Letter Mysteries

Jeremiah Carp is happy in his academic career...when a persuasive pair of ad men approach him with an intriguing brief: Work with them to "invent" a new letter. What looks like a lark, however, turns out to be something sinister, and soon Carp has his hands full, hectically helping to head off a huge hassle for humanity.

One spring evening in 1884, beautiful young courtesan Lola Deslys discovers the lifeless body of a chambermaid hidden in the gardens of the Hôtel Beau Rivage in Cannes. Even more distressing is that Lola knows the girl well. When the inquiry into her murder fails to reveal a single substantial clue, Lola is persuaded by novelist Guy de Maupassant to delve into the case on her own. Eager to exert her independence and defy conventions, Lola agrees. But she needs help in her investigation, and there’s no better partner in her pursuit - however unlikely - than Miss Gabriella Fletcher, a highborn, well-educated, and currently disgraced English governess.

Evoking the spirit and hardships of small-town America during World War II, Carolyn Hart's beautifully written story follows a young reporter, Gretchen Gilman, who investigates the puzzling murder of an acquaintance. Gretchen's assignments at the local newspaper weren't very exciting, but the job was a good opportunity for a young woman with talent and ambition. That summer, everyone was talking about Faye Tatum, who was found dead in her living room.

Jake Mishkin's seemingly innocent job as an intellectual property lawyer has put him at the center of a deadly conspiracy and a chase to find a priceless treasure involving William Shakespeare. As he awaits a killer (or killers) unknown, Jake writes an account of the events that led to this deadly endgame, a frantic chase that began when a fire in an antiquarian bookstore revealed the hiding place of letters containing a shocking secret, concealed for 400 years.

First published in an 1844 literary annual The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1845, "The Purloined Letter" is the third and final story that features Poe's detective, C. Auguste Dupin. In it, Dupin is approached by the prefect of the police to help with a case that involves a stolen letter containing compromising information.

After her high school graduation in 1960, Ginny Drummond left her small town in Iowa, vowing never to return. Years later, though, she attends her 50th class reunion -- an event with life-changing ramifications for her and William Fairchild, the classmate who befriends her. The reunion is momentous for all their classmates because of an anonymous letter and its contents promising riches to the last surviving member of their class. Ginny and William initially believe the letter to be a joke, but things soon turn deadly because someone will stop at nothing to be the last in the class.

When Mila and Critter Girl find a dead man handcuffed to a stump, deep in Chapitoulas Swamp, they'll need to act wisely to determine who their real friends are. Even though it is Christmas on the bayou, not everyone is in the festive mood this year. From a young idealist who wants to save the swamp; to a corrupt hunting club full of survivalists; to an oil company who is hoping to drain the wetlands of precious oil and gas; and even to Mila's own boyfriend, Xavier Ordoyn—the two girls are not sure who they can trust. be home for Christmas?

What price success? When a tragedy sparked by a medieval letter brings Matt and Camilla together in London, they never could have imagined the death and peril that would accompany their search for answers. The letter, rumored to lead to a relic of Biblical importance, holds ancient clues that others are also desperate to uncover. Amidst the pressure and danger of the hunt, Matt and Camilla must confront their past heartbreaks and battle their inner doubts and beliefs. But even if they are successful, what will it mean for their faith? And what will it mean for their budding relationship? ...

Ellery had a simple case. A few days of discreet snooping, some choice advice, and the inimitable sleuth would blithely restore domestic harmony to the millionaire couple Dirk and Martha Lawrence. Then came the scarlet letters. And finally the cryptic clue, scrawled in a murdered man’s blood. A simple case? Unless Ellery did some super-fast sleuthing, he’d have nothing to show but a very scarlet face. The case will drag him all over New York as he hunts for the truth.

A disgraced former detective walks into a bar and . . . gets funding for a private investigation agency? If it didn't happen to Jazz Callender, she wouldn't believe it either. All she has to do is partner up with a national security risk known as Lucia Garza, accept one-hundred thousand dollars, and take on assignments that seem to have no purpose. Easy-peasy.

A threatening letter. A suspicious death. A forensic specialist with everything to lose. When Chloe Sutton’s former mentor is found dead after receiving an anonymous warning, Chloe suspects it’s more than a tragic accident. Armed with her forensic skills and a growing list of secrets, she begins unraveling a case that hits far too close to home—one that forces her to confront betrayal, buried scandals, and the end of her marriage. Set just before The Budding Detective, this quick, twisty prequel reveals what Chloe was up to before visiting Grace in Bloomsville. Perfect for fans of ...

When an old woman dies onboard the lettering shop with a Cajun curse on her lips, the bad luck really starts to rain on Mila Breaux. She's not sure she believes in the supernatural, but the more strange events take place, the more it seems to believe in her! With the help of her best friend Critter Girl, and a handsome game warden named Xavier Ordoyn, Mila will need to dodge the hex while getting vengeance for the dead woman. Misfortune is not the only thing trying to stop her, however, and she'll have to act fast to get to the bottom of things, before it is too late!

Step beneath the Spanish moss and enter the humid, secret-laden world of Hawthorn House, rebranded as Beaufort Botanical Retreat. Saffron returns after twelve years, drawn back by the impending death of her godmother, the formidable matriarch Delaphina Duval. But the house, with its aged stucco and grand columns, is not merely a place of fading life; it echoes with the "sting of her mother's last harrowing screams" and is thick with unspoken truths. Saffron finds Delaphina frail but still commanding, surrounded by those vying for position or protecting their own interests. There's Jolie ...

Tempting apple. Killer stepmom. Princely love. Fun contemporary Y.A. romance❤️ While playing a game to match herself to a famous piece of art, Peony van Veer gets a shocking result. She looks exactly like the woman in a painting from the roaring twenties. Peony has to get a closer look at her doppelganger, but the piece is housed in a private collection. In Scotland. Her best chance to see the painting means signing up for a teen artist retreat -- hosted by the aristocratic Sinclair family. One problem. Peony gave up painting because critics compared her to her famous Van Veer ancestor....

Dos señores, cómplices en actividades deshonestas, se verán enfrentados por un negocio que no salió del todo bien. Intentarán resolverlo —no sin prescindir de sus artimañas— por medio de la correspondencia entre ambos, pero las cosas llegarán a estancias que estos dos ladinos ni siquiera podrían imaginar.

While Jazz Callender is recuperating from nearly losing her life during their first case for the mysterious Cross Society, Lucia Garza hires a new investigator to their firm: none other than Ben McCarthy. The former Kansas City cop has finally been exonerated of murder, and just in time. Jazz and Lucia have received a new red letter. But instead of instructions for a high-priority case, this missive contains nothing but a warning: "One of you has made a mistake." And it's on letterhead from the Cross Society's major adversary in a psychic war.

Centered on recently discovered, authenticated correspondence between two famous 19th-century Masonic leaders, Confederate General Albert Pike and British Colonel James Wilson Bury MacLeod Moore, this modern-day thriller follows Thomas, a direct descendant of Col. Moore, and Janet Rose, a direct descendant of the Merovingian Kings and House of David, as they risk their lives to protect the letters and the Templar and Rosicrucian secrets encoded within them.

We can endure just about anything if we know our future hope is certain. Paul had used a letter to stabilize the Thessalonians concerning their hope of being “caught up,” the enemy then used a forged letter to destabilize them. This book will not only comfort your hearts and stabilize us concerning the hope of our Rapture, but will also teach us how to rightly divide the word of truth. We can then teach others. Right thinking leads to right actions. “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good ...

The Mardi Gras season has come to South Louisiana, and it should have been a happy one. But when Rex, King of Carnival collapses from his parade float, a dark cloud forms over the Fat Tuesday festivities. What's even weirder is that he has passed a strange coin to Mila Breaux in his final moments. With her best friend Critter Girl at her side, Mila will have to untangle a Mardi Gras mystery of epic proportions—one that will take her from the crawfish fields to the streets of the Big Easy. Can she make sense of a series of clues that are too strange to be believed?

Auguste Dupin, investigator extraordinaire, was the remarkable creation of Edgar Allan Poe. Written in the 1840s, Poe presented the acutely observant, shrewd but idiosyncratic character who, with his chronicler, provided the inspiration for the more famous Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.