instincts in Parker: instincts for survival, for compassion, for love, and, ultimately, for killing.Aided by a beautiful young psychologist and a pair of bickering career criminals, Parker becomes the bait in a trap set in the humid bayous of Louisiana, a trap that threatens the lives of everyone in its reach. Driven by visions of the dead and the voice of an old black psychic who met a terrible end, Parker must seek a final, brutal confrontation with a murderer who has moved beyond all notions of humanity, who has set out to create a hell on earth: the serial killer known only as the Traveling Man.In the tradition of classic American detective fiction, Every Dead Thing is a tense, richly plotted thriller, filled with memorable characters and gripping action. It is also a profoundly moving novel, concerned with the nature of loyalty, love, and forgiveness. Lyrical and terrifying, it is an ambitious debut, triumphantly realized.

Last Dance


Joyce Lavene - 1999
    her father was the sheriff of Diamond Springs and the man he sent to prison for the murder now sits on death row awaiting his execution. But, Sharyn's convinced there are too many similarities between the two murders and that the true killer is still at large.

Sara Paretsky: Windy City Blues & Tunnel Vision


Sara Paretsky - 1999
    In Tunnel Vision, V.I. Warshawski embarks on another crime-solving adventure involving a homeless advocate group headed by her old college flame. Windy City Blues is a collection of five short stories that includes Grace Notes.

The Smuggler's Treasure


Sarah Masters Buckey - 1999
    These suspenseful stories will leave readers on the edge of their seats! Each spine-tingling tale features a brave, clever girl solving an intriguing mystery at an important time in America's past.Elisabet comes face to face with a famous pirate when she tries to free her father, who is a prisoner in the War of 1812.

Jed Cartwright and The Dangerous Journey (Book 1)


Ed Dunlop - 1999
    

The Collected Mystery Stories


Lawrence Block - 1999
    The collection features many of Block's best-loved characters, including Matt Scudder (eight stories), Ehrengraf (nine stories), Chip Harrison (two stories) and Bernie Rhodenbarr (three stories).

Midsomer Murder (Chief Inspector Barnaby)


Caroline Graham - 1999
    Published in the Daily Mail on the 24th, 27th and 28th December 1999.

Since All Is Passing


Elizabeth Delisi - 1999
    Unable to convince the man she loves of the truth, Marie sets out alone on a dangerous cross-country mission to save the child.

Newgate's Knocker


Greg W. Peterson - 1999
    As the sun sneaks the first light into the nation’s capitol, Capone is finally able to make sense of the myriad of bizarre events brought to his desk during the long night. Flight 855 will depart Chicago in only minutes, and the horrific nightmare will begin to unfold. Capone knows that he'll need more than a miracle to prevent the crazed airline captain from fulfilling his diabolic quest.Newgate's Knocker is a fictional story, however, the highly sophisticated wave pulse generator described in the book is, in fact, based on tested technology. Should such a device become viable and available to terrorist organizations, then Newgate's Knocker could prove prophetic.

The Investigations of Avram Davidson


Avram Davidson - 1999
    Collected here for the first time are Davidson's remarkable mystery tales, including: the 1840s murder investigations of New York's chief constable, Jacob Hays; a sinister lesson in New England thrift; a bride who disappears on her wedding day; a slavetrader and a deal gone terribly wrong; treachery in a nursing home; a greedy antiquarian repents his ways; expatriates who will kill for a little peace and quiet; and much ado about an exiled earl, Albanian Trotskyites, the Mafia, New Amsterdam river pirates, and the aspiring hooligans known as the Nafia (who "control all the gumball and India nut machines south of Vesey Street").

Yesterday's Shadow: A Lacey Summer's PI mystery (A Lacey Summer's PI mystery


Edna Curry - 1999
    Then she discovers her apartment burglarized, her uncle killed and both she and her mother are suspected of being involved in his murder. Mark reappears. As her uncle's friend and neighbor, he offers to help Lacey solve the crime. But someone doesn't want it solved. What is the murderer looking for and why? Is Mark a friend or the real murderer?

The Human Thing


Kathleen H. Nelson - 1999
    Eight months later, she emerges from a coma only to find that the galaxy is a very different place. Her lover is dead, her new ship is three months shy of being confiscated, and she's now a cyborg with memory problems. She's also the focal point of an investigation into corruption within the powerful Spacer's Union. The president of the SU believes that her memories are the key to unlocking the case and tries to bully her into submitting to psychotherapy. When she refuses, he blacklists her, and by doing so, forces her to take a job with a man whose people are ultra-religious technophobes. The job lands her in the middle of a planetary power struggle, and triggers attempted murder, betrayal, and madness. Through it all, she's tortured by thoughts of who she was and what she is now and what she might yet become. This is a story full of intrigue and raw emotions. It is a story about mortals, and mortal failings, and what it takes to be human.

Mystery at Kittiwake Bay


Joyce A. Stengel - 1999
    An old mystery.Cassie Hartt had never seen the ocean before and now it surrounds her. Her parents have split up, and she has moved with her mother and little brother to Kittiwake Bay, Maine. As Cassie struggles to adapt to life in the coastal town, she finds herself drawn to Waterview Manor, the mysterious mansion high up on a cliff. Though Waterview is now a retirement home, rumors of hidden treasure and passageways that were once part of the Underground Railroad swirl around the manor.Eager to learn more about the manor's history, Cassie becomes a volunteer. Before long, valuable objects are reported missing and everyone is a suspect. Cassie teams up with a new friend to search for clues, but as they dig deeper their investigation takes a dangerous turn. Can Cassie find the thief of Kittiwake Bay -- before the thief finds her?

The Stalking Horse (Seneca Falls #5)


Miriam Grace Monfredo - 1999
    It's the eve of the Civil War, and Glynis Tryon's niece, Bronwen, has joined Pinkerton's Detective Agency. While on her first assignment in the South, two agents are murdered. When word reaches Seneca Falls that Bronwen is in trouble, Glynis heads south--and finds her niece caught in the midst of a diabolical plot designed to strike at the very heart of the United States government.

UFOs Over Topanga Canyon


Preston Dennett - 1999
    Topanga Canyon is a quiet community of 8,000, just west of Los Angeles, in the Santa Monica Mountains. The one main street goes through the mountains, and has only one stoplight. Since 1947, Topanga Canyon has been a virtual hotbed of UFO sightings. June 14, 1992, marked the beginning of a UFO wave of gigantic proportions. Now, for the first time in print, eyewitness accounts of the activity are revealed, including: ·Unexplained lights ·Strange, metallic ships ·Face-to-face alien encounters ·Strange animal sightings ·Abductions of humans by aliens ·Missing time phenomena The author is a field investigator for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). He has published numerous books and more than 50 articles on UFOs, and worked with the television programs "Sightings," "National Geographic Explorer," and "Encounters." In UFO's Over Topanga Canyon, you'll read the startling, eye-witness accounts of encounters with the unknown, ranging from odd lights to terrifying abduction experiences.

Devil's Trumpet


Mary Rosenblum - 1999
    But when her latest client, Henry Bassinger, is found at the bottom of a nearby cliff, Rachel finds herself pulled into a dangerous world. Only recently returned to Blossom, Jeff doesn’t like the circumstances surrounding Henry’s death any more than Rachel does…but it’s his job as a detective to find out what really happened.

Brother Cadfael: Dead Man's Ransom / The Pilgrim of Hate / An Excellent Mystery


Ellis Peters - 1999
    

Monsieur Pamplemousse Omnibus, Volume 2


Michael Bond - 1999
    Here, presented again for all these fans, is Volume 2 of Allison & Busby's reissue of these great mysteries with "Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Cure, " "Monsieur Pamplemousse Afloat, " "Monsieur Pamplemousse Investigates, " and "Monsieur Pamplemousse Rests His Case."

Monsieur Pamplemousse Omnibus, Volume 3


Michael Bond - 1999
    Each of the stories combines crime, comedy and food and the author, Michael Bond wrote the famous Paddington Bear stories for children

The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse


Keith Hartman - 1999
    During your stay, depending on your tastes, you can cruise gay midtown (I hear that the Inquisition Health Club has introduced manacles and chains to the aerobics class) or check out the Reverend-Senator Stonewall's headquarters at Freedom Plaza (watch out for the Christian Militia guarding it, though) or attend a sky-clad Wiccan sabbat (by invitation only). Avoid the courthouse, where the Cherokee have turned out in full war-paint to renegotiate a nineteenth-century land deal. Also stay away from all cemeteries, at least until the police find out why someone is disinterring and crucifying corpses. As you can tell, this is a lively novel, full of intricate plotting and engaging off-beat characters. Among the latter are a gay detective, a Wiccan family, an ambitious televangelist with an eye on the White House, an artist whose medium is flesh and blood, a Cherokee drag queen--and then there's poor Benji, who would just like to make it to his fifteenth birthday, assuming the MIBS don't get him first or his Baptist parents don't ground him for life because his new girlfriend is a witch.

Sherlock Holmes and the Disgraced Inspector


John Hall - 1999
    The disappearance of five boys has been left unsolved for almost twenty years. Under Lestrade’s watch the wrong man was arrested and imprisoned for murder.But after a long appeal, the court has suddenly overturned its decision. The man is free. Lestrade has been disgraced. Holmes is not so convinced by this new verdict. He believes he can help Lestrade prove, once and for all, that his man is guilty.With Holmes and Watson officially retired, and Lestrade forced out of Scotland Yard, the three must endeavour to solve the mystery outside of the law. Can Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson save Inspector Lestrade’s reputation?What evil will they uncover?The mystery of the missing boys may prove to be Holmes’ and Watson’s most sordid case yet… 'A treat for any Holmes fan.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'Trade Off'. John Hall spent many years in the civil service before becoming a professional writer specialising in crime fiction. His book ‘Death of a Collector’ won the Sherlock magazine’s competition for the best new fictional detective. He is also the author of ‘Sherlock Holmes at the Raffles Hotel’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Hammerford Will’. Endeavour Press is the UK’s leading independent publisher of digital books.

Sherlock Holmes On The Western Front


Val Andrews - 1999
     He spends his days in the Sussex countryside, tending his bees. But there is a war on and Mycroft Holmes, a senior ranking official at the War Office, believes his brother’s peaceful retirement must come to an end if the allied armies are to defeat the Kaiser. Dr. Watson, at the behest of Mycroft, is charged with cajoling Holmes away from Suffolk comfort to serve his country. Their mission is simple enough: find out how the Germans are intercepting British communications. But before they get to the front line, the pair uncover an elaborate spy-ring at the British Army’s Salisbury headquarters, involving Stonehenge, phosphorous rocks, marionettes and an alarmingly long-range German plane. The hunt for the conspirators and the secrets they posses takes Holmes and Watson on a wild chase through the English countryside and eventually to the Western Front itself…. ‘Sherlock Holmes on the Western Front’ is Holmes’ most daring adventure to date. 'A treat for any fan of the master detective.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'Cold Kill'. Val Andrews (15 February 1926 – 12 December 2006) was a music hall artist, ventriloquist and writer. Andrews was a prolific writer on magic, having published over 1000 books and booklets from 1952. He also authored Sherlock Holmes pastiches and Houdini's novels. Endeavour Media is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

4:50 from Paddington / A Pocket Full of Rye (BBC Presents: Two Miss Marple Dramas)


Agatha Christie - 1999
    4:50 FROM PADDINGTONWhen Elspeth McGillicuddy is the only witness to a brutal murder-for which not even a body is in evidence-it takes all of Miss Marple's remarkable ingenuity to discover the key to a secret which lies buried within a decaying country house.A POCKET FULL OF RYEWith only one bizarre clue to the agonizing death of a wealthy financier, Miss Marple must unravel a mystery hidden in a child's nursery rhyme that is to prove one of the strangest cases of her life.Both stories are abridged4:50 from PaddingtonA Pocket Full of Rye2 Audio Cassettes / 3 Hours~

Bleeding Hearts


Josh Aterovis - 1999
     Even the most idyllic small town has dangerous currents just under the surface -- like abuse, bigotry and hate. And murder. Killian Kendall is a small-town teen whose whole world is about to be turned upside down. The new kid in school is openly gay and, despite himself, Killian finds himself drawn to him. When the boy is killed in a brutal attack, and Killian is injured in the process, Killian begins to questions everything around him. The police seem eager to write the attack off as a random mugging, but Killian knows better. Unable to ignore the injustice, Killian launches his own investigation, and everyone is a suspect -- even his closest friends. His search turns up hatred in small town America. Before it's over, more people will die, and Killian's life will be on the line again. Bleeding Hearts is the first book in the Killian Kendall Mystery Series.

False Accusations


Alan Jacobson - 1999
    Phillip Madison's privileged life is turned upside down when he is charged with double homicide in a brutal hit-and-run that takes the lives of a young couple, a crime that is linked to him by forensic evidence and eyewitness testimony and for which he has no alibi.

West on 66


James H. Cobb - 1999
    On vacation, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Pulaski wasn't looking for anything more than a cup of coffee and a hot meal when he pulled into the lonely truck stop. But what he found was a beautiful and enigmatic woman, a link to a decade-old multiple murder and a blood and fire-scarred road leading to a lost fortune in gangland money.In his undercover persona of an easy-going California hot rodder, Pulaski finds himself swept up in a two thousand mile chase down the length of the legendary Route 66. From the concrete canyons of the Chicago Loop to the desert wastes of the Mojave, Kevin's only allies are a hot '57 Chevy and a hotter Colt .45.

Dead Silence


Ron Handberg - 1999
    The police ruled the brothers had drowned. Their mother believed otherwise. Investigative journalist, Alex Collier, is determined to reopen the case.

Some Deaths Before Dying


Peter Dickinson - 1999
    Always surprising and incisive, the author of The Yellow Room Conspiracy and dozens of other unique novels returns with his first new book in five years; and proves again that in his masterful hands, powerful drama and devastating secrets can be found at the heart of even the smallest mysteries.For nearly her whole life, through most of the twentieth century, Rachel Matson saw the world through the lens of a camera, and produced stunning photographs that not only captured the moment but hinted at a greater truth. Now the ninety-year-old widow lies paralyzed, in the final stages of a debilitating illness. Yet while Rachel's body may be useless, her spirit remains indomitable, her mind razor sharp, and her eye, the trained eye of an artist, still picks up the most telling details. Together with her vast collection of photographs, these gifts are about to help her meet an extraordinary challenge, as she confronts a shattering mystery that harkens back over the decades...On a television program that showcases heirlooms, an antique pistol that belonged to her late husband, Colonel Jocelyn Matson, turns up, leaving Rachel bewildered and then profoundly disturbed. How could the prized Ladurie -- one of a matched pair of dueling pistols she had given to him to commemorate his return from the horrors of a Japanese POW camp -- appear hundreds of miles away in the possession of a stranger?Determined to learn the fate of Jocelyn's gun, Rachel falls back on the one thing left to her -- her intellect -- and soon begins the painful process of teasing the past from the shadows. Whatemerges from the vivid shards of her memories is a mesmerizing tale of honor, passion, and betrayal that stretches from colonial India to modern-day England ...a tale of a loving marriage interrupted by war, of a once-proud reg

Twelve English Detective Stories


Michael Cox - 1999
    The main focus of this collection is from the 1890s to the 1920s, the period when the classic English detective story was at its confident and original best, but it also offers examples from earlier and later periods. Presenting a balance of classic and more unusual stories, and featuring works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Michael Innes, this anthology will appeal to both the newcomer and aficionado of the genre.

Mysteries of the Bible


Lionel Fanthorpe - 1999
    It contains genuine history but also myths, legends, fables, and poems. There are also books of law, ethics, and prophecy. The four Gospels describe the life of Christ. The Book of Revelation addresses the future of civilization, including the End of the World and Judgment Day.The receptive mind is always ready to consider new ideas and evaluate them fearlessly and rationally. In their attempt to find truth, the authors have removed the Bible from its previously inaccessible pedestal and they treat it as objectively as any other piece of valuable research data.

The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History


Jane Yolen - 1999
    What happened? Did the crew mutiny? Were they attacked by pirates? Caught in a storm? No one ever found out. Inside this book are the clues that were left behind and the theories of what people think happened aboard that ship. Become a detective, study the clues, and see if you can help solve this chilling mystery from history!

Sherlock Holmes and the Harvest of Death (Constable crime)


Barrie Roberts - 1999
    He has seen his sergeant, a man of the greatest rectitude, ignore a confession of a murder by a vagrant when a young girl was killed on their patch and the murderer never found. Holmes and Watson travel west to the small village of Weston Stacey where, disguised as a man of leisure interested in folklore, Holmes begins his investigation into the mysterious death of Bea Collins.Amid the bustle of harvest time Holmes gathers together the unanswered questions: How did the killer know Bea would take a shortcut home rather than her usual route? What strangely shaped instrument was used to deliver the blow to her head? Why were traces of sugar cubes found at the scene of the crime? And what of little Billy Hayter’s insistence that he has seen a monster decorated with human skulls?To Watson’s dismay Holmes is convinced that they have stumbled across some terrible evil and, as the last sheaves come in from the fields, the great detective exposes a unique and grotesque horror.