How can a man drown in a hot air balloon? Can a boxcar disappear off a moving train, and is it possible for flying horses on a merry-go-round to fly away? These are just some of the impossible crimes Detective Heinz Noonan, the Bearded Holmes, is called upon to solve. Every story has all the clues necessary to see if you can solve the impossible crime as fast as the detective! (And if you can't, you'll have to read to the end of the story!) Want more! Then there's the mystery of why anyone would steal water from a water truck night after night. And why would someone steal 40 pairs of shoes from a thrift store? How could 16 bars of gold vanish from a vault, and how is a vegetarian anaconda part of a robbery scheme? Here are 15 short stories of impossible crimes to give you the chance to prove you are brighter than the detective!

Until the nineteenth century all time was local time. On foot or on horseback, it was impossible to travel fast enough to care that noon was a few minutes earlier or later from one town to the next. The invention of railways and telegraphs, however, created a newly interconnected world where suddenly the time differences between cities mattered. The Clocks Are Telling Lies is an exploration of why we tell time the way we do, demonstrating that organizing a new global time system was no simple task. Standard time, envisioned by railway engineers such as Sandford Fleming, clashed with universal time, promoted by astronomers. When both sides met in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, to debate the best way to organize time, disagreement abounded. If scientific and engineering experts could not agree, how would the public? Following some of the key players in the debate, Scott Johnston reveals how people dealt with the contradictions in global timekeeping in surprising ways – from zealots like Charles Piazzi Smyth, who campaigned for the Great Pyramid to serve as the prime meridian, to Maria Belville, who sold the time door to door in Victorian London, to Moraviantown and other Indigenous communities that used timekeeping to fight for autonomy. Drawing from a wide range of primary sources, The Clocks Are Telling Lies offers a thought-provoking narrative that centres people and politics, rather than technology, in the vibrant story of global time telling.

One of the most prolific crime writers of the last century, Evan Hunter published more than 120 novels from 1952 to 2005 under a variety of pseudonymns. He also wrote several teleplays and screenplays, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, and the 1954 novel The Blackboard Jungle. When the Mystery Writers of America named Hunter a Grand Master, he gave the designation to his alter ego, Ed McBain, best known for his long-running police procedural series about the detectives of the 87th Precinct. This comprehensive companion provides detailed information about all of Evan Hunter's/Ed McBain's works, characters, and recurring themes. From police detective and crime stories to dramatic novels and films, this reference celebrates the vast body of literature of this versatile writer.

For more than 80 years, bush pilots have carried supplies, delivered mail, and transported emergency personnel over Alaska's rugged terrain. They've flown with felons handcuffed to the seat, with corpses strapped to the wing, and with drugged polar bears sleeping in the cargo compartment. Ever since aviation came to Alaska planes have been far more important than cars or truck to the residents of the far-flung bush communities. In Cowboys of the Sky: The Story of Alaska's Bush Pilots, humorist and historian Steven C. Levi takes you on a wild ride through the heyday of aviation in Alaska, from the golden years, before federal regulations curbed the more dangerous and outlandish flying practices, all the way to the present. Through photographs and anecdotes, you'll meet brave and colorful pilots, the true cowboys of the sky who carved the face of America's Last Frontier.

At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Magazine presents original short stories by the world's best-known and emerging mystery writers. The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty. Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery. ★ In this issue ★ In our cover feature, "Cajun State" by O'Neil De Noux, there is not much crime at Cajun State University ... until someone steals the big Christmas tree from campus. Retired New Orleans police detective Hunter Bourget, now a university cop has to find that tree (and who stole it). "Fruit On The Bottom" by Maura Yzmore: A woman doubts her reality as certain foods, which help with her chronic condition, keep vanishing from the fridge. "Fair Is Fair" by Brandon Barrows: Jason Brockman has money troubles and no time to solve them. When he stumbles across the perfect extortion opportunity, what else is he supposed to do but take it? Of course, it's never that simple and there's always a problem you can't foresee ... In "The Christmas Caper" by Sharon Hart Addy even a Grinch's best laid plans get tripped up. In "Just Another Small Town Death" by Joseph Goodrich, a policeman in a small Minnesota town investigates the death of a woman he'd known-and loved-when he was a child. In "A Hungarian Christmas" by Vicki Weisfeld, Veronika convinces her young fiancé, Bert, that every Hungarian girl must have a present on Hungarian Christmas. "Another Body" by Steve Beresford: Casey Baxter seems to have a knack for finding dead bodies, and when she finds another-lying stabbed in the automated warehouse where she works-it's the start of a very peculiar day ... "Santa Walks Into A Bar" by Frank Oreto: Wearing the Santa suit to Drake's Bar and Grill had been a joke. But after that night Officer Paul Drazdzinski wouldn't laugh for years. "The X In Xmas" by Robert Jeschonek: To solve the murder of a Mafia boss at Christmastime, Detective Charlie Collins joins forces with a female detective who has plenty of mob connections. The twisted holiday traditions of local wise guys lead them down a dark road decorated with death. Try solving "Not Even The Mouse," A You-Solve-It By Eric B Ruark.