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(0)Nancy Springer
21) American Curls
When Cindy stops by the local cat shelter where she volunteers, she discovers her coworker Samantha unconscious on the floor. Even more horrifying, to Cindy, is that a mother cat and her kittens have mysteriously disappeared out into the snow. While Cindy leaves the attack to the police to investigate while she seeks out the missing cats, a second assault finishes Samantha off. Soon, Cindy's mixed up in a litter of death, missing cats and the police
...22) The Youngest One
Jessie is tired of dealing with her drunk mother and life in a rough part of town, and when a creepy woman approaches her one morning and advises her to pay attention to Shakespeare's As You Like It in her English class she shrugs off the recommendation. After all, what relevance does Shakespeare have with her life? A chance encounter with an unusual toad, however, is about to completely alter Jessie's perceptions of what matters in the world,
...23) Ruth
Poet T. S. Eliot once noted that when it came to cats, naming them was quite the difficult matter. At the Haven for Life Animal Rescue, worker Xenia knows this all to well. Glad to have a position, regardless of the fact that she suffers from paranoia, developmental retardation and depression, Xenia wants only to give the best care to the rescued cats that live in the shelter. When Xenia realizes that the kittens are being adopted shortly after
...Kerri Ellen lives each day with the haunting memory of the day her sister Kimmi disappeared on her way to work. Every night, she lights a candle in the hopes that her lost sister will somehow, miraculously, find her way home.
When fellow college student Burke's little sister goes missing, Kerri teams up with her sorority sisters to help comb the area to try to find her. As she makes her way through the woods and eventually back to Burke's house,
...25) Vend U
Jocelyn is a complete pest, She's constantly playing practical jokes and has no problems beating up boys. Not quite the person you want around you when you're trying to enjoy your summer art class on a college campus.
When Jocelyn decides to take out her inner aggressions on the cafeteria's vending machines, it's not just the students who decide it's time to do something about the biggest bully on campus. After all, even a vending machine has
...When a dog discovers that he can't be a witch's familiar because he's white, he sets off on a quest to be the faithful aide to an angel. As his sense of smell leads him from one person in need to another, will he find the ethereal being he's looking for or will his nose, in fact, lead him to the last place he'd ever expect to find his real purpose in life? A short story.
27) The Kingmaker
The daughter of the High King has a regal name, but she is small and plain, so everyone just calls her Wren. As a mere girl, she is not her father's heir; her cousin Korbye is. But Wren's infallible sooth-sense tells her that Korbyn would make no good king. Nor is sooth-sense her only fate. Wren is the Kingmaker. When an ancient and dangerous ring of power finds its way to her, how should she use it?
28) Silent End
When Judith discovers a dead body in the kiln of her pottery store, she's convinced it's the work of her ex-husband in an attempt to cause her trouble. After discussing the incident with members of her Scrabble Club, Judith soon learns that her ex may be off the hook, and that sticks and stones may break bones, but words can definitely get you killed. A short story.
29) Framed
For picture framer Veronica Phillips, the most dangerous thing that happens to her on a typical day is a sheet of glass breaking or getting cut by an errant wire. When a key comes out of the back of a picture she's redoing, Ronnie soon finds herself mixed up in dark warehouses, dead bodies and harsh scrutiny by the local police for getting mixed up in the crime. Can Ronnie prove her innocence in the murder case, or will she end up being framed?
...30) Rumple What?
We've all heard the fairy tale of the girl who could spin straw into gold, and the creature that would demand her first-born as payment for helping her achieve the horrible tasks put to her by her father.
Let's face it, though, The Brothers Grimm couldn't get the facts of a story straight if their lives depended on it, and this classic tale of excess and woe is certainly no different. Here, revealed for the first time, is the absolutely true
...31) Juggernaut
When Marietta Becker goes undercover at a singles dance to investigate the homicide of five men, she thinks she's discovered one of the saddest places she's ever encountered. When her husband suddenly appears and is immediately recognized by the dance regulars, Marietta realizes there are a lot of reasons to want to kill someone. A short story.
As Enola searches for the missing Lady Blanchefleur del Campo, she discovers that her brother Sherlock is just as diligently searching for Enola herself! Sherlock and Enola must solve a triple mystery: What has happened to their mother? And to Lady Blanchefleur? And what does either have to do with their brother, Mycroft?
"Flat-out among the best mysteries being...
