Follow the spooky skeleton through a houseful of scary pop-up and pull-the-tab surprises, including a pull-out Mister Bones of your very own to assemble

This is a collection of short stories for people who like a good yarn a story they can finish in one go, without having to mark the page and come back to a few days later, only to realise that they have forgotten the plot and have to start all over again. You can tuck a short story collection into your bag, to read on the train or the bus. You can read it in your coffee break, you can read it in bed and know that you can finish before going to sleep. These stories are about ordinary people doing ordinary things but often finding themselves in extraordinary situations.

Adventure abounds when a toy comes to life in this classic novel! It's Omri's birthday, but all he gets from his best friend, Patrick, is a little plastic warrior figure. Trying to hide his disappointment, Omri puts his present in a metal cupboard and locks the door with a mysterious skeleton key that once belonged to his great-grandmother. Little does Omri know that by turning the key, he will transform his ordinary plastic toy into a real live man from an altogether different time and place! Omri and the tiny warrior called Little Bear could hardly be more different, yet soon the two forge a very special friendship. Will Omri be able to keep Little Bear without anyone finding out and taking his new friend away?

Ever since the death of his father, poor Fellworth Dolphin has slaved away as a waiter to support his miserly, cold-hearted mother. When his mother suddenly dies, Fellworth is shocked to discover that she has left him a sizable inheritance. Confused, Fell teams up with Maggie, a plain girl with a similar background, to investigate the source of the riches. But what they find is a closet full of skeletons... Is it really possible Fell's father was involved in a long-ago train robbery? Who's the mysterious woman in the portrait hidden in his mother's wardrobe? As Maggie and Fell poke around the village for answers, they find themselves on a surprise-filled path to danger and adventure, and--just possibly--love. But Fell's sudden good fortune could come to an abrupt end if he doesn't stay one step ahead of a cunning killer... from beloved novelist M.C. Beaton comes this thrilling stand-alone mystery, The Skeleton in the Closet.

A delicious, malicious comedy of marriage, motherhood, and scandal.

Readers who love Percy Jackson, the Unwanteds, and Beyonders will discover that 100 cupboards mean 100 opportunities for adventure! The bestselling and highly acclaimed 100 Cupboards series starts here. What dangers are locked behind the cupboard doors? Henry isn’t brave, but when he hears a thumping and scratching on the other side of his bedroom wall, he can’t ignore it. He scrapes off the plaster and discovers mysterious doors—cupboards of all different shapes and sizes. Through one he sees a glowing room and a man strolling back and forth. Through another he sees only darkness and feels the cold sense that something isn’t right. When his cousin Henrietta boldly travels into the worlds beyond the cupboards, it’s up to Henry to follow her. Now that he’s opened the doors, can he keep the evil inside from coming through? “A must-read series.” —The Washington Post

From inside her Toorak mansion, Margaret, matriarch, widow of Edmund Rice O'Day of O'Day Funerals, secretly surveys her family in the garden. Everyone, including Margaret herself, is oblivious to the secrets that threaten to be uncovered by a visiting American relative who is determined to excavate the O'Day's family history. How far will Margaret go in order to bury the truth? Family Skeleton examines the dark heart of a family that has for generations been engaged in dark business. You can't dig a grave without disturbing the smooth surface of the ground. Deftly woven with elegant wit and with compassion, this dark comedy is about what you might unearth if you dig deep enough. *** "Carmel Bird is a literary artist to her fingertips...She writes prose that has the precision of poetry and that uncanny quality poetry has of making the inner life speak." -- Peter Craven *** Carmel Bird is an established Australian author of over 20 books. She has been three-times shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. [Subject: Fiction]