Alexander McCall Smith Books In Order

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to help people with problems in their lives. Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven year old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency received two Booker Judges Special Recommendations and was voted one of the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Tears of the Giraffe

THE NO.1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY introduced the world to the one and only Precious Ramotswe the engaging and sassy owner of Botswana’s only detective agency. Tears of the Giraffe, McCall Smith’s second audiobook, takes us further into this world as we follow Mama Ramotswe into more daring situations…
Among her cases this time are wayward wives, unscrupulous maids, and the challenge to resolve a mother’s pain for her son who is long lost on the African plains. Indeed, Mma Ramotswe’s own impending marriage to the most gentlemanly of men, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, the promotion of Mma’s secretary to the dizzy heights of Assistant Detective, and the arrival of new members to the Matekoni family, all brew up the most humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales.; Tears of the Giraffe was selected as one of the GUARDIAN’s top ten ‘Fiction Paperbacks of the Year, 2000.

Morality for Beautiful Girls

‘The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’ published in 1998, introduced the world to the one and only Precious Ramotswe, the engaging and sassy owner of Botswana’s only detective agency. ‘Tears of the Giraffe’ took us further into this world, and now, continuing the adventures of Mma Ramotswe, ‘Morality for Beautiful Girls, ‘ finds her expanding her business to take in the world of car repair and a beauty pageant. Acclaim for ‘The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’: ‘The authors prose has the merits of simplicity, euphony and precision. His descriptions leave one as if standing in the Botswanan landscape. This is art that conceals art. I havent read anything with such unalloyed pleasure for a long time.’ Anthony Daniels, ‘Sunday Telegraph”The most entertaining read of the year.’ ‘The Guardian”An African ‘ Miss Marple…
superb.’ ‘Sunday Times’One of the ‘International Books of the Year and the Millennium’ ‘Times Literary Supplement’

The Kalahari Typing School for Men

THE NO. 1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY.
FOR ALL CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS AND ENQUIRIES. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED FOR ALL PARTIES.
UNDER PERSONAL MANAGEMENT.

A beguiling mystery and lyrical novel of Africa the fourth in a series that the L.A. Times calls thoroughly engaging and entertaining.

Now that The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency the only detective agency for ladies and others in Botswana is established, its founder, Precious Ramotswe, can look upon her life with pride: she’s reached her late thirties the finest age to be , has a house, two children, a good fianc Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni and many satisfied customers. But life is never without its problems. It turns out that her adopted son is responsible for the dead hoopoe bird in the garden; her assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband and needs help with her idea to open The Kalahari Typing School for Men; yet Mma Ramotswe s sexist rival has no trouble opening his Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency across town. Will Precious Ramotswe s delightfully cunning and profoundly moral methods save the day? Follow the continuing story of Botswana s first lady detective in the irresistible The Kalahari Typing School for Men.

The Full Cupboard of Life

Here is the fifth novel in the internationally bestselling No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency hit series. Once again we are transported to Gaborone, capital city of Botswana, and into the world of Mma Ramotswe and her friends. THE NO. 1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY. FOR ALL CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS AND ENQUIRIES. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED FOR ALL PARTIES. UNDER PERSONAL MANAGEMENT. Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni are still engaged, but with no immediate plans to get married. Mma Ramotswe wonders when a wedding date will be named, but she is anxious to avoid putting pressure on her fianc . For indeed he has other things on his mind particularly a frightening request involving a parachute jump made by Mma Potokwani, the persuasive matron of the orphan farm. Mma Ramotswe herself has weighty matters on her mind. She has been approached by a wealthy lady to check up on several suitors. Are these men interested in her or just her money? This may be difficult to find out, but it’s just the kind of case Mma Ramotswe likes and she is, as we know, a very intuitive lady. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi plucky assistant detective and deputy manager of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors garage is moving. Her entrepreneurial venture, the Kalahari Typing School for Men, is thriving and with this new income she has rented two rooms in a house. Her spare time is occupied with planning the move, the d cor and her new life in a house with running water all to herself. In the background of all this is Botswana, a country of empty spaces and echoing skies, a country so beautiful and entrancing that it breaks your heart. Mma Ramotswe has prepared the bush tea and is waiting for us to join her.

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful Botswanan private investigator of ‘traditional build’, is well known to millions across the world through the best selling No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Those who have been following her exploits in five previously published novels will soon be able to savour the next instalment, in which, as usual, circumstances are never as straightforward as they seem and events take a more than unexpected turn. Precious Ramotswe, is now married to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. The Agency is busy, but Mma Ramotswe cannot ignore the plea which is made to her by a woman who comes to her with a tale of particular misfortune. Unfortunately, her attempts to help are interrupted by a close encounter between her tiny white van and a bicycle, and by a spectacular disagreement between her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and one of the apprentices at the garage. This apprentice has found a fancy girlfriend who drives a large silver Mercedes Benz. How can he be rescued from his folly? And as for Mma Makutsi, she has found a dancing class, and a man who may not be able to dance very well but who admires her greatly. And all of this happens against a background of quiet sessions of bush tea, and of a land that stretches out forever under mile upon mile of empty sky.

Blue Shoes and Happiness

In this seventh installment in the internationally bestselling, universally beloved series, there is considerable excitement at the shared premises of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors.

A cobra has been found in Precious Ramotswe’s office. Then a nurse from a local medical clinic reveals to Mma Ramotswe that faulty blood-pressure readings are being recorded there. And it looks as though Aunty Emang, the advice columnist in the local newspaper, may not be what she seems.

It all means a lot of work for Mma Ramotswe and her inestimable assistant, Grace Makutsi, and they are, of course, up to the challenge. But there’s trouble brewing in Mma Makutsi’s own life. Her greedy uncles are demanding an extra-large bride price from her well-to-do fiance, a man of substance, Phuti Radiphuti, and though money may buy her that fashionably narrow and uncomfortable pair of blue shoes, it won’t buy her the happiness that Mma Ramotswe promises her she’ll find in simpler things – in contentment with the world and enough tea to smooth over the occasional bumps in the road.

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

In the life of Precious Ramotswe a woman duly proud of her fine traditional build there is rarely a dull moment, and in the latest installment in the universally beloved No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series there is much happening on Zebra Drive and Tlokweng Road. Mma Ramotswe is experiencing staffing difficulties. First Mr. J.L.B. Mate koni asks to be put in charge of a case involving an errant husband. But can a man investigate such matters as successfully as the number one lady detective can? Then she has a minor falling out with her assistant, Mma Makutsi, who decides to leave the agency, taking the 97 percent she received on her typing final from the Botswana Secretarial College with her.

Along the way, Mma Ramotswe is asked to investigate a couple of tricky cases. Will she be able to explain an unexpected series of deaths at the hospital in Mochudi? And what about the missing office supplies at a local printing company? These are the types of questions that she is uniquely well suited to answer.

In the end, whatever happens, Mma Ramotswe knows she can count on Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, who stands for all that is solid and true in a shifting world. And there is always her love for Botswana, a country of which she is justifiably proud.

The Miracle at Speedy Motors

In the latest installment of this infinitely enjoyable and best selling series, Precious Ramotswe is doing what she does best helping people with their problems and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Mma Ramotswe is busy investigating her latest case: a woman who is looking for her family. The problem is, the woman doesn’t know her real name of whether any members of her family are now living. Meanwhile, Phuti Radiphuti has bought Mma Makutsi a glorious new bed. Unfortunately, it will inadvertently cause her several sleepless nights. And life is no less complicated at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni Mma Ramotswe’s estimable husband has fallen under the sway of a doctor who has promised a miracle cure for his daughter’s medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to believe. But Precious Ramotswe deals with these difficulties with her usual grace and good humor, and in the end discovers that the biggest miracles in life are often the small ones.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

The latest installment of this universally beloved and best selling series finds Precious Ramotswe in personal need of her own formidable detection talents…
.

Mma Ramotswe’s ever ready tiny white van has recently developed a rather disturbing noise. Of course, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni her estimable husband and one of Botswana s most talented mechanics is the man to turn to for help. But Precious suspects he might simply condemn the van and replace it with something more modern. Can she find a way to save her old friend?

In the meantime, Mma Makutsi discovers that her old rival Violet Sephotho, who could not have gotten more than fifty percent on her typing final at the Botswana Secretarial College, has set her sights on none other than Mma Makutsi s fianc , Phuti Radiphuti. Can Mma Ramotswe s intuition save the day? Finally, the proprietor of a local football team has enlisted the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency to help explain its dreadful losing streak. The owner of the team is convinced he as a traitor in his midst. But how is Mma Ramotswe, who has never seen a football match in her life, going to discern who is throwing the game? Help, it turns out, may come from an unexpected quarter.

There are few mysteries that can t be solved and fewer problems that can t be fixed when the irrepressible Precious Ramotswe puts her mind to them. A good cup of red bush tea might be the best solution of all.

From the Hardcover edition.

The Double Comfort Safari Club

The delightful new installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved and bestselling series finds Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi travelling to the north of Botswana, to the stunning Okavango Delta, to visit a safari lodge where there have been several unexplained and troubling events including the demise of one of the guests. When the two ladies of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency arrive at the Okavango Delta, their eyes are opened, as if for the first time, to the natural beauty and wildlife of their homeland. With teeming wildlife, endless grasslands, and sparkling rivulets of water running in every direction, it is breathtaking. But they can’t help being drawn into a world filled with other wildlife: rival safari operators, discontented guides, grumpy hippopotamuses. On top of that, the date has still not been set for Mma Makutsi and Phuti Radiphuti’s wedding, and it’s safe to say that Mma Makutsi is beginning to grow a bit impatient. And to top it all off, the impossible has happened: one of Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni’s apprentices has gotten married . Of course none of this defeats the indomitable Precious Ramotswe. Good sense, kindness, and copious quantities of red bush tea carry the day as they always do.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party

The latest installment in the beloved, best selling series is once again a beautiful blend of wit and wisdom, and a profoundly touching tale of the human heart. At a remote cattle post south of Gaborone two cows have been killed, and Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s No. 1 Lady Detective, is asked to investigate by a rather frightened and furtive gentleman. It is an intriguing problem with plenty of suspects including, surprisingly, her own client. To complicate matters, Mma Ramo tswe is haunted by a vision of her dear old white van, and Grace Makutsi witnesses it as well. Is it the ghost of her old friend, or has it risen from the junkyard? In the meantime, one of Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni s apprentices may have gotten a girl pregnant and, under pressure to marry her, has run away. Naturally, it is up to Precious to help sort things out. Add to the mix Violet Sephotho s newly launched run for the Botswana Parliament and a pair of perfect wedding shoes will wedding bells finally ring for Phuti Radiphuti and Grace Makutsi? and we have a charming and delightful tale in the inimitable style of Alexander McCall Smith.

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection

The new installment in the perpetually delightful and bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Precious Ramotswe is back and, as usual, her plate is full! She’s called in to tackle a mysterious disciplinary problem at her adopted daughter’s school…
Her infinitely trustworthy assistant, Grace Makutsi, is having trouble adjusting to wedded bliss, a problem to test even the formidable talents of Mma Ramotswe…
And the estimable Clovis Andersen, author of The Principles of Private Detection the No. 1 Ladies’ prized manual has arrived, right there, in Botswana, on a case of his own. Bush tea anyone?

Portuguese Irregular Verbs

Readers who fell in love with Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, now have new cause for celebration in the protagonist of these three light footed comic novels by Alexander McCall Smith. Welcome to the insane and rarified world of Professor Dr. Moritz Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute of Romance Philology. Von Igelfeld is engaged in a never ending quest to win the respect he feels certain he is due a quest which has the tendency to go hilariously astray. In Portuguese Irregular Verbs, Professor Dr von Igelfeld learns to play tennis, and forces a college chum to enter into a duel that results in a nipped nose. He also takes a field trip to Ireland where he becomes acquainted with the rich world of archaic Irishisms, and he develops an aching infatuation with a Dentist fatale. Along the way, he takes two ill fated Italian sojourns, the first merely uncomfortable, the second definitely dangerous.

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

Readers who fell in love with Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, now have new cause for celebration in the protagonist of these three light footed comic novels by Alexander McCall Smith. Welcome to the insane and rarified world of Professor Dr. Moritz Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute of Romance Philology. Von Igelfeld is engaged in a never ending quest to win the respect he feels certain he is due a quest which has the tendency to go hilariously astray.

In The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs, Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld is mistaken for a veterinarian and not wanting to call attention to the faux pas, begins practicing veterinary medicine without a license. He ends up operating on a friend’s dachshund to dramatic and unfortunate effect. He also transports relics for a schismatically challenged Coptic prelate, and is pursued by marriage minded widows on board a Mediterranean cruise ship.

At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances

Readers who fell in love with Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, now have new cause for celebration in the protagonist of these three light footed comic novels by Alexander McCall Smith. Welcome to the insane and rarified world of Professor Dr. Moritz Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute of Romance Philology. Von Igelfeld is engaged in a never ending quest to win the respect he feels certain he is due a quest which has the tendency to go hilariously astray.

In At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, Professor Dr. von Igelfeld gets caught up in a nasty case of academic intrigue while on sabbatical at Cambridge. When he returns to Regensburg he is confronted with the thrilling news that someone from a foreign embassy has actually checked his masterwork, Portuguese Irregular Verbs, out of the Institute’s Library. As a result, he gets caught up in intrigue of a different sort on a visit to Bogota, Colombia.

The Sunday Philosophy Club

With The Sunday Philosophy Club, Alexander McCall Smith, the author of the best selling and beloved No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels, begins a wonderful new series starring the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie.

Isabel is fond of problems, and sometimes she becomes interested in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. This may be the case when Isabel sees a young man plunge to his death from the upper circle of a concert hall in Edinburgh. Despite the advice of her housekeeper, Grace, who has been raised in the values of traditional Edinburgh, and her niece, Cat, who, if you ask Isabel, is dating the wrong man, Isabel is determined to find the truth if indeed there is one behind the man’s death. The resulting moral labyrinth might have stymied even Kant. And then there is the unsatisfactory turn of events in Cat s love life that must be attended to.

Filled with thorn*y characters and a Scottish atmosphere as thick as a highland mist, The Sunday Philosophy Club is irresistible, and Isabel Dalhousie is the most delightful literary sleuth since Precious Ramotswe.

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate

In this delightful second installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s best selling new detective series, the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, gets caught up in an affair of the heart this one a transplant.

When Isabel s niece, Cat, asks Isabel to run her delicatessen while she attends a wedding in Italy, Isabel meets a man with a most interesting problem. He recently had a heart transplant and is suddenly plagued with memories of events that never happened to him. The situation appeals to Isabel as a philosophical question: Is the heart truly the seat of the soul? And it piques her insatiable curiosity: Could the memories be connected with the donor s demise? Of course, Grace Isabel s no nonsense housekeeper and Isabel s friend Jamie think it is none of Isabel s business. Meanwhile, Cat brings home an Italian lothario, who, in accordance with all that Isabel knows about Italian lotharios, shouldn t be trusted…
but, goodness, he is charming.

That makes two mysteries of the heart to be solved just the thing for Isabel Dalhousie.

The Right Attitude to Rain

The delectable new installment in the best selling and beloved adventures of Isabel Dalhousie.

When Mimi, Isabel’s cousin from Dallas, arrives in Edinburgh with her husband, Joe, several confounding situations unfurl. First, Mimi and Joe introduce Isabel to Tom Bruce a bigwig back home in Texas. The roving eye of Tom s young fianc e leads Isabel to believe that money may be at the root of her love for Tom. But what, Isabel wonders, is at the root of Tom s interest in Isabel herself? Then there are the feelings that Isabel has for Jamie, which are certainly hard to ignore. And she mustn t forget about her niece, Cat, who s busy falling for a man whom Isabel suspects of being an incorrigible mama s boy.

Of course, Jamie counsels Isabel to stay out of it all, but there are irresistible philosophical issues at stake when to tell the truth and when to keep one s mouth shut, to be precise and philosophical issues are meat and drink to Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics. In any case, Isabel is certain of the ethical basis for a little sleuthing now and again especially when the problems involve matters of the heart.

The Careful Use of Compliments

Full time philosopher and occasional sleuth Isabel Dalhousie, now the mother of a baby boy, is getting used to the new rhythms of her life, caring for little Charlie with the sometimes unsettling aid of her forthright housekeeper, Grace, having dinners with Charlie’s father, Jamie, and tending as usual to submissions to the Review of Applied Ethics. But Isabel is deeply unsettled when she receives a letter telling her that she is soon to be replaced as editor of the Review by Christopher Dove, an ambitious academic at a London university, and she considers a variety of ways of dealing with this unwelcome news. And her niece, Cat, who a couple of years before had rejected Jamie and broken his heart, is now furious at Isabel for having stolen him away. Isabel s insatiable curiosity or what Jamie sees as her tendency toward meddling is peaked when she learns some odd details regarding two paintings by a Scottish artist that have come onto the auction market, and she begins to think that the paintings might be forgeries. Her investigation takes her to the beautiful Isle of Jura, where she finds some recent traces of the painter and learns of his apparent suicide in the fabled whirlpool called the Corryvreckan. A visit to the painter s widow brings a surprising realization, one that contributes to her musings throughout the story on mothers, fathers, and sons. From the Hardcover edition.

The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday

In the fabulous new installment in the best selling adventures of Isabel Dalhousie, Isabel is asked to help a doctor who has been disgraced by allegations of scientific fraud concerning a newly marketed drug. Our ever curious moral philosopher finds her interest piqued. Would a doctor with a stellar reputation make such a simple but grave mistake? If not, what explains the tragic accident that resulted in the death of a patient? Clearly, an investigation is in order, especially since a man’s reputation is in jeopardy. Could he be the victim of someone else’s mistake? Or perhaps he has been willfully deceived by a pharmaceutical company with a great deal to gain. Not every problem prompts an investigation take, for example, her ongoing struggle with her housekeeper, Grace, over the care of Isabel’s infant son, Charlie, but, as we’ve seen, whatever the case, whatever the solution, Isabel’s combination of spirit, smarts, empathy, and unabashed nosiness guarantees a delightful adventure. From the Hardcover edition.

The Lost Art of Gratitude

The sensational sixth installment in the best selling chronicles of the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie.

Isabel’s son, Charlie, is now of an age eighteen months to have a social life, and so off they go to a birthday party, where, much to Isabel s surprise, she encounters an old adversary, Minty Auchterlonie, now a high flying financier. Minty had seemed to Isabel a woman of ruthless ambition, but the question of her integrity had never been answered. Now, when Minty takes Isabel into her confidence about a personal matter, Isabel finds herself going another round: Is Minty to be trusted? Or is she the perpetrator of an enormous financial fraud? And what should Isabel make of the rumors of shady financial transactions at Minty’s investment bank?

Not that this is the only dilemma facing Isabel: she also crosses swords again with her nemesis, Professor Dove, in an argument over plagiarism. Of course her niece, Cat, has a new, problematic man a tightrope walker! in her life. And there remains the open question of marriage to Jamie doting father of Charlie.

As always, there is no end to the delight in accompanying Isabel as she makes her way toward the heart of every problem: philosophizing, sleuthing, and downright snooping in her inimitable and inimitably charming fashion.

From the Hardcover edition.

The Charming Quirks of Others

In this latest and most felicitous addition to the Isabel Dalhousie series, our inquisitive hero*ine comes to see that there are very few of us who are not flawed…
herself included. Isabel has been asked for her help in a rather tricky situation: A successor is being sought for the headmaster at a local boys school. The board has three final candidates but has received an anonymous letter alleging that one of them has a very serious skeleton in the closet. Could Isabel discreetly look into it? And so she does. What she discovers about all the candidates is surprising, but what she discovers about herself and about Jamie, the father of her young son, turns out to be equally revealing. Isabel’s investigation will have her exploring issues of ambition, as well as of charity, forgiveness, and humility, as she moves nearer and nearer to some of the most hidden precincts of the heart. Here is Isabel Dalhousie at her beguiling best: intelligent, insightful, and with a unique understanding of the quirks of human nature. From the Hardcover edition.

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth

In this latest installment of the beloved Isabel Dalhousie series, our inquisitive hero*ine helps a new friend discover the identity of her father. Isabel and her fianc know who they are and where they come from. But not everybody is so fortunate. Jane Cooper, a visiting Australian philosopher on sabbatical in Edinburgh, has more questions than answers. Adopted at birth, Jane is trying to find her biological father, but all she knows about him is that he was a student in Edinburgh years ago. When she asks for Isabel’s help in this seemingly impossible search…
well, of course Isabel obliges. But Isabel also manages to find time for her own concerns: her young son, Charlie, already walking and talking; her housekeeper, Grace, whose spiritualist has lately been doubling as a financial advisor; her niece Cat s latest relationship; and the pressing question of when and how Isabel and Jamie should finally get married. Should The Forgotten Affairs of Youth be left in the past, or can the memories help us understand the present? In her inimitable way, Isabel leads us to a new understanding of the meaning of family.

44 Scotland Street

Bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith brings all the warmth of his extraordinary No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books and the Sunday Philosophy Club series to this witty novel chronicling the lives of the residents of 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh. Originally serialized in The Scotsman, 44 Scotland Street is already an international sensation. When twenty year old Pat rents a room from handsome and cocky Bruce, she inherits some delightfully colourful neighbours: Domenica, an insightful and eccentric widow; Bertie, a five year old who’s mastered both saxophone and Italian; and Irene, his overbearing mother. Pat s new job at a gallery seems easy enough. Her boss spends most of his time drinking coffee in a local caf and discussing matters great and small, and Pat s duties are light. That is until she realizes that one of their paintings may be an undiscovered work of a renowned Scottish artist and she discovers that one of their customers may be in on the secret. Add to this a fancy ball, love triangles and an encounter with a famous crime writer, and you have Alexander McCall Smith s entertaining and witty portrait of Edinburgh society.

Espresso Tales

Alexander McCall Smith’s many fans will be pleased with this latest installment in the bestselling 44 Scotland Street series.

Back are all our favorite denizens of a Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh. Bertie the immensely talented six year old is now enrolled in kindergarten, and much to his dismay, has been clad in pink overalls for his first day of class. Bruce has lost his job as a surveyor, and between admiring glances in the mirror, is contemplating becoming a wine merchant. Pat is embarking on a new life at Edinburgh University and perhaps on a new relationship, courtesy of Domenica, her witty and worldly-wise neighbor. McCall Smith has much in store for them as the brief spell of glorious summer sunshine gives way to fall a season cursed with more traditionally Scottish weather.

Full of McCall Smith’s gentle humor and sympathy for his characters, Espresso Tales is also an affectionate portrait of a city and its people who, in the author’s own words, ‘make it one of the most vibrant and interesting places in the world.’

Love Over Scotland

The third installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved 44 Scotland Street series is sure to delight his many fans. This just in from Edinburgh: the complicated lives of the denizens of 44 Scotland Street are becoming no simpler. Domenica Macdonald has left for the Malacca Straits to conduct a perilous anthropological study of pirate households. Angus Lordie s dog, Cyril, has been stolen, and is facing an uncertain future wandering the streets. Bertie, the prodigiously talented six year old, is still enduring psychotherapy, but his burden is lightened by a junior orchestra’s trip to Paris, where he makes some interesting new friends. Back in Edinburgh, there is romance for Pat with a handsome young man called Wolf, until she begins to see the attractions of the more prosaically named Matthew. Teeming with McCall Smith s wonderful wit and charming depictions of Edinburgh, Love Over Scotland is another beautiful ode to a city and its people that continue to fascinate this astounding author.

The World According to Bertie

The latest completely charming installment in the bestselling 44 Scotland Street series. There is never a quiet moment on 44 Scotland Street. In The World According to Bertie, Pat deals with the reappearance of Bruce, which has her heart skipping and not in a pleasant way. Angus Lordie’s dog Cyril has been taken away by the authorities, accused of being a serial biter. Unexpectedly, Domenica has offered to help free him. As usual, Big Lou is still looking for love, and handing out coffee and advice to the always contemplative Matthew. And Bertie, the beleaguered Italian speaking six year old prodigy, now has a little brother, Ulysses, who Bertie hopes will help distract his pushy mother Irene. Beautifully observed, cleverly detailed, The World According to Bertie is classic McCall Smith and a treat for his avid fans as well as his first time readers.

The Unbearable Lightness Of Scones

The witty and utterly delightful new novel in the national bestselling 44 Scotland Street series. Featuring all the quirky characters we have come to know and love, The Unbearable Lightness Of Scones, finds Bertie, the precocious six year old, still troubled by his rather overbearing mother, Irene, but seeking his escape in the Cub Scouts. Matthew is rising to the challenge of married life with newfound strength and resolve, while Domenica epitomizes the loneliness of the long distance intellectual. Cyril, the gold toothed star of the whole show, succumbs to the kind of romantic temptation that no dog can resist and creates a small problem, or rather six of them, for his friend and owner Angus Lordie. With his customary deftness, Alexander McCall Smith once again brings us an absorbing and entertaining tale of some of Scotland’s most quirky and beloved characters all set in the beautiful, stoic city of Edinburgh.

The Importance of Being Seven

The story of Bertie and his dysfunctional family continues in this sixth instalment alongside the familiar cast of favourites Big Lou, Domenica, Angus Lordie, Cyril and others in their daily pursuit of a little happiness. With customary charm and deftness, Alexander McCall Smith has, yet again, given us a clever, witty and utterly delightful new novel.

Bertie Plays the Blues

Once more, we catch up with the delightful goings on in the fictitious 44 Scotland Street from Alexander McCall Smith. With customary charm and deftness, Alexander McCall Smith gives us another instalment in this popular series, currently running in The Scotsman. Anything could happen to Bertie and the gang, especially with an invitation to one of Scotland’s premier jazz festivals

Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams

Alexander McCall Smith retells the myth of Dream Angus. Alexander McCall Smith has sold over 7.5 million books in the English language alone. This is one of the highest profile titles to be launched in ‘The Myths’ series, which has sold over 200,000 copies to date. It is backed by a high profile marketing and publicity campaign, including outdoor poster sites; national press; advertising and dreaming of angus microsite Dreams to sell, fine dreams to sell…
If he’s in the right mood, divine Angus might grant you sight of your true love in a dream; you might even fall in love with him but he’ll never love you back. He’s too busy making mischief stealing the palace of the gods from his father, turning his enemies into pigs etc until he is trapped by his own romantic games and falls for an unattainable woman, doomed to seek her forever. In twentieth century Scotland, Angus’ troubled alter ego searches for his true family and identity; a psychotherapist who helps people understand their dreams, his life seems to parallel that of his mythic namesake, until we ask could they be one and the same? Mesmerically weaving together the tales of the Celtic god and the Scottish scientist, Alexander McCall Smith unites dream and reality, leaving us to wonder: what is life, but the pursuit of our dreams?

The Fire Gospel (By:Michel Faber)

Theo Griepenkerl, a Canadian linguistics scholar, is sent to Iraq in search of artifacts that have survived the destruction and looting of the war. While visiting a museum in Mosul, he finds nine papyrus scrolls tucked in the belly of a bas relief sculpture: they have been perfectly preserved for more than two thousand years. After smuggling them out of Iraq and translating them from Aramaic, Theo realizes the extent of his career making find, for he is in possession of the Fifth Gospel, and it offers a shocking and incomparable eyewitness account of Christ’s crucifixion and last days on Earth. Nakedly ambitious and recently dumped by his girlfriend, Theo sets out to share his discovery with the world in the form of a headline grabbing U.S. book tour. Caught in the throes of his newfound fame, Theo fails to consider the global and cultural ramifications his discovery will have with God fearing folks and religious zealots worldwide. Like Prometheus s gift of fire, Theo s book has incendiary consequences. A hugely entertaining, and by turns shocking story, The Fire Gospel is a smart, stylish, and suspenseful novel by the celebrated author of The New York Times best seller The Crimson Petal and the White.

Corduroy Mansions

A delightful new setting London a wonderful new cast of characters and one incredibly clever dog. Corduroy Mansions is the affectionate nickname given to a genteel, crumbling mansion block in London’s vibrant Pimlico neighborhood and the home turf of a captivating collection of quirky and altogether McCall Smithian characters. There s the middle aged wine merchant William, who s trying to convince his reluctant twenty four year old son, Eddie, to leave the nest; and Marcia, the boutique caterer who has her sights set on William. There s also the justifiably much loathed Member of Parliament Oedipus Snark; his mother, Berthea, who s writing his biography and hating every minute of it; and his long suffering girlfriend, Barbara, a literary agent who would like to be his wife but, then, she d like to be almost anyone s wife. There s the vitamin evangelist, the psychoanalyst, the art student with a puzzling boyfriend and Freddie de la Hay, the Pimlico terrier who insists on wearing a seat belt and is almost certainly the only avowed vegetarian canine in London. Filled with the ins and outs of neighborliness in all its unexpected variations, Corduroy Mansions showcases the life, laughter and humanity that have become the hallmarks of Alexander McCall Smith s work.

The Dog Who Came in from the Cold

The heartwarming and hilarious second installment in the Corduroy Mansions series presents the further adventures of Alexander McCall Smith’s newest, already beloved characters, including the Pimlico terrier Freddie de la Hay. In the elegantly crumbling four story mansion block in Pimlico called Corduroy Mansions, the comings and goings of the wonderfully motley crew of residents continue apace. A pair of New Age operators has determined that Terence Moongrove s estate is the cosmologically correct place for their Centre for Cosmological Studies. Literary agent Barbara Ragg has decided to represent a man who is writing a book about his time hanging out with the Abominable Snowman. And our small, furry, endlessly surprising canine hero, Freddie de la Hay belonging to failed oenophile William French has been recruited by MI6 to infiltrate a Russian spy ring. Needless to say, the other denizens of Corduroy Mansions have issues of their own. All will be addressed with the wit, charm, and insight into the foibles of the human condition that have become the hallmark of this truly peerless storyteller.

Akimbo and the Lions

Ten year old Akimbo lives on a game preserve in Africa. His father is the head ranger, and Akimbo is eager to help him whenever he can even if it means getting into some pretty dangerous situations. In Akimbo and the Lions, Akimbo helps his father set a trap for a lioness that has been attacking cattle on nearby farms. But when the lion they catch turns out to be a cub, Akimbo must find a way to care for the young lion until it’s old enough to be released in the wild.

Akimbo and the Crocodile Man

When a visiting croc expert invites Akimbo along on a field study, Akimbo is thrilled. But when the crocodiles attack the guide, injuring him gravely, it will be up to Akimbo to cross a crocodile infested river and jump start a truck to bring back help. A rousing new Akimbo adventure from bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. Ages 7 to 9.

Akimbo and the Elephants

Ten year old Akimbo lives on a game preserve in Africa. His father is the head ranger, and Akimbo is eager to help him whenever he can even if it means getting into some pretty dangerous situations. In Akimbo and the Elephants, ivory poachers are killing grown elephants for their tusks and leaving the calves to die. When the authorities fail to turn up new leads, Akimbo sets out to save the elephants by posing as a hunter himself.

Akimbo and the Snakes

Akimbo can t believe his luck when his father allows him to visit his uncle Peter’s snake park. And when a local village calls to report a sighting of a green mamba snake the rarest and most deadly one of all Akimbo hopes to help his uncle catch it for the park. But little does he expect to find himself trapped face to face with the deadliest of reptiles.

Bestselling novelist Alexander McCall Smith brings the majesty and dangers of Africa to life in this vividly imagined adventure for young readers.

Akimbo and the Baboons

Akimbo is excited to have his cousin, Kosi, visit him on the game reserve where he lives. And when a visiting scientist invites the boys to join her when she studies a pack of baboons, they can t wait to assist her in the bush. The baboon pack they find are fun to observe, but when a black leopard threatens the pack and the scientist Akimbo and Kosi are reminded that danger is ever present in the African bush. Alexander McCall Smith takes young readers on a vicarious safari to his beloved Africa in this perfect first chapter book, beautifully brought to life with illustrations by LeUyen Pham.

The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean

From the author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series!Knopf Canada is very proud to announce the first ever Canadian publication of bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith’s books for young readers, featuring the extraordinary Harriet Bean. In the first book, The Lost Five Aunts of Harriet Bean, Alexander McCall Smith takes readers into the world of 9 year old Harriet, who lives alone with her father, an absentminded inventor of extraordinary but useless things. When Harriet s father tells her one day that she has five aunts his sisters that he s never told her about before, and with whom he tragically lost touch in childhood, Harriet is delighted, and determined to track down each of her colourful aunts one by one. Will Harriet Bean be able to reunite her father and his sisters Veronica, Harmonica, Majolica, and the twins, Japonica and Thessalonika? Strangely enough, I didn t even know I had any aunts until I was nine. Then, quite out the blue, my father said to me one day: Your aunts would like to hear about that! I forget what it was my aunts would have liked to hear about I was so astonished to hear that they even existed. Aunts? I said in surprise. What aunts? Oh, said my father, rather vaguely, as if it weren t at all important. All those aunts of yours. You know my sisters. All those aunts you have. Excerpt from The Lost Five Aunts of Harriet Bean

Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats

Harriet Bean loves nothing more than a good mystery. And together with her five extraordinary aunts Veronica, Harmonica, Majolica, and twins Japonica and Thessalonika, she is always ready to take on a new case. Harriet doesn’t think twice when her mind reading detective aunts Japonica and Thessalonika enlist her help in catching a cheat at the racetrack. After all, Harriet is just the right size to go undercover as a jockey. But when the plan takes an unexpected turn, Harriet finds herself in the saddle!

The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean

When Harriet discovers that she has yet another lost aunt a cowgirl named Formica she jumps at the chance to join her two detective aunts on a visit. Aunt Formica’s ranch is being plagued by devious cattle rustlers, and she needs Harriet’s help to track down the bandits and save the ranch. But the Wild West carries dangers all its own From bestselling novelist Alexander McCall Smith comes a charming new mystery that will keep young readers guessing and laughing from the first clue to the last.

Max & Maddy and the Bursting Balloons Mystery

Max and Maddy Twist have a flair for solving crimes. You might even say it’s in their blood. That s because their parents once ran a thriving detective agency until the notorious Professor Claude Sardine shut them down. But now Max and Maddy are ready to pick up where their parents left off.

When an eccentric balloonist enlists their help in finding out who is sabotaging a hot air balloon race, Max and Maddy not only take the case they take to the air! But will they be able to find the culprit before their balloon becomes the next target?

Bestselling novelist Alexander McCall Smith introduces readers to a delightfully funny new set of heroes and the tricky villain who s always keeping them on their toes.

Max & Maddy and the Chocolate Money Mystery

Max and Maddy Twist have a flair for solving crimes. You might even say it’s in their blood. That’s because their parents once ran a thriving detective agency until the notorious Professor Claude Sardine shut them down. But now Max and Maddy are ready to pick up where their parents left off. When a Swiss businessman asks for their help in catching a bank robber, Max and Maddy can’t wait to take on the case. But little do they expect to find themselves hot on the trail of a gang of thieving St. Bernards! Bestselling novelist Alexander McCall Smith introduces readers to a delightfully funny new set of heroes and the tricky villain who’s always keeping them on their toes.

Precious and the Monkeys

This is a brand new, previously unpublished story from Alexander McCall Smith. A world first from Itchy Coo, this is a brand new book for younger readers, telling the story of the girlhood adventures of Precious Ramotswe, founder of the Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Written by one of the world’s favourite authors, Alexander McCall Smith, and translated into Scots by award winning author, James Robertson, this story will not be available in any other language until 2011. The Scots is simple and accessible, and a glossary will be provided for those not familiar with Scots words.

La’s Orchestra Saves the World

From the best selling author of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series comes a delightful and moving story that celebrates the healing powers of friendship and music. It is 1939. Lavender La to her friends decides to flee London, not only to avoid German bombs but also to escape the memories of her shattered marriage. The peace and solitude of the small town she settles in are therapeutic…
at least at first. As the war drags on, La is in need of some diversion and wants to boost the town’s morale, so she organizes an amateur orchestra, drawing musicians from the village and the local RAF base. Among the strays she corrals is Feliks, a shy, proper Polish refugee who becomes her prized recruit and the object of feelings she thought she’d put away forever. Does La’s orchestra save the world? The people who come to hear it think so. But what will become of it after the war is over? And what will become of La herself? And of La’s heart? With his all embracing empathy and his gentle sense of humor, Alexander McCall Smith makes of La’s life and love a tale to enjoy and cherish.

Calculator Annie

No matter how hard Annie tries, she just cannot do even the simplest sums. It’s so embarrassing! When she goes to the shops, she can’t work out how much money to hand the shopkeeper, and she always gets 0 for her maths homework. That is, until Annie goes to sleep with a calculator under her pillow, and something very strange happens. Overnight, Annie becomes a maths maestro capable of solving problems so fast it takes people’s breath away. It impresses one world renowned maths genius so much that he decides to put Annie’s powers to the ultimate test. Will Annie be up to the mathematical challenge, or will she be at sixes and sevens and end up back at square one? Prepare yourself for this brain teasing adventure.

The Doughnut Ring

Jim and his friends are upset to hear that their school janitor’s car has been stolen, and just before he’s due to retire too. So Jim comes up with a bright idea for a way to help raise money to buy a new car: selling doughnuts. They start by making their own very delicious doughnuts to sell, but run into problems when demand exceeds supply. That’s when Jim has another brainwave and decides the only way to make enough is to write a chain letter asking people to make more doughnuts. The doughnuts start rolling in and rolling in and soon Jim is up to his ears in them. It takes another inspired business idea to rescue a situation which is rapidly getting out of hand. This is the inspiring story of a boy with a big heart and big business ideas, from bestselling author, Alexander McCall Smith.

The Bubblegum Tree

Billy, Nicola and Mr Gopal are off to India in a flying boat to solve a baffling mystery! The gum that comes from the wonderful bubblegum trees that grow in the Indian jungle has not been delivered for two months. Without this secret ingredient, there’ll be no more Gopal’s Best Pink Bubblegum, and even more importantly, no more Bubblegummies the people who live in the trees and harvest the gum. It’s not an easy mystery to solve and soon the friends are involved in a bungee jumping, tiger trouncing, woodcutter walloping, bubblegum blowing adventure!

Teacher Trouble

Jenny is very tall for her age, and when her mum makes her dress smartly for her first day at a new school, she looks very grown up indeed. So grown up, in fact, that when she arrives at the school, she is mistaken for a new teacher, and left in charge of a classroom of kids! Jenny’s first instinct is to escape, but on her way out she gets caught by Miss Ice, the strict school principal, who is not very impressed to find a new teacher sneaking around the corridors. Petrified by the terrifying Miss Ice, Jenny is forced to keep up the act, and soon finds herself in all sorts of tricky situations, culminating in a rather explosive chemistry lesson. How long will it be before Jenny is found out? Will she and her pupils survive the day? Whatever happens, it’s going to be a real education!

Heavenly Date and Other Flirtations

Alexander McCall Smith’s profile could not be higher at the moment: the Today show has featured him live twice, and author Amy Tan selected The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency as her book of the month. This delightful collection of short stories teems with more of the vivid characters and exotic settings that have become McCall Smith’s trademark. Among other places, we visit Portugal, Australia, and, of course, the southern Africa McCall Smith’s many fans know so well. Organized around the theme of the romantic encounter in all its varied forms, these hilarious stories are by turns surprising, enthralling, heartwarming, and, sometimes, just plain disastrous but always universally recognizable. Full of the same irresistible imagination and delicious insight into the fascinating peculiarities of the human condition that have endeared The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency to thousands of readers, Heavenly Date is the perfect read for McCall Smith’s rapidly growing audience.

The Perfect Hamburger and Other Delicious Stories

The Appetizer: The Perfect HamburgerWhen a snazzy fast food chain moves into town, business at Joe’s favorite hamburger restaurant begins to suffer. He gets an idea that’s sure to bring back the diners, but there’s just one problem. The secret recipe for the burgers is missing! Can Joe figure out the ingredients to recreate the perfect hamburger before it’s too late? The Entr e: The Spaghetti TangleJohn and Nicky, forced to live with their vegetable loving Aunt Rebecca, dream of eating spaghetti for every meal. So when they enter a recipe contest and win a trip to Mr. Pipelli’s spaghetti factory, they couldn’t be happier! But are they prepared for an encounter with the spaghetti spinner? The Dessert: The Doughnut RingJim thinks a doughnut sale is the perfect fund raiser to help his friend, Mr. Pride. And it is at first. But when an e mail chain asking for donations gets out of control, Jim finds himself up to his ears in doughnuts! Will he ever be able to sell all the stock, and stop the doughnut ring for good?

The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa

Gathered here is a beguiling selection of folktales from Zimbabwe and Botswana as retold by the best selling author of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. This treasury contains most of the stories previously collected in Children of Wax and seven new tales from the Setswana speaking people of Botswana.

A girl discovers that her young husband might actually be a lion in disguise, but not before they have two sons who might actually be cubs…
When a child made of wax follows his curiosity outside into the heat of daylight and melts, his siblings shape him into a bird with feathers made of leaves that enable him to fly into the light…
Talking hyenas, milk giving birds, clever cannibals who nonetheless get their comeuppance, and mysterious forces that reside in the landscape these wonderful fables bring us the wealth, the variety, and the particular magic of traditional African lore.

The Baboons Who Went This Way and That: Folktales from Africa

A man with a tree growing out of his head? A woman with children made of wax? A bird that can be milked? With more stories from his original celebration of African folktales, ‘The Girl Who Married A Lion’, let Alexander McCall Smith once again take you to a land where the bizarre is everyday and magic is real.

The Book That Changed My Life

Now in paperback, a delightful collection of essays on the transformative power of reading In The Book That Changed My Life, our most admired writers, doctors, professors, religious leaders, politicians, chefs, and CEO’s share the books that mean the most to them. For Doris Kearns Goodwin it was Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August, which inspired her to enter a field, history writing, traditionally reserved for men. For Jacques P pin it was The Myth of Sisyphus, which taught him the importance of personal responsibility, dignity, and goodness in the midst of existentialist France. A testament to the life altering importance of literature, this book inspires us to return to old favorites and seek out new treasures. All proceeds go to The Read to Grow Foundation, which partners with urban hospitals to provide books and literacy information to newborns and their families.

A New Omnibus of Crime

This fantastic new collection picks up where Dorothy L. Sayers’ landmark 1929 anthology The Omnibus of Crime left off, bringing together monumental, important, and entertaining works of short crime fiction published over eight decades from the era of the Great Depression to the first years of the twenty first century.
In lively introductory essays, celebrated crime writer Tony Hillerman and critic Rosemary Herbert place each story in the context of the author’s work and the genre’s literary history. Their extraordinary collection is international in scope and emphasizes the most exciting styles and voices, rather than taking a typical decade by decade approach. As a result A New Omnibus of Crime is packed with page turning, engaging, and spine tingling selections. Stories in this collection include Patricia Highsmith’s ‘Woodrow Wilson’s Necktie,’ Sue Grafton’s ‘A Poison That Leaves No Trace,’ and many more, including never before published works from Jefferey Deaver, Catherine Aird, and Alexander McCall Smith.
A New Omnibus of Crime is a marvelous achievement that brings together some of the greatest crime and mystery short fiction ever collected. Showcasing the work of such revered authors as Dashiell Hammett, P.D James, Ross Macdonald, Sara Paretsky, Ruth Rendell, and Elmore Leonard, it is a definitive volume that will be treasured by all fans of the genre.

The Best British Mysteries IV

British crime and mystery writing is popular all over the world. And how could it not be? After all these are the shores that saw the talents of Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and so many others flourish. From the Golden Age of classic mystery writing onwards, British talent has captured the imagination of readers in a unique way, and the modern era has been no exception. The art of the short story has always been one that mystery writers have excelled at, and here we are proud to present 25 examples of the bite sized mystery from the very best authors in Great Britain today. The stories cater for every criminal taste from the locked room puzzle to the action packed vignette and several have been shortlisted or winners of prestigious awards. Tour the British Isles with this superb collection you re bound to enjoy the journey! Contributors include: Ian Rankin, Anne Perry, Edward Marston, Martina Cole, Peter Robinson, Stella Duffy, Jerry Sykes, Liza Cody, Marin Edwards, Marion Arnott, Amy Myers, Bill James, Peter Turnbull, Robert Barnard, Peter Lovesey, Val McDermid, Mat Coward, Denise Mina, Stephen Gallagher, Judith Cutler, David Williams, John Harvey, Carol Anne Davis, Nicholas Royle, Sally Spedding

Crimespotting

All the short stories in ‘Crimespotting‘ are brand new and specially commissioned. The brief was deceptively simple – each story must be set in Edinburgh and feature a crime. The results range from hard-boiled police procedural to historical whodunit and from the wildly comic to the spookily supernatural.

No Rest for the Dead

More than twenty New York Times bestselling authors team up to create a first rate serial novel a collaboration that combines the skills of America’s greatest storytellers to produce a gripping, spellbinding mystery. Alexander McCall Smith. Sandra Brown. Faye Kellerman. J.A. Jance. Jeffery Deaver. Kathy Reichs. Lisa Scottoline. Jeff Lindsay. These are only a handful of the names that make up the all star lineup of authors behind No Rest for the Dead, a tale of vengeance, greed, and love that flows seamlessly, in the words of David Baldacci, as it pas*ses from one creator s mind to the next. When Christopher Thomas, a ruthless curator at San Francisco s McFall Art Museum, is murdered and his decaying body is found in an iron maiden in a Berlin museum, his wife, Rosemary, is the primary suspect, and she is tried, convicted, and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong person was put to death. In the years since the case was closed, he’s discovered a web of deceit and betrayal surrounding the Thomases that could implicate any number of people in the crime. Solving this case may be Nunn s last chance for redemption but the shadowy forces behind Christopher s death will stop at nothing to silence the past forever. In this innovative storytelling approach, each of these twenty six bestselling writers brings their distinctive voice to a chapter of the narrative, building the tension to a shocking, explosive finale. No Rest for the Dead is a thrilling accomplishment that only America s very best authors could achieve.

What You Wish For: A Book for Darfur

A stellar collection from Newbery medalists and bestselling authors written to benefit Darfuri refugeesWith contributions from some of the best talent writing for children today, What You Wish For is a compelling collection of affecting, inspiring, creepy, and oft times funny short stories and poems all linked by the universal power of a wish the abstract things we all wish for home, family, safety and love. From the exchange of letters between two girls who have never met but are both struggling with the unexpected curves of life, to the stunning sacrifice one dying girl makes for another, to the mermaid who trades her tail for legs, to the boy who unwittingly steals an imp’s house, and to the chilling retelling of Cinderella, What You Wish For brings together a potent international roster of authors of note to remember and celebrate the Darfuri refugees and their incredible story of survival and hope.