Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Mystery & Suspense

Chocolate-loving penguin detective Mr. Pin is relaxing between cases when a client approaches him with a baffling problem - someone is smashing the stone gargoyles in his warehouse. In fact, all over Chicago, gargoyles are falling from the buildings. Hoping to stop the villain before someone gets hurt, Mr. Pin and his young friend Maggie scamper to the latest crime scene to collect clues. But when an empty chocolate box is found near a destroyed statue, and a penguin is seen scuttling away, police blame Mr. Pin.

Sixth-grader Nina Tanleven knows that old Mrs. Watson’s spike-roofed, dark green house is haunted. She feels the ghost as soon as she walks toward the faded porch. But when Nina climbs the stairs to look for an antique wardrobe in the tower room, she has to wonder what else the spooky mansion is hiding. Soon Nina is in the company of a ghostly crying child, a long-dead artist, and a gruesome, hypnotic painting. To break the dark spell surrounding the house, she will have to join forces with these shadowy spirits.

Even though her family has very little money, 11-year-old Jenny loves her life in China. But after her stepfather dies unexpectedly, and her mother falls ill with a deadly lung disease, Jenny's world unravels. Suddenly she finds herself on a long ocean voyage to America--to live with a grandfather she has never seen. Jenny wonders what it will be like living with her rich grandfather. But when she arrives, she discovers she isn't expected--and no one believes her story.

Mr. Pin, a rock hopper penguin from the South Pole, loves to solve mysteries in the windy city of Chicago. There’s only one thing Mr. Pin likes better—eating yummy chocolate. That’s why his detective office is in the back room of Smiling Sally’s Diner, where the chocolate syrup is stored. With the help of his young friend Maggie, and tasty candy snacks, he makes Chicago a safer place.

Best friends Julia and Ashleigh are looking for some romance, but Ashleigh's ways make Julia a little uncomfortable. While crashing a fall dance, they are befriended by two boys, one of whom being the mysterious male that Julia had seen at the mall. Unfortunately, Ashleigh has laid claim to her mysterious boy first. Julia is totally confused about high school love.

When Henry and his big dog Mudge see a spy kit for sale, they know right away that it’s time to break open the piggy bank. With their spy hat and magnifying glass and secret code card, Henry and Mudge can flirt with danger, steal secrets, and start cracking codes.

Cam and her friend Eric are selling chocolate fudge and rice cakes door-to-door for charity. Eric can’t remember what to tell the customers. But Cam has no trouble. She simply looks at the speech and says "click". Then she stores a picture of it in her mind. When Cam sees a woman coming from a yellow house, she knows something is wrong. The woman is wearing a rain coat, but it isn’t raining. She’s wearing dark glasses, but the sun isn’t shining. And the yellow house looks deserted. Will Cam be able to solve the mystery with her amazing photographic memory?

Outside, the wind is howling. Inside the empty house, Taddy is shivering beneath a ragged blanket. He has been alone ever since his aunt and uncle died suddenly from a terrible fever. As his uncle was taking his final breath, he warned of danger in nearby Alexandria. Now Taddy is hiding, afraid of the unknown. When two rough-sounding men sneak in to steal the furniture, they force Taddy into their horse-drawn cart. The next thing he knows, he’s in a tavern in Alexandria, working long hours for crumbs.

Sure to enchant fans of the Lemony Snicket series, this wonderful sequel to Peppermints in the Parlor is an exciting tale that follows the adventures of young orphan Emily Luccock. Finally free from a dark and dangerous boarding school, Emily learns that she is to be sent away again. Award-winning author Barbara Brooks Wallace has written many suspenseful books for children, including Sparrows in the Scullery.

Cam Jansen and her best friend, Eric Shelton, are at a charity function with their mothers to raise money for local firefighters. When the host's pearl necklace goes missing, the luncheon turns into a whodunit, and all the guests are suspects. Can Cam use her photographic memory to identify the culprit?

The beloved American Girl History Mysteries features intrepid girls faced with intriguing situations. The author of this installment, Kathryn Reiss, has received the ALA Best Book for Young Adults Award. In Riddle of the Prairie Bride, it's 1878 and Ida Deming and her papa are looking forward to meeting his mail-order bride. But is this woman really who she claims to be?

Acclaimed children's author Avi's many accolades include a Newbery Medal and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Inspired by true stories from the American Revolution, Sophia's War begins in 1776, when British troops arrive on the doorstep of 12-year-old Sophia Calderwood's home in New York. After the disappearance and possible capture of her brother - and the execution of Nathan Hale - Sophia has vowed to do all she can to help the cause for independence. But the war will test her in ways she never imagined

Twelve-year-old Alice Rose hates her home in Virginia City, Nevada. Only Sam Clemens, the new reporter at her father's paper, keeps things interesting. Like Alice Rose, Sam has a colorful way with words and a habit of saying just what he thinks, especially when he's using his pen name - Mark Twain. When a miner is murdered, Sam is the only one willing to help Alice Rose investigate.

Long ago, in a land by the sea, 12-year-old Aaron lives with his mother in the wooded countryside. Because the boy is mute, he depends on his mother completely. But when a sudden blizzard strands his mother in a distant town, Aaron finds himself alone for the first time in his life. Setting out in the snow to look for his mother, the boy embarks on a perilous, silent journey that will carry him to the eerie Half-a-Moon Inn. There, held captive by the sharp-eyed Miss Grackle, Aaron will discover her wicked powers.

A series of robberies has disrupted the peaceful life at the Bean Farm. First, food disappears from The First Animal Bank. Then sheets and shirts vanish from a clothesline. By the time oats are stolen from the barn, everyone is suspicious and upset. Soon, the animals even suspect Freddy! Who, or what, is responsible for the crimes? What is the mysterious white shape in the Great Woods?

Since her brother died, Lily has pretended to be brain damaged, and no one knows her secret. That is, until a troubled girl named Tinny refuses to leave her alone. But Tinny's meddling soon gets Lily into a jam that threatens their safety.

This extraordinary fantasy teams together two delightful characters: Varloo, from the secret underground Druid caves known as Hek, and Dougie, from the lands above this civilization, suburban California. These two unlikely heroes realize that a plan to build a development on the land above the caves must be stopped in order to preserve their existence.

Eleven-year-old Amelia Fairwick is eagerly waiting for her widowed father to return from his business trip. But a letter arrives with shattering news - Papa has been lost in a terrible hotel fire. Now Amelia must leave her London home to live in America with a relative she has never met. Amelia thinks things can’t get much worse when stern Cousin Charlotte travels with her on the voyage across the Atlantic. Amelia must stay alone in the cabin, talking to no one. But the day the ship arrives in New York City is worst of all....

It’s the day before the big ballet recital, and Nancy Drew and her best friends, Bess and George, are very excited. But suddenly, the tape with the dance music on it is missing! Everyone in the class thinks Bess took it, but Nancy knows better. It’s up to her to find the culprit and the tape before it’s too late.

Water is leaking through the cracked basement floor of Sally’s Diner where Mr. Pin has his office. Suddenly a fish pops through the hole in the floor. Astonished, Mr. Pin drops the fish in a jar of water and hurries upstairs to show everyone his new pet. But the diner is in a state of confusion - the Chicago River is pouring into buildings all over the city! Can Mr. Pin stop the flood and save his friends? In A Fish Named Yum, Mr. Pin provides gentle lessons about friendship in two entertaining cases.