Books like Wearing Purple by Quintin Jardine

Escaping the aunt who wants to adopt only one of them, two orphaned brothers run away from Hamburg to Venice, finding shelter with a gang of street children and their leader, the thirteen-year-old "Thief Lord," while also eluding the detective hired to return them to Germany.

You probably haven't ever noticed them. But they've noticed you. They notice everything. That's their job. Sitting quietly in a nondescript car outside a bank making note of the tellers' work habits, the positions of the security guards. Lagging a few car lengths behind the Brinks truck on its daily rounds. Surreptitiously jiggling the handle of an unmarked service door at the racetrack. They're thieves. Heisters, to be precise. They're pros, and Parker is far and away the best of them. If you're planning a job, you want him in. Tough, smart, hardworking, and relentlessly focused on his trade, he is the heister's heister, the robber's robber, the heavy's heavy. You don't want to cross him, and you don't want to get in his way, because he'll stop at nothing to get what he's after. Parker, the ruthless antihero of Richard Stark's eponymous mystery novels, is one of the most unforgettable characters in hardboiled noir. Lauded by critics for his taut realism, unapologetic amorality, and razor-sharp prose-style—and adored by fans who turn each intoxicating page with increasing urgency—Stark is a master of crime writing, his books as influential as any in the genre. The University of Chicago Press has embarked on a project to return the early volumes of this series to print for a new generation of readers to discover—and become addicted to. In The Outfit, Parker goes toe-to-toe with the mob—hitting them with heist after heist after heist—and the entire underworld learns an unforgettable lesson: whatever Parker does, he does deadly."Westlake knows precisely how to grab a reader, draw him or her into the story, and then slowly tighten his grip until escape is impossible."—Washington Post Book World"Elmore Leonard wouldn't write what he does if Stark hadn't been there before. And Quentin Tarantino wouldn't write what he does without Leonard. . . . Old master that he is, Stark does all of them one better."—Los Angeles Times"Donald Westlake's Parker novels are among the small number of books I read over and over. Forget all that crap you've been telling yourself about War and Peace and Proust—these are the books you'll want on that desert island."—Lawrence Block

"Join detective Judy Drewdy to create a way-official detective kit, solve six mini-mysteries, and sharpen real-and-actual sleuth skills. Chock-full of advice for the would-be sleuth and bursting with activities, here is an uber RARE diversion for fans of Judy and for anyone who loves a good mystery. "The Great Class Heist" is just one of the whodunits tackled by Judy Drewdy and agents Dills Pickle (aka Frank), Spuds Houdini (Rocky), and James Madagascar (Stink), who need readers' help in cracking these addition to six solve-it-yourself missions, kids can get in the mood to: Create a detective kit Sketch suspects Test powers of observation Puzzle through ridonkulus logic puzzles Write super-sneaky codes And more!"-- "Chock full of advice for the would-be sleuth and bursting with activities, here is an uber-RARE diversion for fans of Judy and Stink-and anyone who loves a good mystery. "The Great Class 3T Pencil Heist" is just one of the whodunits tackled by Judy Drewdy and fellow agents Dills Pickle (aka Frank), Spuds Houdini (Rocky), and James Madagascar (Stink), who need readers' help in cracking these cases! In addition to six solve-it-yourself missions, kids can get in the mood to: Create a detective kit Sketch suspects Test powers of observation Puzzle through ridonkulus logic puzzles Write super-sneaky codes And more!"--

Logan and Zoe's efforts to identify a saboteur are complicated by the unchecked activities of the kraken and the agenda of Logan's famous tracker mother.

Retold in graphic novel form, Sherlock Holmes investigates what appears to be a murder committed during a burglary. Includes a section explaining Holmes's reasoning and the clues he used to solve the mystery.

Rumpole and the spirit of Christmas / John Mortimer Supper with Miss Shivers / Peter Lovesey [Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle ](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518317W) / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle A matter of life and death / Georges Simenon I saw Mommy killing Santa Claus / George Baxt Dead on Christmas Street / John D. MacDonald The Christmas bear / Herbert Resnicow Mystery for Christmas / Anthony Boucher On Christmas Day in the morning / Margery Allingham Santa Claus beat / Rex Stout Who killed Father Christmas / Patricia Moyes 'Twixt the cup and the lip / Julian Symons Auggie Wren's Christmas story / Paul Auster Murder at Christmas / C.M. Chan Father Crumlish celebrates Christmas / Alice Scanlan Reach The plot against Santa Claus / James Powell Christmas cop / Thomas Larry Adcock But once a year ... thank God! / Joyce Porter Christmas party / Martin Werber Kelso's Christmas / Malcolm McClintick The spy and the Christmas cipher / Edward D. Hoch The carol singers / Josephine Bell.

Atac Briefing for Agents Frank and Joe Hardy Mission: Investigate and determine the power behind a possibly dangerous Utopian community with potential plans for criminal activity within the oil industry. Location: Between the San Bernadino and San Jacinto Mountains, CA. Potential Victims: Undetermined. Could be thousands of innocents who use oil to generate electricity. Suspects: Arthur Stench, leader of the community. Other members could be involved. This mission requires your immediate attention. This message will be erased in five seconds.

Grade Level 7-9

"It's lights, camera, disaster for a film crew unless Frank and Joe can track down a saboteur in this cinematic Hardy Boys adventure--a fresh approach to a classic series. Joe and Frank Hardy are excited to be cast as extras in the zombie movie that's filming in their hometown. Not only is film production way more exciting than what usually goes on in Bayport, it also doesn't hurt that the lead actress is pretty cute. At first it seems like for once Frank and Joe might not have a mystery to solve. But when a stunt goes horribly wrong, the Hardy boys know someone is trying to sabotage the film--and putting lives in jeopardy. Can the brothers find the culprit before it's too late?"-- Cast as extras in a zombie movie being filmed in Bayport, Joe and Frank investigate a terrible stunt accident when they realize that someone is trying to sabotage the production.

LAPD detective Hieronymous (aka Harry) Bosch is a loner and a nighthawk. Called out on a routine drug overdose case, Bosch soon realises that the victim found lying in the Mullholland Dam drainpipe is no accident case. Billy Meadows was a fellow 'tunnel rat' in Vietnam and Harry swears to bring the killer to justice.

In this fourth volume of Timmy Failure s memoirs, Timmy is forced to hit the road in a cross-country trip that includes Timmy s mom, Total the polar bear, Doorman Dave, and smells-like-a-tangerine criminal mastermind Molly Moskins. It s a world gone mad, where good becomes bad, and Timmy Failure is a condemned man.