Michael Francis Gilbert

Fourteen-year-old Henry, wishing to honor his brother Franklin's dying wish, sets out to hike Maine's Mount Katahdin with his best friend and dog. But fate adds another companion--the Cambodian refugee accused of fatally injuring Franklin--and reveals troubles that predate the accident.

"The Dark World is in danger, for the Veil is vulnerable. War is soon to come. On one side are Tal and the Underfolk rebels, struggling valiantly for freedom. On another side are Milla and the Icecarls, preparing to assault the Castle in order to preserve their world. And on a third side lies the most sinister force of all, a force of such power that it could unleash the ultimate destruction"--Cover.

> Life had been good for Paddy Yeatman-Carter. First-class Rugby and good beer at eightpence a pint before the war; during the war, command of the finest regiment in the British Army. But peace-time life as a clerk was more than a bit dim - until he saw an attempted suicide and decided to intervene. That act of good nature cost him his job and plunged him into the deepest intrigues of the City, where he and his friends walked in the shadow of death.

He was actually trying to bribe her! Liam Sherrard really believed that Carly was after his aunt's money. She was incensed when he even offered to recompense her if she'd refuse the old lady's invitation to visit their chateau in Brittany! "Why?" Carly taunted him. "Are you afraid she might change her will? Name me instead of you?" Carly was no gold digger. But if Liam Sherrard chose to see her as one--she'd certainly give him a run for his money!

DJ prays for guidance as she tries to balance her time at the riding academy with school work, art projects, and her new stepfamily.

Infernal machine / John Lutz -- Final toast / Stuart M. Kaminsky -- Phantom chamber / Gary Alan Ruse -- Return of the Speckled Band / Edward D. Hoch -- Adventures of the unique Holmes / Jon L. Breen -- Sherlock holmes and "The Woman" / Michael Harrison -- Shadows on the lawn / Barry Jones -- Adventure of the Gowanus abduction / Joyce Harrington -- Dr. and Mrs. Watson at home / Loren D. Estleman -- Two footmen / Michael Gilbert -- Sherlock Holmes and the muffin / Dorothy B. Hughes -- Curious computer / Peter Lovesey -- Adventure of the persistent marksman / Lillian de la Torre -- House that Jack built / Edward Wellen -- [The Doctor's Case]/ Stephen King -- THE SECOND TREATY / Daniel Stashower THE ADVENTURE OF THE VENOMOUS LIZARD / Bill Crider Hostage to fortune / Anne Perry Afterword: Moriarty and the real underworld / John Gardner.

Among the inmates of a brutally run POW camp in wartime Italy, the death of an informer is likely to cause little regret. But any death in captivity is bound to cause questions to be asked—questions that can prove highly unwelcome to a small group of determined British officers intent on escape...

Short stories featuring two middle-aged, part-time assassins and a dog working for the British government in post war Europe. Although somewhat dated - a newly invented tracking device requires a receiver the size of a car seat, East Germany is a prime enemy - the stories are sardonically entertaining, twisty and surprisingly amoral.

The interplay of incident and personalities in Brimberley village takes in the death of Liz Artside's husband in World War I, the current outbreak of burglaries, and Liz's fears about her son, Tim, and his unexplained activities. Explosions to do away with suspected betrayers; a dust-up in a London eating place; a disgustingly rich lieutenant of police lead to a most irregular untangling. Chatty and chipper.

Jonas Pickett moves his legal practice to the South coast of England in anticipation of his retirement, but work keeps getting in the way. Set in that cosily familiar, but probably mythical, England of retired admirals and colonels, deferential schoolboys and untrustworthy lower classes, the plots seem predictable at first but are enlivened by the twists and occasional hard edge characteristic of this author. The stories are dated in parts (school teachers are "allowed" to administer corporal punishment) but forward-looking in others (the most competent lawyer in the town is a woman, one of the plots involves gender fluidity and cross-dressing). A quick read for a wet afternoon.

A collection of essays, biographies, short stories, and poems.

Coronation year / Michael Gilbert Appointment with the governor / John Ball The locked-room cipher / Edward D. Hoch The cow and the jackrabbit / Janwillem van de Wetering Connoisseur / Bill Pronzini The lily pond / Rachael Cosgrove Payes Past tense / Elizabeth Gresham A dark blue perfume / Ruth Rendell The Arabella plot / Lawrence Treat The last party / Dorothy Salisbury Davis Who killed Father Christmas? / Patricia Moyes Widow / Joe L. Henseley Almost perfect / R.A. Lafferty The legend of Dirty Dick / Robert Bloch Revelation / Rosemary Gatenby The accomplice / John D. MacDonald Mama and the bastard / Florence Mayberry