Autism Mystery

Temple Grandin’s professional training as an animal scientist and her history as a person with autism have given her a perspective like that of no other expert in the field. Grandin and coauthor Catherine Johnson present their powerful theory that autistic people can often think the way animals think—putting autistic people in the perfect position to translate “animal talk.”

Chief Inspector Brian Hooley has a plan, and it won't make him popular. He wants to bring back autistic detective Jonathan Roper. Currently suspended on misconduct charges, his condition, coupled with a relentless work ethic, makes Roper a unique investigator with observational skills that allow him to see what others miss. But he is also a complex man who doesn't get social boundaries, and plenty of his colleagues just don't like him. Hooley doesn't care about that. He knows Roper is the one to make a difference.

What causes autism? Is it a genetic disorder, or due to some unknown environmental hazard? Are we facing an autism epidemic? What are the main symptoms, and how does it relate to Asperger syndrome? Everyone has heard of autism, but the disorder itself is little understood. It has captured the public imagination through films and novels portraying individuals with baffling combinations of disability and extraordinary talent, and yet the reality is that it often places a heavy burden on sufferers and their families.

Dr. Willa Watters is a prominent child psychologist at the height of her career. But when a viral video of a disastrous television interview puts her reputation on the line, Willa retreats to Broken Bayou, the town where she spent most of her childhood summers. There she visits her aunts’ old house and discovers some of her unstable mother’s belongings still languishing in the attic—dusty mementos harboring secrets of her harrowing past. Willa’s hopes for a respite are quickly crushed, not only by what she finds in that attic but also by what’s been found in the bayou.

Charlotte Ritter is a survivor and so much more. As a highly caffeinated go-getter busy raising three teenage kids on her own while juggling a full-time job at a family law practice, Charlotte has always dealt with things one day and one cup of coffee at a time. It’s not always easy, especially with a highly autistic teenager and a new, snarky paralegal that was recently hired at the firm, but she manages. Then one day her average but hectic life gets turned upside down when her boss asks her to do some simple research for an adoption case. Charlotte’s talent for connecting dots that ...

Born with autism, both Temple Grandin and Sean Barron now live famously successful social lives. However, their paths were quite different. Temple's logical mind controlled her social behavior. She interacted with many adults and other children, experiencing varied social situations. Logic informed her decision to obey social rules and avoid unpleasant consequences. Sean's emotions controlled his social behavior.

When Nexus catches the attention of the alien croc ambassador, his first space travel goes weirdly astray. A backwoods Earth terraformer, Nexus is awkward with people, good with creatures, at a time when the human worlds are bumping against the alien races who surround them. He sets off to explore human space. But to leave home, he must first repay a debt of honor, and smuggle a highly illegal sentient robot off-planet. Memory murky, the poor robot got stranded on Earth before Nexus was born. Nexus is delighted when the alien ambassador boards his space train to Luna. Most fear the ...

Can fortune-telling prevent a war? Nexus and friends expect to enjoy their studies in sumptuous luxury on planet Sihnon, with leisure and elbow room. A few domestic misadventures in housing, medicine, and chopsticks, and they’re ready for deluxe virtual reality learning. First project, reassemble Space Academy from storage. Because with lifespans stretching centuries, the Colony Corps simply hires experienced crew. Next, a juicy mystery to unravel. Humans first learned of advanced aliens while investigating what killed a colony world. Too late, they found a hazard buoy left to warn off ...

In Washington, D.C., a homeless man dies in Commander Gray Pierce's arms, shot by an assassin's bullet. But the death leaves behind a greater mystery: a bloody coin found clutched in the dead man's hand, an ancient relic that can be traced back to the Greek Oracle of Delphi.

The definitive guide for parents of autisic children, written from the perspective of neurodiversity. Written by Jessie Hewitson, an award-winning journalist at The Times, Autism is the audiobook she wishes she had listened to when her son was first given the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. It combines her own experiences with tips from autistic adults, other parents - including author David Mitchell - as well as advice from autism professionals and academics such as Professor Simon Baron-Cohen.

Charlotte Ritter needs her coffee and when a small shop called The Blessed Bean opens across from her daughter's high school, she is super excited. That is until the place gets broken into and burglarized. Not one to let things go, Charlotte decides to enlist Cole's help to discover who the culprit is before they spoil a good thing. With next to no clues to go on, the duo is definitely going to have a tough time solving this one. To give Charlotte even more to think about, her friend and local motel owner, Bianca the blonde beekeeper, suggests she start her own brand of coffee. On top of ...

Nexus makes a movie. Nexus visits planet Pfaffen to make a movie, Hidden in Plain Sight, to popularize the new three-species alliance. He’d rather study the cloud-tree skylands. But his job is technical consultant, liaison to the aliens. All three species live on the Pfaffen skylands. But a croc spy base, and the reclusive testudo, remained hidden. Humans never knew. Three problems. First, Nexus’s digital friends demand equal standing as sentient species. He isn’t worried about the robot mink. But his translator was the victor in Earth’s AI Wars. Second, for the movie, aliens ...

A frantic phone call on Christmas day from her snarky coworker starts the ball rolling on Charlotte's next detective case! This time it's a hit and run. Did Ginny actually kill one of her husband Chad's colleagues in a jealous rage or can our favorite part-time sleuth find much needed evidence to the contrary? When our resident drama queen is arrested and faces a criminal trial, the stakes get higher and higher at top speed. Plus, Charlotte has a new detective with an attitude to deal with while trying to get to the truth. Better fasten your seatbelts because this may prove to be her ...

How can Nexus be the Oracle? On a hardscrabble colony world, Nexus tracks a mysterious rat outbreak to a shy tortoise-like alien, who calls him Oracle. If his addled visions amount to fortune-telling, Nexus can’t read the tea leaves. He foresees alien crocs ravaging Earth and enslaving humanity. Another vision depicts him happy in love. How to evade human extinction and win the girl is unclear. Word leaks that Nexus is the new heir to a powerful fortune, compounding his social challenges. To save the human race, escape gold-diggers, repair his space mink, and win the woman of his dreams, ...

A STORM IS COMING! Despite a hurricane approaching her East Coast Florida town, Charlotte Ritter insists on tracking down the long-lost great uncle of a boy whose adoption trial is coming up soon. Without her former tagalong partner, Cole, to help her, she reluctantly resorts to taking her other coworker Ginny with her to check out the uncle's last known address a couple of cities away. After careening off the road in a deluge of rain, the duo take refuge in the man's creepy and filthy house. Luck doesn't seem to be on their side as the storm knocks out power, and their cell phones have no ...

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's, a form of autism. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns, and the truth.

Ho, ho, ho! Charlotte Ritter is back, and Santa Claus is coming to town! Actually… hundreds of them. Yes, your favorite amateur sleuth has finally made it to the Surfing Santas event and it’s even more fun than she and her family expected. Unfortunately, the yuletide cheer nearly comes to a screeching halt when a friend of her son Joseph gets sent to the hospital after using some deadly, fentanyl laced pot. When Carrie informs her mother that a lot of the kids at school have been buying the same stuff too, Charlotte sets out to find out who the supplier is and bring them down. All the ...

Elvis has entered the building! Charlotte and Cole’s first actual date gets interrupted by a man dressed as the King of Rock n Roll...and he’s carrying an unconscious woman. Our girl has a suspicious mind and delves deeper into the man’s sketchy story. Back at her ‘real’ job, Mr. Baker has her helping a desperate family searching for a loved one. After some digging, Charlotte thinks there may be a link to the between the missing drug addict and the unconscious woman. Cole reluctantly lends a hand in the search for an eyewitness that can expose the truth as they both suspect the ...

Family ties run deep in the heart of Texas. Is there room in Paradise Valley for three more Daltons? Ford Dalton’s luck seems to have run out. The job he loved on the rodeo circuit left him with a back injury, and he was replaced. That’s about the time his fiancée broke things off, leaving him wondering about the next step in his life. When a frantic call for help comes from his family to come fight a wildfire in Paradise Valley, he and his brothers jump in the truck and head out. After all, what’s family for? When the crisis fades, Ford is left feeling let down—until his uncle ...

Mermaids are real! At least Charlotte’s son Tommy thinks so and a family vacation to Weeki Wachee Springs does little to change his mind. Back at the office, Ginny is practically inconsolable when the woman who does her manicures dies unexpectedly from natural causes. Our favorite moonlighting detective dives into danger again when she snoops into the woman’s death and thinks something fishy is going on. Cole tags along to try his best to keep her out of too much trouble but Charlotte always seems to find a way. If she doesn’t nail the killer, she may end up being the next victim. ...