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A Delicious Deception: A Key West Food Critic Mystery
by Lucy Burdette
Mother-to-be Hayley Snow bites off more than she can chew in the sixteenth installment of Lucy Burdette's USA Today bestselling Key West Food Critic mysteries. When Sheriff's Deputy Darcy Rogers asks Hayley for a small favor, she can't say no. Nine months pregnant and temporarily benched from her food critic duties, Hayley's itching for a distraction and eager to help. All she has to do is tag along while a young woman picks up her daughter from her father at Monroe County's safe custody exchange location. Easy, right? Wrong. In the chaos of the Sheriff's Office open house, the mother disappears. Then the father bolts, leaving Hayley with a terrified girl and the realization that something has gone terribly wrong. Hayley and Deputy Rogers head north up the Keys to search for answers. When a body turns up, Hayley realizes this isn't just a missing-persons case--it's a race against time. With the little girl's safety at risk, Hayley must trust her instincts--and her heart--to uncover the truth.
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A Murder at the Mansion
by Ellie Alexander
In the charming town of Redwood Grove, even the grandest estates have something to hide...When reclusive heiress Bernadette Garst vanishes from her sprawling mansion, bookshop owner and investigator Annie Murray is summoned to the scene.Arriving at the legendary Garst property, Annie and her partner Fletcher discover a household riddled with secrets, bitter family rivalries, and suspicious staff members. When Bernadette's lawyer also goes missing, it's clear the case is escalating into something far more dangerous.With her keen eye for detail and a little help from her friends, Annie must piece together the clues hidden within the opulent estate grounds. Can she solve the puzzle before it's too late?This cozy mystery sees the Novel Detectives facing their most high-profile case yet. Perfect for fans of Lauren Elliott, Merryn Allingham and M.C. Beaton.
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Whose Body in the Library: A Lighthouse Library Mystery
by Eva Gates
A new librarian's first day goes terribly wrong when she finds a dead body on the front steps of the library. In the thirteenth installment of the beloved Lighthouse Library mysteries, a new character takes the reins. While Lucy McNeil is enjoying her new job as the mother of twin boys and library director, new librarian Nichelle Gilchrest has just arrived at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, reporting for duty. But life throws a wrench on Nichelle's first day when she finds a body on the steps--a body that bears a startling resemblance to her father, who disappeared on a fishing trip to the Outer Banks thirty-eight years ago. Fingerprints confirm the dead body is indeed Nichelle's father, now living in Nags Head under the name Brian Saunders. Brian had been befriending older lonely women in exchange for money, but was he working alone? Detective Rhonda Thomas is on the case, and the suspect list is only getting longer. Sorting through the wronged women and their relatives, Detective Thomas discovers Nichelle's own brother, Brad, had been in Nags Head a few days before the murder happened and has been lying about his whereabouts. Hoping to clear her brother's name, Nichelle decides to investigate what happened. With seasoned sleuth Lucy's gentle encouragement for the amateur, Nichelle is in for an exciting and dangerous first week at the library.
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Murder at First Slice
by V. M. Burns
Social media queen-turned-small-town baker Maddy Montgomery, her feisty friends, and her faithful English mastiff know you have to break a few eggs to solve a murder. . . As Maddy's wedding day approaches, friends and family descend on the little town of New Bison, Michigan, to celebrate--so much so that Maddy wonders if there might be another happily-ever-after in store for her widowed father and innkeeper Mrs. Law. Unfortunately, she also has to deal with an unhappy couple: feuding cousins Hannah and Dorothy, who haven't spoken in decades. Maddy can only hope the spectacular wedding cake crafted by her head baker doesn't wind up as ammunition in a food fight. But she doesn't have to wait long for a wedding disaster to strike. When the imperious Dorothy crashes the rehearsal dinner--with several uninvited guests in tow--and starts battering everyone with constant complaints, the drama reaches reality-show levels. And the next day, Dorothy is dead . . . with Hannah standing over the body, bloody rolling pin in hand. Nobody in town believes Miss Hannah could commit murder. But a detective newly relocated from New York doesn't know the sweet, memory-challenged Hannah the way the locals do--and the evidence seems open-and-shut as an oven. Now, with her sous-sleuths the Baker Street Irregulars, the bride-to-be is busy digging into Dorothy's past to catch a killer before she cuts the cake . . .
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Death on the Books: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery
by Victoria Gilbert
A sleuthing library director is on the case when a patron drops dead in the tenth installment of Victoria Gilbert's critically acclaimed Blue Ridge Library mysteries. When a stranger falls over dead in the Taylorsford Public Library, clutching a crumpled piece of paper inscribed only with the words hen and sapphire, Library Director Amy Muir must once again investigate. She soon learns that the man is the personal assistant to Warren Sanderson, an art collector and dealer who just so happens to be visiting Kurt Kendrick, the godfather of Amy's twins. When the autopsy reveals that the library patron was poisoned, suspicion falls on those who knew him--mainly Sanderson, his granddaughter Heather, and Kurt. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, Amy digs into the contentious relationships between Kurt and the Sandersons. But as it turns out, suspects abound, and when Amy's best friend's boyfriend is implicated, the case becomes even more complicated. Amy's research ties the dead man's note to a lost treasure of the Romanov empire. Then another person falls victim. With the bodies piling up, Amy knows better than anyone that killers often keep killing until they're caught, and she'll stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this tangled mystery.
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Killer Donuts
by Ginger Bolton
It's fall in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, and Emily Fyne, owner of the popular local Deput Donut caf is on a trail--a Donut Trail, that is--to tour pre-Halloween treats and activities, not to mention check out the competition. It's all fun and games, until a murder that's no trick . . . Emily and her friends Izzy and Monique are traveling the Donut Trail in style in Deputy Donut's vintage, donut-topped car. With them are Emily's cat, Dep, and Monique's tiny dog, Gigi. Amid the spectacular fall foliage they stop at an orchard that includes a bistro and a vast corn maze. But while sampling some apple cider, they find that not everyone shares their friendly, festive mood . . . A cranky tourist not only scolds them for bringing their pets, but she also says she hates dogs--with cats a close second. No matter, Emily and company, their pets leashed, go off to enter the maze. But soon, boisterous teens barge in, wreaking havoc, tossing pumpkins, uprooting cornstalks--and attempting a dog-snatching . . . As everyone scrambles to regroup, it turns out the dog-hating woman is missing. And when her dead body is finally discovered--with Gigi's hair ribbon in her pocket--Emily and her friends are the top suspects. To clear their names, they'll have to throw a killer off their trail while diving even deeper into a dangerous labyrinth of clues . . .
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And Then There Were Bun: A Noodle Shop Mystery
by Vivien Chien
Things get spicy when Megan throws a surprise birthday party for Lana at Ho-Lee Noodle House that ends in disaster.With the help of Lana's parents and close friends, Megan packs the family restaurant with a guest list that includes friends--both old and new--to help celebrate her best gal's birthday. But when one of their guests brings an unsavory plus one that Lana just happened to date back in her college days, tensions build between her old beau and her current boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau.After a heated exchange of words between the two men, the evening returns to the smooth and enjoyable party that Megan had originally hoped for. But relief is short lived when Lana's ex is found in the dumpster outside of Asia Village.As if the circumstances and tragedy taking place on Lana's birthday aren't enough, the gang gets an even bigger surprise when Adam is the main suspect under scrutiny. Not only are there several witnesses confirming the verbal confrontation between the two men earlier in the evening, but it's also reported that Adam disappeared from the party for a considerable amount of time. And unfortunately for him, not even Lana can back up his whereabouts. With Adam in the hot seat, his own partner, Matthew Higgins, must investigate the crime alongside their boss--the Chief of Police, Tom Riceton, who wants speedy results to keep away the threat of Internal Affairs knocking on their door.As Adam struggles with the dynamic shifts in his personal life, being on suspension and shut out from his resources at the police department, he must rely solely on his skills as a detective and the ingenuity of Lana's amateur sleuthing capabilities to solve the case and clear his name definitively.
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Murder at the Toy Soldier
by Maddie Day
It's a cold, wet, February on Cape Cod, but a murder at the local toy store blows an especially icy wind through town--and through bike shop owner Mackenzie Mac Almeda's sleuthing Cozy Capers Book Group. Mac is extra busy these days as she and Tim do their best as working parents of a preschooler and a baby, not to mention Mac's participation in the Cozy Capers book group. With Ella's 4th birthday approaching, Mac uses her lunch break to shop for a gift at the Toy Soldier, which is run by June Fadiman. Behind the counter is Zia Carven, a young woman Mac recognizes as a shopper at the Free Grocery food pantry Mac's father sponsors. Zia finds Mac a kid-sized gardening toolkit Ella will love and offers to gift wrap it. In a rush, Mac plans to pick it up after work. But at 5:30, she finds Zia slumped over the counter, dead, dried blood on a toy rifle nearby. The first police officer to arrive is June's son, August. Then June arrives and is upset to find the police won't allow her inside. Mac's mother, Astra, confides that she'd been trying to help Zia, and now the police want to speak with her, which worries Mac. Then Mac discovers that Zia had been in town searching for her birth mother, which only multiplies the questions--and the suspects. Just one thing is certain: Mac and the book group will have to double down to find a killer who isn't playing around . . .
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It's about Time
by Carol J. Perry
In this delightfully spooky series spin-off of Carol J. Perry's beloved Witch City Mysteries, Lee Mondello and her detective husband have plenty of experience solving crimes in Salem, Massachusetts--and now Lee's Aunt Ibby is starting a sleuthing career of her own in the witch city... Nothing can spoil the mood at a one-year-old's birthday celebration like the cops arriving--but it's not because the party got too rowdy. Instead, Detective Pete Mondello has a search warrant for a tenant's apartment. When Lee's aunt Ibby leads the police to Josh Alper's locked door, she's surprised to learn that her renter has redecorated . . . with what appear to be masterpieces stolen from a museum back in 1972. The paintings may be found, but Alper--an artist involved with a shady, cult-like group--is officially missing. So Ibby and her pals, who hold weekly watch parties of their favorite show, Midsomer Murders, decide to jump in and do some real-life sleuthing using the skills they've learned from DCI Barnaby. Ibby, a semi-retired librarian, may be in her sixties, but her tech skills are top-notch . . . and with some help from her friends Betsy and Louisa, as well as O'Ryan the clairvoyant cat, that spells trouble for any criminals in Salem. But when Alper's body is found in the Salem Woods--felled by an unusually sophisticated weapon--Ibby must buckle down with her team and prove that she's just as talented an investigator as her beloved niece . . .
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A Catered PTA Murder
by Isis Crawford
It's back to school for sisters and caterers Bernie and Libby Simmons when a killer decides to teach a PTA president a lesson... When Rita Sullivan walks into A Little Taste of Heaven to hire Bernie and Libby to cater a PTA board meeting and supply cakes for an end-of-school-year gala, it's hard to believe she's the same nerdy wallflower they knew in high school. Rita's now an influencer and CEO of Lavish Lipsticks, a hot new cosmetics company. She's also the president of the Longely Junior High School PTA, where she's made a considerable number of enemies. When the sisters go to drop off the cakes, they find Rita lying on the floor with a knife in her chest. What's more, using her company's newest lipstick, Scarlet Shame, the killer has drawn a large red X across her body. Rita has been canceled. The police zero in on Abby Roth, owner of the murder weapon, but her kids beg Libby and Bernie to clear their mom's name. The sisters soon discover a quorum of suspects with motives to kill Rita, ranging from stolen cosmetics formulas and blackmail to broken marriages and property feuds. Figuring out which of them served Rita her just desserts will be anything but a piece of cake . . .
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Bubble, Bubble, Tea and Trouble
by Vicki Delany
When Cape Cod tearoom owner Lily Roberts finds a group conducting a s ance in her grandmother's Victorian B&B, she has no idea the trouble that's about to be conjured up . . . When Lily stumbles across five middle-aged women gathered in a dark corner of the tearoom for a book club, she firmly reminds them that the inn's no-smoking policy also applies to their oddly ritualistic candles. As they head outside, Lily overhears them chalking their bad luck up to the absence of their leader, Katya. Whatever they're doing, it certainly isn't reading--and their cover is starting to sound like weak tea . . .While they enjoy Lily's homemade banana bread the next morning, they make their intentions clear--grilling Lily about any past paranormal activity in the cliffside mansion. Their attempts to contact spirits have been falling flat, it seems, and the mysterious Katya is catching the heat. Levelheaded Lily thinks the real reason is that there's no such thing as ghosts. But Lily's pal Bernie has found another explanation: the half-baked spirit-seekers have the wrong house. The haunted reputation belongs to the place next door--where Lily's gardener boyfriend is currently staying. But before they can inform the luckless ladies, the missing medium shows up--dead on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Now, Lily has two jobs: serving afternoon tea, and solving a murder before someone else gets sent to the great beyond . . .
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Indianapolis Public Library
P.O. Box 211
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-0211
317-275-4100www.indypl.org/ |
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