Simulated war games morph into the real thing when a crime wave hits a Greek island in this fast-paced mystery by CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson The West Indies island of Hog's Cay is soon to open for tourism, but the money behind the deal comes from the Mafia, which is ready to turn the island into the next Vegas. And the politicos in charge have given Greek tycoon Thanassi Thanatos the contract. That's where James Pibble comes in. The former Scotland Yard superintendent has come to Thanatos's hideaway on the Ionian island of Hyos to protect the Greek tycoon from the Mob, which doesn't like anyone muscling in on its territory. Rumor has it the crooks are eyeing Hyos for their booming drug-smuggling trade. Throw in British intelligence and a clandestine American operation, and you've got an international free-for-all. The mystery deepens when Pibble uncovers a monastery led by Fathers Polydore and Chrysostom, who may be the richest men on the...

In this bizarre thriller set in an Arab emirate, an English scientist is trying to teach a chimpanzee to communicate. But when the chimp is the sole witness to a murder, giving evidence strains its new skill to the limit.

At the dawn of human history, four children who have been cast out of their home embark on a quest for a new landThey came to An and said, "Our brothers and sisters have each a Kin, but we have none. How is this?" An, knowing no better, said, "You were reared by Ammu and by me. You are of the Kin of People." It was from this that all sorrow came. Suth and Noli were orphaned on the night when the murderous strangers came, speaking an unfamiliar language and bringing violence to the peaceful Moonhawk tribe. Now the Moonhawks are running away into a wasteland with little hope of finding water or food before it's too late. Determined not to die in the desert, Suth and Noli slip away at night with two other orphaned children and only Noli's dreams to guide them. Their search for a new Good Place, one of food and safety, will take them across the valleys and plains of prehistoric Africa and bring them...

"A lovely smooth read."—The Washington Post"A witty, affectionately nostalgic masterpiece."—The Columbus Dispatch"As absorbingly readable, as well-written as anything Peter Dickinson has written."—The Times Literary SupplementPraise for Peter Dickinson's mysteries:"The works of British Mystery Writer Peter Dickinson are like caviar—an acquired taste that can easily lead to addiction. Dickinson . . . does not make much of the process of detection, nor does he specialize in suspense. Instead, he neatly packs his books with such old-fashioned virtues as mood, character, and research."—Time"Dickinson (author of engagingly offbeat thrillers and children's books) does splendidly here with atmosphere, with the eccentric supporting characters, with the occasionally bizarre comic touches."—Kirkus ReviewsIn 1926 the British government was worried about revolution. Two million...

Six new earthbound and airy stories from a two-time winner of both the Carnegie Medal and Whitbread Award.

From School Library JournalGrade 6-9-An intriguing, intricately woven fantasy set in Italy and then Sicily. Because of his magnificent voice, Alfredo is selected to be trained as a choirboy. On his name day, he receives a mysterious gift, a gold charm of a salamander on a chain, from his father's estranged brother. Thus starts this complicated tale that relies on folklore related to salamanders as the spirit of fire and the power of music. After Alfredo is orphaned when his family's bakery burns down, the Prince-Cardinal begins to arrange for the painful and dangerous surgery that will make Alfredo a castrati to ensure that his voice will not change. Claiming that he is Alfredo's only living relative, Uncle Giorgio arrives and prevents the operation from taking place. At first Alfredo believes that his uncle cares about him as he takes him away to Mt. Etna. However, he begins to realize that his uncle is a sorcerer, the Master of the Mountain who can control when it will erupt and spew fire on its environs. Giorgio has Alfredo sing for the salamander, and the beauty of the boy's voice makes the creature cry, and readers learn that its tears have restorative powers. Eventually, Alfredo understands that Uncle Giorgio has sinister intentions for him and begins a plan that leads to the man's ultimate destruction. The story takes many twists and turns, some convenient and some confusing. This latest offering from a master storyteller is not an easy read, but fantasy fans will stick with it, hoping for good's triumph.Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistStarred Review Gr. 6-9. In this sophisticated story, Dickinson takes readers inside a volcanic mountain of fire, where a salamander sheds healing tears and excretes liquid gold. Thirteen-year-old Alfredo is happy with his Tuscan life, singing in the choir and tending to the fires of his father's bakery oven. Then comes tragedy: the family house burns. Alfredo, the only survivor, is whisked away to his ancestral home by his mysterious uncle, who has an ulterior motive. Although simply and elegantly written, Dickinson's story is, nonetheless, complex, as Alfredo moves from a wary gratefulness to discovery of the horrifying truth: his uncle, who controls the volcano, is ready to use his sorcerer's powers to claim Alfredo's strong, young body for his own. Not everything here is easy to understand: the power of the salamanders and the mystical relationship they have with the mountain's fire are sometimes too esoteric to grasp. But Alfredo's relationship with the people who live under the volcano is sharp and strongly written, and the fierce beauty of the mountain and its fire will linger in memory. Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

In the cavernous halls of Buckingham Palace, a series of pranks lead to murder in this mystery by CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson Princess Louise and her father, King Victor II of England, agree that life has become painfully dull. When she's not in school, Louise spends her days roaming the palace and fulfilling her royal duties while her father fusses over budgets and attempts to keep his family out of the tabloids. So when a prankster begins placing frogs on the breakfast trays, Louise delights in the break from routine—as does King Victor. But this innocent mischief soon escalates into bloodshed when a body is found in the palace. In an attempt to quell his family's panic, King Victor resolves to catch the killer. At last he has a purpose—but the palace may be in greater danger than either he or Louise suspects.

From Publishers WeeklyHis first mystery in five years gives ample evidence that Dickinson, an award-winning storyteller whose first novel was published in 1968, can still entrance readers with superbly drawn tales. He knows how to construct an atmospheric English country house mystery as do few other contemporary writers, and he can build a complex plot as skillfully as ever. An old woman, Rachel Matson, is paralyzed and slowly dying, but the mind inside her wasted body is as sharp as ever. She discovers one day that one of a pair of antique dueling pistols, which she had given her late husband, is missing. Her husband had been the colonel of an army regiment that was taken prisoner by the Japanese in WWII and used as slave labor. The men who survived the war have forged strong bonds, and their lives remain intertwined. Before her illness, Rachel had chronicled her life and her marriage in photographs; she was an artist who documented the reality around her. Now she must use her old photographs and her observational skills to discover why the pistol is missing and how its disappearance may connect to a secret that has been hidden for many years. Dickinson has long been known for creating subtle and meticulously detailed portraits of eccentric characters. In this novel, he depicts a family possessing courage, talent and wealth, but whose members are obsessed with an old crime that has haunted their lives. This beautifully crafted and highly original English mystery should bring new fans to an exceptional writer. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalRachel Matson was a talented photographer and the devoted wife of Jocelyn, a World War II prisoner of war. Now a 90-year-old widow dying of an illness that has paralyzed her, Rachel is determined to hang on to her mental powers. When she discovers that Jocelyn's treasured antique pistol is missing, a long-buried secret comes back to torment her. With the help of her loyal nurse, Dilys, Rachel uses her photographs to come to terms with her past, piecing together a series of events that tore her family apart 39 years ago. Veteran British mystery novelist Dickinson (The Yellow Room Conspiracy, Mysterious, 1994) skillfully fleshes out the characters of Rachel and Dilys and spins an absorbing tale. Recommended.-. David Plante, Minot State Univ. Lib., NDCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Scotland Yard detective James Pibble travels to a remote Scottish island to free an old man from a dangerous cult of self-proclaimed saints and saviors in this mystery by CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson Ninety-two-year-old Sir Francis Francis summons James Pibble to an isolated island in the Hebrides to find out who pilfered the memoirs he was in the process of writing. The Nobel Prize–winning scientist was one of the builders of the first atom bomb. Is Francis senile? Paranoid? Was the manuscript really stolen? What's the real reason he sent for Pibble? As Pibble tries to untangle the mystery of the missing document, he starts to suspect that the devout millenarian religious sect inhabiting the island may be less virtuous than it seems; the community is strangely hell-bent on preventing Francis from ever leaving. It's up to Pibble to seek out the truth and find his own salvation before the walls of Jericho come tumbling down forever.