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Assembled and edited by Julian Hawthorne and first published in 1909, the Modern English volume of The Lock and Key Library features classic mystery and detective stories by such luminaries as Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Wilkie Collins.

March, 1859. During an exhibition of London's top engineers, proceedings are disrupted by the discovery of a body, seemingly the result of an accident. Charles Dickens however is convinced of foul play, and sets out to uncover the truth.

Gideon's short-lived run as a locally famous boy detective ended when middle school started. Now he's sixteen and officially retired. That is, until his best friend Lily shows up suddenly at Gideon's door, needing his help. As a cover, Gideon joins Lily on the school paper. As the case gets bigger than Gideon or Lily could have anticipated, Gideon must balance his black-and-white quest for the truth with the full colors of real life, or risk a permanent fade to black. 

In the fading town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea, young apprentice Lemony Snicket has a new case to solve when he and his chaperone are hired to find a missing girl. Is the girl a runaway? Or was she kidnapped? Is it really any of your business? These are all the wrong questions.

Eight talented mystery authors lend their skills of crafting murder and suspense to this collection of short stories. Each of these eight provocative tales is designed to entertain and mystify, and chill you to your core.

Gemma James is adjusting to professional and personal changes, and a future now intricately entwined with Duncan Kincaid. But her new responsibilities are put to the test when she is placed in charge of a particularly brutal homicide. This case sets off warning bells for Duncan: It's far too similar to a recent unsolved murder in which an another person was killed in precisely the same way.

Heather Wells is perfectly happy with her new job as an assistant dorm director at a top college. That is, until the dead body of a student is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft. Everyone labels the death as an accident, but Heather knows something isn't right, yet no one wants to listen. So she makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective.

Settling in to her new life as an assistant dorm director, Heather Wells is drawn into a mystery when a cheerleader's head is found on the first day of the semester in the dormitory kitchen.

Miss Cornelia Van Gorder wants some adventure in her life, so she rents a large mansion to see what she can stir up. There, she is confronted by an embezzlement problem and a murderous masked criminal.

This is a collection of short stories about Molly Robertson-Kirk, an early fictional female detective. Lady Molly, like her fictional contemporaries, most often succeeded because she recognized domestic clues foreign to male experience. Her shocking entry into the male domain of the police is forgivable when it is discovered that her motive is to save her fiancé from a false accusation.