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The wives
by Tarryn Fisher
A woman in a voluntarily bigamous marriage befriends one of her husband’s other wives by chance, only to discover that the gentle husband she knows may be abusing his other families. 10,000 first printing.
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| Lady of Perdition by Barbara HamblyWhat happens: Risking his freedom to help a young woman sold into slavery, Benjamin January, a free man who trained as a doctor in France, leaves his home in New Orleans in 1840 to go to another country: the Republic of Texas. Posing as the slave of a white friend traveling with him, January navigates racism, searches for the woman, and works to prove the innocence of a murdered landowner’s widow.
Series alert: This is the compelling, vividly drawn 17th entry in a consistently well-researched series; newcomers can start here.
Read this next: For a series that combines crime and race relations in contemporary Texas, pick up Attica Locke's Highway 59 novels. |
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| Long Bright River by Liz MooreWhat it is: An intense, evocative mystery about Mickey, a single mom and Philadelphia cop trying to find her sister Kacey, a troubled prostitute and addict.
What happens: Mickey's search becomes urgent with a killer on the loose in a novel that alternates between Mickey's investigations and the girls' childhood in the same area.
Read this next: Julia Keller's atmospheric, West Virginia-set Bell Elkins mysteries, which deal with the opioid crisis and the relationship between odd-couple sisters; Matt Burgess's Uncle Janice, about a female undercover narcotics cop in Queens. |
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| All That's Bright and Gone by Eliza NellumsStarring: precocious six-year-old narrator Aoife Scott, whose mother had a breakdown at a Detroit mall; Aoife's imaginary friend, Teddy; and her neighbor, eight-year-old budding detective Hannah.
What happens: With her mom hospitalized and her Uncle Donny staying with her, Aoife's determined -- with help from Teddy and Hannah -- to sort out the mystery of her older brother's disappearance years ago.
Who it's for: This first novel is a delight and will please fans of young detectives, like Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce, as well as juvenile narrators in general fiction novels, like Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Emma Donoghue's Room. |
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Into the fire
by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz
Helping a murder victim’s cousin who is being violently pursued for a mysterious key, Nowhere Man Evan Smoak eliminates a series of dangerous threats before discovering that he is being personally targeted. By the author of Out of the Dark.
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| The Missing American by Kwei QuarteyIntroducing: Ghanaian Emma Djan, who finds work at a private detective agency after her dream of becoming a homicide detective like her deceased dad ends when a police superior sexually assaults her.
What happens: An American widower goes to Accra, Ghana, to meet a woman he met online, discovers he's been scammed, and goes missing. His son hires Emma to find him in a case that includes internet scams, a fetish priest, a helpful reporter, and a political assassination.
Is it for you? If you like gritty, atmospheric novels, try this series starter by Kwei Quartey, a physician who grew up in Ghana who also writes the Darko Dawson mysteries. |
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| Whiskers in the Dark: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie BrownWhat it is: the history-rich 28th entry in character-driven cozy mystery series that takes place in the present day as well as 18th-century Virginia and features anthropomorphic animals.
What it's about: A massive nor'easter on the eve of a National Beagle Club benefit for war veterans finds Harry Harristeen and her crime-solving animals, including cat Mrs. Murphy, discovering a link between the recent murder of a foreign services officer and a centuries-old unsolved killing. |
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In the Dark
by Cara Hunter
The set up: An Oxford, England, home renovation creates an opening in a basement wall belonging to a weak, dementia-afflicted professor -- and exposes a room containing a traumatized woman and a two-year-old boy.
What happens: In his engrossing 2nd outing, Thames Valley Police DI Adam Fawley finds the facts don't add up as he unearths a link to a cold case...and then things get even more complex.
Reviewers say: "This slow-burning procedural builds with tension as the narrative moves through several cunning twists" (Library Journal).
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| In the Dark Places: An Inspector Banks Novel by Peter RobinsonWhat happens: In North Yorkshire, the stolen tractor of a gentleman farmer and a fresh bloodstain in an abandoned World War II airport hangar lead DCI Alan Banks, DI Annie Cabbot, DS Winsome Jackman, and others to a disturbing murder case that involves the local slaughterhouse.
What you should know: This compelling, cleverly plotted 22nd book in the Alan Banks series has also been published under the title Abattoir Blues. |
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| A Shot in the Dark: A Constable Twitten Mystery by Lynne TrussWhat it's about: In 1957 Brighton, England, someone murders a theater critic who's about to reveal new details about the long-ago bank robbery he witnessed, and enthusiastic rookie Constable Twitten investigates.
About the author: Lynne Truss wrote the grammar bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves; though Constable Twitten has appeared on BBC Radio in her Inspector Steine series, this is the witty 1st novel to feature him (the 2nd is The Man That Got Away).
Read this next: For another intriguing look at crime in 1950s Brighton, pick up Elly Griffiths' acclaimed Magic Men mysteries. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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