NEW MATERIALS

Adult:

Detective Isaac Bell, hero of The Chase and The Wrecker, returns in the remarkable new adventure from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author.

It is 1908, and international tensions are mounting as the world plunges toward war. When a brilliant American battleship gun designer dies in a sensational apparent suicide, the man's grief-stricken daughter turns to the legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency to clear her father's name. Van Dorn puts his chief investigator on the case, and Isaac Bell soon realizes that the clues point not to suicide but to murder. And when more suspicious deaths follow, it becomes clear that someone-an elusive spy-is orchestrating the destruction of America's brightest technological minds... and the murders all connect to a top- secret project called Hull 44.

But that is just the beginning. As the intrigue deepens, Bell will find himself pitted against German, Japanese, and British spies, in a mission that encompasses dreadnought battleships, Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet, Chinatown, Hell's Kitchen, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Isaac Bell has certainly faced perilous situations before, but this time it is more than the future of his country that's at stake- it's the fate of the world.

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Young Adult:

The Amber Spyglass brings the intrigue of The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife to a heart-stopping end, marking the final volume of His Dark Materials as the most powerful of the trilogy.
Along with the return of Lyra and other familiar characters from the first two books come a host of new characters: the Mulefa, mysterious wheeled creatures with the power to see Dust; Gallivespian Lord Roke, a hand-high spymaster to Lord Asriel; and Metatron, a fierce and mighty angel. So too come startling revelations: the painful price Lyra must pay to walk through the land of the dead, the haunting power of Dr. Malone's amber spyglass, and the names of who will live and who will die for love. And all the while, war rages with the Kingdom of Heaven, a brutal battle that in its shocking outcome will uncover the secret of Dust.

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Children's:

Gr. 3^-6. How many ways can you think of to bug your parents? If you are Sneeze Wyatt, at least 101, since you see them as your collateral to fame, fortune, and the San Francisco Invention Conference. Forced to take a summer school course called "Recipe for a Book: A Class for Young Writers," Sneeze finds the class clamoring for his parent-tested ideas, which he compiles into a book in spite of his teacher's reservations. Wardlaw has written a funny story with more substance than is evident initially. The death of a parent, job insecurity, gifted children, teacher respect, true friendship, and even intellectual freedom all find play here. Although adults may find Sneeze's suggestions predictable and overdone--after all, we've weighed in on both sides of this issue--children will probably continue to turn the pages just to see whether they've overlooked even one idea. Frances Bradburn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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DVD's: