Mystery Reads

An Adjutant-crane, a jackal and a giant crocodile are talking by the river, under a newly built railway bridge. The crocodile remembers the good old days, when he used to catch and devour the villagers as they tried to pass through a ford. He also remembers a boat sailing down the river, on which was a white child whom the crocodile tried to catch, but got shot with a revolver instead. Soon the reptile falls asleep, when two men with riffles cross the bridge.

Aristide Valentin holds a dinner party in his secret garden, which only has one main entrance. Many people are invited. Julius K. Brayne, one of Valentin’s rivals, is of the party as well. Everything goes as planned until one group of guests finds a beheaded corpse and the dinner turns into an investigation. Many questions begin to arise: How could someone be killed in a closed back garden without anyone noticing? Who is the victim? Who is the murderer? Where is the head? Find out the answers in "The Secret Garden". B. J.

One day a poor fisherman finds a large and heavy chest. Caliph Harun al-Rashid buys the chest, thinking that it encloses a treasure. Instead, he finds out that it contains a woman’s corpse sliced into pieces. Following this discovery, the caliph orders his vizier Ja’far, to find the murderer within three years, otherwise he will be executed. Unfortunately, due to the lack of evidence, the vizier is not able to make a proper investigation and the fatal day looms closer.

From the books that inspired the new Netflix series "Lupin" with Omar Sy. At Chateau de Maupertuis, death shadows Lady Jeanne Darcieux, as she escapes more than one attempted murder. But hero and gentleman burglar, Arsene Lupin is lying in wait and he can't help saving a stranger, especially if she's young and rich. The sixth story in Maurice Leblanc’s collection "The Confessions of Arsène Lupin" about gentleman thief and criminal mastermind, Arsene Lupin.

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.

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?

Glaswegian forklift truck driver Jack is quietly enjoying his tea break when a friend shows him something on the internet. Outrage follows, quickly spreading through social media, and within hours an angry mob has formed to put the world to rights. Modern justice is soft, as Jack knows, so perhaps it's time things were done like they were in the good old days...

It is May 1706. Ana, a young Spanish woman, lives in a small town on the north-west coast of Tenerife with her mother and twin younger brothers. The town is in the shadow of a mighty volcano, which legend says has the devil living inside it. However, there has been no eruption for thousands of years, and no one believes it is a threat. One day, Ana notices that the air feels strange and heavy, that the birds have stopped singing. Tending the family vineyard, a sudden strange tremor in the earth frightens her.

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?

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!

Business has been slow for Hounslow’s small time dope-dealer, Jay Qasim. A student house party means quick easy cash, but it also means breaking his own rules. But desperate times lead him there—and Jay finds himself in the middle of a crime scene. Idris Zaidi, a police constable and Jay’s best friend, is having a quiet night when he gets a call out following a noise complaint at a house party. Fed up with the lack of excitement in his job, he visits the scene and quickly realises that people are in danger after a stabbing.

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.