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"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." ~ Charles W. Eliot (1834-1926), American academic and Harvard University president
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New and Recently Released!
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| Dead Heading: A Sloan and Crosby Mystery by Catherine AirdPolice Procedural. Who would want to kill all of the orchids at two different rural nurseries? Ordered by their superintendent to investigate the baffling greenhouse break-ins, detectives Sloan and Crosby discover unsettling links between the case and that of a missing retired woman whose cottage has been ransacked. Mixing British wit and a very clever plot, this 23rd entry in a long-running (since 1966!) series should delight fans who enjoy traditional mysteries. For another richly detailed, lighthearted series featuring a likable policeman who deals with an annoying supervisor, try M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth mysteries. |
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| Tabula Rasa: A Crime Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth DownieHistorical Mystery. In 122 A.D., the Romans work on Hadrian's Wall at the borderlands of occupied Britannia. Army doctor Ruso cares for the legionnaires (including doing an amputation after a landslide), but when his new clerk and the young son of a local family both go missing, Ruso and his native-born wife, Tilla, investigate the disappearances, though their efforts are complicated by rising tensions between the Britons and Romans. This character-driven 6th in the Gaius Petreius Ruso series brings Roman occupied Briton to life and is "a pleasure to read" (Booklist); Fans of Rosemary Rowe, Lindsey Davis, and Steven Saylor who haven't tried Ruth Downie yet, will certainly want to do so soon. |
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| The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia HodgsonHistorical Mystery. Clergyman's son Tom Hawkins loves gambling and wine too much to make a success of himself. In 1727, at the age of 25, he finds himself in the Marshalsea Gaol, a notorious debtor's prison in Georgian London. There, he is offered a deal: discover who murdered another inmate and he will be freed. This outstanding debut has already won a CWA Award for Historical Novel. For another vividly rendered, well-researched mystery set in London, try Clare Clark's The Great Stink; though set in 1855, it also provides an insider's view of a restricted part of the great city. If you would like another look at Marshalsea and are open to reading a classic novel, try Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, which is based on his experience visiting his father in the prison. |
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| The Devil May Care: A McKenzie Novel by David HousewrightMystery. Independently wealthy former cop Rushmore McKenzie doesn't have to work and isn't a licensed PI, but he does occasionally investigate as a favor. When the young granddaughter of powerful billionaire Walter Muehlenhaus has nowhere else to turn, she asks McKenzie to find her missing boyfriend, Juan Carlos Navarre, of whom her family doesn't approve. A reluctant McKenzie (he's tangled with Muehlenhaus before) discovers that the missing man had heavily misrepresented himself, that others are looking for him, and that a violent criminal is targeting those close to Navarre. This is the "exceptional" (Publishers Weekly) 11th book in the McKenzie series by Edgar Award-winning author David Housewright. |
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| The Bone Seeker: An Edie Kiglatuk Mystery by M.J. McGrathMystery. Half-Inuit Edie Kiglatuk decamps from her Canadian arctic hometown in this 3rd series entry to teach summer school in nearby Kuujuaq. After one of her favorite teenage students is murdered, Police Sergeant Derek Palliser -- the only cop in town at the time -- needs help and deputizes her. With the girl's father being a powerful local leader and with plenty of strangers around due to nearby military exercises, the two have their hands full. If you enjoy Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak novels set in remote areas of Alaska, you may want to pick up M.J. McGrath's Edie Kiglatuk mysteries; this 3rd book is "filled with cultural tensions, gorgeous Arctic spring scenery, and pulsing suspense" (Booklist). |
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| The Late Scholar: The New Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane Mystery by Jill Paton Walsh; based on the characters of Dorothy L. SayersHistorical Mystery. Dorothy L. Sayers fans have reason to celebrate -- not only has Jill Paton Walsh continued Sayers' beloved mystery series for the fourth time, but her "pitch-perfect re-creation of the charismatic leads is a delight" (Publishers Weekly). Returning to Oxford University, the scene of their literate courtship (see the delightful Gaudy Night for details), Lord Peter and Harriet must resolve a dispute that is complicated by the disappearance of a college's Warden and several prominent Fellows. If you've finished every Sayers novel, try other Golden Age authors such as Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Agatha Christie. If you can't get enough of cleverly plotted mysteries set in Oxford, pick up Colin Dexter's excellent Inspector Morse books. |
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| The Ways of the Dead: A Novel by Neely TuckerMystery. In this highly acclaimed debut novel, former war reporter Sully Carter now covers the crime beat in Washington, D.C. When the 15-year-old white daughter of a powerful judge is murdered, the cops quickly arrest three young black men who'd been bothering the girl. When Carter realizes that other nearby murders indicate a serial killer is at work, no one -- not his editors or the cops -- listen. Inspired by the real-life 1990s Princeton Place murders, The Ways of the Dead is "crisp, crafty and sharply observed" (Kirkus Reviews). Fans of Elmore Leonard may recognize award-winning Washington Post journalist Neely Tucker's name; Leonard, a friend, used it in his book Cuba Libre. If you love the pitch-perfect dialogue and vibrantly described D.C. locales in George Pelecanos' crime novels, you'll appreciate them here, too. |
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| The Death of Lucy Kyte: A Josephine Tey Mystery by Nicola UpsonHistorical Mystery. Inheriting a remote Suffolk cottage from actress Hester Larkspur, the godmother she barely knew, author Josephine Tey is beholden by the will to allow Lucy Kyte to take what she needs from the home -- but no one knows who or where Lucy is. As Tey investigates and sorts through Hester's papers in search of answers, she discovers that Hester was fascinated by an infamous murder that was committed on the property a century before. As she, too, becomes intrigued by the old killing, she wonders exactly how her godmother died...and if the cottage is haunted. If you enjoy Nicola Upson's atmospheric, leisurely paced novels featuring real-life mystery writer Josephine Tey, of which this is the 5th, check out Tey's own novels featuring thoughtful Inspector Alan Grant. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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