Mystery Reads

To the moon and back, here are 10 tales with a twist. The unlikely characters have one thing in common - they're ready and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. As the old saying goes, "You have to watch out for the quiet ones." From a quirky inventor, humored by his neighbors, to two old men out to dinner, to a more-than-meets-the-eye beverage maker, the stories will take you into the minds of the overlooked and unseen.

Sammy expects a carefree summer during her internship at the US Embassy in Vienna. Competing spy rings clash in desperation and threaten her life as every Strauss waltz accompanies a murder. Is the handsome stranger she meets heading for romance or using her as a pawn? Can she figure out who’s playing the tune before the dangerous dance ends badly?

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are discussing the lack of interesting new cases when a man bursts into the room. The panicked young man is McFarlane and he believes that he will be arrested for the murder of 52-year-old Jonas Oldacre. Oldacre’s burnt remains are found behind McFarlane house, the day after the builder Oldacre came to the lawyer McFarlane to draw up his will and made him his sole beneficiary. McFarlane is arrested as the main suspect. Holmes believes that the young man is not guilty and does his best to prove it.

Henry Adams is a poor American who ends up penniless in London after a boating accident swept him out to sea. One day he stumbles upon two brothers who hand him a suspicious envelope. What Henry does not know is that it contains a million pound bank note and that he is the subject of a bet. One of the brothers thinks that the bank note is completely useless since it cannot be exchanged for cash. The other brother has the opposite opinion. They are giving Henry one month to prove them right or wrong.

A man named Manton killed his wife and his two children and managed to get away with it. Ten years later he returns to the house where the crime was committed. He is recognized by the locals and he is provoked into a duel which is to be held in the haunted house where Manton killed his family. The locals were aiming to scare Manton away. However, the day after the duel Manton was found dead.

A man’s beloved woman suddenly dies of pneumonia. He cannot cope with the loss and spends a whole night wandering around the cemetery searching for her. However, what he finds and sees there is far from what he expected. Would you feel fear after reading "Was It A Dream?"? Then it may be interesting for you to find out what the characters in Maupassant’s short story "Fear" have to say about it as well. B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

Have you been caught in a long and meaningless conversation of which you want to sneak out but somehow find it difficult to do so? Simon Wheeler was sitting quietly in a tavern in a small mining town when an unknown man approached him. The man was actually sent there with a mission: he had to ask Wheeler if he knew another man called Leonidas Smiley. And there the big misunderstanding occurred, because the stranger began rambling about another Smiley he knew. He kept telling funny stories about tricky situations Smiley had gotten himself into.

"Tobin’s Palm" is a story about a young man named Tobin whose love Katie has disappeared. He did everything he could to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Heartbroken, Tobin falls into despair. His friend Jawn shows up and force Tobin to head out into to get some fresh air. But what they stumble upon there is not what Jawn or Tobin had expected. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a short story with a twist ending about two criminals, named Bill and Sam.

Thomas has only vague memories of the night his parents vanished, and the memories haunt his dreams: an old mansion, hide and seek, and panicked screaming. After their aunt threatens to split them up, Thomas and his two sisters run away to the abandoned family mansion to look for clues to their parents' disappearance. Soon after they arrive, terrifying messages make it clear that someone or something doesn't want them there. When another person close to Thomas disappears, the children must work quickly to stop the sinister force before they become the next victims of Branson Manor.

In the midst of the cold, snowy woods, the Graham Quartet stumble across a mystery. It could mean danger, but that doesn't stop Elsa, Matt, Tim and Selena as they try their best to help a stranger who needs them. But what can Siam, Hong Kong, and Vanderbilt have to do with the local furniture factory? And why are so many strangers suddenly appearing and then disappearing in town?

Dr. Watson recounts one of his earliest cases with Sherlock Holmes—an unconventional arrangement between a doctor and his resident patient.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino is ready for a well-deserved break from chasing the worst of the worst. She’s hunted serial killers, violent child predators, and vicious psychopaths but nothing has prepared her for spring break alone with her teenage daughter in a secluded beach resort in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Almost everything about Valentine's Day is fancy... especially with Fancy Nancy! Mystery is in the air when Nancy receives a valentine from a secret someone. Join Nancy as she follows the clues to find out who it is—all in her trademark fabulous style, of course. Gorgeous stickers included!

Dreaming with Holly takes you on a journey into the world of the plants. Through introducing concepts of active imagination, shamanic practices, and how to connect and dream with Plant Spirits (and what that means), this short audiobook provides insight, encouragement, and practical application for you to discover or strengthen your relationship with the plant world in general and Holly in particular. Dreaming with Holly also shares some of the spiritual characteristics, healing properties, and folklore associated with Holly.

Abdullah Syed Hari is fourteen years old. He loves his family and his friends. And he is a Somali pirate. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

A Christmas mystery introducing Owen Irvine, the Lake District shepherd-cum-detective hero of JJ Salkeld's A Natural Detective series. Set in the mid-1980s, this entertaining short story concerns the theft of the baby Jesus himself. All right, it's only a small wooden figure from the church's nativity scene, but as far as the vicar is concerned, dark forces must surely be at play in the Kentmere valley.

A train gets waylaid in the middle of nowhere, and Luke and his dad find themselves with four hours to kill before it’s fixed. Just enough time for a trip to the mysterious, decrepit old museum on the edge of town. A short story from Guys Read: Other Worlds, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Welcome to Fancy Nancy's Fabulous Fashion Boutique! Here you can find the fanciest almost-new outfits, accessories, jewelry, and lots more. There's even a necklace with real rhinestones for sale. Ooh la la!

An extremist attack on a busy shopping mall leaves 64 dead. John Tankersley, "Tank", is tasked with tracking the culprits down. His justice is swift and brutal.

His friends warned him not to try the fried pudding at the carnival, but Dan didn't listen. A short story in comics from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.