Legendary detective Sherlock Holmes finds himself on the trail of a murderer whose connections may run all the way up the social ladder to the royal family.

When the department store she works in closes its doors, Carmen has little cash and few options. She moves in with her Sofia, with her perfect house, her perfect children and her perfectly ordered Edinburgh life. Sofia has always been sarcastic and difficult, but with another baby on the way and a client who needs a retail assistant for his ailing bookshop, she asks Carmen to help. Will revamping old Mr. McCredie's ancient bookshop in time to benefit...

Edinburgh philosopher and amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie finds herself tested as a parent, philosopher, sleuth, and friend in the ninth book of her mystery series. When a wealthy art collector seeks her help when a valuable painting is stolen from him, she discovers that the thieves are closer to the owner than he would have expected. At the same time, Isabel must decide what to do with her son when she discovers he's a budding mathematical genius....

Still enduring psychotherapy, the precocious Bertie gets a chance to escape when he joins a junior orchestra trip to Paris--wher he is accidentally left behind. Never fear for Bertie, though. He quickly finds the silver lining by making friends with students at the Sorbonne. Meanwhile, Domenica Macdonald heads to the Malacca Straits, where she intends to study the economic structure of contemporary pirate culture. And in Edinburgh, Pat entertains...