Murder on Wheels by Stuart Palmer, 159 pages

 Thick flakes of snow are falling on Fifth Avenue at twilight—and then the body of a young man suddenly falls among them, mysteriously out of the sky.

Momentarily the wheels of traffic are halted, but other wheels spin relentlessly on—the wheels of death, the wheels on which bloody murder moves silently through Manhattan’s streets.

Once again Miss Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher-detective, matches her wits against an unknown X, armed only with the precious gift of common sense and a cotton umbrella. One youth is dead, and his twin brother moves under a cloud. Then death rolls past again, like a swifter Juggernaut, while Miss Withers faces the problem of the Driverless Roadster, the Man Who Wore Two Neckties, and the Symptoms of Bathtub Hands.

Murder on Wheels is a fast moving mystery, packed with thrills for the fan who likes to play detective.

Fen Country Christmas by Edward Storey, 159 pages

 Fen Country Christmas is a collection of original stories, essays and poems by one of East Anglia's most popular writers. All the stories are based on legends or customs associated with some aspect of fenland life, past and present- skating, farming, superstitions, deserted villages, haunted houses, schools' nativity plays and Christmas at an early Benedictine monastery. Fact is mixed with fiction to present a colourful spectrum of local history against a universal celebration of the season itself. 

The Chicken That Won a Dogfight by Ben Burton, 159 pages

 The humor and the hope of an Arkansas boyhood, this book contains twenty, mostly-humorous stories of growing up in the depression-day deep south when FDR was "the savior" and battery powered radio was the only contact with the outside world. The one serious piece is the celebrated, award-winning story, The Martyrdom of Andy which has since been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary, 159 pages

 Nine-year-old Beezus Quimby has her hands full with her little sister, Ramona. Sure, other people have little sisters that bother them sometimes, but is there anyone in the world like Ramona? Whether she's taking one bite out of every apple in a box or secretly inviting 15 other 4-year-olds to the house for a party, Ramona is always making trouble--and getting all the attention. Every big sister can relate to the trials and tribulations Beezus must endure. Old enough to be expected to take responsibility for her little sister, yet young enough to be mortified by every embarrassing plight the precocious preschooler gets them into, Beezus is constantly struggling with her mixed-up feelings about the exasperating Ramona.

A Breath of French Air by H. E. Bates, 159 pages

 Ma hankers for France, heat. So all ten Larkins flee cold wet England in August. Son-in-law Charley teaches bon mots for his childhood sunny seaside, bursts beachballs sent at his topless tanning Marriette. Air is stormy, tea weak, food tough, burnt. Ma's bulk bursts chair. Host Mlle Dupont eyes Pa's bachelor passport and "milord's" monogrammed Rolls.

Peculiar Questions and Practical Answers: A Little Book of Whimsy and Wisdom from the Files of the New York Public Library,159 pages

Have you've ever wondered if you can keep an octopus in a private home? Do you spend your time thinking about how much Napoleon's brain weighed? If so, Peculiar Questions and Practical Answers is the book for you. The New York Public Library has been fielding questions like these ever since it was founded in 1895. Of course, some of the questions have left the librarians scratching their heads...

"In what occupations may one be barefooted?"
"What time does a bluebird sing?"
"What does it mean when you're being chased by an elephant?"
"What kind of apple did Eve eat?"
"How many neurotic people are there in the U.S.?"

In Peculiar Questions and Practical Answers, the staff of the NYPL has dug through the archives to find thoughtful and often witty answers to over one hundred of the oddest, funniest, and most whimsical questions the library has received since it began record-keeping over seventy-five years ago. One of The New Yorker's best-known and beloved illustrators, Barry Blitt, has created watercolors that bring many of the questions hilariously to life in a book that answers, among others, the question "Does anyone have a copyright on the Bible?"

Diana: Princess of the Amazons by Shannon & Dean Hale, 159 pages

Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she's beginning to feel more and more isolated. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. THE only child child on the island, in fact.

After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can't seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She's not Wonder Woman ... yet. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she may just make a monster instead of a friend.Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she's beginning to feel more and more isolated. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. THE only child child on the island, in fact.

After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can't seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She's not Wonder Woman ... yet. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she may just make a monster instead of a friend.Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she's beginning to feel more and more isolated. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. THE only child child on the island, in fact.

After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can't seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She's not Wonder Woman ... yet. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she may just make a monster instead of a friend.Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she's beginning to feel more and more isolated. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. THE only child child on the island, in fact.

After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can't seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She's not Wonder Woman ... yet. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she may just make a monster instead of a friend. Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she's beginning to feel more and more isolated. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. THE only child child on the island, in fact.

After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can't seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She's not Wonder Woman ... yet. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she may just make a monster instead of a friend.Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she's beginning to feel more and more isolated. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. THE only child child on the island, in fact.

After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can't seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She's not Wonder Woman ... yet. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she may just make a monster instead of a friend.

Dying for Dinner Rolls by Lois Lavrisa, 159 pages

She's been held at gunpoint, stuck in a burning dumpster, chased out of a grocery store, caught impersonating a police officer and almost run over by a wayward vehicle. How is that for a first day on the job as an amateur sleuth? Along with her friend Annie Mae, Cat investigates the brick-paved, oak-lined streets of Savannah to find their friend's murderer. To say the very least, it is not smooth sailing for these self appointed detectives. Will they catch the killer before the killer gets them? Or will their first case be their last?
I'd seen this series mentioned in a mystery cookbook and thought I would give it a try. Was not my favorite, I don't think I'll pick up the others in the series.

The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 159 pages

One of my book clubs read the original Tarzan this month and I had to read the following books to find out what happened. These were really outstanding. Lots of action, kept me engaged, and I really enjoyed it.