|
Mystery Ebooks February 2021
|
|
|
|
| Germania: A Novel of Nazi Berlin by Harald GilbersWhat happens: In 1944 Berlin, Jewish former police detective Richard Oppenheimer, who's alive because his wife is Aryan, is forced to investigate a serial killer murdering women connected to powerful Nazis.
Series alert: This 1st Richard Oppenheimer novel is an international bestseller and the only entry so far to be translated into English.
Read it for: the well-researched historical details; the atmospheric portrayal of Berlin at the end of the war.
[also available as a physical book] |
|
|
Blood grove
by Walter Mosley
What it's about: After being approached by a shell-shocked Vietnam War veteran who claims to have gotten into a fight protecting a white woman from a black man, Easy embarks on an investigation that takes him from mountaintops to the desert, through South Central and into sex clubs and the homes of the fabulously wealthy.
Read it for: a crackling, moody, and thrilling race through a California of hippies and tycoons, radicals and sociopaths, cops and grifters, both men and women.
[also available as a physical book]
|
|
|
The house on Vesper Sands
by Paraic O'Donnell
What it's about: A Victorian-inspired supernatural mystery by the award-winning author of The Maker of Swans follows the experiences of a Cambridge dropout and his savvy detective partner, who connect a paramour’s disappearance to a bizarre suicide.
Why you might like it: By turns smart, surprising, and impossible to put down, this offers a glimpse into the strange undertow of late nineteenth-century London and the secrets we all hold inside us.
[also available as a physical book]
|
|
|
Smoke
by Joe Ide
What it's about: Going into hiding in a small California town, unlicensed detective Isaiah confronts a desperate man on the trail of a serial killer, while Dodson accepts a cutthroat advertising internship in his effort to go straight.
Why you might like it: Deft plotting, lacerating humor, and a keen eye for the ways in which characters rise or fall based on their ties to one another.
Series alert: This is the fifth book in the IQ series.
[also available as a physical book]
|
|
|
A curious incident
by Vicki Delany
What it's about: After Gemma helps a little girl find her lost cat, the child returns seeking further assistance when her mother is accused of killing her garden club rival.
Why you might like it: A cozy mystery steeped in Sherlockian lore.
Series alert: Sixth in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, following There’s a Murder Afoot.
[also available as a physical book]
|
|
If You Like: Deanna Raybourn
|
|
| And Only to Deceive by Tasha AlexanderWhat it's about: Tired of her overbearing mother, Emily marries a viscount and is widowed before she even gets to know him. Meeting his associates, including his handsome best friend, she learns he may have been involved in illegal activities -- and could even still be alive.
Series alert: This lively book introduces Lady Emily Ashton, whose 15th outing, The Dark Heart of Florence, comes out in March.
Why Deanna Raybourn fans might like it: Both Lady Emily and Lady Julia Grey star in lighthearted romantic Victorian mysteries featuring widows who first investigate by delving into their husbands' deaths.
[also available as a physical book] |
|
| The Woman in the Water by Charles FinchStarring: Charles Lenox, a 23-year-old aristocrat in 1850 London, who's beginning to formally pursue his interest in detection -- an interest that is considered unseemly for someone of his station -- with his loyal valet Graham always ready to assist.
Series alert: Since this is a prequel, new readers can easily start with this 11th Charles Lenox mystery. The latest Lenox book, An Extravagant Death, comes out this month.
Why Deanna Raybourn fans might like it: Though the main character is male, he's a witty, charming sleuth in an atmospheric Victorian London, and the books have character-driven plots and a bit of romance.
[also available as a physical book] |
|
| The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth PetersStarring: Amelia Peabody Emerson, a feminist archaeologist married to an eccentric Egyptologist and the mother of a precocious son.
What it's about: In 1896 England, Amelia takes care of her brother's two insufferable children for the summer and gets caught up in a mystery at the British Museum that involves a curse, a cure, and murder.
Why Deanna Raybourn fans might like it: First published in 1988, this fun 5th entry in a beloved series offers adventure-filled plots, fully realized characters, sparkling writing, and vivid settings.
[also available as a physical book] |
|
| A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry ThomasWhat it's about: After her social ruination, extraordinarily clever Charlotte Holmes created the alter ego male detective Sherlock. Now, amid other cases, she helps a woman find a missing former love...who turns out to be Charlotte's own illegitimate half-brother.
Series alert: Though this is the 2nd Lady Sherlock book, it's fine for newcomers. If you like first things first, pick up A Study in Scarlet Women. Want the latest? Murder on Cold Street came out in October.
Why Deanna Raybourn fans might like it: Charlotte is an intelligent and convention-defying character in a vividly depicted England.
[also available as a physical book] |
|
|
Long Beach Public Library 111 West Park Ave Long Beach, New York 11561 516-432-7201
Visit our Website
|
|
|
|
|