After I wrote The Absent Author, I knew I wanted to write more about Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. I looked at those two A's in the title and thought, why not two B's, then two C's? So I began working on the Bald Bandit and the Canary Caper. And that's how A to Z Mysteries were born!

This series features three smart kids who solve crimes and mysteries. They live in a small town in Connecticut, called Green Lawn. The kids are Dink Duncan, Josh Pinto, and Ruth Rose Hathaway. They are third graders and live near each other. They have hobbies and pets and parents, but what they love most is a good mystery. Most kids tell me they enjoy reading the 26 books in alphabetical order. But you can skip around without missing anything. Have fun getting to know these three sly sleuths!

The A to Z Mysteries Series features 26 books, one for each letter of the alphabet! Roll over teach book cover below to see them magnified and read a bit about each story.

About Each Book in the Series

When Dink's favorite mystery writer Wallis Wallace, turns up missing, he and Josh and Ruth Rose get on the case. They uncover more than they bargained for!

The Green Lawn Bank gets robbed! But when Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose begin to investigate, things aren't as they seem. Even Dink's Guinea pig gets involved in finding the thief.

The Green Lawn pets are being kidnapped! When the circus comes to town, the case grows even more mysterious.

Strange noises and green feathers are clues, but where do they lead Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose? To a castle's dungeon, that's where!

Dink is receiving weird letters from someone he doesn't even know. The phony zip code should be a clue that the letters don't belong to Dink at all. But then scary people show up on his front porch!

Josh has found a nest of baby falcons. But when he brings his friends out into the woods, the falcons have disappeared.

Ruth Rose's grandmother has invited the kids to visit her in Florida, when someone discovers sunken treasure off the coast. But soon treasure turns to treachery!

Why are people checking out of the Shangri-la Hotel on the most popular week of the year? Could it have anything to do with the ghost that rides the elevator?

Footprints in the fog lead to an amazing island discovery! But suddenly they are not alone on the foggy island. Someone is slowly approaching through the fog...

While visiting Dink's uncle in New York City, a fabulous jewel disappears. While trying to solve the crime, Dink's uncle becomes one of the suspects!

A strange new boy appears at Dink's school. Dink brings him home to stay. All is well until the boy disappears. Thousands of miles away, the boy's father has also vanished!

One of Dink's friends has a lottery ticket worth seven million dollars which was stolen! The kids chase through deep snow on skis to track down the thief.

Ruth Rose finds a stolen mummy in the girl's bathroom at the museum. Then an explosion reveals an even stranger crime. Strangest of all is the clue Josh discovers!

Josh finds a priceless nugget while panning for gold. When the nugget disappears out of the safe, Dink and Ruth help Josh look for the thief at the dude ranch.

Who stole a famous painting from Dink's Uncle Warren? Why did the thief stop to eat a bowl of oranges before he/she fled down the fire escape?

Green Lawn pet park has been waiting for the new baby panda. But a panda kidnapper has also been waiting. The baby panda will starve if they don't get it back to its mother!

The kids find themselves in deep water as they try to catch a couple of thieves. But Josh steps in quicksand, and doesn't know how to get out!

Why does a racehorse that always wins, suddenly lose? The answer is on the film in Ruth Rose's camera and Josh finds a mysterious mark on his favorite T-shirt!

The school nurse has lost her skeleton, Mr. Bones. Dink, Josh, and Ruth know that skeletons can't just walk away ... but what are those footprints?

Can dinosaurs really talk? They can if they have a microphone hidden inside their heads! But this dinosaur has plenty more secrets to hide...

When the baseballs disappear during a game, the kids put their heads together to find the thief. That's when they discover that the crook is one of their friends!

A weird looking man has arrived. He wears a black cape and sleeps during the day in a very cold room. Everyone seems to have bite marks on their neck!

While the kids are in Maine visiting their mystery writer friend ...the biggest shock occurs when a litter of baby wolves disappears in front of their eyes!

Dink falls off a carousel and hurts his arm. At the same moment, a diamond necklace is stolen from a famous rock star. Can the two events be connected?

The king and queen of Costra welcome the kids to their castle. But suddenly strange things begin to happen.

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose don't believe in zombies. But something draws them to a cemetery at night. Suddenly a man rises from an empty grave!

Learn More About the Characters

The A to Z Mysteries Series features three sly sleuths: Dink Duncan, Josh Pinto, and Ruth Rose Hathaway. Have fun getting to know them, and their dog, Pal!