Dead Days of Summer

Hart has written 38 mysteries and has been awarded multiple Agatha and Anthony awards. The seventeenth entry in her long-running Death on Demand series shows the plot muscle that has made Hart's reputation. Her plan of attack is similar to that employed by many spy novelists: start with a dizzying series of short scenes introducing characters, zero in on one person in particular trouble, and spend the rest of the novel spellbinding the reader with plot intersections. This time out, Hart concocts a thriller revolving around an innocent man suspected of a crime.

Death of the Party

Britt Barlow is certain her media mogul brother-in-law Jeremiah Addison's fatal tumble a year ago was no accident -- especially since she herself discovered, and disposed of, the trip wire someone had strung across the stairs. Now she's bringing all who were in attendance that weekend back to Golden Silk -- Addison's luxurious secluded island estate -- and inviting two extra guests, Annie and Max Darling, to help uncover a killer.

Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults

Teachers, librarians, and students of children's and young adult literature will appreciate the breadth and clarity of this book, as well as the impressive bibliographies of fantasy and of professional reading on it. The authors first set down the definition of and criteria for successful fantasy and then break the genre down into its subgenres, using plenty of examples to illustrate the literature's various manifestations, from fairy tales (both traditional and original) to talking-animal tales to gothic fantasy to heroic-ethical fantasy, and everything in between.

Encourage elementary and middle school readers to read quality titles pertaining to subjects from across the curriculum. This guide features recently published (1998-2001) fiction and nonfiction titles that are either award winners, written by award-winning authors, positively reviewed in national reading advocacy journals, or representative of an emerging trend in children's literature. Each booktalk entry consists of bibliographic data, a plot summary, a short booktalk, curriculum connections, and identification of related books. TOPICS INSIDE: Relationships, coming of age, sports, art, music, dance, holidays, adventure, science, math, social studies, and others.

Murder Walks the Plank

Annie and Max Darling return in their fifteenth Death on Demand novel. This time mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling plans a mystery cruise as a benefit for the Island Literacy Council of Broward's Rock, South Carolina. Unfortunately, before the mystery is solved, one of the guests falls overboard. Or was she pushed? Annie believes she was pushed and becomes even more convinced when a suspicious death occurs soon after the cruise. Max and