Humorous Fiction Mysteries

Dark Reading Matter is the 8th and final novel in the New York Times bestselling Thursday Next series, following 2012’s The Woman Who Died a Lot.

As they blunder towards doom, Warlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson find themselves inconvenienced by a variety of eldritch beings. Christmas brings a goose that doesn't let being cooked slow it down; they meet an electricity demon, discover why being a redhead is even trickier than one might imagine, and Holmes attempts an Irish accent. And, naturally, Moriarty is hanging around...in some form or other.

Get ready for laughs when you listen to these excerpts from ten of Hank's stories. Performed in the style of an old-time radio show, complete with sound effects and a unique voice for each character! You will hear Hank as he bargains for a priceless corncob, learns about manners from Wallace the Buzzard, runs into Rip and Snort the coyote brothers, taunts a raging rottweiler, gets into trouble with Sally May the rancher's wife, and more!

In the town of Ghostly, where everything is spooky, something really strange is going on: Books are disappearing! And not just any books - only those written by the famous author Edgar Bleek. Luckily ace reporter Dirk Bones is on the case. As Dirk tracks down information about the only clue - a weird spotted leaf - the mystery gets even more bizarre. What is happening in Ghostly? Expect the unexpected in this second Dirk Bones mystery about a fearless reporter in a town full of silly, creepy creatures.

Zoobreak revisits the characters from Korman's popular Swindle, as Griffin Bing and his friends come together for another heist. Savannah's pet monkey has been kidnapped and given to a zoo! Griffin quickly puts together a plan to steal the critter back, but not all goes smoothly. The crew realizes animals in the zoo are treated badly, so they hatch another scheme - to smuggle the animals into a better zoo.

The Kidds - treasure hunting family extraordinaire - are heading to China on a journey that will lead them beyond the Great Wall and into the underbelly of Berlin. Bick and Beck Kidd are desperately trying to secure the ancient Chinese artifact that will buy their mother's freedom from renegade pirates.

When an American tourist is murdered with a scone in Gemma Rose's quaint English tearoom, she suddenly finds herself apron-deep in a mystery involving long-buried secrets from Oxford's past. Armed with her insider knowledge of the university and with the help of four nosy old ladies from her local Cotswolds village (not to mention a cheeky little tabby cat named Muesli), Gemma sets out to solve the mystery - all while dealing with her matchmaking mother and the return of her old college love, Devlin O'Connor, now a dashing CID detective.

Hank learns about a tool thief on the loose who uses a monkey to help him do his dirty work. And before long, Hank finds himself face-to-face with the pilfering primate! Can Hank help to stop the criminals in their tracks, or will the crooks make a monkey out of the Head of Ranch Security?

Two people have been targeted. Shots have been fired. Who stands to inherit? Who has the most to lose? Evangeline "Evie" Parker, Countess of Woodridge, thinks it's nothing but an accident but then an attempt is made on her host's life. Suddenly, all the guests attending the Duke of Hetherington's house party think they are being targeted. Who will be next? Evie and her new chauffeur form an unlikely alliance to discover as much as they can before the killer can get it right.

Kane is a six-foot-seven French Canadian. But, a year ago, he was a wolf. He'd been in the woods when a crazed, infected man attacked him. The next day, he transformed into a human. Now, Kane is searching for the Biting Man to get the answers he needs to become a wolf again and return to his pack. The only one who knows Kane's secret is a troubled young woman named Emelda. She needed out of a terrible situation; Kane needed someone who could drive. Wolves who become humans are terrible drivers. He also has a problem with moonlight.

Hank the Cowdog is in hot water with Sally May--again! But, before Hank has a chance to convince her how sorry he is, he learns the ranch is being targeted for a major invasion from his arch-enemies the coyotes. Does Hank have what it takes to save his reputation, protect the ranch, and make things right with Sally May? Hank sings about his dog food in "Eating Doesn't Have to Be Fun", and Hank stops in his tracks when he hears "The Coyote Chicken Chant".

Hank the Cowdog could have told Slim that bringing an orphaned raccoon back to the ranch was not the best idea. But since Slim never pays any attention to Hank, Loper, and Sally May soon find themselves housing an adolescent coon with a mischievous streak a mile wide.

From rags to riches...When Pete the Barncat offers to trade good, juicy steak scraps for a couple of old corncobs, Hank the Cowdog smells a rat. Why would Pete want to trade - unless the cobs are worth a fortune? So, armed with his Incredible PricelessCorncobs, Hank sets out to plan his Early Retirement. But retirement and the life of luxury don't come as easily as Hank expects. It seems as though everyone is after his treasure - even his faithful sidekick, Drover!

Ka-boom! Awakened by an attack from an invisible enemy, Hank the Cowdog knows that there's only one thing for him to do - get inside the house and make sure that his family is safe. But when he arrives, Hank learns that the house is in the path of a swirling killer tornado!

How do you spell trouble? R-A-M-B-O. After a brilliant use of the Syruptishus Loaderation maneuver, Hank the Cowdog wins himself a free ride into town. But when the ticket turns out to be one-way, the trouble begins for the head of ranch security.

It seems that Hank's beloved sister and her children are the target of malicious threats from the neighborhood bully, a Great Dane named Rambo.

Hank and Drover have just hitched an accidental ride into town in the back of Slim's pickup, and boy, are they excited! But the excitement turns to drama when Drover mysteriously disappears! Can Hank track down his faithful sidekick before it's time for Slim to head back to the ranch? Or is he off on a wild goose chase?

Iggy Peck is an architect at his very core: When he's not making houses out of food, his head is up in the clouds, dreaming of design. So he's totally blown away when Ada Twist's Aunt Bernice inherits an old house from ice cream mogul Herbert Sherbert that is filled with countless rooms from all his favorite architectural periods. But something's not quite right....

Carl Hiaasen takes us deep in the Everglades with an eccentric eco-avenger, a ticked-off panther, and two kids on a mission to find their missing teacher. Florida - where the animals are wild and the people are wilder! Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved. But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a "family emergency", Nick and Marta just don't buy it.

Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

Judy Moody is in a mood. A sleuthing, Nancy Drew kind of mood. So what’s a WBMS (world’s best mystery solver) to do? Go find a mystery, that’s what! And she doesn’t have to snoop for long: when Mr. Chips, a beloved crime-dog-in-training, goes missing, Judy Drewdy and her chums, agents Dills Pickle (Frank), Spuds Houdini (Rocky), and James Madagascar (Stink) find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a real-life, scare-your-pants-off whodunit. Was Mr. Chips stolen by dirty dognappers? And why are chocolate-chip cookies disappearing all over town?