The tracer's goals are to identify the source of a quotation, to find or to produce detailed citation based on a reliable edition of the work, to find an authoritative text of the passage being traced, and to do all this in the shortest time possible and with the least possible amount of effort.

Our language is full of hundreds of quotations that are often cited but seldom confirmed. Ralph Keyes's The Quote Verifier considers not only classic misquotes such as "Nice guys finish last," and "Play it again, Sam," but more surprising ones such as "Ain't I a woman?" and "Golf is a good walk spoiled," as well as the origins of popular sayings such as "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings," "No one washes a rented car," and "Make my day." Keyes's in-depth research routinely confounds widespread assumptions about who said what, where, and when. Organized in easy-to-access dictionary form, The Quote Verifier also contains special sections highlighting commonly misquoted people and genres, such as Yogi Berra and Oscar Wilde, famous last words, and misremembered movie lines. An invaluable resource for not just those with a professional need to quote accurately, but anyone at all who is interested in the roots of words and phrases, The Quote Verifier is not only a fascinating piece of literary sleuthing, but also a great read.

A history of Spanish detective fiction from Alarcon's "El clavo," published twelve years after Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," up to the present. The presentation of the highly entertaining sleuth characters is based on a detailed examination of the works and, in many cases, personal interviews with the writers.

The author of Feather Crowns examines the girl detective in her various guises--including Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden--in a work first published in 1975 recalling a rural youth spent longing for mysteries. Reprint. UP.

From the author of "Celestial Sleuth" (2014), yet more mysteries in art, history, and literature are solved by calculating phases of the Moon, determining the positions of the planets and stars, and identifying celestial objects in paintings. In addition to helping to crack difficult cases, these studies spark our imagination and provide a better understanding of the skies. Weather archives, vintage maps, tides, historical letters and diaries, military records and the assistance of experts in related fields help with this work. For each historical event influenced by astronomy, there is a different kind of mystery to be solved. How did the changing tides affect an army's battle plans? How did the phases of the moon affect how an artist painted a landscape? Follow these exciting investigations with a master “celestial sleuth” as he tracks down the truth and helps unravel mysteries as far back as the Middle Ages and as recent as the iconic 1945 photograph of a kiss in Times Square on VJ Day. Topics or "cases" pursued were chosen for their wide public recognition and intrigue and involve artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet; historical events such as the campaigns of Braveheart in Scotland and battles in World War II and the Korean War; and literary authors such as Chaucer, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Byron, and Edgar Allan Poe.

Enjoy this humorous and edgy cozy mystery with a fashionable amateur sleuth and a mystery connected to the past by national bestselling author Diane Vallere. She wanted to visit an old friend. The “friend” is in jail for murder. Can Samantha find new evidence to clear a convicted killer? Fashionista Samantha Kidd’s new role as style columnist for the local paper encourages her to attend events and discover new trends. But when an out-of-the-blue invitation to visit an acquaintance arrives, standing out is the last thing she wants. The acquaintance is the heiress to a pretzel fortune—or she would be if she were free. Instead, she’s quietly serving a double life sentence after being convicted of killing her media mogul husband. When new evidence surfaces, the heiress is ready to break her silence. But while the press lines up to get the scoop (and the ratings!), Samantha can’t help wondering who the victim is in this scenario. And after hearing the heiress’s story firsthand, Sam suspects the wrong person was locked up. If she’s right, a killer's on the loose and will stop at nothing to silence Samantha too. Can Samantha infiltrate the high life to expose a down and dirty crime? Find out in this humorous, edgy cozy mystery in the fashionable amateur sleuth series by national bestselling author Diane Vallere! Tough Luxe is the eleventh fashionable amateur detective mystery in the humorous Killer Fashion series, although each book can be read as a standalone. For fans of Diana Orgain, Arlene McFarlane, and Tracy Andrighetti, this book has manipulative characters, secrets from the past, and Orange-Is-the-New-Black drama. If you like hilarious mysteries, then you’ll love Diane Vallere’s high-stakes cozy. Get caught up in this mystery with a twist today! National bestselling author Diane Vallere writes funny and fashionable character-based mysteries. After two decades working for a top luxury retailer, she traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. A past president of Sisters in Crime, Diane started her own detective agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since. Diane-Fans describe “her vintage Vallere goodness,” and say she is a “great storyteller” with “a way with creating strong female characters and intrigue” who is “a superb and very humorous writer.” Her gift of creating “spunky sleuths in fun settings” take readers to Dallas, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, and outer space.

Presents a mystery and adventure story set in south west Scotland at the time of Robert Burns. This title features sketch maps - including one of Dumfries in 1793. With black and white photographs of places which are important to the story, it also includes a section consisting of detailed notes about people and events which come into the story.

Originally published: Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2000.

When the pirate treasure is valuable enough for murder, it’s up to our R.E.D. heroine and her family to grab their swords and discover who wants it most! An old business associate of Aidan’s invites him, Daisy and Celia on the inaugural two day pirate-dress cruise of a replica of the ‘Black Pearl’ he’s built, Captain Jack Sparrow’s ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Daisy, of course, is a little curious (or suspicious) of the Russian billionaire’s motives for inviting them, and it’s only a few hours after they’ve set off from Great Yarmouth when they discover her gut feeling is all too right. Of course. Aidan is entrusted with an important role he really doesn’t want, but can’t refuse. It becomes clear why he’s been asked when things start to get scarily complicated, and he and Daisy begin to wonder just who their enemies really are. And if life on the high seas wasn’t dangerous enough, there’s a curse to deal with too! ‘Pirates of Great Yarmouth: Curse of the Crimson Heart’ is a modern-day swashbuckling adventure, where the seemingly-innocent turns out to be anything but. Of course! Read all about the hit Daisy series, and everything else we create, on the new rtgreen website. Enjoy!

Launching a new series, a cast of lovable rogues face fiendish puzzles and murderous villains in this love letter to Agatha Christie murder mysteries and classic whodunnits. Introducing a new series from the creator of the beloved, bestselling Vinyl Detective novels. Cordelia knows books. An addict-turned-dealer of classic paperbacks, when she's not spending her days combing the charity shops and jumble sales of suburban London for valuable collector's items, she's pining for the woman of her dreams and nimbly avoiding her landlord's demands for rent. The most elusive prize of all, her white whale, has surfaced — a set of magnificent, vintage Sleuth Hound crime novels. Gorgeous, and as rare as they come. Just one problem. They're not for sale. Still, that won't stop a resourceful woman like Cordelia... One burglary later, the books are hers. Unfortunately, the man she's just robbed turns out be one of London's most dangerous gangsters, and now he's on her trail and out for blood. Cordelia's best laid plans to pay the rent and woo the object of her affections start to fall apart, and she realises she may have placed herself in the crosshairs of a villain torn straight from the pages of her treasured novels.