Humorous Detective

Brought to you by Penguin. Who is Nellie Thorne and why does she keep disappearing? Jane Pye and Simon Mash are on the case in this cosy crime mystery novel, perfect for fans of Janice Hallett and Robert Thorogood! Local schoolteacher Dev Hooper arrives home from work to find his girlfriend...

Anisha is all set to be a (reluctant) bridesmaid at Aunty Bindi's wedding...until a secret ransom note arrives. Bindi's groom has been kidnapped and will only be released if the wedding is called off! With best friend Milo, mischievous Granny Jas, a runaway lobster, a kitten-loving giant, and some super skills of logic and observation, it's up to Anisha Mistry to find her uncle, before the big family wedding of the year becomes a big disaster.

Rebekah Daniels is just your ordinary spunky nine-year-old girl living in the small town of Curtis Bay…EXCEPT she is determined NOT to be ordinary at all! Her small town is filled with mysteries and Rebekah is sure that she, along with her best friend Mouse, will be able to solve every last one of them.

Meet Harry Lipkin, the world's oldest private detective: part Sam Spade, part Woody Allen, all mensch. Harry Lipkin is a tough-talking, soft-chewing, rough-around-the-edges, slow-around-the-corners private investigator who carries a .38 along with a spare set of dentures. Harry specializes in...

RJ Spencer is a lucky 12-year-old. He lives in the big city and his parents are landlords of the high-rise apartment building that is his home. The many tenants in the building, along with the endless possibilities of adventures in the city itself, are the perfect setting for the young detective as he sets out to solve every case he can get his hands on.

All his life, Reyes Alexander Farrow has suffered the torments of the damned. Only one thing has given him hope: the woman who radiates a light that no mortals can see; a light that only the departed can see... Told from his point of view, BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN chronicles the first time Reyes...

Connor and Ethan are spending their summer holidays aboard the world's first orbiting city, Starville (basically Beverley Hills in space!). The amazing space station is bursting with celebrities and the mega-rich. But Connor and Ethan are too busy selling ice cream to see the sights.

It's a lighthearted murder mystery ... with space aliens! Gabriel Lake is a not so hard-boiled computer guy who finds himself swept up into a web of interstellar crime when he is recruited into the Galactic Detective Agency, led by the brilliant Oren Vilkas. Can a mere Earthling track a killer across the stars before more lives are lost? Can he negotiate his way around other worlds and understand the ways of extra-terrestrial cultures? Can he even figure out how to use a bathroom designed for aliens? And can he uncover the mystery of A Town Called Potato?

Judy Moody is in a mood. A sleuthing, Nancy Drew kind of mood. So what’s a WBMS (world’s best mystery solver) to do? Go find a mystery, that’s what! And she doesn’t have to snoop for long: when Mr. Chips, a beloved crime-dog-in-training, goes missing, Judy Drewdy and her chums, agents Dills Pickle (Frank), Spuds Houdini (Rocky), and James Madagascar (Stink) find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a real-life, scare-your-pants-off whodunit. Was Mr. Chips stolen by dirty dognappers? And why are chocolate-chip cookies disappearing all over town?

Rebekah Daniels is just your ordinary spunky nine-year-old girl living in the small town of Curtis Bay...except she is determined not to be ordinary at all! Her small town is filled with mysteries and Rebekah is sure that she, along with her best friend, Mouse, will be able to solve every last one of them.

Connor and Ethan are bamboozled when Starville, the space station where they live, is overrun with cosmic chaos! Boys have two heads, dogs have three tails, and even aliens who normally have six arms are growing extra ones! What is going on? Can Connor and Ethan get to the bottom of this intergalactic mystery?

Rebekah Daniels is just your ordinary spunky nine-year-old girl living in the small town of Curtis Bay...EXCEPT she is determined NOT to be ordinary at all! Her small town is filled with mysteries and Rebekah is sure that she, along with her best friend Mouse, will be able to solve every last one of them. Mouse's behavior and his reluctance to hang out with Rebekah has become a mystery she must solve. Has his body been taken over by aliens?

Foxie is on a diet, and Jack has things on his mind. When Auntie Tidge takes delivery of boxes of sausages, Foxie is delighted, until Caterina Smith takes them all away. Foxie is determined that Jack must solve the case of the stolen sausages, but Jack, for once, isn't sure there even is a case. He and Foxie join Lord Red, Auntie Tidge, Sarge, Caterina Smith, Polly, and just about everyone else at the Doggeroo Dog and Sausage Day. There are sausages galore, and plenty of schemes and drooling dogs, but is there really a thief?

A December 2025 RuPaul's Book Club Pick! A poisoned chocolate. A stolen dress. An elusive catburglar. Drag’s not just dramatic, it’s deadly. By day, Joe is a hotel accountant, invisibly sitting behind their desk and playing by the rules. By night, donned in sequins, they take to the stage as...

It's that time of year again! Rebekah and Mouse love the first day of summer for so many reasons. At the top of that list is the big reveal of the special new summer flavor of ice cream at their favorite hangout, the Ice Cream Shoppe. Mr. Sprool always surprised them with some delicious new flavor that they enjoyed nearly every day of summer. But something was different this first day of summer and Rebekah was determined to solve the mystery that would hopefully lead to the ice cream tasting that she has been dreaming of.

What seems like a simple case of a missing pet soon has the Space Detectives completely bamboozled! This is no ordinary pet—it’s a synthpet, where owners mix in different animals to make a totally unique one-of-a-kind pet. The missing pet has the body and legs of a cat, a duck’s bill, long rabbit-like ears and the scaly tail of a crocodile. A creature like that should be easy to spot, right? Not on Starville, the universe’s biggest space station where every inhabitant looks different—it’s like looking for a star in a galaxy.

Rebekah Daniels is just your ordinary spunky 9 year old girl living in the small town of Curtis Bay...EXCEPT she is determined NOT to be ordinary at all! Her small town is filled with mysteries and Rebekah is sure that she, along with her best friend Mouse, will be able to solve every last one of them.

Maple Leaf St Claire is a young fortune teller new to the city of Twyne. She sets up her caravan and quickly gets customers. Despite failing Witchaven School for Witches her reputation grows quickly and she attracts the attention of the Lady Gray whose husband has gone missing. She asks Maple to look into the disappearance. A witch's sigil drawn in a distinctive red chalk and a fiery note were left where he was last seen — a delicate matter indeed, especially in a city where The Order is active! Witches abound!

Her small town is filled with mysteries and Rebekah is sure that she, along with her best friend Mouse, will be able to solve every last one of them. Rebekah and Mouse are on a fun field trip with their classmates when Rebekah, as usual, finds a mystery to solve. Will her detective work pay off or land her in a lot of trouble with Mrs. Konti and the tour operator at the museum?

Oddball couple Jane and Simon take a private detective class and must use their (admittedly limited) skills to solve a series of mysterious disappearances in this delightful debut mystery. Jane Pye and Simon Mash are a millennial couple with a little extra time on their hands. Jane was recently...