Humorous Mysteries

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.

Fourteen years after her last adventure, Thursday Next, literary detective, finds herself in an unusual situation her job policing the fictional characters of the BookWorld has been downgraded since her previous escapades are now themselves in print. However, a pressing threat may call her back into action: first Sherlock Holmes and then Miss Marple are found dead, stopping their series in their tracks.

The Chicken Squad is back for its sixth (mis)adventure, and this time, there's a headless bear on the loose, and the Chicken Squad's beloved Barbara has gone missing!

The Chicken Squad prides themselves on being ready for anything. Marshmallow life preserves? Check. Copious bags of jellybeans for a car ride? Check. Storm shelter? Storm shelter! They need a storm shelter in case there is ever a storm. So Sugar takes it upon himself to build one in the yard. But it turns out it's not big enough for everyone. And the big dig has unearthed some mysterious surprises.

Didi Dodo, the heroic spy, and Koko Dodo, the cookie chef, are off to solve another kooky caper! In Double-O Dodo, Koko has a big problem: His trusty assistant, the Queen, has been kidnapped! Over a frantic phone call, she tells Koko that she’s been kidnapped by a human, which is preposterous - everyone knows that humans aren’t real! Luckily, Didi is on the case. Her plan: To go undercover at the Humanland amusement park to find the Queen.

In this 15th book about the irrepressible Sammy Keyes, she deals with the zaniest character to come out of her town yet - Justice Jack, Santa Martina's very own superhero. Dressed in spandex and a mask, he drives around on a dirt bike hoping to fight crime. Though everyone else seems taken with Jack, Sammy's not so sure and now that she has a real mystery to solve her detective skills are pushed to the limits by Jack's antics.

As a shaky truce between suburban gangsters starts to unravel, schlubby civilian Scott Clark has other things on his mind: if he can't afford to buy out his ex-father-in-law, Scott's about to lose the only house he's ever called home. In the red-hot urban housing market, he doesn't have a chance - until he and his best friends take the desperate measure of staging a fake drive-by shooting on the property to push down the asking price. But then Scott's mobster-posturing stunt attracts the attention of the real criminals.

The Whippet Hotel is a strange place full of strange and mysterious people. Each floor has its own quirks and secrets. Leo should know most of them - he is the maintenance man's son, after all. But a whole lot more mystery gets thrown his way when a series of cryptic boxes are left for him... boxes that lead him to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances. Leo had better be quick on his feet, because the fate of the building he loves is at stake... and so is Leo's own future!

Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good. The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight, and she'll take any job for the right price. As far as Cas knows, she’s the only person around with a superpower...until she discovers someone with a power even more dangerous than her own. Someone who can reach directly into people’s minds and twist their brains into Moebius strips. Someone intent on becoming the world’s puppet master. Cas should run, like she usually does, but for once she's involved.

A virus has infected Arlington, Virginia, home of NERDS headquarters, and it's much worse than your run-of-the-mill flu. Instead of coughing and sneezing, the victims of this voracious virus are transformed into superintelligent criminal masterminds. Soon nearly everyone - including some of the NERDS team - is plotting to take over the world. And who's to blame for this nasty infection? None other than former NERDS teammate Heathcliff Hodges. With more people breaking out into evil cackles every day, it's up to Flinch, the hyperactive superspy with a sweet tooth, to stop the virus.

When Izzy agreed to become an undercover poison taster, she didn't anticipate that it might involve driving around the streets of Los Angeles with a corpse in the trunk. Because the police asked her to. She also didn't think finding a body together could be considered a bonding experience until she met Connor's family. But fate delights in marking its territory all over Izzy's expectations. And this time she'll be caught between the powers of Homeland Security, an evil human trafficking ring, and the Taste Society all working toward different ends....

When a crewmember takes his own life but hands Patricia a cryptic note and a request to save Anna just before he jumps, she feels she has no choice but to honour his dying wish. Who is Anna though? The note leads her to investigate the odd-looking and mysterious couple staying in cabin 2124 and so begins an adventure that leads Patricia and her friends through the streets and underbelly of Tokyo, Japan. Why did he kill himself? And what are the couple in 2124 up to?

It has been over a year since the last big mystery was solved, and now with the two clubs joined together, everything should be smooth sailing. Hormonal teenagers with access to social pressure, relationship drama and laser rifles? What could go wrong! At least one thing.

Of course, there’s nothing Harriet doesn't like about Marble Island, the small island off the coast of California where her nanu runs a cozy little bed and breakfast. And nobody doesn’t love Moneypenny, Nanu’s old basset hound. But Harriet doesn’t like the fact that Dad made this decision without even asking her.

Vampires do not exist. Everyone knows this. So it's particularly annoying when they start popping up around Manchester. Nobody is pleased about it. Not the Founders, the secret organisation for whom vampires were invented as an allegory, nor the Folk, the magical people hidden in plain sight who only want a quiet life. And definitely not the people of Manchester, because there is nothing more irksome than being murdered by an allegory run amok. Somebody needs to sort this out fast before all hell really breaks loose - step forward the staff of The Stranger Times.

The Winchester School of the Arts is where dropouts from good prep schools get their last chance. Yet graffiti artist Fun might not even graduate. Enter Carli, an undercover actress researching her latest role. Fun must serve as Carli's assistant to earn his diploma. One problem. Popular senior Darcy has vanished, and as Fun and Carli investigate, they head straight into a trap.

On a hotter and more volatile Earth in the 23rd century, humans like Clare and Jon live in utopia, hunting and gathering in small tribal bands, engaged in daily art and ritual, reunited with old friends like the shaggy mammoth and giant ground sloth. Even better, they still have solar-powered laptops and can communicate with each other around the world. The understanding of physics has also advanced.

Jonathan Grisby is the newest arrival at the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys - an ancient, crumbling fortress of gray stone rising up from the ocean. It is dark, damp, and dismal. And it is just the place Jonathan figures he deserves. Because Jonathan has done something terrible. And he's willing to accept whatever punishment he has coming. Just as he's getting used to his new situation, however, a freak accident leaves the troubled boys of Slabhenge without any adult supervision.

Tim and his ragtag crew have been rescued from certain doom by a mermaid princess—but now, she wants something in return for saving their lives: her father King Neptuna’s stolen trident. To pay their debt, Tim, Belinda, Ferkle, Rover, and Princess Grace once again brave the Sea of Terror to track down the trident in the glorious city of Atlantis, which hasn’t sunk into the sea yet. (In fact, it is famed as the safest city on earth.) But there is plenty of danger en route—and the notorious Prince Ruprecht is lurking about as well.

Lenny Marks is excellent at not having a life. She bikes home from work at exactly 4pm each day, buys the same groceries for the same meals every week, and owns thirty-six copies of The Hobbit (currently arranged by height). The closest thing she has to a friendship is playing Scrabble against an imaginary Monica Gellar while watching Friends reruns. And Lenny Marks is very, very good at not remembering what happened the day her mother and stepfather disappeared when she was still a child. The day a voice in the back of her mind started whispering, You did this.