An irresistible bind-up edition of two fabulously fun, wonderfully witty adventure mysteries, from the bestselling author of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Alexander McCall Smith, and with amazing illustrations by Kate Hindley throughout. Popcorn Pirates The greediest gang of grub-guzzling pirates ever to sail the high seas is after the Popcorn Islands' harvest. Can Lucy, Hermione and Sam stop them? The Bubblegum Tree The secret ingredient for Gopal's Best Pink Bubblegum has not been delivered for two months. Billy, Nicola and Mr Gopal are off to the jungle in a flying boat to solve the baffling mystery ...

In this delightful sequel to the best-selling comedic novel My Italian Bulldozer, Paul Stuart's travels taie him to a French village, where the local restaurant's haute cuisine leaves a lot to be desired.Renowned Scottish cookbook writer Paul Stuart is hard at work on his new book, The Philosophy of Food, but complicated domestic circumstances, and two clingy cats, are making that difficult.So when Paul's cousin Chloe suggests that he join her at the house she's rented in the French countryside, he jumps at the chance. The two quickly befriend the locals, including their twin-sister landladies, who also own the infamous local restaurant known to be the second-worst eatery in all of France. During their stay, the restaurant's sole waitress gives birth mid-dinner service and the maitre d' storms off after fighting with the head chef. Paul is soon drafted to improve the gastronomy of the village, which Chloe, ever on the hunt for her next romance,...

Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are approached by their part-time colleague, Mr. Polopetsi, with a troubling story: A woman, accused of being rude to a valued customer, has been wrongly dismissed from her job at an office furniture store. Never one to let an act of injustice go unanswered, Mma Ramotswe begins to investigate but soon discovers unexpected information that causes her to reluctantly change her views about the case. Other surprises await our intrepid proprietress in the course of her inquiries. Mma Ramotswe is puzzled when she happens to hear of a local nurse named Mingie Ramotswe. She thought she knew everybody by the name of Ramotswe and that they were all related. Who is this mystery lady? Then she is alerted by Mma Potokwani that an unpleasant figure from her past has recently been spotted in town. Mma Ramotswe does her best to avoid the man, but it seems that he may have returned to Botswana specifically to seek her out. What could he want from her? With the generosity and good humor that guide all her endeavors, Mma Ramotswe will untangle these questions for herself and for her loved ones, ultimately bringing to light important truths about friendship and family - both the one you're born with and the one you choose.

A bird that can be milked? A man with a tree growing out of his head? A woman with children made of wax? Let Alexander McCall Smith once again take you and your kids to a land where the bizarre is everyday and magic is real, with more illustrated stories from The Girl Who Married A Lion, his celebration of African folktales.

In this newest installment of Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Mma Ramotswe takes on a number of perplexing situations, and while she tries to maintain her usual impartiality, it’s difficult when one of the cases involves someone so close to her heart.“Delightful . . . The warm humanity infused throughout [these] novels is what brings readers back . . . [McCall Smith] brings out the profound importance of everyday revelations.” —San Francisco ChronicleMma Ramotswe can sense the rain long before it comes. It’s been a long, dry summer, but the first downpour of the season tends to bring with it new growth. In this case, it also brings a new client, who suspects his wife of having an affair. Mma Ramotswe is on the case, and she decides to bring Charlie along. But as they look further into the matter, they begin to suspect their client may not have been entirely truthful in...

It is 1938 and the final days of the British Empire. In a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old, her father Henry – owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation – and her mother Virginia. The story centres around the Pavilion in the Clouds, nestled in idyllic grounds carved out of the wilderness. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess Miss White's intentions. Her intuition sparks off her mother's imagination, and, after an unfortunate series of events, a confrontation results in a gunshot ringing out through the valley.Years later, Bella, now living back in Scotland at university in St Andrews, is faced, once again, with her past. Will she at last find out what happened between her father and Miss White? And will the guilt she has lived with all these years be reconciled by a long-overdue apology?

THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY - Book 3 Fans around the world adore the best-selling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma  Ramotswe—with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi—navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea. In Morality for Beautiful Girls, Precious Ramotswe, founder and owner of the only detective agency for the concerns of both ladies and others, investigates the alleged poisoning of the brother of an important “Government Man,” and the moral character of the four finalists of the Miss Beauty and Integrity Contest, the winner of which will almost certainly be a contestant for the title of Miss Botswana. Yet her business is having money problems, and when other difficulties arise at her fiancé’s Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, she discovers the reliable Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is more complicated then he seems. From the Trade Paperback edition.

In the hilarious new novel in the best-selling Detective Varg series, Ulf Varg will need to resolve both a sensitive crime and his own delicate dilemma in the hopes of preserving the peace.The Department of Sensitive Crimes is downsizing in light of a recent downturn of sensitive crime, and staff members are wondering who among them will be transferred elsewhere. As the bickering between colleagues intensifies, Ulf tries his best to stay above the fray. But when Anna, a longtime friend and coworker, appears to blame him for an old case that went sideways, it seems she may be putting her own job prospects above their friendship.In the midst of all this, Ulf embarks on an important inquiry: a man's cabin has mysteriously disappeared and Ulf is tasked with finding out what happened. How exactly does one steal a house? And, more to the point, how does one track down a stolen house? Meanwhile, a promising veterinary treatment for deafness in dogs has been...

In this latest installment in the beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Grace Makutsi encounters a pair of quandaries that will require all of her and Mma Ramotswe’s cleverness and generosity to resolveGrace Makutsi’s husband, Phuti, is in a bind. An international firm is attempting to undercut his prices in the office furniture market. Phuti has always been concerned with quality and comfort, but this new firm seems interested only in profits. To make matters worse, they have a slick new advertising campaign that seems hard to beat. Nonetheless with Mma Ramotswe’s help, Phtui comes up with a campaign that may just do the trick. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi is approached by an old friend who has a troubled son. Grace and Phuti agree to lend a hand, but the boy proves difficult to reach, and the situation is more than they can handle on their own. It will require not only all of their patience and dedication, but also the help...

From bestselling novelist Alexander McCall Smith comes a charming set of mysteries that will keep young readers guessing--and laughing--from the first clue to the last.      Harriet Bean loves nothing more than a good mystery, and is always ready to take on a new case. When Harriet Bean's father mentions that he has five sisters--whom Harriet has never met--she is immediately intrigued. Harriet is determined to uncover the whereabouts of her five lost aunts, but with nothing more than an unfinished family portrait and a few outdated clues, will she be able to locate them? In The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean, join Harriet in her search to reunite her father with his five lost sisters--Veronica, Harmonica, Majolica, Japonica, and Thessalonika. In Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats, Harriet doesn't think twice when her mind-reading detective aunts Japonica and Thessalonika enlist her help to catch a cheat at the racetrack. After all, Harriet is just the right size to go undercover as a jockey. But when the plan takes an unexpected turn, Harriet finds herself in the saddle! In The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean, when Harriet discovers that she has yet one more lost aunt--a cowgirl named Formica--she jumps at the chance to join her two detective aunts on a visit. Aunt Formica's ranch is being plagued by devious cattle rustlers, and she needs Harriet's help to track down the bandits and save the ranch. But the Wild West carries dangers all its own. . .

In this Isabel Dalhousie original short story, available exclusively in electronic format, our intrepid heroine—accused by a distraught wife of being the "other woman"—makes a surprising discovery as she attempts to defend her reputation. Summer in Edinburgh is a season of delicate sunshine and showers, picnics with loved ones in blossoming gardens, and genteel celebrations of art and music. But Isabel Dalhousie’s peaceful idyll is broken when a single meeting over coffee with fellow philosopher Dr. George McLeod brings an irate phone call from his wife, Roz, who implacably accuses Isabel of conducting an affair with her husband.             Wounded by the injustice of Roz’s wild allegation and concerned both for her standing among the gossipy group of her scholarly peers and for Roz’s apparent state of hysteria, Isabel sets out to discover more about the McLeods, and to set the record straight before the bitterness in their marriage poisons her own reputation. For insight into the McLeods’ relationship she turns to Millie, who is both an old acquaintance of Isabel’s and a university colleague of George’s.             In this engaging, intelligently observed story, Alexander McCall Smith’s sharp-eyed heroine is reminded once again to avoid jumping to hasty conclusions about the lives of others, and to value friendship wherever it’s found.

Well before Precious Ramotswe founded her Number One Ladies Detective Agency, as an eight-year-old girl she was already solving mysteries. Here we find out just who has been stealing her schoolfriend's snacks and how the young Precious became the crafty and intuitive private investigator we all know and love.

In the Swedish criminal justice system, certain cases are considered especially strange and difficult, in Malmö, the dedicated detectives who investigate these crimes are members of an elite squad known as the Sensitive Crimes Division.These are their stories.The first case: the small matter of a man stabbed in the back of the knee. Who would perpetrate such a crime and why? Next: a young woman's imaginary boyfriend goes missing. But how on earth do you search for someone who doesn't exist? And in the final investigation: eerie secrets that are revealed under a full moon may not seem so supernatural in the light of day. No case is too unusual, too complicated, or too, well insignificant for this squad to solve.The team: Ulf 'the Wolf" Varg, the top dog, thoughtful and diligent; Anna Bengsdotter, who's in love with Varg's car (and possibly Varg too); Carl Holgersson, who likes nothing more than filling out paperwork; and Erik Nykvist, who is...

From the hugely popular 44 Scotland Street series comes the latest adventures of Bertie and his family and friends.Life for Bertie seems to be moving at a pace that is rather out of his control. In Drummond Place gardens it seems that Olive has their future together all planned out. Meanwhile, upstairs at 44 Scotland Street, Bertie’s father, Stuart, is powerless to stop over-bearing Irene and her motion for Bertie to travel to Aberdeen on a three-month secondment. And, further up in the New Town, while Bruce Anderson plots with old-school chums, love blossoms in Big Lou’s Cafe. Warm hearted, humorous and wonderfully wise, Love in the Time of Bertie offers philosophical insight as well as sartorial elegance. Catch up once again with the extended family at No. 44, in this the latest instalment in the Scotland Street series.