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"He'd learned, in France, to face dying. He could learn, in time, how to face living. It was just getting through the desolation in between that seemed to be beyond him." ~ from Charles Todd's A Test of Wills
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| The Graveyard of the Hesperides by Lindsey DavisHistorical Mystery. "Everyone knew a dead barmaid was buried in the courtyard." So begins Flavia Albia's 4th outing, which details how her plans to wed Manlius Faustus are pushed aside (a little) when local lore is possibly proven true after Faustus' construction company unearths bones in the courtyard of a tavern. Flavia, following in the footsteps of her retired detective father Marcus Didius Falco (who's featured in 20 books himself), can't help but investigate, especially when more bones turn up, ones that belong to quite a few men. Atmospheric and filled with touches of humor, this entry will please fans of Ancient Roman mysteries as well as newcomers to the time period. |
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| Murder Has Nine Lives by Laura LevineHumorous Cozy. Things are looking up for California freelance writer Jaine Austen. There's an upcoming vacation to Hawaii on the horizon (with her parents, but still), she's been hired to write a new brochure for a client, she's got a date with the client's handsome nephew, and her cantankerous cat Prozac has been picked to star in a commercial for Skinny Kitty diet cat food. But things don't go well, especially once Prozac loses it on set and a murderer strikes shortly afterwards. The police have no shortage of suspects, including Jaine herself, so she decides to figure out who did it herself in this 14th entry in a fun series. Readers who need a laugh and appreciate a bit of wackiness should definitely introduce themselves to the likable Jaine. |
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| Another One Goes Tonight by Peter LoveseyMystery. When two tired police officers crash their patrol car on the way to a call late one night, one is left dead and the other severely injured. In his 16th outing, irascible Avon and Somerset DS Peter Diamond is asked to investigate -- and upon his arrival finds a third victim, an elderly train enthusiast who'd been riding a motorized tricycle and was knocked clear of the scene. Performing CPR, Diamond saves the man only to develop a hunch that he's brought a serial killer back to life. Since that doesn't sit well, dogged Diamond uses old-fashioned policing methods (and breaks a few rules) to find out more about the unconscious man. Golden Age mystery fans will especially appreciate author Peter Lovesey's pacing and twisty fair-play plots. |
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The Bourbon Thief
by Tiffany Reisz
Waking up from a night spent with a beautiful stranger to discover he has been robbed of a million-dollar bottle of bourbon she claims is hers, Cooper McQueen listens to the woman's lurid tale of how her prestigious family distillery went out of business.
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| The Baker Street Jurors: A Mystery by Michael RobertsonMystery. Though he's a fictional character, Sherlock Holmes has been summoned for jury duty. Solicitor Nigel Heath, whose law offices are at 221B Baker Street, must deal with the letter, which he does...by tossing it out the window! He keeps his own summons (a vast pool of jurors is being gathered for a highly publicized celebrity murder trail), and when he shows up, he meets a tall, thin detective going by the moniker Siger, a name remarkably similar to one of Holmes' aliases. Nigel and Siger are both chosen as alternate jurors, and as the murder case against one of Britain's national cricket heroes plays out, suspicious attacks on jurors occur. Though this is the delightful 5th in a series, those who enjoy witty Sherlockian references and a clever plot can start here. |
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| Willnot: A Novel by James SallisCrime Fiction. Lamar Hale, a kindly doctor who handles everything from coughs to surgeries and lives happily with his school teacher-partner Richard, narrates life in his odd little town located in an unnamed state. Events include the discovery of several bodies buried in the woods, the stealthy homecoming of Marine sniper Bobby Lowndes, the arrival of an FBI agent who says that Bobby's AWOL, and a shooting. Not standard crime fiction fare, the nuanced, noir-tinged Willnot doesn't provide a clear resolution to much of anything, but those hoping for a thought-provoking, poetic novel that focuses on fascinating characters will be pleased. For another lyrical crime novel written by a poet, try Ron Rash's Above the Waterfall. |
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If You Like: Charles Todd
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Charles Todd, the nom de plume for an American mother-son writing pair, is behind two well-researched World War I-era mystery series with clever plots and vividly described settings. The first, and the darker of the two, features Ian Rutledge, a shell-shocked Scotland Yard detective tormented by the voice of Hamish, a sergeant he was forced to execute (start with A Test of Wills, Todd's debut). The second stars Bess Crawford, an intelligent, dedicated battlefield nurse and keen amateur detective (A Duty to the Dead is the 1st book). Readers waiting for Todd's recently released The Shattered Tree: A Bess Crawford Novel may want to try some of the books below.
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| River of Darkness: A John Madden Mystery by Rennie AirthHistorical Mystery. In rural Surrey, a cold-blooded killer strikes, leaving five people dead and a young girl traumatized (she survived by hiding under a bed). While the local police think the crime was committed by a gang of robbers, Detective Inspector John Madden, a widower who spent two harrowing years in the trenches before rejoining Scotland Yard, suspects there's only one killer, and that he's a disturbed former soldier. Mystery fans who appreciate the complex plots, psychological insights, and vivid post-WWI setting of Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge novels will find all of these things in Rennie Airth's suspenseful work. River of Darkness, which is really more of a whydunit than a whodunit, is the 1st in a trilogy featuring John Madden. |
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| Superfluous Women: A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery by Carola DunnCozy Mystery. Taken ill, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher leaves smoggy London for the country and visits an unmarried old school chum and her two housemates; like other women after the war, they're dubbed "superfluous" by society, even though they work, because their prospects of marriage are slim. When Daisy's husband, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher, visits, he discovers a decomposing body in the locked wine cellar of the women's newly acquired house, and the couple try to sniff out a killer. Readers who enjoy Charles Todd's Bess Crawford novels as well as those who like Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs mysteries and would like a slightly more lighthearted look at the same time period should appreciate this 22nd entry in a charming series. |
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| Mr. Churchill's Secretary: A Maggie Hope Novel by Susan Elia MacNealHistorical Mystery. Having no luck selling her late British grandmother's London home during the Blitz, American Maggie Hope takes in lodgers -- and unable to find a job using her prodigious math skills, she works as a secretary in Prime Minister Winston Churchill's office. Her work and her interest in cracking codes soon have her dealing with secret agents in addition to ration cards and roommates. Readers who enjoy Charles Todd's Bess Crawford mysteries may want to try this pleasing debut novel, the 1st in a popular World War II series which features a strong, highly intelligent female detective navigating her way in uncharted territory. |
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The return of Captain John Emmett
by Elizabeth Speller
When an old flame asks for his help in finding the truth about her veteran brother's alleged suicide, detective Bartram uncovers a link between a group of war poets and a feud in the victim's regiment before more veterans are discovered dead
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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