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The Body in the Garden
by Katharine Schellman
Introducing: charming young widow Lily Adler, who, still missing her husband, returns to London in 1815 in hopes of creating an independent new life for herself.
What happens: At her first ball of the season, Lily overhears the murder of a blackmailer. When the magistrate is bribed to drop the case, intrepid Lily vows to investigate and gets help from Anglo-Indian naval captain Jack (her deceased husband's best friend), as well as from an heiress newly arrived from the West Indies.
Why you might like it: This 1st Lily Adler mystery offers well-researched details and diverse Regency-era characters.
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City of Margins
by William Boyle
What it's about: The lives of several lost souls intersect in gritty 1990s south Brooklyn, from a disgraced ex-cop with blood on his hands to the grieving mother of a suicide victim. The characters uncover secrets and make surprising and tragic connections.
Reviewers say: "Boyle’s characters are vividly drawn and painfully real" (Publisher's Weekly) and "Boyle blends powerful social realism with a strong noir sensibility" (Booklist).
If you like this one, you might also like: Other literary crime favorites like Don Winslow, Richard Price, and Lou Berney.
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| Murder in Old Bombay by Nev MarchIntroducing: Jim Agnihotri, an Anglo Indian man raised in a Poona orphanage who joined the British Indian army, and after a terrible battle, spent time in recovery reading newspapers and Sherlock Holmes stories.
What happens: In 1892, Jim's out of both the hospital and the military, and intrigued by news reports of two murdered women, visits the victims' well-to-do Parsee family in Bombay. Hired to investigate, he uses observations and disguises and seeks out information on a college campus, in a princely state, and in a war zone.
For fans of: award-winning debuts; evocative combinations of mystery, romance, and adventure; Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry mysteries; Abir Mukherjee's Wyndham and Banerjee novels. |
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| Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen SpotswoodIntroducing: Willowjean "Will" Parker, our tough young narrator who's a quick learner and a circus knife thrower; Lillian Pentecost, a famous New York City PI who's 40ish, smart, and in need of an assistant since her multiple sclerosis has started to more easily tire her.
What happens: Lillian hires Will, and they investigate the locked-room murder of a wealthy woman as Will falls for the victim's daughter.
Why you might like it: It offers a witty, fresh take on detective stories set in the 1940s and has fully realized characters you'll adore. |
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Back Bay Blues
by Peter Colt
The Plot: Vietnam veteran-turned-Boston private investigator Andy Roark uncovers connections between a murder and an anti-communist refugee group that is extorting local business owners, including a restaurant owner who risked everything to escape Saigon.
Read it for: a classic P.I. story with lots of attitude.
A sequel to: The Off-Islander, where Andy Roark tries to find a client's missing father in Nantucket.
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| November Road by Lou BerneyWhat it is: an affecting, highly acclaimed road-trip crime novel that uses the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Jr. as a starting point.
Starring: Frank Guidry, who as part of his work for a New Orleans mob boss leaves a getaway car in a Dallas parking lot, not knowing why; Charlotte Roy, who leaves her no-good husband in Oklahoma and sets out for California with her two daughters and dog in tow.
What happens: After Kennedy is shot, Guidry goes on the run, where he meets Charlotte beside her broken down car and decides traveling with a family will help him evade a mob hitman cleaning up loose ends. |
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| The September Society by Charles FinchWhat it's about: In 1866, gentleman detective Charles Lenox travels from London to Oxford at the behest of Lady Payson, whose son is missing. In the college town, Lenox discovers odd clues, as well as a link between the missing student, the secretive September Society, and an 1847 killing in India.
Series alert: Though A Beautiful Blue Death is the 1st in the Charles Lenox chronicles, this clever 2nd entry is also a good starting place for newcomers. Those who are already fans will be happy to know that the 14th novel, An Extravagant Death, is due in February. |
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| August Snow by Stephen Mack JonesIntroducing: August Snow, the son of a Mexican American woman and a Black cop, who was once a police officer, too, until he reported corruption and was fired (later winning millions in a lawsuit).
What it's about: Living in Detroit's Mexicantown where he grew up, Snow turns down a Grosse Pointe woman who asks for his help -- but when she's killed the very next day, he sets out to solve her murder.
Series alert: August Snow, an award-winning first novel and series starter, features compelling dialogue and a fascinating look at Detroit; the 3rd August Snow book, Dead of Winter, arrives in May. |
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| Bloody January by Alan ParksWhat it is: a gripping Scottish noir, a debut novel that takes place over the course of 20 days in January 1973, and the vivid 1st in a series.
What it's about: In Glasgow, Detective Harry McCoy gets a tip from a convict that a girl named Lorna (no last name) will be murdered the next day -- then it happens, and the convict dies too. As McCoy tries to figure out what's going on, signs point him toward one of the city's wealthiest families, so he uses his contacts on both sides of the law to find justice.
Read it for: the evocative look at 1970s Glasgow; the Scottish slang; his inexperienced partner, Wattie. |
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| The Cruelest Month by Louise PennyCause of death: A woman seemingly dies of fear during an April séance in the quaint Canadian village of Three Pines.
What happens: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec investigates the death of the well-liked villager while also dealing with internal police politics that threaten his career and reputation.
Series alert: Though this is the 3rd book in a consistently award-winning series, newcomers can start here if they like traditional mysteries, charming villages, and delightfully eccentric characters. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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