The Strange Message in the Parchment by Carolyn Keene, 180 pages

A sheep farmer receives a mysterious telephone call shortly after he buys a series of pictures painted on parchment. "Decipher the message in the parchment and right a great wrong," the voice says. Puzzled, the owner asks Nancy to help.

With Junie, his daughter, Nancy tracks down a kidnapper and a group of extortionists. Clues weave in and out of several puzzles, two of which are linked with Italy. Is there a connection between the message in the parchment and a boy artist on another farm? And who is responsible for the atmosphere of fear in the neighborhood?

After several harrowing experiences, Nancy begins to tighten the net around a ruthless villain and calls on the assistance of her friends Ned, Burt, Dave, Bess and George to bring his nefarious schemes to a dead end.

B & V Friends Comics Annual Digest #253, 256 pages

 STORYBOOK MONTH gains momentum! In "The Princesses and the Pea-brain," the girls are put to the test to see who will be a suitable wife for Prince Archie. But when their mattresses are out to the pea test, it’s anybody's guess who will be lucky (or unlucky) enough to win over the prince!

Betty and Veronica Digest #177, 96 pages

 Bright and brassy, bold and beautiful, blonde and brunette - teen dream queens Betty and Veronica romp through this collection of new stories and classic tales that includes puzzles, games, and pin-ups!

B & V Friends Fall Annual Digest, 196 pages

 IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL for our DOUBLE DIGESTS! In the BRAND NEW story "Don't TEST My Patience," Veronica gets the highest score on the student aptitude test -- but has there been some tampering with the results?

Playing With Fire by Dana Stabenow, 253 pages

 KATE SHUGAK is a native Aleut working as a private investigator in Alaska. She's 5 foot 1 inch tall, carries a scar that runs from ear to ear across her throat and owns half-wolf, half-husky dog named Mutt. Resourceful, strong-willed, defiant, Kate is tougher than your average heroine – and she needs to be to survive the worst the Alaskan wilds can throw at her.

PLAY WITH FIRE.
A ten-year-old boy 'hires' Kate to find his missing father and when Kate stumbles across a body in the woods she fears she may have found him. Finding out what happened will lead Kate to a right-wing religious sect, a conspiracy of silence and a smouldering evil.

Barbarian's Mate by Ruby Dixon, 250 pages

 'Resonance' is supposed to be a dream - that's when your soulmate is chosen for you. And everyone on the ice planet has hooked up with a big, hunky soulmate of their own... except me. So do I want a mate? Heck yeah. More than anything, all I've ever wanted is to be loved by someone.

Except that the soulmate chosen for me? My least favorite person on the darn ice planet. Haeden's the most cranky, disapproving, unpleasant, overbearing male alien... so why is it that my body sings when he gets close? Why is he working so hard to prove to me that he's not as awful as I think he is?

I hate him... don't I?

Funny Fairy Tales: All 16 Fairy Tales by Reut Barak, 209 pages

 Once upon a time, Cinderella was allergic to dust, Red Riding Hood experimented a little too much, and Snow White discovered that dwarfs aren’t always what they seem.

Unexpected twists, awkward romances, and magical mishaps unfold in these short stories, where familiar fairy tales take a sharp left turn.

A little absurd, a little charming, and full of surprises for readers who like their classics reimagined.

The stories:

Thumbelina

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Rapunzel

Red Riding Hood

Aladdin

Frog Prince

Cinderella

Hansel & Gretel

Alice in Wonderland

Beauty and the Beast

Sleeping Beauty

Rumpelstiltskin

Goldilocks

Jack and the Beanstalk

The Princess and the Pea

The Little Mermaid