Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Amateur Sleuths

Ah, the pleasures of Christmas: the hanging of lights, the traditional feasts, the gathering of families, and...a bit of murder, conspiracy, and theft. The holiday season seems to inspire the imagination of the best mystery writers, and their talents shine here in these delightful tales of Yuletide crime. In this busiest of seasons, seize a few hours to enjoy a sleigh—or slay—full of mysterious treasures, served with the finest of flair.

There is no detective in fiction as shrewd as Sherlock Holmes. An accomplished violinist, adept at a dozen obscure sciences, and possessed of an acerbic wit, Holmes's adventures with Dr. Watson have delighted readers for more than a century. This collection features some of the most celebrated stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon: "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Red-Headed League", "The Man with the Twisted Lip", "The Adventure of the Crooked Man”, "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box", "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", and "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons”.

Soon after banker Willard Carmichael and his young bride arrive in Pickax, a string of petty burglaries follow. Then Willard meets his demise—an apparent victim of a mugging—and the banker's home restoration project goes to the widow's cousin. Though the clues are as elusive as a cat burglar, the suspicious Qwill and his feline companions, Koko and Yum Yum, are determined to catch a thief—and a killer.

After five years of legal wrangling, Jim Qwilleran has officially inherited his fortune. He looks to seek isolation in the Potato Mountains to contemplate his future, and instead, ends up in the middle of a nasty dispute between roughneck mountain folk and greedy developers. What's worse, one mountain man, Forest Beechum, has been convicted of the murder of millionaire developer J.J. Hawkinfield. Foregoing solitude, Qwill does some investigating of his own. It turns out that Forest may not have done the dirty deed...but who did?

What would it take to lure a serious young newswoman from a respectable New England paper to the most notorious supermarket tabloid in America? The call of journalistic adventure? How about a promise of a salary that's triple what she's making? En route to her new job at the Weekly Galaxy, Sara Joslyn stumbles across a bloody corpse in a Buick Riviera. A big story? Not at this paper. The problem is compounded when the dead man vanishes, Buick and all.

Three years ago, Lew Fonseca quit his job as a process server with the State's Attorney's office in Cook County, Illinois, and headed for Key West. Sidetracked by fate when his car broke down in Sarasota, Florida, he decided to stick around, making ends meet by doing some investigative work for local attorneys. Asked to locate the missing wife of a well-known local entrepreneur, Lew learns that finding Melanie Sebastian is anything but simple.

Back in Pickax, Jim Qwilleran expects to resume a quiet life, but the people and animals of Pickax have other ideas. A noisy cardinal wakes him every morning, nosy neighbors drop by uninvited, and the Siamese cats—Koko and Yum Yum—misbehave, even sneezing on guests. As if they weren't bad enough, Qwill's long-time companion, Polly Duncan, acts as though she is in love—with another man. Worst of all, Qwill finds a body in his apple orchard. When his friend, Dennis Hough, becomes the chief suspect, Qwill embarks on a crusade to clear Hough's name and win back Polly's heart.

Creator and first host of The Tonight Show, entertainment legend Steve Allen is asked to stand in for Terry Cole, a late night talk-show host. Easy enough to be a substitute, thinks Allen, but little does he know that the vodka from the on-stage refrigerator is poisoned. Allen is not harmed, but his guest drops dead on the stage! Was the intended target Terry Cole or Steve Allen? Cole does have an extensive list of enemies, but when Allen himself becomes the suspect, he must solve the crime or spend a lifetime in lock-up.

After the double murder of his wife and child, Jake Sands gave up his lucrative career recovering stolen objects and missing people. Hoping to escape his past ties to Los Angeles, he moves to Santa Barbara, spending his days avoiding past friends and future decisions. Jake is not the sort of man who can stay retired for long, though.

The Great Food Expo was meant to introduce new restaurants, country inns, and food specialty shops to Pickax - it was not supposed to be a literal explosion. But that's what happened. Luckily, Qwill is on the scene, his mustache twitching with suspicions that the bomber meant to do more than send a warning. His evidence: Koko and Yum Yum's newfound interest in...cheese.

When an affluent railcar owner disappears with millions of dollars belonging to Moose County investors, international police launch an intense search for the fugitive. But journalist-detective Jim Qwilleran and his feline crimebusters find a trail much closer to home, only to be deterred by a train wreck and shocking murder. Only Qwill and the cats can unravel the truth in this riveting mystery. Lilian Jackson Braun's seventeenth Cat Who... adventure is a sure winner that will enthrall her devoted fans and attract many new ones.

Persuaded by Polly Duncan, his beloved companion, to join her in a group tour of Scotland, Qwill expects to revel in his Scottish heritage while keeping Polly safe from the Pickax Prowler. Instead, his trip is cut short when a thief swipes a suitcase, the bus driver disappears, and a fellow tourist is found dead—all in the same day. Although the town of Pickax is in a tizzy over the recent events, Qwill has other, more puzzling worries on his mind: Who is the fellow still following Polly? Why is Koko licking Qwill's photographs of Scotland and tackling him on the apple barn stairs?

Jake Sands has had a truly action-packed life as a recoverer of stolen objects and people. His work has made him a very rich man, but he paid a steep price: the murder of his wife and child. Jake now spends his days working out and his nights haunted by memories.