The Vanishing Act A Mystery of No Survivors


Book Description

Eight strangers are invited to Black Island, an isolated island. Upon their arrival, they are greeted only by the butler and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. As they gather for dinner, a gramophone suddenly accuses each of the ten individuals present, including the Rogerses, of committing murder. Amidst the ensuing panic, one of the guests dies unexpectedly, signaling the beginning of a nightmare.




The Mary Celeste: The Ghost Ship And Its Unsolved Disappearance


Book Description

The Mary Celeste, a famous ghost ship, presents a perplexing mystery that has captivated the world for over a century. This book delves into the unsolved disappearance of the ship and its crew, exploring the eerie scene that was discovered when the ship was found abandoned. Through a combination of historical context, expert analysis, and modern-day investigations, the book examines various theories and speculations surrounding the disappearance, including piracy, supernatural explanations, and conspiracy theories. Readers will also learn about the attempts to locate the crew, the impact on maritime law, and the connection to the Bermuda Triangle. The book discusses the legacy of the Mary Celeste, its cultural and literary impact, and its portrayal in popular culture. Lastly, it delves into other mysteries of the sea and their connection to unexplained historical events. With new discoveries and insights, this book leaves readers intrigued and fascinated by the secrets of the Mary Celeste and other maritime enigmas.




Vanishing Act


Book Description

'Reading this book for the second time' ***** Reader Review 1965 - the heyday of Rock & Roll. Northern Lights are tipped to become as big as The Beatles. But after a gig in Newcastle, lead singer and creative genius, Gerry Crowther, vanishes into the foggy night. Later, his body is recovered from the River Tyne. Now, almost twenty years on, teen singing sensation Trudi Bell dominates the charts. As she prepares to release a new album, her manager Lew Pattison receives a demo tape from an unknown songwriter. Realising the music is unmistakeably the work of Gerry Crowther, Lew enlists the help of Adam and Eve to uncover the truth. But some people will stop at nothing to keep it buried . . . Vanishing Act is the third instalment in Bill Kitson's chilling and suspenseful Eden House mystery series. Perfect for fans of Peter James's Cold Hill series, Val McDermid and J M Dalgliesh. Readers are hooked on The Eden House Mysteries: 'I couldn't sleep until I had finished this book' ***** Reader Review 'The best book I have read in a while' ***** Reader Review 'Captivating from start to finish. Brilliant page turner. I couldn't put it down' ***** Reader Review 'Read the whole thing in a day' ***** Reader Review 'One of the best authors I have come across' ***** Reader Review 'More twists than a corkscrew' ***** Reader Review 'The characters are brilliant and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Would highly recommend this book!' ***** Reader Review







Flights of No Return


Book Description

Discover the mysterious, controversial, and sometimes downright eerie history of flights that didn't end as planned. The history of aviation is full of accounts of history's most spectacular flights. But what about the ones from which someone failed to return? - A celebrated millionaire--who also happened to be the world's foremost aviator--lifted off in a small plane one clear morning in 2007 and disappeared. - The glamorous son of a beloved fallen president took off on a hazy summer night in 1999 and plunged himself and two others into the Atlantic Ocean. - A US Navy blimp landed one Sunday morning in 1942 in the middle of a city street in California with no one aboard. Some of these "non-returns" occurred because of errors in judgment; others were intentional, and some resulted from causes still unknown. Get the full, meticulous account of the fascinating people involved in these flights, the mistakes they made, and the ways in which their "flight of no return" affected the world. Pilot and aviation writer Steven A. Ruffin covers the entire 230-year span of manned flight in all types of aircraft through war and peace. Balloons, blimps, biplanes, jets, and spaceships have all suffered mishaps over the years. Don't miss the mystery, adventure, intrigue, and a sprinkling of the supernatural and extraterrestrial in Flights of No Return.




Vanishing Act: Mystery at the U.S. Open (The Sports Beat, 2)


Book Description

New York Times bestselling author John Feinstein goes behind closed doors at the US Open . . . When teen sportswriters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson score press passes to the U.S. Open they expect drama. They expect blistering serves, smashed returns and fierce competition. What they don't expect is kidnapping. Russian tennis phenom Nadia Symanova was supposed to win it all, but she never even made it onto the court. Now the whole stadium is in an uproar trying to find her. Can Stevie and Susan Carol get to Nadia before it's too late? "Feinstein expertly combines tennis action, life in the Big Apple, media coverage, and a realistic plot to explore the fierce competition of tennis." —Chicago Sun-Times




No Mercy


Book Description

Police officer Ellery Hathaway and FBI profiler Reed Markham take on two difficult new cases in this stunning follow-up to The Vanishing Season. "A gripping and powerful read. It is what we call an edge-of-your-seat, rollercoaster of a thriller. You will not be able to put it down before you finish it."—The Washington Book Review on The Vanishing Season No Mercy is award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen’s heart-pounding second novel. Police officer Ellery Hathaway is on involuntary leave from her job because she shot a murderer in cold blood and refuses to apologize for it. Forced into group therapy for victims of violent crime, Ellery immediately finds higher priorities than “getting in touch with her feelings.” For one, she suspects a fellow group member may have helped to convict the wrong man for a deadly arson incident years ago. For another, Ellery finds herself in the desperate clutches of a woman who survived a brutal rape. He is still out there, this man with the Spider-Man-like ability to climb through bedroom windows, and his victim beseeches Ellery for help in capturing her attacker. Ellery seeks advice from her friend, FBI profiler Reed Markham, who liberated her from a killer’s closet when she was a child. Reed remains drawn to this unpredictable woman, the one he rescued but couldn’t quite save. The trouble is, Reed is up for a potential big promotion, and his boss has just one condition for the new job—stay away from Ellery. Ellery ignores all the warnings. Instead, she starts digging around in everyone’s past but her own—a move that, at best, could put her out of work permanently, and at worst, could put her in the city morgue.




Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story


Book Description

Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) was--with his partner Manfred Lee--the creator of the Ellery Queen detective novels and short stories. Dannay was also a literary historian and critic, and the editor of the renowned Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Queen--both a pen name and the fictional protagonist of the stories--was also a vital force behind the continuing popularity of crime fiction in the early to mid-20th century, after the deaths of Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Melville Davisson Post, and other Old Masters of the genre. This book presents the first critical study of Ellery Queen's role in the preservation of the detective short story. Many of the writers, characters and stories EQMM championed are covered, including such celebrated authors as Allingham, Ambler, Ellin, Innes, Vickers, and even William Butler Yeats.




The Vanishing Season


Book Description

"A gripping and powerful read. It is what we call edge-of-your-seat, rollercoaster of a thriller. You will not be able to put it down before you finish it."—The Washington Book Review Winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition, Joanna Schaffhausen’s accomplished debut, The Vanishing Season, will grip readers from the opening page to the stunning conclusion. Ellery Hathaway knows about serial killers, but not through her police training. She's an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. The only one who lived. When three people disappear from her town in three years, all around her birthday—the day she was kidnapped so long ago—Ellery fears someone knows her secret. Someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer’s closet all those years ago.




Without Trace


Book Description

‘...and if there had been only one survivor, there would have been no mystery in any of these cases...’ Bestselling author John Harris freshly investigates seven of the most gripping and intriguing voyages of the past 150 years. Bringing his unique skills as a novelist and sailor to reassess the fragmentary evidence, he aims to finally answer these enduring and terrifying mysteries. He takes us: Aboard Erebus and Terror on Sir John Franklin’s disastrous Arctic expedition, last seen parting from their escort... Aboard the Mary Celeste, crewed by a well-respected captain and an experienced crew, abandoned in the mid-Atlantic... Aboard the battleship Maine, blown sky-high in Havana harbour... Aboard the collier Cyclops, disappeared between Barbados and Virginia during the First World War... Aboard the Teignmouth Electron, winner-apparent of the round the world yacht race, sighted deserted and drifting... This is life at sea at its most epic and frightening.