Bestselling author Chris Grabenstein and the Mystery Writers of America bring together twenty peerless puzzles—from bestselling authors such as Peter Lerangis, Stuart Gibbs, Lauren Magaziner, Kate Milford, and, of course, Grabenstein himself—in an anthology of mystery short stories that invite readers to try to unravel the riddles themselves.

From tales of hapless superheroes and stolen squirrel monkeys to murderous triplets and haunted basements, these thrilling, puzzling, and hilarious cases have one thing in common—YOU get a chance to be the detective before the author reveals the solution.

With twenty never-before-published mystery stories, this collection will leave young detectives sleuthing for more!

Janitors with wizard-like powers continue their battle, and

Spencer, Daisy, and even Dez must fight to save schools

everywhere. Toxites, the small creatures that love to feed on the

brain waves of students are just the beginning of their troubles.

The Bureau of Educational Maintenance (BEM) is after Spencer,

and the Rebels hope to sneak him to safety within the walls of an

elite private school. But danger follows Spencer and his friends,

testing their loyalty and trust as well as their Toxite-fighting skills.

Can they hold out long enough to discover the true secret of New

Forest Academy and what it means to the future of education?

A secret society of Janitors with wizard-like powers continue their

battle, and now, the stakes are even higher.

The Bureau of Educational Maintenance is after Alan Zumbro and

this time they mean business deadly business. Spencer, Daisy, and

their little team of rebels must find the source of all magical Glop and

destroy it before it can destroy the world as we know it. No small task

with the BEM and their monster toxites at their heels. It's a wild and

dangerous ride as they follow the trail of clues all the way to the hiding

place of the mysterious aurans: guardians of a secret landfill. What

they discover there will change the way Spencer sees himself, not to

mention the fate of the rebels.

Praise for the Janitors series:

"An enormously entertaining book." Orson Scott Card

"Spins plenty of action . . . an entertaining ruckus." Kirkus Reviews

"Action-packed and surprising Readers will become convinced of the

value of telling the truth, while having a lot of fun along

Magic is closer than you ever thought possible in this madcap middle grade adventure perfect for fans of James Riley and Chris Grabenstein. For Mason Mortimer Morrison, life isn't so magical. His dad was just sent to jail, his grades have been plummeting from meh to yikes, and, oh yeah, two officers from some organization called Magix just showed up to arrest him in the middle of fourth period. Talk about bad luck. Mason knows he's innocent. But in order to clear his name, he's going to need the help of a plucky Magix junior detective and a cantankerous talking bunny-and a little bit of magic.

DISCOVER THE START OF AN EPIC FANTASY TRILOGY THAT BEGINS WITH A HEIST AND QUICKLY EXPLODES INTO A FULL-TILT, LAST-DITCH PLAN TO SAVE HUMANITY Ardor Benn is no ordinary thief - a master of wildly complex heists, he styles himself a Ruse Artist Extraordinaire. When he gets hired for his most daring ruse yet, Ardor knows he'll need more than quick wit and sleight of hand. Assembling a dream team of forgers, disguisers, schemers and thieves, he sets out to steal from the most powerful king the realm has ever known. But it soon becomes clear there's more at stake than fame and glory - Ard and his team might just be the last hope for human civilisation. 'Mission Impossible, but with magic, dragons, and a series of heists that go from stealing a crown to saving the world. A fun, terrific read I heartily recommend' David Dalglish 'This is one of the best times I've ever had whilst reading a book . . . Ardor Benn makes Locke Lamora look like a rank amateur' Fantasy Hive 'If you enjoy The Lies of Locke Lamora . . . then I can confidently predict that The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn is the book for you' The Eloquent Page 'The plot and world of this book are one of a kind . . . a very impressive debut' The Quill to Live 'From start to finish this is an amazing read' The Book Plank 'This one is for all you fans of Scott Lynch and Marshall Ryan Maresca eager to meet your next favourite fantasy ne'er-do-well' B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog

Twelve-year-old Spencer Zumbro, with the help of his classmate Daisy Gullible Gates, must fight with and against a secret janitorial society that wields wizard-like powers. Who can Spencer and Daisy trust and how will they protect their school and possibly the world? Original.

Now, more than ever, Spencer, Daisy, and even Dez must fight to save schools everywhere. The Bureau of Educational Maintenance (BEM) is after Spencer, and the only place he is safe is within the walls of the New Forest Academy. Or so he thinks.

"Looking for a fantastically fast-paced and funny read? Your wish is granted!" -Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library Twelve-year-old Ace's life is about to change in the most unexpected and magical ways-all because of a peanut butter jar. When he opens it, he inadvertently releases a genie named Ridge. Now a Wishmaker, Ace is given a week to complete a seemingly impossible quest, and if he fails the world will end in the most tragic (but cuddly) way imaginable. Luckily, Ridge can help by granting Ace an unlimited number of wishes...as long as Ace is willing to accept the consequences. The bigger the wish, the greater the consequence. So, if Ace wants to avoid having pogo sticks for legs or his clothes turn invisible, he'll have to be careful what he wishes for and get a little creative. Perfect for fans of Dan Gutman and Max Brallier, this new middle grade series by Tyler Whitesides (author of the Janitors series) is a wonderful mix of unpredictable magic, zany humor, and daring adventure. You'll wish it never ends!

The final book in an action-packed epic fantasy series set in a world with dragon-fuelled magic where master con artist Ardor Benn takes a job to steal a living dragon

Ardor Benn has takes his lies to a new level, infiltrating high society so he can steal a priceless resource. But now that he's on the inside, he finds himself poring over ancient texts, searching for answers to his deepest questions. He discovers something is coming. Something world-ending.

Now, an old enemy is extorting him for one last job. Steal a live dragon. He doesn't know how, and he doesn't know why. But he's got a feeling that it's a job he has to take. Only problem is, Ard's running short on time and shorter on lies. And his personal ambitions are alienating all of his allies.

With no one else to rely on, he'll have to trust the one person nobody else does: himself.

The second novel in an action-packed epic fantasy series set in a world with dragon-fuelled magic, where master con artist Ardor Benn must infiltrate a centuries old secret organisation to find a missing royal heir Ardor Benn saved civilisation from imminent destruction, but his efforts brought war to the kingdom. It is believed that the rightful rulers have all been assassinated. However, a young heir might have survived. An ancient organisation known as The Realm is behind the chaos, working from the shadows. Under the anonymity of masks, information is distributed sparingly. Ard's been hired to infiltrate them, but he's got competition from an old friend. One who's set to prove she's better than the self-proclaimed 'Ruse Artist Extraordinaire.' If Ard can't find the heir, then his world may again approach ruin. Stopping the complete and utter collapse of civilisation is quickly becoming Ard's speciality. Praise for The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn: 'I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is easily the best fantasy-heist book I have read in years!' A Fantastical Librarian on The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn 'A cracking introduction to a new fantasy world that demands further exploration' SFX 'A fun, terrific read I heartily recommend' David Dalglish, author of A Dance of Cloaks 'If you enjoy The Lies of Locke Lamora . . . then I can confidently predict that The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn is the book for you . . . Highly recommended' The Eloquent Page 'The plot and world of this book are one of a kind . . . a very impressive debut' The Quill to Live 'From start to finish this is an amazing read' The Book Plank

DISCOVER THE START OF AN EPIC FANTASY TRILOGY THAT BEGINS WITH A HEIST AND QUICKLY EXPLODES INTO A FULL-TILT, LAST-DITCH PLAN TO SAVE HUMANITY Ardor Benn is no ordinary thief - a master of wildly complex heists, he styles himself a Ruse Artist Extraordinaire. When he gets hired for his most daring ruse yet, Ardor knows he'll need more than quick wit and sleight of hand. Assembling a dream team of forgers, disguisers, schemers and thieves, he sets out to steal from the most powerful king the realm has ever known. But it soon becomes clear there's more at stake than fame and glory - Ard and his team might just be the last hope for human civilisation. 'Mission Impossible, but with magic, dragons, and a series of heists that go from stealing a crown to saving the world. A fun, terrific read I heartily recommend' David Dalglish 'This is one of the best times I've ever had whilst reading a book. It is fun, absolutely crammed with adventure, wit and cleverness . . . Ardor Benn makes Locke Lamora look like a rank amateur' Fantasy Hive 'If you enjoy The Lies of Locke Lamora . . . then I can confidently predict that The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn is the book for you' The Eloquent Page 'The plot and world of this book are one of a kind . . . a very impressive debut' The Quill to Live 'From start to finish this is an amazing read' The Book Plank 'This one is for all you fans of Scott Lynch and Marshall Ryan Maresca eager to meet your next favourite fantasy ne'er-do-well' B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog