Twelve-year-old Nathan Cole has been called the best detective of his age. Ever since discovering a bookcase in his attic, filled with an ominous collection of unsolved mysteries, he has endured the perils of secret rooms and treacherous mountain caves, faced the terror of rat-infested tunnels, been swallowed up by raging ocean waters, and has narrowly escaped the brutality of thugs and assassins3/4all in an effort to fulfill his role in a secret Hammond family legacy. But unlike his previous adventures, this time it's personal. Armed with the startling truth behind the suspicious death of his grandfather, famed bookseller Henry Hammond, Nathan and his trusted friend Gina McDermott will match wits with a new kind of enemy3/4one cleverly disguised as a friend3/4as they sift through a tangle of clues. Principal among them is an archeologist's field journal. It holds a hidden clue they can use to trap the killer. But to recover the journal, they'll have to survive the guile of one devious adversary while being pursued by another, even more dangerous villain. Facing danger at every turn, will Nathan and Gina ultimately prevail, or will they become the next victims of The Tears of the Empress?