A writer’s conference brings twelve-year-old Lark’s favorite writer—and a suspicious death—to Swallowtail Island, in the second book in this middle grade mystery series by an Edgar Award-nominated author.Swallowtail Island is hosting the Swallowtales Writer’s Conference. Lark's ecstatic to be chosen as a “page” for her favorite author, Ann E. Keyhart. But they say you should never meet your idols. When Keyhart arrives with her personal assistant in tow, she is nothing but a terror. And within a few hours, the assistant is dead! But the explanation isn't sitting well. Not when lots of people had reasons to want to be rid of Keyhart, and especially not after it’s revealed the assistant recently completed a hot new novel and the file's vanished from her computer. Then Lark finds out the assistant had a bird—the match to the one she found hidden in her mom’s book—and she needs...

"With topical themes, high-speed action, and a neat resolution, this is likely to be a popular read. The emphasis on good character—especially compassion, courage, integrity, and discipline—is nice to see." —Kirkus"Quick and pulsepounding and the stakes are high." —Booklist The Agents of the Glass are at the front lines of the fight between good and evil, and they have a new recruit. But is he up to the task? Andover James Llewellyn, aka Andy, did the unthinkable: he turned in a bag of money he found on the street after a bank robbery. His selfless action caught the attention of the Agents of the Glass. Now, as one of the agency's newest recruits, Andy is tasked with following the actions of a dangerous student at this new school, only he doesn't know which student. Is it Winter Neale, model student with countless extracurricular activities? Or could it be Jensen Huntley, an antagonistic, angry kid whose blog has...

When there are mysteries to be solved, the Red Blazer Girls are on the case! The discovery of the Ring of Rocamadour has secured the girls' reputation as Upper East Side super-sleuths, bringing many sundry job requests (no mystery too small, right?) and some unwanted attention from crooks. This time the girls must follow a trail of cryptic clues, involving everything from logic to literature, to trace a rare violin gone missing. But nothing is as it appears, and just as a solution seems imminent, the girls find themselves scrambling to save the man who was once their prime suspect. Bowstrings and betrayal, crushes and codes abound in this suspenseful companion to the Red Blazer Girls' 2009 debut. Recent clues indicate that there'll be more mystery and mayhem to come!From the Hardcover edition.

Sophie, Margaret, Becca, and Leigh Ann are back in an all-new Red Blazer Girls caper. In the third installment, Sophie is nose to fist with her arch-rival, Livvy, all while taking care of movie-star Nate Etan's dog, when Father Julian hires the Blazers to help him authenticate a painting. Mayhem and mystery follows as the girls attempt to uncover the truth. Oh, and, uh, Sophie's friend-who-is-not-a-boyfriend, Raf, is back. . . . Here's another charming and engaging adventure starring these four every-girl sleuths that's perfect for readers 10-up.From the Hardcover edition.

With their father en route to Africa for Doctors Without Borders, city-kids Nicholas and younger twin sisters Haley and Hetty are off to spend the summer with their Great-Uncle Nick at his house on Forsaken Lake. Despite some initial doubts, Nicholas is right at home in the country: he learns to sail, learns about his father as a boy, and makes fast friends with a local-girl, the tomboy Charlie.The summer takes a turn toward the mysterious, though, when Nicholas discovers an old movie that his father made as a boy: it tells the story of the local legend, The Seaweed Strangler, but was never finished. Before long Nicholas wants answers both about the legend, and about the movie. Together, he and Charlie work to uncover the truth and discover some long-buried family secrets along the way.In this lovely middle-grade novel, Michael D. Beil has invoked one of his own favorites, We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, as well as other great summer books of...

Mysteries seem to find the Red Blazer Girls: when Sophie finds a secret message in the antique fountain pen she bought for her father, the girls are on a case. Soon, they're at the home of the pen's original owner, a secretive man who kept to himself. His house is full of puzzles, all of which protect a hidden treasure, and the Blazers will do anything to get to the bottom of things. Throw in an ill-tempered bookstore owner with a motive, a missing will, a walking stick that doubles as a key, a school Christmas play, and a rat named Humphrey, and it all adds up to another thrilling adventure for the Red Blazer Girls.

Lantern Sam is the wise-cracking, sarcastic, talking cat (for those who can hear him, that is) who lives onboard the Lake Erie Shoreliner train and is one of the best detectives no one knows about. He doesn't have much patience for humans (unless they bring him sardines), but when 10-year-old traveler Henry can't find his new friend, the exuberant Ellie, Sam's enlisted to help. A ransom note is soon discovered and just like that, Sam and Henry are on the case, with the help of Clarence the Conductor (who supplies Sam's sardines). But is Ellie still on board the train? Did the salesman with his trunk full of samples sneak her off? And why does that couple keep acting so suspicious? Veteran middle-grade mystery author Michael D. Beil has crafted a hilarious and appealing adventure set in the 1930s that's chock-full of quirky characters, red herrings, and all with an irresistible cat at its center.