May 2017 list by Jewel Nelson
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| Old Bones by Trudy Nan BoycePolice Procedural. In the 2nd atmospheric novel to feature Atlanta police detective Sara "Salt" Alt, a Take Back the Night vigil by Spelman college students is thrown into chaos when a car with a Confederate flag on board drives up and shoots into the crowd, killing one and injuring others. Alt, who's working a cold case involving the murder of a teen girl she'd once arrested, isn't on the task force for unknown reasons, but is called to perform riot duty when racial tensions come to a boil. Readers looking for authentic and compelling police procedurals should read Trudy Nan Boyce's books: she was an Atlanta cop for decades and paints a compelling picture of policing in the South. |
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| A Death in the Dales: A Kate Shackleton Mystery by Frances BrodyHistorical Cozy. When private detective Kate Shackleton's 14-year-old niece Harriet needs time to recover from an illness, the pair head to a small village in Yorkshire, staying in a cabin that Kate's beau, Lucian, recently inherited from his aunt. While Kate hopes to rest, she discovers that Lucian's aunt claimed to be the solitary witness to a murder a decade earlier, a case where she said the wrong man was convicted. But that's not all going on in the quaint town: there's blackmail, a missing boy, and another suspicious death. Set in the 1920s and featuring an independent-minded female detective, this richly detailed series (Death in the Dales is book 7) might prove a good fit for fans of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs or Charles Todd's Bess Crawford. |
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| The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay FayeShort Stories. In this superb collection, Edgar Award-nominated Lyndsay Faye presents a collection of 15 Sherlock Holmes stories, including two new works (such as the clever "The Adventure of the Thames Tunnel") as well as tales that were previously published. Though Sherlock Holmes pastiches abound, not very many place him in his prime on Baker Street as Lyndsay Faye often does here. Can't get enough of Faye's Holmes? Pick up her novel Dust and Shadow, which pits him against Jack the Ripper. Want other authors' takes on the great detective? Try Anthony Horowitz's Sherlock Holmes novels or Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series (King, together with Leslie Klinger, has also edited several Sherlock anthologies). Read and enjoy, Sherlockians! |
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| Cruel Mercy by David MarkPolice Procedural. Going to New York City, Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy of Humberside, England meets up with dedicated Detective Ronald Alto of the 7th precinct. The men work together to sort out who shot and killed a promising young Irish boxer and left his legendary coach in a coma -- but the case is complex, and it has a family connection for Aector. Meanwhile, the cops also deal with various Mafias (Russian, Italian, and more), a date rapist, and a serial killer. With all of McAvoy's previous dark, compelling outings taking place in the U.K., fans of Manhattan-set crime novels may want to start with this 6th novel; Kirkus Reviews says it's "beautifully crafted, filled with flashbacks, horror, angst, and chilling detail." |
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| Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel by Adrian McKintyPolice Procedural. As the 6th book featuring Detective Sean Duffy begins, he's handcuffed and walking towards a clearing where he'll be forced to dig his own grave; will he figure a way out of this mess? It's 1988 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the Troubles and sectarian violence are part of life. Duffy, a Catholic who works for the Royal Constabulary, has ticked off someone while investigating the killing of a man with a crossbow in front of his own house, and now he may pay with his life. Like the other Sean Duffy books, this gritty, fast-paced novel is chock full of realistic dialogue and memorable characters; fans of fellow Northern Irish writer Stuart Neville will find much to like. |
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One by One
by Sarah Cain
When a high school acquaintance asks for help, and then is murdered, Philadelphia journalist Danny Ryan discovers that other members of their class have suffered the same fate after receiving threatening text messages and must put together memories from one fateful party all those years ago to catch a killer. By the author of The 8th Circle.
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Cold Earth
by Ann Cleeves
When a landslide in the dark days of a Shetland winter destroys a house in which the body of a mysterious woman in a red silk dress is found, Jimmy Perez becomes obsessed with identifying the woman and discovering how she actually died.
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Saratoga Payback
by Stephen Dobyns
Torn between helping and breaking the law when a local troublemaker is found dead on the sidewalk near his home, erstwhile detective Charlie Bradshaw becomes entangled in a mission to rescue an old acquaintance's stolen horse. By the author of The Burn Palace.
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Murder in a Cornish Alehouse
by Kathy Lynn Emerson
June, 1584. On hearing news of the sudden death of her stepfather, Sir Walter Pendennis, Rosamond Jaffrey must leave London for Cornwall to look after the interests of her young half-brother and try to mend her strained relationship with their mother. However, on arriving in Cornwall, Rosamond makes the shocking discovery that Sir Walter was in fact murdered - and reluctantly she agrees to work with an agent of the queen's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, in order to unmask the killer.
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Murder Is No Accident
by Ann H. Gabhart
Hidden Springs Deputy Sheriff Michael Keen is called in to investigate a suspicious string of deaths at an empty old Victorian mansion, before more bodies can turn up.
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Where the Dead Lie
by C. S Harris
When a homeless child is killed in 1813 London, Sebastian St. Cyr uncovers a disturbing pattern of missing children and is drawn into a sadistic underworld operation with links to the writings of the debauched Marquis de Sade, the city's most notorious brothels and a predator in society's upper echelon. By the best-selling author of When Falcons Fall.
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The Devil's Country
by Harry Hunsicker
Former Texas Ranger Arlo Baines didn’t come to the tiny West Texas town of Piedra Springs to cause trouble. After his wife and children were murdered, Arlo just wants to be left alone. Moving from place to place seems to be the only thing that eases the pain of his family’s violent end. But a chance encounter outside a bar forces him to rescue a terrified woman and her children from mysterious attackers. When the woman turns up murdered the next day—her children missing—Arlo becomes the primary suspect in exactly the same type of crime he is trying desperately to forget. Haunted by the fate of his family, and with the police questioning the existence of the dead woman’s children, Arlo decides it’s his duty to find them. The question is, just how deep will he have to sink into the dusty secrets of Piedra Springs to save them and clear his name?
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The Little Parachute
by J. Robert Janes
As soon as Angélique arrives in Paris she is taken prisoner by the SS, but she is the adoptive mother to a silent young boy with an important secret and she will do anything to keep his true identity from the Germans.
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The Curse of La Fontaine: A Verlaque and Bonnet Mystery
by M. L. Longworth
Verlaque and Bonnet investigate after a chef trying to expand his restaurant into an historic courtyard uncovers a skeleton and a string of bad luck, in the sixth novel of the series following The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne.
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Every Body on Deck
by G. A. McKevett
Eagerly accepting a security detail job on a luxurious Alaskan cruise to protect a famed mystery writer, plus-sized private investigator Savannah Reid tackles a particularly dramatic case when her charge inexplicably flees the ship and is killed in a suspicious accident.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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