Ellery Queen Jr.

When there's a bank robbery in the country village where Djuna lives, and one of his dog's best friends gets shot in the escape, the boy makes up his mind he'll find out who did it. His chum and his dog, Champ, are in on the hunt, and two heads and a keen nose are better than one. The boys remember something queer they noticed about a truck with a covered load that passed them on the road when they were going fishing.

Djuna and his dog, Champ, go to Stony Harbor to spend what he thinks will be a quiet and uneventful holiday in a seaside village. But little does Djuna know what is in store! First he meets Billy Reckless and his dog, Alberto. Then there's the mystery that enshrouds Djuna's aunt, Patty. Things begin to happen! Djuna has a grand time with his newfound friend, lobstering, sailing, and exploring, until Aunt Patty's motorboat, the Patagonia, mysteriously disappears.

Djuna and Ben weren't sure they believed in ghosts. The little girl who opened the door of the haunted house didn't look like a ghost, yet she vanished into thin air. They had to find out what happened to her. And they had to rescue Waterbury, the time-telling turtle who walked into the deserted house - and didn't walk out. Djuna found clues, and he added them all up to solve a case the secret service couldn't crack!

This is the wonderful adventure story of Djuna, a young boy who uses his eyes, his head, and his little Scottie dog, Champ, who uses his nose to sniff out clues. There is also Mr. Scissors, the traveling knife grinder, who is driving though the country in a wonderful caravan with his young granddaughter, Joan. There are also two wicked men who are cruel to Mr. Scissors; a reporter named Socker Furlong; and Miss Annie Ellery, who plays a surprising part at the end.

Free passes to the circus seemed pretty exiting to Djuna and his friend, Tommy Williams, and things promised to be even more exiting when they met their old friends, Socker and Cannonball, at the entrance gate, but they were only the start of a hair-raising experience. The boys soon learned that the newspaper reporter and the state trooper were trying to uncover a pack of tricksters who were cheating the circus audiences.

Mysteries have a way of finding Djuna, and this time a missing page from an old ship's log and the dead captain's haunted house start the ball rolling. Djuna has learned that Captain Beekman brought a treasure from his whaling trips. Who can have an interest in letting the boy get lost? Was Djuna close to the answer of the mystery?

What is the connection of "Fowl Relief" and an English golf-playing king? Does the nickname of Jimmy Douglas' great-great-grandfather have any significance? Tie these answers with the other clues and the mystery of the purple bird is solved, but not until Djuna, the brilliant young sleuth, and his pal Jimmy go through an ordeal that almost takes their lives. The boys tangle with an antique dealer and a tiger-skin diary - just to name a few of the events - in their struggle to solve the mystery.

Gulliver Queen, nephew of the famous detective, Ellery Queen, doesn't want to be a detective. But when Gully and his new friend, Fisty Jones, investigate the strange underwater noises in the Hudson River, they suddenly find themselves deep in a mystery that Gully can't resist tackling. The menacing tattooed man, the weird one-eyed figure in the abandoned building, the strange but merry Magnus Merlin, magician extraordinaire - all add up to an exciting tale of danger and suspense on and under New York's waterfront.

"Katal!" The black bird repeated the two syllables again and again. "Katal! Katal!" As Gulliver Queen seeks out the meaning of the strange word, he is drawn into the world of international diplomacy - and dangerous espionage! As he follows the trail of clues, Gully acquires two friends from India who aid him in the search for a missing embassy guard.