Great Mysteries

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the country, with 12.1 million recreational visits in 2020. Aside from crowds of hikers, campers, and general tourists, there's a dark side to the Smokies, the town of Gatlinburg and the surrounding foothills. From strange disappearances, grisly murders and bone-chilling paranormal hauntings to ghost sightings, this pristine paradise has a lot more to offer than just serene hiking trails or camping. So put aside your nature guidebooks, and prepare for a wild ride on the dark side of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Under the Great British Baking Contest competition tent, there's more at stake than winning the title of Best Baker in All of Britain. For amateur baker Poppy Wilkinson, there are mysteries to solve, secrets and lies, even murder. As a fledgling witch, Poppy's having enough trouble controlling her sponge cake, never mind trying to control her powers.

J. M. Adovasio has spent the last thirty years at the center of one of our most fiery scientific debates: Who were the first humans in the Americas, and how and when did they get there? At its heart, The First Americans is the story of the revolution in thinking that Adovasio and his fellow archaeologists have brought about, and the firestorm it has ignited.

It's the last week of summer. Rebekah, Mouse, RJ and the gang are excited to spend their last days of school vacation hanging out together in Curtis Bay. They have lots of fun pool days planned until suddenly everything is ruined. This bad news brings with it a mystery followed by the best prank of the summer.

When the CIA needed a fall guy, Dugan was the one it betrayed. Forsaken by those he’d trusted and with nowhere to turn, he’s made it his mission to stop the miscreants who ruined his life before they can destroy anyone else’s. From human-trafficking rings and remorseless hit men to byzantine plots to alter the world order, Dugan must outwit those chartered with terminating him while battling overwhelming odds.

A trail of ominous clues comprise a mystery that leads from an English hamlet to the city of Paris to the wild prairie of the New World. The trap is set, the game is afoot; but can Holmes and Russell catch an elusive killer, or has the murderer caught them?

Much to their surprise, the Peaches had a great summer running their food truck business selling their pies across the Mid-West, but they're happy to be back home in Duluth, Minnesota, where they can settle back into a routine just in time for the new school year. That is until Great Aunt Lucinda wants to gift them her historic mansion. But there are conditions: they're to turn it into a cozy bed-and-breakfast, something the Peach kids' mom always dreamed of before she passed away. And they only have until Thanksgiving to do the renovations and prove they can make the business work.

Have you ever said to yourself, "wouldn’t it be nice to be a detective"? This is the story of an African girl who says just that. Her name is Precious. When a piece of cake goes missing from her classroom, a traditionally built young boy is tagged as the culprit. Precious, however, is not convinced. She sets out to find the real thief. Along the way she learns that your first guess isn’t always right. She also learns how to be a detective.

In teeming Victorian London, where lavish wealth and appalling poverty live side by side, Edward Pierce charms the most prominent of the well-to-do as he cunningly orchestrates the crime of the century. Who would suspect that a gentleman of breeding could mastermind the daring theft of a fortune in gold? Who could predict the consequences of making the extraordinary robbery aboard the pride of England's industrial era, the mighty steam locomotive?

It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for 40 years. They have proven the existence of dragons - a landmark discovery no one could ever believe is real and a scientific revelation that will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing findings within the greatest zoo ever constructed. A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see these fabulous creatures for the first time.

Why do compass needles point north - but not quite north? What guides the migration of birds, whales, and fish across the world's oceans? How is Earth able to sustain life under an onslaught of solar wind and cosmic radiation? For centuries, the world's great scientists have grappled with these questions, all rooted in the same phenomenon: Earth's magnetism. Over 2000 years after the invention of the compass, Einstein called the source of Earth's magnetic field one of greatest unsolved mysteries of physics.

As the Great Blizzard of 1888 cripples the vast machinery that is New York City, heiress Prudence MacKenzie sits anxiously within her palatial Fifth Avenue home waiting for her fiance's safe return. But the fearsome storm rages through the night. With daylight, more than 200 people are found to have perished in the icy winds and treacherous snowdrifts. Among them is Prudence's fiancé - his body frozen, his head crushed by a heavy branch, his fingers clutching a single playing card, the ace of spades.

When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must. And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.

Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation - a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014.

From star-nosed moles that have super-sensing snouts to electric eels that paralyze their prey, animals possess unique and extraordinary abilities. In Great Adaptations, Kenneth Catania presents an entertaining and engaging look at some of nature's most remarkable creatures. Telling the story of his biological detective work, Catania sheds light on the mysteries behind the behaviors of tentacled snakes, tiny shrews, zombie-making wasps, and more.

A detailed, illustrated exploration of 20 of the world's greatest mysteries. Go back in time and history and explore the wonders that have captured man's imagination for centuries. Be dazzled by a manuscript still undeciphered, an oasis in the desert abandoned, a legendary island lost, and a forgotten city rediscovered. Learn about the first computer, listen to the myths and legends, and visit cryptic sanctuaries beyond imagination. Crisscross the globe for answers, consider possibilities, and marvel at the ingenuity of past cultures and civilizations. Are they mysteries, lessons, or warnings?

The Aldens have joined a bicycle race! Three days of riding and camping should be fun for everyone. Even Grandfather has joined the race. But right from the word “Go!” things go wrong: misleading road signs by day and collapsing tents by night. Henry’s first flat tire could be bad luck, but three flat tires point to foul play. But who is playing foul - and why? The Boxcar Children are determined to solve the mystery before they cross the finish line.

In the third installment of his acclaimed anthology series, master of crime fiction Lawrence Block has gathered together the best talent from popular fiction to produce an anthology of short stories based on masterpieces of American art. Among the star-studded lineup of writers you'll find Jerome Charyn, Jane Hamilton, Christa Faust, John Sandford, Sara Paretsky, Walter Mosley, Charles Ardai, Barry Malzberg, and Janice Eidus.

A century from now, thanks to a technology allowing instantaneous travel across light-years, humanity has solved its energy shortages, cleaned up the environment, and created far-flung colony worlds. The keys to this empire belong to the powerful North family - composed of successive generations of clones. Yet these clones are not identical. For one thing, genetic errors have crept in with each generation. For another, the original three clone "brothers" have gone their separate ways, and the branches of the family are now friendly rivals more than allies. Or maybe not so friendly....

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina is perhaps the single most extraordinary saint in the modern history of the Catholic Church. His heart was pierced. He carried the wounds of Christ on his hands, feet, and side for half a century. He communicated with his spiritual sons and daughters through bilocation and mystical perfume. He read the souls of his penitents. He offered his suffering so that others might be healed. He built one of the most significant hospitals in Southern Italy. Most importantly, Padre Pio wanted others to be redeemed. In Bret Thoman’s latest book, he has created a fresh, new ...