Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/22/2013
ISBN-13: 9780765336262
ISBN-10: 076533626X

Historical Mystery. What really happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963? Private detective Nathan Heller aims to find out after he and his 16-year-old son are targeted by a killer who Heller believes is linked to John F. Kennedy's recent assassination. In Max Allan Collins' final book in a trilogy dealing with JFK's death (and Heller's 18th outing overall), an outbreak of suspicious suicides, "accidental" deaths, and outright murders decimates assassination witnesses and those who know too much. Heller tries to keep his family safe and, with the blessing of Bobby Kennedy, investigates the increasing wave of violence, looking for connections to a conspiracy. In a starred review, Booklist says Ask Not is a "terrific detective novel, compelling and well constructed."

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/08/2013
ISBN-13: 9781451613261
ISBN-10: 1451613261

Mystery. In India, a star-crossed couple -- high-caste Tulsi and untouchable Ram -- fall in love, but Tulsi's rich (and gun-toting) father is horrified by his daughter's beloved and locks her away for months. So the Love Commandos, a real-life group of volunteers who help mixed-caste couples, sets a plan in motion. But while they liberate Tulsi, someone kidnaps Ram. When one of his operatives (who's also a Love Commando), asks for his help, Vish Puri, India's Most Private Investigator, searches for the young man in his village and finds a murdered relative instead. Meanwhile, Puri's delightful Mummy-ji trails a thief (or worse) who may have stolen her son's wallet. As always, in this charming 4th in a series, Vish Puri eats some lovely meals while investigating; fans who want to savor some of those same dishes will appreciate the included recipes.

First Chapter  

Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/2013
ISBN-13: 9780425260753
ISBN-10: 0425260755

Cozy Mystery. Bailey Ruth Raeburn, lately of Heaven, wouldn't go to Earth without permission -- but that's exactly what she does when she's tricked by another ghost, Delilah Delahunt Duvall, who wants Bailey Ruth to help her rich but troubled 20-year-old nephew, who lives near Bailey Ruth's former home town. And help him Bailey Ruth does, for as soon as she arrives, she saves his life! Unfortunately, after materializing, she discovers she can't disappear again and realizes she's unwittingly gone rogue. But don't give up on Bailey Ruth -- the feisty emissary from Heaven's Department of Good Intentions is determined to set things straight. Readers who enjoy Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity books or Mignon F. Ballard's Augusta Goodnight novels may appreciate these fun, well-plotted mysteries with a supernatural bent.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/08/2013
ISBN-13: 9781250001870
ISBN-10: 1250001870

Mystery. As Eric and Andrew deal with marriage problems, their adventurous 12-year-old son, Jack, and his cousin, Gabriel, disappear after camping out in Jack's backyard one summer night. The police think the boys are runaways, and aren't searching as hard as the upset parents think they should, so they hire their friend, Minneapolis restaurateur and private investigator Jane Lawless. Jane tries to figure out where the boys are, but there aren't many clues to help her...at first. Longtime fans will be happy to see Jane's delightfully wacky best friend Cordelia Thorn but maybe not her ex, Dr. Julia Martinsen, who both make appearances. This is the 21st novel in the Jane Lawless series by the Lambda Award-winner Ellen Hart.

First Chapter  

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/19/2013
ISBN-13: 9781250021458
ISBN-10: 1250021456

Mystery. Lemuel Gunn used to be a New Jersey Homicide cop, then he was recruited by the CIA to work in Afghanistan, but things didn't go so well and he was pushed out of the spy business. Now living in a New Mexico mobile home, he makes a living as a private eye. In A Nasty Piece of Work, his client is sexy puppeteer Ornella Neppi, who has been (badly) managing her uncle's bail bonds business while he recovers from surgery. Needing some help bringing in an elusive criminal who jumped bail, she asks Gunn for help -- and he's more than happy to oblige. Though Robert Littell is best known for his spy novels, this fast-paced detective story is a gritty, Chandler-esque mystery filled with quirky characters and snappy dialogue.

First Chapter  

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/2013
ISBN-13: 9781250026132
ISBN-10: 125002613X

Police Procedural. Hurricane Irene has been tearing up the East Coast, and now she's headed for Vermont. As Joe Gunther and his Vermont Bureau of Investigation team prepare for disaster, so does everyone else in the state, including the local cops and the staff of the flood-plain-located state mental hospital. When the storm does hit, causing massive flooding, it cuts off entire towns and exposes a coffin filled with rocks instead of the expected 27-year-old remains. Meanwhile, one of the mental patients escapes during the evacuation and a retired state politician turns up dead in suspicious circumstances. Though this is the 24th book in a popular series, it's also "one of Joe's best" (Kirkus Reviews) outings.

First Chapter  

Publisher: Little Brown & Company
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/08/2013
ISBN-13: 9780316078399
ISBN-10: 0316078395

Crime Novel. Intelligent Iraq War veteran Spero Lucas channels his penchant for violence into his job as a private investigator who works for a Washington, D.C. defense attorney as well as taking cases of his own. In his 2nd book, he finds himself not only trying to help clear a man arrested for murder but also hunting down a sociopath who emotionally ruins his female victims before stealing valuable objects from them. With the Spero series, Pelecanos moves into contemporary times and a higher level of grittiness; readers who don't mind the changes and like sparsely written, atmospheric crime novels will want to pick up The Double. Fans of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee may want to as well; like McGee, Spero is a knight-errant who is good with women and finding missing things.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/12/2013
ISBN-13: 9781439140215
ISBN-10: 1439140219

Police Procedural. Things have changed in investigator Arkady Renko's Russia since his 1st case, 1981's Gorky Park, but it's still dangerous for anyone to ask too many questions. So when investigative reporter Tatiana Petrovna falls to her death from her sixth-floor Moscow balcony, the authorities quickly rule it a suicide and then misplace the body. Renko suspects murder and begins his own investigation, discovering connections between Tatiana and the death of a mob billionaire the same week, a dead translator's encoded diary, and a Cold War secret city. As the cynical yet tenacious Renko looks for answers, he finds himself asking a teenage chess genius for help. This 8th book in a stellar series is "one of Smith's strongest" (Washington Post).