|
|
| Trace of Evil by Alice BlanchardIntroducing: tenacious, likable 30-year-old rookie detective Natalie Lockhart, whose teen sister was murdered 20 years ago, and whose upstate New York town contains a higher-than-average number of people into the occult due to the area's history of witch burning.
What happens: Assigned to the cold cases of nine transient people who disappeared over the last 25 years, Natalie also works on the disturbing recent murder of a fellow cop's pregnant wife.
For fans of: compelling, atmospheric mysteries with surprising endings. |
|
| The Body on the Train: A Kate Shackleton Mystery by Frances Brody1929 England: Scotland Yard hires investigator Kate Shackleton to assist in finding out the identity of a man murdered on a cargo train.
What happens: Kate learns of a second similar murder, one where she believes an innocent man has been arrested. Working both crimes, Kate's unexpectedly called off by the Yard and faces danger.
Who it's for: This well-plotted 11th outing for independent Kate has plenty of interwar period details that'll please fans of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs and Charles Todd's Bess Crawford. |
|
| Nothing More Dangerous by Allen EskensStarring: misfit 15-year-old Boady Sanden, an only child in 1970s Missouri whose widowed mom sends him to the Catholic high school after he's caught smoking (and who, as an adult, appears as a secondary character in The Life We Bury and The Heavens May Fall).
What happens: When a black family from Minnesota moves in across the street, white Boady becomes friends with their son. The two deal with bullies, a missing person, a murder, and a white supremacist group.
Why you might like it: Evocative and peopled with complex characters, this mystery offers up a coming-of-age story that thoughtfully examines racism and classism. |
|
| Laetitia Rodd and the Case of the Wandering Scholar by Kate SaundersStarring: sensible Laetitia Rodd, a 53-year-old widow in 1851 England, who earns money by doing private investigations for her lawyer brother.
What happens: A dying gentleman hires Laetitia to find his missing young philosopher brother, last seen living in the wild; while doing so, she uncovers secrets and murder in Oxford's countryside.
Read this next: If you like this charming, vividly described 2nd in the Laetitia Rodd series, try Charles Finch's Charles Lenox mysteries, Jennifer Ashley's Below Stairs mysteries, or Bella Ellis' The Vanished Bride, starring the Brontë sisters as detectives. |
|
| Lethal Pursuit by Will Thomas1892 London: Private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn work for the prime minister to deliver an explosive religious document to France. While preventing the valuable papers from falling into the hands of others, including the Germans, they also investigate the murder of the Foreign Office agent who died protecting it.
Series alert: This compelling 11th in the Barker and Llewelyn mysteries features a strong sense of place, dark humor, and secret societies. Newcomers can start here or pick up the 1st book, Some Danger Involved. |
|
|
The old success
by Martha Grimes
An unlikely trio of detectives teams up to identify a common link between three very differently executed murders spanning multiple counties in England. By the award-winning author of The Knowledge.
|
|
|
Shatter the night
by Emily Littlejohn
When her friend, a retired judge, is killed in an explosion minutes after he reveals that he has been receiving death threats, detective Gemma Monroe and her team follow leads to a local production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
|
|
|
A house of ghosts : a gripping murder mystery set in a haunted house
by William Ryan
"Shortlisted for the Irish Book Award, a classic cozy big-house mystery haunted by the specters of World War One--for readers of Agatha Christie and Simone St. James. Winter 1917. As the First World War enters its most brutal phase, back home in England, everyone is seeking answers to the darkness that has seeped into their lives. At Blackwater Abbey, on an island off the Devon coast, armaments manufacturer Lord Highmount has arranged a spiritualist gathering to contact his two sons, both of whom died at the front. Among the guests, two have been secretly dispatched from the intelligence service: Kate Cartwright, a friend of the family who lost her beloved brother at the Somme and who, in the realm of the spiritual, has her own special gift; and the mysterious Captain Donovan, recently returned from Europe. Top secret plans for weapons developed by Lord Highmount's company have turned up in Berlin, and there is reason to believe enemy spies will be in attendance. As the guests arrive, it becomes clear that each has something they would rather keep hidden. Then, when a storm descends, they find themselves trapped on the island. Soon one of their number will die. For Blackwater Abbey is haunted in more ways than one. An unrelenting, gripping mystery, packed with twists and turns and a kindling of romance, A House of Ghosts is the perfect cold-weather read"
|
|
Books You May Have Missed
|
|
| One Small Sacrifice by Hilary DavidsonWhat happens: Convinced that Alex Traynor got away with murder when his friend's death was ruled an accident, NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling keeps her eye on the troubled war photographer, who has PTSD and memory lapses. So when his doctor fiancée goes missing, Sheryn and her new partner immediately check things out.
Series alert: This 1st in the Shadows of New York mysteries by an Anthony Award-winning author features several points-of-view and intricate plotting; it's followed by Don't Look Down, out in February. |
|
|
No exit : a novel
by Taylor Adams
Trapped at a Colorado rest stop with four strangers during a snowstorm, Darby Thomas must figure out which of them kidnapped the girl locked in a crate in the van parked next to Darby's car. 75,000 first printing.
|
|
|
She lies in wait : a novel
by Gytha Lodge
The discovery of the body of a teen who went missing in the woods 30 years earlier reopens a cold case for a local police officer, who makes contact with six people from his past to uncover what happened.
|
|
| The Stranger Diaries by Elly GriffithsWhat it's about: Clare Cassidy, a high school teacher and single mom of a teenager, is shocked when someone kills a co-worker and leaves behind a quote from the Gothic author who is Clare's special interest.
For fans of: Gothic-inspired stories, Willkie Collins, and cleverly plotted bookish mysteries, like Anthony Horowitz's Magpie Murders series.
About the author: Though this is her first standalone novel, acclaimed author Elly Griffiths writes both the Ruth Galloway mysteries, starring a forensic anthropologist, and the Magic Men series, set in 1950s Brighton. |
|
| The Lost Man by Jane HarperWhat it's about: In Australia's isolated Outback, Cameron Bright lies dead near an old tombstone, miles away from his car and hours away from his home and that of his nearest neighbor, his brother Nathan. As Nathan deals with his loss, he tries to figure out what happened to Cameron in this slow-burning, twisty tale that deals with loneliness, abuse, and family secrets.
Try this next: For another Australian mystery set in a rural area, try Candice Fox's Crimson Lake, or, though it's not a mystery, Tim Winton's The Shepherd's Hut, which does feature a death, a troubled family, a person on the run, and a vividly depicted harsh Australian setting. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|