|
|
|
|
| The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery AdamsWhat it is: a book-centric cozy mystery featuring four women carrying scars from the past (some literal), including bookstore owner Nora, who can talk to people and somehow know what novel will help them. A visiting land developer to Nora's small North Carolina town asks her for recommendations, but before she can give him the books she's picked out, he's dead. Was it murder? Nora and three new friends try to find out.
Who it's for: This 1st in a new series is for mystery fans who like women's fiction and a bit of magical realism. |
|
|
|
Death below stairs
by Jennifer Ashley
Highly sought-after young cook Kat Holloway takes a position in a Mayfair mansion and soon finds herself immersed in the odd household of Lord Rankin. Kat is unbothered by the family’s eccentricities as long as they stay away from her kitchen, but trouble finds its way below stairs when her young Irish assistant is murdered. Intent on discovering who killed the helpless kitchen maid, Kat turns to the ever-capable Daniel McAdam, who is certainly much more than the charming delivery man he pretends to be. Along with the assistance of Lord Rankin’s unconventional sister-in-law and a mathematical genius, Kat and Daniel discover that the household murder was the barest tip of a plot rife with danger and treason—one that’s a threat to Queen Victoria herself.
|
|
|
|
Dominic
by Mark Pryor
"Only two other people know that Dominic, a charming Englishman, prosecutor, and musician in Austin, Texas, is also a psychopath. They also know that a year ago he got away with murder. One of those people is his "special lady," and the other is her brother, a teenager and fellow psychopath called Bobby. When a wily homicide detective starts digging up that past murder, little Bobby offers to take care of the problem--permanently. Dominic tries to dissuade him, but as he himself knows, psychopaths aren't good with following instructions. Or impulse control. As Detective Megan Ledsome circles closer, Dominic knows his life depends on keeping his secrets hidden, from her and the rest of the world. And when his annoying office-mate declares his interest in a judicial position, one he himself would like, Dominic realizes that one of his carefully-orchestrated plans could kill two birds with one stone. Of course, that means some sleight of hand and a sacrifice or two. But if there's one thing a psychopath doesn't mind, it's sacrificing other people"
|
|
| Murder in July by Barbara HamblyFeaturing: amateur detective and free man of color Benjamin January, who was born a slave but studied and practiced medicine in France and now earns a living in 1830s New Orleans as a musician.
What it's about: In this 15th entry in an intricately plotted, well-researched historical series, January needs money in order to support his pregnant wife, their son, and open the boarding school for colored girls that's long been his wife's dream, so he agrees to help a British spymaster find some lost papers. The case involves a local murder that seems eerily like a Parisian killing some nine years earlier. |
|
| Beau Death by Peter LoveseyWhat it's about: In Bath, England, police detective Peter Diamond investigates after a demolition crew uncovers stylishly clad human remains, which could be the skeleton of famous 18th-century dandy Beau Nash. To boot, the irascible Diamond works a modern murder case.
Series alert: Though this is the 17th entry in a popular series, newcomers can start here.
For fans of: flawed yet entertaining protagonists and British police procedurals with a touch of humor. |
|
2017 Books You Might Have Missed
|
|
| Hollywood Homicide by Kellye GarrettIntroducing: broke actress Dayna Anderson, who, with help from her wannabe reality-show star friend, decides to earn the $15,000 in reward money offered in the case of a hit-and-run death that Dayna witnessed.
For fans of: amusing mysteries and those who appreciate insider peeks at Hollywood.
Author alert: Kellye Garrett was a TV writer for almost a decade, including for Cold Case; this is her debut novel. |
|
|
|
A season to lie : A Detective Gemma Monroe Mystery
by Emily Littlejohn
What it's about: A follow-up to the acclaimed Inherit the Bones finds police officer Gemma Monroe returning from maternity leave just as a blizzard hits her idyllic Colorado ski community, a storm that nearly hides the murder of a world-famous author.
|
|
|
|
Keep her safe
by Sophie Hannah
What its about: A British woman's relaxing holiday at a sunny Arizona resort transforms into a dark, obsessive quest for the truth when she becomes convinced that another guest is the woman who disappeared in a sensational headline case years earlier.
|
|
| Prussian Blue: A Bernie Gunther novel by Philip KerrWhat it's about: In 1956, cynical former Berlin cop Bernie Gunther, who's been lying low in the French Riviera, is discovered and ordered by a Stasi leader to kill a female agent, or die himself. The suspenseful events that follow cause Bernie to recall 1939, when he investigated a cunning murder at Hitler's private home in the Bavarian Alps.
Series alert: Richly detailed and thought-provoking, this is the12th Bernie Gunther mystery.
You might also like: Rennie Airth's John Madden mysteries, which also spans various time periods during and around World War II. |
|
| Take Out by Margaret MaronWhat it is: This 9th and final entry in the Sigrid Harald series features the loner NYPD homicide detective dealing with the estate of her artist lover, who died in a car accident a year earlier, as another possible heir appears. Meanwhile, the poisoning deaths of two homeless men have Sigrid and her team looking at the well-off neighbors who sometimes left take-out food for them, including a mafia don's widow and an opera star.
Author alert: Acclaimed, award-winning author Margaret Maron -- who also writes the Judge Deborah Knott mystery series -- has said this is her last novel, so make sure to savor it. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|