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| Murder Comes to Call by Jessica EllicottWhat it's about: When their new Irish gardener is blamed for the death of a judge and a series of strange thefts (including that of the village's completed census forms), American adventuress Beryl and her practical English friend Edwina set out to find the truth.
Series alert: Murder Comes to Call is the engaging 4th in the Beryl and Edwina mystery series, which began with Murder in an English Village.
For fans of: Village mysteries; lighthearted whodunits set in post-World War I England, like Frances Brody's Kate Shackleton mysteries or Alyssa Maxwell's Lady and Lady's Maid mysteries. |
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| The Night of the Fire by Kjell Eriksson; translated by Paul NorlenWhat it's about: Police inspector Ann Lindell has left the Violent Crimes Unit to retire to a village and make local cheese. But she's linked to her old job when an anonymous caller to headquarters will only speak to her. Locally, there's also strange goings-on, including a fatal fire at a refugee shelter (possibly linked to neo-Nazis) and a dead badger left on Ann's bed.
Series alert: This slow-building Swedish police procedural is the 8th in a series and offers fascinating characters, smart plotting, and an insightful look at timely issues. |
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Before She Disappeared
by Lisa Gardner
Starring: Frankie Elkin, a middle-aged recovering alcoholic whose job is to find people after everyone else has given up.
What happens: Investigating the cold-case disappearance of a Haitian teen in a gritty Boston neighborhood, Frankie navigates resident and police resistance as well as the challenges of her own sobriety before risking her life to uncover the truth.
For fans of: Compelling police procedurals featuring women detectives and cold cases.
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The Survivors
by Jane Harper
What happens: Haunted by guilt for a reckless and consequential mistake in his youth, Kieran returns to his coastal hometown and his struggling fishing-industry parents.
The mystery: The discovery of a body on the beach reveals long-held secrets. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away.
Who will like it: Atmospheric, bleak, character-driven mysteries featuring complex, flawed characters.
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The House on Vesper Sands
by Paraic O'Donnell
Featuring: Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious; Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout; Octavia Hillingdon, a cleaver, young journalist.
What happens: In 1893 London, stories abound of a mysterious group that’s said to steal the souls of working-class women. Cutter must determine how a mysterious suicide is connected to a rash of missing girls.
Series alert: This is the first installment in the Inspector Cutter series featuring supernatural Gothic fiction and well-developed, witty characters.
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Books You May Have Missed
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| What You Don't See by Tracy ClarkWhat happens: While guarding a celebrated magazine publisher who's receiving anonymous threats, a police detective friend of Chicago PI Cass Raines is badly injured and lands in the hospital. Now, Cass wants answers about who hurt him and what the secretive celebrity is hiding.
Series alert: This is the engrossing 3rd mystery featuring independent Cass; her 4th outing, Runner, comes out in June.
For fans of: Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, or Rachel Howzell Hall. |
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| The Case of the Reincarnated Client by Tarquin HallStarring: Vish Puri, the amiable middle-aged owner of India's Most Private Investigations, who's always ready for good meal.
What happens: Vish investigates a woman claiming to be a reincarnated murder victim, deals with an unhappy customer (a potential husband whom Vish had checked out prior to an arranged marriage turned out to be a snorer), and to his dismay, learns his daughter wants a love-match marriage.
Series alert: Like the earlier entries, this delightful 5th and most recent Vish Puri mystery works as a standalone. Those who prefer to start with Vish's 1st outing can pick up The Case of the Missing Servant. |
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| And the Killer Is... by G.A. McKevettWhat it's about: When an elderly movie star is murdered in her clutter-filled California mansion, plus-sized PI Savannah Reid and her cop husband search for answers as Savannah juggles caring for a child she's temporarily taken in.
Series alert: This is the 25th Savannah Reid mystery; the 26th, A Few Drops of Bitters, comes out in July. Murder at Mabel's Motel, the 3rd book in the author's spinoff Granny Reid mysteries -- which includes a spunky young Savannah growing up in Georgia -- is out this month. |
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| Cartier's Hope by M.J. RoseWhat happens: Intrepid, well-to-do journalist Vera Garland investigates possible misdeeds around jeweler Pierre Cartier’s recently acquired (and supposedly cursed) Hope Diamond. A facet of Vera's article will also, she hopes, provide revenge against her late father's blackmailer.
Why you might like it: Painting a vivid picture of gilded age New York, Cartier's Hope includes history, mystery, and romance.
Did you know? M.J. Rose's next historical novel, The Last Tiara, comes out in February and deals with a missing Romanov treasure. |
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| Broken: Six Short Novels by Don WinslowWhat's inside: Six wide-ranging, gritty crime novellas featuring lively, compelling prose and a few familiar characters, like surfer Boone Daniels from The Dawn Patrol and The Gentlemen's Hour.
Don't miss: The San Diego Zoo, a humorous homage to Elmore Leonard that begins, "No one knows how the chimp got the revolver."
Reviewers say: Broken "will keep readers entertained with wit, humor, and occasional sadness" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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