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"His little secret was that in his mid-fifties, at the height of a long and now apparently stalled career, violent death still surprised him. Which was odd, for the head of homicide, and perhaps one of the reasons he hadn't progressed further in the cynical world of the Sûreté." ~ description of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, from Louise Penny's Still Life
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New and Recently Released!
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| Strange Shores: An Inspector Erlendur Novel by Arnaldur IndriðasonMystery. Camping out in what remains of his childhood home, Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson has odd visions related to his youth while sleeping in the severe cold. Then, he meets a hunter on the frozen Icelandic fjords who was in the search party decades earlier that found ten-year-old Erlendur -- but never located his eight-year-old brother -- and who remembers a similar loss: in 1942, a young wife, Matthildur, disappeared in a terrible storm. As Erlendur digs up details and visits several elderly locals who remember the woman, he soon believes Matthildur was murdered. This excellent 9th book in the Erlendur Sveinsson mysteries may well be the last, and if it is, "it’s a superb end to a haunting series" (Booklist, starred review). |
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| Dry Bones in the Valley: A Novel by Tom BoumanMystery. In a Northeastern Pennsylvania small town, change has arrived, and Wild Thyme police officer Henry Farrell doesn't like it. As fracking becomes more commonplace, noise and environmental issues follow, and it sets jealous neighbors against each other, brings in outsiders, and provides fuel in the form of money for the burgeoning local meth and heroin industries. When an old farmer finds a body on his property, things really heat up, and Farrell needs to figure out who among the people he's known for years and the many newcomers committed the crime. Readers who enjoy Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire novels or Ace Atkins' Quinn Colson series and would like additional evocative rural noir books should check out Tom Bouman's "beautifully written first novel" (The New York Times Book Review). |
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| Herbie's Game: A Junior Bender Mystery by Timothy HallinanMystery. When someone breaks into the office of a man who coordinates crimes-for-hire (including murder), they take one thing: his list of disconnects (the intermediaries that link him to various crimes). He (persuasively) asks Junior Bender, a witty professional burglar who moonlights as a PI for crooks, for help. Junior is sure the break-in is the work of Herbie, the mentor thief who taught him the trade and who's like a father to him -- but when he goes to talk to Herbie, he's been killed. More people die, and Junior learns that Herbie wasn't at all the man he thought he was in this intricately plotted 4th series entry. Newcomers looking for a grittier take on Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries and who don't mind heading to California will relish Junior's comic adventures. |
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| The Prime Minister's Secret Agent by Susan Elia MacNealHistorical Mystery. Haunted by what happened during her first spy mission to Berlin over the summer, Maggie Hope is back in Scotland at her former training camp at the end of 1941, only now she's a teacher, known for working her students mercilessly. Traveling to Edinburgh to see her ballerina friend perform, Maggie is shocked when a dancer dies from poisoning. When her friend becomes sick from poison, too, and is accused of murder, Maggie has to sort out what's going on. From biological weapons in Great Britain to Japanese bombers in the skies above Pearl Harbor, this 4th Maggie Hope novel offers well-researched details about World War II -- and a well-plotted mystery. Newcomers may want to start with the 1st book, Mr. Churchill's Secretary, to best appreciate the changes to Maggie and Britain over the course of the war. |
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| Sorrow Bound: A Detective Sergeant McAvoy Novel by David MarkPolice Procedural. In this gritty 3rd installment, Scottish Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy is still working in Yorkshire despite reporting a bad cop and being snubbed by many of his colleagues. As a heat wave makes tensions rise among every one, a serial killer engages in brutal murders. McAvoy and his boss, Trish Pharaoh, who has become something of a friend, look into the victims' backgrounds to try to find a common tie -- but when Trish is taken off the case, McAvoy must figure it out alone. Meanwhile, in a story line that looks to be continued in the next book, a clever new drug boss works his way to the top of the town's criminal element, using blackmail and violence to get what he wants. |
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If you like: Louise Penny
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Canadian Louise Penny writes wonderfully complex, layered novels that resemble the classic mysteries of the genre’s Golden Age. Clues are meticulously sprinkled throughout, and each case slowly unfolds, exploring characters and motives along the way. Featuring Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, the character-driven books include investigative details together with introspection, lyrical prose, atmospheric tone, and a fearless exploration of the duality of good and evil. Start with the 1st title, Still Life, as both characters and plot threads develop through the series; the 10th in the series, The Long Way Home, was recently released.
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| Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles BluntMystery. Algonquin Bay, Ontario cop John Cardinal is wary of his new partner, Lisa Delorme. She previously worked for internal affairs, and he's sure that she is watching him, suspecting him of being the police informant who's tipping off a local drug lord (she is, and does). But the discovery of the body of a 13-year-old girl and the disappearance of other youngsters in the rural town forces the two to set aside those concerns and focus on the desperate hunt for a violent killer. Written in lyrical language with a small town setting and police procedural elements, fellow Canadian Giles Blunt's John Cardinal series will be a good choice for Louise Penny fans who aren't bothered by depictions of graphic violence. This novel is the 1st in a series that now numbers six. |
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| A Certain Justice: An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery by P.D. JamesMystery. It is certain that noted criminal lawyer Venetia Aldridge wasn't loved by many, but who murdered her in her prestigious chambers and put a bloody wig on her head? That's what Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team must tease out as they investigate what terrible things have been happening in the hallowed halls of justice. One of their suspects is 21-year-old Garry Ashe, who Aldridge successfully defended against a murder charge in the Old Bailey...and who is now her 18-year-old daughter's brand-new fiancé. Like Louise Penny, P.D. James writes philosophical, psychologically rich mysteries focused on character and possessing touches of humor. A Certain Justice is the 10th book in the acclaimed Dalgliesh series. |
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| Death at La Fenice: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna LeonMystery. When someone fatally poisons renowned German opera conductor Helmut Wellauer during the intermission of a performance, Guido Brunetti, Vice Commissario of the Venice Police, is called in. He delves into the victim's past and auditions various suspects before he finds the killer and opens the curtain on a "cunningly masked" (Publishers Weekly) solution. Louise Penny fans who'd enjoy visiting Venice should try a Donna Leon novel. Both authors write mysteries featuring a strong sense of place, complex characters, and an ethical police detective who finds himself at odds with police administration. Death at La Fenice is the 1st in Leon's Brunetti series, but readers can begin with any book. |
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| Gallows View: The First Inspector Banks Novel by Peter RobinsonPolice Procedural. Yorkshire Detective Inspector Alan Banks has a multitude of crimes to solve in his small English village of Eastvale: a Peeping Tom seems to watch a new woman every night, there have been quite a few robbery and vandalism cases lately, and then an elderly woman is murdered. While trying to sort out if any of the cases are related, Banks also faces marriage troubles. Though there are now 22 books in the award-winning DI Alan Banks series, this is the novel that started it all (and newcomers to the series probably want to begin here, too). Though his books may be a bit grittier than those of his fellow Canadian Louise Penny, like her, Peter Robinson focuses on detection instead of forensic details and produces well-paced plots, well-described settings, and compelling characters. |
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| In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-FlemingMystery. Clare Fergusson, a former Army helicopter pilot, is the new -- and the first female -- priest of the Episcopal church in Millers Kill, New York. Shortly after her arrival, Clare finds herself immersed in cold and snow...and trouble. After finding a newborn babe on the church doorstep one night, Clare takes the infant to the hospital, and the police are soon involved. Married police chief Russ Van Alstyne works the case, and discovers more than just the murdered body of the baby's young mother: he finds he's attracted to Clare. As in Louise Penny's books, the Clare Fergusson/Russ van Alstyne series, of which this is the 1st, blends elements of the cozy mystery with that of the police procedural and features polished prose and well-drawn characters, though these books do have more of a romantic theme. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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