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"The members of the Code Busters Club take a class trip to Angel Island--the Ellis Island of the West--where they discover a mysterious box with a connection to one of the Code Busters."--
The tale begins over three-hundred years ago, when the Fair People—the goblins, fairies, dragons, and other fabled and fantastic creatures of a dozen lands—fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. With them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten-thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full color paintings and verses of The Secret. Yet The Secret is much more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People's treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: the Toll Trolls, Maitre D'eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to them all. Many "armchair treasure hunt" books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues.
An intriguing anthology where reality is transient and the puzzle box holds the key to the meaning of life. Archeology Professor Albert Mallory understands reality. He knows the way the world works. When he steals an ancient puzzle box to pay off gambling debts, he thinks the only mysterious thing about the artifact is how to get it open. But when a stranger appears at Albert’s door demanding to see the box, Albert is plunged into mysteries he never dreamt possible. Through the tales of four others who succeeded in opening the puzzle box — a musician named Warlock with a weakness for witches; photographer Autumn Bailey, with a strange link to the past; video store clerk Angela Matterly with those unworldly eyes; and a comic book illustrator called Sam, on a quest for his life — Albert learns that reality is transient and the way the world works is not found in text books.
Miss Alma, the formidable caretaker of Eckert House, lets Dan open an ancient Chinese puzzle. When it's reassembled, he finds a secret compartment with a clue about another treasure.
In the small Saskatchewan town of Glenmere, sixteen-year-old Amy Young wants nothing more than to save enough money from her summer jobs to try to build a future for herself somewhere else. Anywhere would be better than living with Jeannie, her aunt by marriage, who took her in when her grandmother Dorothy, who had always taken care of her, dies unexpectedly. Anywhere would be better than Glenmere, a sleepy little town where nothing ever happens.... But that has been changing as of late. The gossip mill is churning with talk of an unusual rash of break-ins and theft and a shady character or two hanging around town, and it has everyone on edge. But Amy just wants to keep her head down and keep plugging away at her jobs, even as she hopes that with the reading of her grandmother’s will, she might get some sort of small inheritance that might help her on her way. It’s taking forever though. The search is on for Amy’s uncle John, Dorothy’s only living child and one of the primary inheritors, a known gambler and addict that no one has seen in years. Unfortunately, the estate lawyers aren’t the only people looking for him. An old “friend” of John’s is in town as well, hoping to cash in on his inheritance before his own past catches up to him and takes him out. And that past is closing in fast. With every answer that comes to light leading only to more questions, Amy’s normally boring small-town life is turned on its head, with secrets, murder, and mystery seemingly around every turn, but the only puzzle that matters to her is the one left to her by her beloved grandmother, with the promise of revealing the secret to everything she’s ever wanted.
Still recovering from his encounter with Rick Doheny, Dan feels someone is watching him and worries about odd occurrences at the Eckert House museum as he, Pete, and Shelby work to solve a mystery involving a strange box.
The world’s greatest puzzle master sets out to solve the most dangerous enigma of his life—or die trying—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Puzzle Master, hailed as "thrilling" by David Baldacci It is the Year of the Wood Dragon, and the ingenious Mike Brink has been invited to Tokyo, Japan to open the legendary Dragon Box, a mysterious nineteenth-century puzzle that has remained unsolved for over 150 years. The box was constructed during one of Japan’s most tumultuous periods, when the samurai class was disbanded and the shogun lost power. In this moment of national crisis, Emperor Meiji placed a priceless Imperial secret in the Dragon Box, locked it, and hid it in a temple far from the palace. Only two people knew how to open the box: Meiji and the box’s sadistic constructor, Ogawa. Both died without telling a soul what was inside, or how to open it. Since then, the Imperial family has held a clandestine contest to open the box every twelve years, in the Year of the Dragon. The Dragon Box is devilishly difficult, filled with tricks, booby traps, poisons, and mind-bending twists. Every puzzle master who has attempted to open it has died in the process. But Brink is not any puzzle master. With his uncanny abilities, he may be the only person alive who can crack it. Yet, his determination is echoed by a radical group—headed by two sisters descended from an illustrious but disgraced samurai clan—who have vowed to claim Meiji’s secret. They know that the box’s contents have the power to change the fate of Japan, and the world. When they align with Brink’s archrival, Jameson Sedge, Brink is up against the most dangerous challenge of his life. Mike Brink’s quest to open The Dragon Box launches him on breakneck adventure across Japan, from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to the pristine forests of Hakone to historic Kyoto to an ancient cave in Kyushu. In the process, he discovers the power of Meiji’s hidden treasure, and-- more crucially-- the true nature of his extraordinary talent.
In the small Saskatchewan town of Glenmere, sixteen-year-old Amy Young wants nothing more than to save enough money from her summer jobs to try to build a future for herself somewhere else. Anywhere would be better than living with Jeannie, her aunt by marriage, who took her in when her grandmother Dorothy, who had always taken care of her, dies unexpectedly. Anywhere would be better than Glenmere, a sleepy little town where nothing ever happens.... But that has been changing as of late. The gossip mill is churning with talk of an unusual rash of break-ins and theft and a shady character or two hanging around town, and it has everyone on edge. But Amy just wants to keep her head down and keep plugging away at her jobs, even as she hopes that with the reading of her grandmother’s will, she might get some sort of small inheritance that might help her on her way. It’s taking forever though. The search is on for Amy’s uncle John, Dorothy’s only living child and one of the primary inheritors, a known gambler and addict that no one has seen in years. Unfortunately, the estate lawyers aren’t the only people looking for him. An old “friend” of John’s is in town as well, hoping to cash in on his inheritance before his own past catches up to him and takes him out. And that past is closing in fast. With every answer that comes to light leading only to more questions, Amy’s normally boring small-town life is turned on its head, with secrets, murder, and mystery seemingly around every turn, but the only puzzle that matters to her is the one left to her by her beloved grandmother, with the promise of revealing the secret to everything she’s ever wanted.
Miracle of the Northern Lıghts By: Philip H Duda Jim knows his son Mark is sick and dying, and it is clear the doctors can do nothing to help him. When Jim hears a story of a hidden valley, way up north, where people say a miracle happened long ago, he wonders if this place could bring Mark a miracle too. But what draws Jim and many others to the valley is much more than a legend. An unknown force has brought them there for a reason. This inspiring story is about three sick children in need of a miracle, and the lengths to which loved ones will go to help them. It is a reminder that hope, faith, and prayer have power no matter who you are, from the poorest to the richest.
Why would anyone want to leave the city for a tiny rural town? 13 year old Julie can barely believe her misfortune. Gone will be the benefits of modern 1973 America and in exchange they will be forced to live in a one room, dirt-floored shack with no electricity, no running water, and an outhouse. Julie is certain that this is what she faces. Never mind that her mother laughs while telling Julie that her doom and gloom mental images just aren't so. Julie knows that her life is over. What will Julie and her annoyingly optimistic sister Jessie find when they arrive in Haculanee? Will there be adventures to experience and mysteries to solve, or will Julie's worst fears be proven right?
