Evelyn King and Dega are hoping for a quiet picnic in an unexplored valley paradise, but their plans are waylaid by a cunning and vicious mountain lion looking for a feast of its own.

Funny Stories is part of the Shades Short 2.0 series and features four themed short stories each by different Shades authors. These books are perfect for readers with less stamina (just 64pp each) or those simply looking for a quick read. <br><br>Shades Short 2.0 is published by Ransom Publishing, a specialist publisher for reluctant readers and struggling readers. <br><br>Funny Stories is ideal for reluctant readers aged 12+ with a reading ages of 9 - 10.<br>

1894, Sir Montague Fowler, warden of St Michael's College, Oxford, dies from apparent natural causes. Before long vicious rumours begin to circulate about the actual cause of his death, and an autopsy reveals that Sir Montague's body was full of the deadly poison mercuric chloride. Detective Antrobus of the Oxford city police is summoned to investigate. Who would benefit most from the warden's death? His three children are all in desperate need of money and each are embroiled in their own scandal: his son John is a secret gambler with enormous debts, daughter Frances has fallen into the clutches of a blackmailer, and son Timothy had stood by and watched his rival in love drown. Antrobus's list of suspects grows as it seems everyone had something to gain from the death. Aided by pioneer physician, Sophia Jex-Blake, the detective sets about unravelling the truth behind this Oxford tragedy.

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'The finest whisky book ever' – Dave Broom'If I could take only one whisky book to a desert island it would be Aeneas MacDonald's Whisky' – Charles MacLean'This is a small volume but there are plenty who will love it. It is airy, witty, full of sound knowledge and practical wisdom' – The New York TimesThis is – in the opinion of many whisky writers and experts – the finest whisky book ever written. It is certainly the first written from the point of view of the consumer and is thus historically significant. But more than that, poetic and polemic in style and with its emphasis on the importance of single malt whisky and its concern to protect and inform the consumer, it remains fresh and relevant to the interests of today's whisky drinker. It is a remarkably prophetic book, and with Ian Buxton's shrewd commentary and analysis, combined for the first time with period illustrations, it is brought bang up to date for...