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"The evil consequences of our crimes long survive their commission, and, like the ghosts of the murdered, forever haunt the steps of the malefactor." ~ Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Scottish author, The Heart of Midlothian
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New and Recently Released!
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| Death of a Dog Whisperer: A Melanie Travis Canine Mystery by Laurien BerensonCozy Mystery. Busy Connecticut mom Melanie Travis juggles life with a toddler, an 11-year-old, a husband, an ex-husband, and six standard poodles. She also has a beloved but bossy aunt, who breeds and shows dogs. When Aunt Peg's new protégé, a likable dog whisperer, is found dead, Melanie must help sort through the growing list of suspects to find the killer and clear her aunt's name. This is the 17th in the amusing Melanie Travis series; fans who'd enjoy a humorous mystery told from a dog's point of view can check out Spencer Quinn's very funny Chet and Bernie novels. |
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| Queen of Hearts: A Royal Spyness Mystery by Rhys BowenHistorical Cozy. Though she's 35th in line for the British throne and rubs elbows with the rich and powerful, Lady Georgianna Rannoch has no money of her own. In her 8th outing, she's taking an all-expenses-paid trip with her much-married actress mother to America in 1934. During her "engagingly madcap adventure" (Booklist), Georgie thinks she sees a body fall from their luxury steamship, helps her handsome boyfriend track down a jewel thief, attends a house party at a castle in California, meets some Hollywood bigwigs, and investigates a murder. For another series set between the world wars featuring penniless amateur sleuths living among the wealthy, try Jill Churchill's Grace and Favor mysteries. |
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| The Monogram Murders: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery by Sophie HannahMystery. Of course, there isn't (and never will be) anyone quite like Agatha Christie, but for the first time ever Christie's literary estate has authorized someone to write an entirely new book using her beloved characters. They chose bestselling author Sophie Hannah, and in her Poirot novel, the legendary Belgian sleuth investigates a triple homicide in 1929 London. If you have read all of Christie and would like similar books, check out other Golden Age writers (Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, etc.); for works by more modern authors, try M.C. Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth series, which take place in a Scottish village, or Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series, which features a clever girl detective in 1950s England. |
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| Darkness, Darkness: Resnick's Last Case by John HarveyPolice Procedural. In 1984, young police inspector Charlie Resnick ran an intelligence gathering team during the British Miners' Strike, a terrible time of civil unrest that pitted close friends and family members against each other; back then, a vocal young supporter of the strike, Jenny Hardwick, went missing. Now her body's been discovered, and though he's retired, Charlie teams up with DS Catherine Njoroge, who has problems of her own, to dig into the past and solve the case. Though this is the 12th and final novel in the beautifully written Charlie Resnick series, these books "remain one of the high points in the history of crime fiction" (Booklist). To follow Charlie from the beginning, pick up his 1st book, Lonely Hearts. |
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| The Lewis Man: Book Two of the Lewis Trilogy by Peter MayMystery. In the Outer Hebrides, newly divorced former Edinburgh cop Fin Macleod has returned to his hometown on the Isle of Lewis. He's there to repair and restore his parents' old cottage (as well as himself), and ends up investigating an old murder when his first love, Marsaili, asks him to find out more about a newly discovered bog person (DNA proves that the murdered teen is related to Marsaili's father, even though the old man, who's suffering from dementia, has always claimed he was an only child). In a starred review, Library Journal calls this 2nd book in the Lewis Trilogy, which was published in the United Kingdom in 2012, "stunning." For another atmospheric series set off the coast of Scotland, try Ann Cleeves' Shetland mysteries. |
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| The Frozen Dead: A Novel by Bernard MinierMystery. Who hung the headless body of a horse off the top-most support tower of a French Pyrenees cable car run, and why? That's what Commandant Martin Servaz has unhappily been ordered to find out (he usually deals with human victims, but the thoroughbred belongs to one of France's richest men). Meanwhile, at a nearby high-security asylum for the criminally insane, Swiss psychologist Diane Berg begins her first day and doesn't like what she discovers. As Servaz investigates the horse killing, he discovers DNA that matches a patient who is locked in the asylum...and then a human is killed. Mystery readers who don't mind grisly details and a dark story will want to pick up this compelling first novel that's already an international bestseller. |
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| Ghost at Work: A Bailey Ruth Mystery by Carolyn HartCozy Mystery. After having been in heaven for decades, Bailey Ruth Raeburn is on her first "Department of Good Intentions" assignment. Back in her Oklahoma hometown, the spirited sleuth, who loves fashion but doesn't know much about modern inventions, tries to help her great niece, a pastor's wife who's just found a dead body on her back porch. Worried about rumors and accusations, the two women move the body, giving Bailey Ruth time to sort out who the killer is. Solving the crime won't be easy since the dead man had a lot of enemies, but thank goodness Bailey Ruth has heaven -- and the ability to be invisible -- on her side. |
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| The Gray Ghost Murders: A Novel by Keith McCaffertyMystery. Former Boston PI Sean Stranahan has been in Montana for just over a year, (barely) making a living by selling his artwork and working as a fly fishing guide. He also sometimes does detective work on the side as well as helping out Sheriff Martha Ettinger. In this 2nd in a series peopled with authentic characters, not only does he search for two stolen antique fishing flies (including a Gray Ghost tied by its originator), but he helps the police sort out who killed two elderly men and buried them on Sphinx Mountain. He also finds a new girlfriend, a barista who's going to veterinary school. Author Keith McCafferty, a Field & Stream editor, knows fishing and hunting; fans of other outdoor-centric mysteries, like those by Craig Johnson, will want to camp out with this series. |
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| Ghost Medicine: An Ella Clah Novel by Aimée and David ThurloMystery. In her 18th appearance, Navajo Police special investigator Ella Clah and her partner Justine Goodluck discover that their latest homicide is someone they know: Harry Ute. Harry, a private detective who once dated Ella and used to work as a cop, has been shot in the head and has had his fingertips cut off. As locals whisper that Harry's death is the work of skinwalkers (scary Navajo witches), Ella turns over every stone in order to find her friend's killer...but fear of the skinwalkers prevents people from talking. For more Native American-themed mysteries, read Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee mysteries (he even has a novel titled Skinwalkers) or James Doss' Charlie Moon books. |
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| The Ghost Riders of Ordebec: A Commissaire Adamsberg Mystery by Fred VargasPolice Procedural. Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, an intuitive Parisian policeman, agrees to aid an elderly widow who has traveled all the way from Normandy to Paris (her first trip to the capital) to ask for his help. Based on a horrible ghostly vision her adult daughter had, she suspects four men will be murdered. Intrigued by the woman's story, Adamsberg arrives in the small village of Ordebec to investigate in this 7th in a series. Excellently plotted and filled with quirky characters and humor, the Adamsberg novels by French author Fred Vargas will not disappoint fans looking for an offbeat yet smart series; those who enjoy Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit series should give this series a go. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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