Laurie R. King
The Beekeeper's Apprentice
In 1915, long since retired from his observations of criminal humanity, Sherlock Holmes is engaged in a reclusive study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. Never did he think to meet an intellect to match his own–until his acquaintance with Miss Mary Russell, a very modern fifteen-year-old whose mental acuity is equaled only by her audacity, tenacity, and penchant for trousers and cloth caps. Under Holmes’s tutelage, Russell hones her talent for deduction, disguises, and danger: in the chilling case of a landowner’s mysterious fever and in a kidnapping in the wilds of Wales. But her ultimate challenge is yet to come.
Steven Johnson
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
The Ghost Map takes place in the summer of 1854. A devastating cholera outbreak seizes London just as it is emerging as a modern city: more than 2 million people packed into a ten-mile circumference, a hub of travel and commerce, teeming with people from all over the world, continually pushing the limits of infrastructure that's outdated as soon as it's updated. Dr. John Snow-whose ideas about contagion had been dismissed by the scientific community-is spurred to intense action when the people in his neighborhood begin dying.With enthralling suspense, Johnson chronicles Snow's day-by-day efforts, as he risks his own life to prove how the epidemic is being spread.
Dietlof Reiche
Ghost Ship
Twelve-year-old Vicki is spending the summer helping out at Ye Olde Seashell Room, her father's restaurant located in a New England shore town. Seashells cover the walls, and the head from the figurehead of the Storm Goddess, a ship lost at sea 230 years ago, looks down on the diners. One day the bay inexplicably dries up and the Storm Goddess appears in it looking as good as new. Vicki and her tourist friend Peter try to solve the mystery with the help of a journal belonging to the ship's last quartermaster before the ship disappeared. Soon they literally see and hear the crew and witness some of the disastrous events that led to the crew's violent demise. Lost treasure and old curses from the past are challenges for Vicki to figure out. Getting in her way are an unscrupulous mayor more interested in money than in the town's welfare, his confederate police chief, a snooping reporter, and other colorful characters.
Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
In Darkness, Death
In the world of ninjas and the shogun, honor is everything. When the Samurai Lord Inaba is discovered murdered in his sleep while under the protection of the shogun, the ruler is honor-bound to find the killer. Desperate for justice, he turns to the famous Judge Ooka—the Sherlock Holmes of eighteenth-century Japan—and his fourteen-year-old apprentice, Seikei, to investigate. Their one clue? A bloodstained origami butterfly.
Benjamin Hoff
The Tao of Pooh
Pooh epitomizes the "uncarved block," as he is well in tune with his natural inner self. Pooh enjoys simple pleasures and the daily progress of life. In a clear and crisp voice, Hoff explains the central tenets of Taoism and further illustrates them with familiar excerpts from The House at Pooh Corner stories (1923), Chinese proverbs, maxims, and tales from Lao Tzu and others.
Laura Hillenbrand
Seabiscuit : An American Legend
Seabiscuit was an unlikely champion: a roughhewn, undersized horse with a sad little tail and knees that wouldn't straighten all the way. But, thanks to the efforts of three men, Seabiscuit became one of the most spectacular performers in sports history. The rags-to-riches horse emerged as an American cultural icon, drawing an immense following and becoming the single biggest newsmaker of 1938 -- receiving more coverage than FDR or Hitler.
