Books published by publisher Phoenix Books

The delightful New York Times best-selling mystery series continues with "another winner" (Austin American-Statesman)! In this latest installment, prize-winning reporter Jim Qwilleran - along with his lovable Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum - solves a mystery that arises when a local banker dies under suspicious circumstances, leaving behind a flashy young widow, an unfinished house-restoration project, and a trail of clues as elusive as a cat burglar in the night....

Natalie is eight years old and has only her new kitten, Popsicle, to call a friend, or so she thinks. Forced by her father to meet the new girl across the street, Natalie discovers a whole new language: Spanish. Through her newfound friend, Maria, Natalie learns how to say hello and goodbye, how to count to 10, the colors, foods, animals, and myriad other words and phrases in Spanish. Performed by multi-Grammy Award winning singer Linda Ronstadt. Ronstadt, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities by US President Barack Obama in 2014, where Obama honored her "one-of-a-kind voice" that paved the way for generations of women artists.

Elliott Gould, Burt Reynolds, Meryl Streep, and a host of other celebrities read over 100 poems by four of America's greatest poets. Walt Whitman celebrates the brash and rugged individualism of his country in exuberant language. The spare, precise language of Emily Dickinson conveys her penetrating vision of the natural world and an acute understanding of the most profound human truths. Robert Frost draws his inspiration from everyday incidents, common situations, and rural imagery. Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandburg's poetry embodies a love of and compassion for the common man that earned him the nickname "poet of the people".

Russell Means was the most controversial Native American leader of the 20th century. Where White Men Fear to Tread is the well-detailed, firsthand story of Russell Means' life - a life in which he did everything possible to dramatize and justify the Native American aim of self-determination. He stormed Mount Rushmore, seized Plymouth Rock, ran for president in 1988, and, most notoriously, led a 71-day takeover of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973. This visionary autobiography by one of America's most magnetic personalities will fascinate, educate, and inspire. It has been said that knowledge of Means' story is essential for any clear understanding of American Indians during the last half of the 20th century.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." In this staple of classic literature, Charles Dickens tells the tale of fueding classes set at the inception and escalation of the French Revolution. Amidst the upheaval, righteous former aristocrat Charles Darnay becomes wrongly tangled in unfortunate events, endangering his freedom and family. Sidney Carton, a cynical lawyer who squandered his life away, seeks to redress his unhappiness through Darnay's beautiful wife, Lucie. This seminal story of love, chaos, and redemption is expertly read by Jon Smith, who infuses excitement using a variety of voices. Revisit a favorite or fill in a literary gap with the timeless A Tale of Two Cities.

Academy Award-winning actor and author Alan Arkin tells a brilliant tale in this young-adult novel, The Lemming Condition. The story is an allegory on conformity, as Bubber, a lemming, is faced with following his entire race to self-induced extinction. Bubber struggles to decide if he should participate in what appears to be an insane death walk, only to constantly be told by family and friends that this is just the way things are. The story provides a superb lesson on conformity, free thinking and personal accountability.

Ranier Maria Rilke challenges you, "...to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answers." Rilke's ability to combine the sensual and the spiritual into an inspired vision of the art of living is brought to vivid life in his letters. Through his eyes, the everyday difficulties of love, sex, solitude, sadness, and doubt are seen as the archetypal elements of the drama called life.

Private eye John Dalmas sets out to rescue a rich young playboy from the clutches of a fortune-hunting redhead and a blackmailing gambler. But as he through the seamy underside of L.A.'s wealth and glitz, he keeps bumping into dead bodies. Johnny Dalmas appeared in several of Raymond Chandler's early stories published in Dime Detective. By the time The Big Sleep was published in 1939 his character had evolved into Philip Marlowe. In this recording we have chosen to use the original name. Trouble Is My Business exhibits the hard-edged humor, taut languages, and unexpected plot twists that later made Philip Marloweg famous.

Adapted from Tan's best seller The Joy Luck Club. Three sisters listen to their grandmother recount a mesmerizing childhood memory on a rainy afternoon. The long, complex story, filled with danger and excitement, relates what happened when Ying-ying was seven and celebrating the Moon Festival in China. On that long-ago night of the Moon Festival, she encountered the Moon Lady, who grants the secret wishes of those who ask.

Everyone believes in Christmas, but what about Santa Claus? Is it only the young who wait for that one special evening every year? With the expertise of some of the world's most renowned Arctic experts, wildlife biologists, historians, and polar explorers, Robert Sullivan offers proof positive that Santa and his team do indeed exist. Narrated by Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor, John Ritter, who is best known for his role of Jack Tripper in the sitcom Three's Company. Ritter, who died in 2003, was the son of the singing cowboy star, Tex Ritter, and the father of actors Jason Ritter and Tyler Ritter.