Story Archives of 'mysteries'

Tonight on the Front Porch, it's the Mystery of the Girl Detective! Nancy Drew helped introduce a whole generation to the exciting, action-packed world of children's literature. We'll learn all about the women behind the 16-year-old sleuth and about Nancy's lasting impact on kid fiction for girls and boys. Our guest is Melanie Rehak, author of Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her.

A woman has vanished from the Balsams Grand Resort, and it's up to the hotel's general manager and his old friend to find out what happened to her. That's the plot of a new mystery novel called A Last Resort by author Mark Okrant. Dr. Okrant's first book, Judson's Island, was both a murder mystery and a textbook for students of tourism planning. He joins Host Shay Zeller to talk about his latest work and how fiction and education can overlap.

The illustrious pipe smoking sleuth along with his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson were one of our first pop-culture heroes. One hundred and fifty years later the "canon" of 60 adventures, first written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle still captures the imaginations of readers from eight to eighty. We uncover the lasting appeal of Sherlock Holmes. Mike's guests are Sally Sugarman, professor of Childhood and Media Studies at Bennington College, "Gasogene" of the Baker Street Breakfast Group, a Sherlock Holmes Society in Vermont and co-editor of ?Sherlock Holmes: Victorian Sleuth to Modern Hero.?. Bob Fritsch, secretary (or teller) of Cox and Company, a Sherlock Holmes Society based in Nashua, New Hampshire

Mystery Week concludes with Jackson resident Lisa Gardner. She started out as a romance novelist and now she's writing thrillers. Her novel The Survivors Club is about the murder of a serial rapist and his former victims, who are now suspected of killing him. It's a story of love, revenge and deception, with plenty of twists and turns along the way. The Survivors Club is now out in paperback and her new book, The Killing Hour is out this month.

Mystery Week continues with Hanover resident Janet Evanovich. She's the creator of a best-selling series featuring Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter from New Jersey. Her novels are an unlikely blend of violent crime and slapstick humor. Her book Hard Eight is now out in paperback and the new book, To the Nines, is out this month.