The tracer's goals are to identify the source of a quotation, to find or to produce detailed citation based on a reliable edition of the work, to find an authoritative text of the passage being traced, and to do all this in the shortest time possible and with the least possible amount of effort.

Originally published: Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2000.

Our language is full of hundreds of quotations that are often cited but seldom confirmed. Ralph Keyes's The Quote Verifier considers not only classic misquotes such as "Nice guys finish last," and "Play it again, Sam," but more surprising ones such as "Ain't I a woman?" and "Golf is a good walk spoiled," as well as the origins of popular sayings such as "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings," "No one washes a rented car," and "Make my day." Keyes's in-depth research routinely confounds widespread assumptions about who said what, where, and when. Organized in easy-to-access dictionary form, The Quote Verifier also contains special sections highlighting commonly misquoted people and genres, such as Yogi Berra and Oscar Wilde, famous last words, and misremembered movie lines. An invaluable resource for not just those with a professional need to quote accurately, but anyone at all who is interested in the roots of words and phrases, The Quote Verifier is not only a fascinating piece of literary sleuthing, but also a great read.

On an island crawling with crime, everyone's a suspect. Luckily, its resident sloth can solve crimes in her sleep (and often does!). Meet Paz, the world's first sloth sleuth. She may be slow . . . but she's always one step ahead of the bad guys. This hilarious graphic novel mystery is perfect for fans of The Bad Guys and Investigators. Pssst . . . hey, you! Welcome to Winklefuss. Don't get too comfortable—this tropical paradise is crawling with criminals. Luckily, Paz, the world's smartest sloth detective, lives here, too! She can solve the toughest crimes in her sleep (and often does). A mysterious illness is striking the customers of Cookie’s Diner. Could it be something they ate? (Spoiler alert: It is.) As she investigates, Paz fills her fanny pack with clues. But who's the culprit? Is it Mayor McSqueak, who was caught breaking into the diner? Is it Lacie Flamingo, fired after messing up orders? Is it Louie the Shark, who works for the toughest crime boss this side of the Bermuda Triangle (a fish in a bag)? Well, kid, you’ll just have to read the book to find out!

Unfortunately for aspiring investigator Sesame Seade, becoming a supersleuth isn't easy when you're an eleven-year-old kid and there are no cases in sight. But then, just when she least expects it, a truly strange mystery presents itself in Sesame's quiet hometown of Cambridge, England: university student Jenna Jenkins vanishes without a trace. Aided by her two best friends, a strange duck, and of course her trusty roller skates, the sassy and brilliant Sesame has a good chance of cracking the case . . . as long as she can avoid her meddling mum and dad; her unpleasant teacher Mr. Halitosis; and, scariest of all, the perpetrators of a very serious crime!

A novel featuring the first black detective in American fiction, boldly attacking white prejudice and racial injustice in the U.S. and abroad.