Mystery & Suspense - Exodus Books

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Sometime in the last four or five decades the Powers That Be decided every movie mystery would follow basically the same plot so that viewers wouldn't have to worry about the outcome and would be able to enjoy the movie all the way through. Fortunately for those who prefer to let the future unfold itself, there are still mystery novels.

A mystery is simply something you don't know or can't understand. By the time you understand it, it's not a mystery anymore. Part of the fun of detective stories is not knowing what's going on (at least, not for sure) until the end, when sudden light dawns in the midst of the darkness and you fancy yourself a bit dull for not having picked up on the clues earlier.

Trying to figure the solution before the main characters get there is pretty fun, too, though there's another kind of satisfaction from waiting till Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes or Lord Peter Wimsey reveal the criminal by name, the extent of his or her crimes, and the motivations that led them to kill, steal or lie. Though in the end, most of us probably end up in both categories, trying to figure everything out but still surprised by the truth.

Modern mystery novels tend to focus on criminal evil, fascinated by the depths humans are capable of sinking to. While older ones certainly didn't hesitate to point out man's depravity and capacity for wrongdoing, they were even more concerned with justice and the good guys who overcome the bad guys through superior wit and reason.

These are the ones we like. We don't admire Sherlock Holmes only for his formidable genius, but also for his commitment to employ it for the forces of good. Miss Marple doesn't need to solve crimes, but she does—and we rejoice every time she triumphs over a shady perpetrator. In the real world things might not always wind up so neatly, but it's nice to know in some books they always will.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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7th grade (Ages 12-13),

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	Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Sterling Classics by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Scott McKowen Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co. for 7th-12th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
	Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Richard Lebenson from Reader's Digest for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Books of Wonder by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Barry Moser from HarperCollins for 7th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories Not for the Nervous by Alfred Hitchcock, editor from Random House for 7th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful by Alfred Hitchcock, illustrated by Fred Banbery from Random House for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Alfred Hitchcock's Sinister Spies by Alfred Hitchcock (editor); illustrated by Paul Spina from Random House for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Alfred Hitchcock's Solve-Them-Yourself Mysteries by Alfred Hitchcock, illustrated by Fred Banbery from Random House for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Bold Dragoon and other Ghostly Tales by Washington Irving, illustrated by James Daugherty 1960 printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 6th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Case of the Etruscan Treasure by Robert Newman Second Printing from Atheneum for 4th-8th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett 1^st edition from Scholastic Press for 5th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $10.00 (2 in stock)
	Crispin: The End of Time by Avi from Balzer & Bray for 5th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Dorothy's Double The Story of a Great Deception by G. A. Henty from Robinson Curriculum for 6th-10th grade in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
	Dragon, Hound of Honor by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton 1^st edition from HarperCollins for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner 1^st edition from Barnes & Noble for 4th-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Eyewitness Classics: Hound of the Baskervilles (adapted & annotated) by Arthur Conan Doyle 1^st edition from DK Publishing for 6th-10th grade in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
	From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg 35th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade 1968 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Hound of the Baskervilles Children's Classics by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Sergio Martinez and Sidney Paget from Dilithium Press, Ltd. for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Hound of the Baskervilles Portland House Illustrated Classics by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Sergio Martinez and Sidney Paget from Portland House Mystery & Suspense for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Hound of the Baskervilles Oxford Children's Classics by Arthur Conan Doyle from Oxford University for 7th-Adult in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson First Edition from Dutton Juvenile for 5th-7th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by L'uboslav Pal'o for 7th-12th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Kidnapped Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Lynd Ward from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-10th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Little Lord Fauntleroy Junior Deluxe Editions by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Peter Spier from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Harry Toothill from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Graham Rust from David R. Godine for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle from Reader's Digest for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from Grosset & Dunlap Mystery for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Mysterious Benedict Society Mysterious Benedict Society #1 by Trenton Lee Stewart from Little, Brown & Company for 4th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages Mysterious Benedict Society #4 by Trenton Lee Stewart from Little, Brown & Company for 4th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Mystery at the Doll Hospital by Elizabeth Honness, illustrated by Velma Ilsley from J.B. Lippincott Co. for 4th-7th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $58.00 (1 in stock)
	New Annotated Sherlock Holmes Volume 3 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from W. W. Norton and Co. for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Nightbirds on Nantucket Wolves Chronicles #3 by Joan Aiken from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 5th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Sheila Greenwald from Macmillan for 3rd-7th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone by Rod Serling, adapted by Walter B. Gibson, illustrated by Earl E. Mayan from Grosset & Dunlap for 6th-12th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Sterling Classics by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Scott McKowen from Sterling Publishing Co. for 7th-10th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
	Study in Scarlet & Hound of the Baskervilles Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from Reader's Digest Mystery for 6th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Tales of Mystery and Imagination Calla Editions by Edgar Allan Poe from Dover Publications for 7th-12th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Tales of Mystery and Imagination Portland House Illustrated Classics by Edgar Allan Poe, illustrated by Arthur Rackham from Portland House for 7th-12th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Three Times Lucky Mo and Dale Mysteries #1 by Sheila Turnage Reprint from Scholastic Inc. for 4th-8th grade 2013 Newbery Honor Book in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Trixie Belden #12 by Kathryn Kenny from Whitman Publishing Company for 4th-8th grade in Trixie Belden Mysteries (Location: SER-TRIX)
	Trouble at Timpetill by Henry Winterfeld 1^st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers for 4th-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi from Orchard Books for 3rd-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Wright 3 by Blue Balliett 1^st edition from Scholastic Press for 6th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.00 (2 in stock)
	Wright 3 Balliet Art Mystery Series by Blue Balliett 1^st edition from Scholastic Press for 6th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.99

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