Mystery Reads

A father and his son visit a magic shop. This is not just any magic shop, but the "genuine" one, as the shop owner points out to the father. The father is not impressed but the boy is mesmerized by what he sees and hears. Yet when one trick turns out to be too real and the father is gripped by something he will not easily forget. H. G.

What is the worst thing that can happen in a cemetery? "The Dead and the Countess" gives one truly horrific description which will keep you at the edge of your seat until the very end. Now do you really want to know what happened in the Breton cemetery? Its inhabitants’ long sleep has been interrupted and they have become restless. What will follow is still unknown. B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

"The Castaway" is a short story by W. W. Jacobs, telling of the return of a husband, who was thought lost and buried at sea for three years. Mrs. Boxer immediately welcomes him, but his mother-in-law suspects him to be a fraud. A visit to the local fortune-teller only deepens her suspicions. "The Castaway" is a brilliant mystery story that questions reality in a remarkable way, leaving no stone unturned and dwelling into each the characters’ suspicions and fears. Recommended to short story fans and mystery fiction enthusiasts. B. J.

From the books that inspired the new Netflix series "Lupin" with Omar Sy. On 15th April, every day, Louise d’Ernemont leaves the house in the morning with her daughter and does not return home until nightfall - and nobody knows where she goes. It turns out that she is in fact the granddaughter of the wealthy d'Ernemont, who was guillotined on that exact date years earlier. A lost fortune, hidden jewels, a family mystery, it’s time for Arsene Lupin to step in to help the heirs of d’Ernemont.

After Olenka Plemyannikova’s father dies, she marries Ivan Kukin - the owner of the local theater. She soon takes over some of his paperwork-related roles and becomes more involved in the business. Unfortunately, Kukin dies in Moscow during one of his work-related travels. Olenka’s grief does not last too long and she soon gets married to a timber yard worker named Vasily Pustovalov. They live a happily and comfortable life together, until one day Pustovalov gets sick and dies a few days later.

Helen Turrell is a young and well-off single woman, living a the countryside village. But one day, she decides to travel to southern France and returns home with a baby called Michael. Helen says that Michael is the son of her brother, George, who died in India after falling off a horse. However, the truth is quite different and secretly, Helen tells Michael that he can call her "Mummy". Why did Helen travel to France? Is Michael really her nephew? Find out the truth in Rudyard Kipling’s story "The Gardener" from 1925. B. J.

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.

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.

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.

This audiobook bundle includes favorite I Can Read! titles from your VeggieTales heroes, Detectives Bob and Larry.

A sudden Christmas flurry has Penny spinning her wheels. Can she risk reaching out for help? Or will meeting new people put her and them in peril? Find out what the season holds for Penny and her ominous ability.

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.

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.

Ein spannender Krimi über Mordfälle, die wie Illustrationen in einem Märchen inszeniert werden: Madeline Dare ist Journalistin bei der Lokalzeitung in der Kleinstadt Syracuse und vermisst ihre Heimat New York. Als sie zufällig von einem 20 Jahre zurückliegenden Mord an zwei Mädchen erfährt, wittert sie ihre Chance, eine gute Story daraus zu machen. Bei ihren Nachforschungen deuten ausgerechnet alle Indizien auf ihren Lieblingscousin hin. Als kurz darauf noch ein Mord geschieht, ist klar, dass der Mörder sich an Märchen orientiert.

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?

Benny's friend Ray come up with his craziest invention idea yet: a machine that grants wishes. But when Benny realizes he has some wishes that need granting, he starts to wonder if it might just work. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

There’s nothing better than taking your timid little cousin Thad to one of those sweet haunted houses the 4-H Club decorates for Halloween. Except, of course, if the house turns out to actually be haunted. 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.

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.

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.