The tradition of pets in the White House goes all the way back to the Founding Fathers. From the parrot and foxhounds of George Washington to Spot and Barney, the current canines of the Bushes, the First Family's animal companions have always had a special place in America's heart.

These various (and often exotic) animals have enjoyed the special privileges of living in the nation's capital, giving them access to the scenes of power. So when something goes awry in the White House, who better to solve it than these pet detectives

Did Rex, Ronald Reagan's King Charles spaniel, play a role in uncovering Irangate What mystery did Franklin Roosevelt's Scottish terrier, Fala, uncover when left on the Aleutian Islands How would some of the more unusual pets, such as John Quincy Adams's pet alligator or Calvin Coolidge hippopotamus, search for clues in the halls of the Executive Mansion

AWARD-WINNING STORIES from USA TODAY bestselling author Carole Nelson Douglas, featuring mystery icons Sam Spade and Edgar Allan Poe. Interior illustrations designed by the author. Noir urban fantasy paranormal investigator Delilah Street and iconic contemporary feline sleuth Midnight Louie team up for a trio of tales, including one based on an Edgar Allan Poe story fragment found after his death. From Sam Spade's "black bird"--the priceless Maltese Falcon--to Poe's "The Raven," Louie and Delilah keep up with their noted detective forebears. Stories published previously in anthologies are collected here for the first time: "Bogieman" from Unusual Suspects; "Butterfly Kiss" from The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2; "The Riches That There Lie" from Poe's Lighthouse.

Delilah and her partner - tall, dark, handsome, and Hispanic ex-FBI guy Ric Montoya - are busy solving a 'Romeo and Juliet' double-murder and she's got plenty more to deal with: vampires, werewolves, and tigers, oh my

It was the revelation of the millennium: witches, werewolves, vampires and other supernaturals are real. Fast-forward 13 years: TV reporter Delilah Street used to cover the small-town bogeyman beat back in Kansas, but now, in high-octane Las Vegas - which is run by a werewolf mob - she finds herself holding back the gates of Hell itself. But at least she has a hot new guy and one big bad wolfhound to help her out...

Winner of the American Mystery Award for Best Novel of Romantic Suspense, and the Romantic Times Award for Best Historical Mystery Miss Irene Adler, the beautiful American opera singer who once outwitted Sherlock Holmes, is also a superb detective, as Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker can attest. Even Holmes himself must admit--albeit grudgingly--that she acquits herself competently.
But in matters of the heart she encounters difficulty. The Crown Prince of Bohemia--tall, blonde, and handsome--proves to be a cad. Will dashing barrister Godfrey Norton be able to convince Irene that not all handsome men are cut from the same broadcloth?
Guy Ritchie is directing a new film for Warner Bros. based on the life of Sherlock Holmes, due out in the fall of 2009. Robert Downey Jr. is Holmes, Jude Law is his able sidekick Dr. Watson. Rachel McAdams portrays Irene Adler, a femme fatale who Holmes always considered to be """the ""woman"--and who outwitted Holmes when few could.

The ever-irresistible Irene Adler, her dashing barrister husband, Godfrey Norton, and the indomitable Miss Nell Huxleigh have arrived at last as their French cottage-having survived dastardly plots, Russian spies, pistol-wielding criminals, and the occasional cobra. The happy trio seeks nothing but rest and peace-but Irene has always chafed under idle conditions, and Paris, she says, "is pretty and urbane, but hardly a center of excitement." So when Charles Frederick Worth, the Parisian king of couture, invites Irene to become his "mannequin de ville," to wear the fabulous worth creations to stimulate his trade, Irene leaps at the chance.
But what was a joyous lark soon turns into a journey that can lead to disgrace, dishonor, and death when Irene, Nell, and Godfrey are drawn into a series of events that will compel Irene to the one place that she daren't go and the one man she must not confront-Prague and the King of Bohemia.