Non-Fiction Books

Study evidence, look for clues, and use your powers of deduction to solve more than a dozen dastardly crimes. Following each short story puzzle are five pieces of evidence, including things like witness testimony, autopsy and crime scene reports, background checks, car and house searches, and personal effects, that you can investigate by turning to different pages of the book. Examine them all, or just a few, in order to come to a conclusion.

Would you like to serve on jury and decide whether someone accused of a crime is guilty or not? Who doesn't love a twisty mystery--a locked room, a seemingly impossible crime, a pivotal piece of evidence that seems to make no sense. Here are 15 diabolically clever crimes that made the author smile and say, "You'll never untangle this one"; but you'll want to keep looking till you find the simple twist that lets you sneer and reply, "I fooled you!" These little murders and other crimes hark back to old-fashioned whodunits--you don't need special police knowledge or have to engage in chases and fights. There's not even a complicated logic involved, just good use of your imagination. 96 pages, 12 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.

Pit your wits against a shrewd detective who's trying to solve diabolical murders all over the world. Follow the elegantly enigmatic plot twists, keep track of the carefully laid out clues, and see who's first to nab the culprit, you or the pro. At the end of each story are three questions you must answer to beat the seasoned gumshoe.

Do some people think you're too young to be a detective? Ignore them, and join junior detectives Greg Rydell and Carrie Ingram as they bust crimes and collar criminals right in their own neighborhood. These kid sleuths show you whodunit and howtheydidit. As you read the facts of the case in each mystery story, just as you get to the most exciting part you're invited to help solve it! The fun begins as you, Carrie, and Greg go back over the clues, discover the crucial facts, and put them together to point to the culprit. Along the way you get tips from a guide called The Crime Solver's Handbook, which Carrie borrowed from her dad, who's a cop. You learn how to take fingerprints, analyze blood spatters, make invisible ink, tail suspects, and lots more. Armed with all this know-how, you'll catch a jewel thief, stop con artists who steal from the elderly, find out who's been terrorizing the kids at camp, and even solve an actual murder. Hints and solutions are available to keep you on the trail as a detective-in-training. Sterling 96 pages, 25 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.

Solve crimes like a detective, find clues where nobody else would think of looking, trap suspects with their own words, and ignore facts that appear to be significant but are only distractions. Better than a police academy course, all 80 of these simple stories will show you how to find the culprit while everybody else is completely confused. You'll make your town's Christmas merrier when you find out who shot Santa Claus. Figure out which family member poisoned the man of the house while he was watching the Super Bowl, and which housekeeping staffer hid a ruby necklace in a liquor bottle in plain sight. As you explore these fascinating whodunits, you'll enter a bizarre, glamorous, and dangerous world of mobsters, millionaires and heiresses--even detectives themselves. In case you can't outwit the bad guys, just turn to a special section of solutions to each mystery, including an explanation of each clue. Sterling 352 pages, 102 b/w illus., 4 3/16 x 5 1/4.

Make sense out of what's seemingly contradictory... and come up with "whodunit." Unraveling the tricky twists in these mysteries should earn you a detective's badge

How does Sherman Oliver Holmes succeed in finding and solving every crime? It's elementary--he's the great-great-grandson of Sherlock, with the same finely honed powers of deduction! Sherman just showed up in Capital City one day, wearing a deerstalker cap; though Police Sergeant Gunter Watson didn't quite believe the outlandish tale, he quickly learned to trust the newcomer's instaincts. Come along and watch Sherman's sixth sense in action as he uncovers thieves, murderers, and all-around bad guys.and test your own detective skills against this modern master of sleuthing. * Someone snatched a million-dollar painting! Who was it? * A man is slain while wandering through a maze. Can you find your way through the thicket of suspects and name the killer? * It's foul ball when some young baseball players discover a burglary... or did one of them commit the crime himself? And, in case Holmes has you stumped, the answers appear at the end.

How does Sherman Oliver Holmes succeed in finding and solving every crime? It's elementary--he's the great-great-grandson of Sherlock, with the same finely honed powers of deduction! Sherman just showed up in Capital City one day, wearing a deerstalker cap; though Police Sergeant Gunter Watson didn't quite believe the outlandish tale, he quickly learned to trust the newcomer's instincts. Come along and watch Sherman's sixth sense in action as he uncovers thieves, murderers, and all-around bad guys and test your own detective skills against this modern master of sleuthing. * Someone snatched a million-dollar painting! Who was it? * A man is slain while wandering through a maze. Can you find your way through the thicket of suspects and name the killer? * It's foul ball when some young baseball players discover a burglary...or did one of them commit the crime himself? And, in case Holmes has you stumped, the answers appear at the end.

Solve the crimes...if you can. Armchair detectives who love a baffling mystery will find just what they crave in this collection of wickedly devious whodunits. These are stories where the writer plays skillfully with the reader's mind and where the pivotal piece of evidence appears at first to make no sense--even though it must. Match wits with some stupendously clever sleuths (including Sherlock Holmes) on their cases and try to figure out the puzzles, clues, and marvelous twists that unlock the mysteries. Every story is brain-busting fun.

You can solve some of the most dastardly, downright confounding crimes ever committed. But first, check out some helpful tips that only the best detectives know about deciphering secret codes; writing messages in invisible ink; and dusting for fingerprints. Now you're ready to go out into the world and catch the evil criminals who have been preying on innocent citizens. From a jewelry heist to a Halloween homicide, you're on the case and people everywhere are safer because of it.

One of the writers for the highly acclaimed television show Monk presents a series of 14 unique solve-it-yourself mini-mysteries, all with a historical setting. At the end of each intriguing tale, armchair sleuths begin their own detective work with the aid of key questions and some crucial clues--including an interview with a witness, lab analysis of the evidence, or an examination of the crime scene. The historical settings range from ancient Rome to 1940s Hollywood, and the subjects include Jamaican pirates; death in Venice amid a masked ball; Jack the Ripper copycats.

The challenge is on for young amateur sleuths: how do their skills stack up against a brainy pre-teen who helps his detective mom figure out “whodunit?” Ever since Jonah Bixby’s father—also a detective—died in the line of duty, Jonah would come down to the station house after school to wait for his mother to get off work. All the cops took him under their wing, tutoring Jonah and turning him into their unofficial mascot.  In the process, Jonah became a crack crime solver, and these 20 cases, from “After School Homicide” to “Vampire on the Balcony,” are among his most fun and intriguing. They include missing objects, jewel thefts and art heists, murders, accidents, and even some pranks.

Twelve-year-old sleuth Jonah Bixby returns with more cool cases to crack! Jonah, who showed off his crime- and conundrum-solving skills in Kids' Whodunits: Catch the Clues! , now has 20 perplexing new mini-mysteries to unravel. Children will love testing their wits against Jonah’s?and seeing who’s first to decipher codes, figure out clues, and find the culprit! Solve these?and more! - An escaped convict has sent a cryptic message to his mother on a postcard. What do the strange words mean? - Is a house really haunted?or is someone just pretending to be a ghost? - Which of Jonah’s relatives stole a precious ruby necklace from his aunt? - Did Mrs. Glower really spot a murder in the house next door?

Dear Human: Your dog probably puzzles you. Most of us do that. And most of us would like to keep things as they are: humans in the dark, dogs with the upper hand. But we dogs are about to let you in a little secret. Okay, a lot of secrets. We graduated first in our obedience class three times. This should tell you something. Puppies know that they're being cute. They're using you. We don't sound anything like those silly voices you use to imitate us. We hate those ridiculous names you give some of us. Moonbeam is not a dignified name for a mutt. You might want to check your herb garden for fertilizer. We are only wearing this stupid birthday hat so we can get some cake. No self-respecting dog cares about his birthday. We are not spoiled, certainly not in comparison to teenage girls. We are in charge of the house. We let you pretend that you are. We'd be lost without you. We love you. It's all in our new book, Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You To Know, as told to humans Hy Conrad and Jeff Johnson. Even Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin) raves about us! Inside you'll find revelations such as the reason we at the sofa (leather tastes very similar to rawhide), and what we really think of the costumes you dress us up in. I'm not alone. Ten other courageous canines have stepped forward to tell you what your dog won't – every last dirty, hairy bit of it. If you have dogs, love dogs, or have ever been baffled by a dog, this book is a must-have.