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| The Mitford Murders by Jessica FellowesIntroducing: Louisa Cannon, a down-on-her-luck young Londoner who finds work as a nursemaid to the (real-life) Mitford family.
What it's about: When a retired military nurse is killed on a train, Louisa, teenage Nancy Mitford, and a handsome railway cop investigate.
For fans of: Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs mysteries, which are also set in the inter-war period and examine the upstairs-downstairs dynamic, or Downton Abbey (author Jessica Fellowes is the niece of its creator and has written several nonfiction books about the show). |
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| The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata MasseyIntroducing: Perveen Mistry, Bombay's first woman solicitor and the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, who recently obtained her law degree from Oxford and joined her father's law firm.
What it's about: In 1921, Perveen discovers problems while executing the will of a wealthy Muslim who left three widows and several small children behind...and then someone close to them all is murdered. In a second storyline, it's 1916, and Perveen deals with sexism, falls in love, and faces danger from an unexpected source.
Why you might like it: Toggling between the two timelines, this critically acclaimed 1st in a new series provides an interesting mystery in an atmospheric setting and offers a poignant backstory for the appealing feminist heroine. |
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The black painting : a novel
by Neil Olson
What it's about: Four adult cousins from a family that has been estranged for decades amid suspicions regarding the theft of a cursed Goya painting gather at the mansion of their grandfather, who is found murdered.
Author note: By the author of The Icon.
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The chalk man : a novel
by C. J. Tudor
What it's about: Three decades after his circle of friends is traumatized by the discovery of a murder victim while passing secret messages through a chalk-figure code of their invention, Eddie finds himself targeted by an unknown adversary who is using their former communication methods to torment and kill his friends. A first novel.
Why you might like it: This is an intricately plotted storyline with a creepy, menacing tone.
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If You Like: Charles Finch |
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| The Cater Street Hangman by Anne PerryWhat it is: bestselling author Anne Perry's debut, the 1st in a series now numbering 32, and the richly detailed story of Inspector Thomas Pitt's investigation into a series of 1881 London killings of young women.
Is it for you? If you like the leisurely pacing, Victorian England setting, and touch of romance in Charles Finch's books, try the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mysteries, though they have a slightly bleaker tone.
Don't miss: Anne Perry's latest, Twenty-One Days, will be out this spring; it's the 1st in a new series starring Daniel Pitt, son of Thomas and Charlotte. |
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| A Curious Beginning by Deanna RaybournIntroducing: Veronica Speedwell, a smart, unorthodox young woman who was orphaned as a child and raised by two spinster "aunts"; after almost being abducted, she partners with mysterious Revelstoke "Stoker" Templeton-Vane to sort out why.
Why you might like it: You enjoy witty prose, intricate plots, romantic elements, and lush depictions of Victorian England.
Series alert: This is the 1st of three books (so far) in the Veronica Speedwell series; Deanna Raybourn also writes the similarly pleasing Lady Julia Grey mysteries. |
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| Whose Body? A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery by Dorothy L. SayersWhat it's about: First published in 1923, this 1st in the classic Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries has Wimsey working with Inspector Charles Parker to sort out where a millionaire has disappeared to while also dealing with Inspector Sugg to uncover how and why another man's corpse was deposited in an architect's bathtub.
For fans of: witty, charming aristocratic sleuths who clean up crime in a bygone England and find romance in unexpected places. |
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Unnatural habits : a Phryne Fisher mystery
by Kerry Greenwood
What it's about: When a series of blond, pregnant teens go missing from the Magdalene Laundry in 1929 Melbourne and a pushy woman reporter disappears while investigating, Phryne Fisher and Dot uncover a dark plot involving piracy, convents, and creepy cellars.
Author notes: The Phryne Fisher series (pronounced Fry-knee, to rhyme with briny) began in 1989 with Cocaine Blues which was a great success. Kerry has written sixteen books in this series with no sign yet of Miss Fisher hanging up her pearl-handled pistol. Kerry says that as long as people want to read them, she can keep writing them. In 2003 Kerry Won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian Association.
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Sweet poison
by David Roberts
What it's about: The colorful list of dinner guests at the Duke of Mersham's house includes a pacifist bishop, a general, and a close associate of Adolf Hitler's, but when the bodies start to pile up, the Duke's younger brother, a journalist, begins to investigate.
You may also like: Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen, the first in the Royal Spyness mysteries.
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Garden of lies
by Amanda Quick
What it's about: Refusing to believe that her star employee's death was not accidental, Ursula Kern, the owner of a secretarial agency for wealthy clients, hires skeptical adventurer Slater Roxton to investigate the dark side of cultured society. By the best-selling author of Otherwise Engaged.
Author notes: Jayne Ann Krentz was born in Borrego Springs, California on March 28, 1948. She received a B.A. in history from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a master's degree in library science from San Jose State University. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a librarian.
She has written under seven different names: Jayne Bentley, Amanda Glass, Stephanie James, Jayne Taylor, Jayne Castle, Amanda Quick, and Jayne Ann Krentz. She currently uses only three personas to represent her three specialties. She uses the name Jayne Ann Krentz for her contemporary pieces, Amanda Quick for her historical fiction pieces, and Jayne Castle for her futuristic pieces.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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