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The Angels' Share
by Ellen Crosby
What readers can expect: An intriguing blend of secret societies, Prohibition bootleg wine, and potentially scandalous documents hidden by the Founding Fathers, all of which yield a vintage murder.
What happens: Attending a Thanksgiving weekend party at a newspaper family’s castle estate, Lucie Montgomery learns of her nonagenarian host’s aspirations about a rare Prohibition-era Madeira before he is found dead in his wine cellar amid rumors of his Freemason connections.
Series alert: This is the 10th book in the Wine Country Mysteries series. The first book in the series is The Merlot Murders.
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| Curious Toys by Elizabeth HandWhat it's about: After her sister disappeared two years ago, 14-year-old Pin, who lives near 1915 Chicago's Riverview amusement park with her fortune-teller mother, began posing as a boy for safety reasons. Now, after finding a girl's body in the park, she teams with reclusive artist Henry Darger to track down a serial killer.
Read this next: For another gritty mystery set at a carnival, try Stephen King's 1970s-set Joyland. For another strong female detective who cross-dresses due to society's restrictions, try E.S. Thomson's Jem Flockhart mysteries, set in a vividly depicted 1850s London. |
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Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders
by Tessa Arlen
Introducing: Poppy Redfern, a charming, quirky Air Raid Warden and aspiring writer.
What it is about: Patrolling her English village by night during World War II, Poppy Redfern witnesses her community descend into hostility and suspicion when local girls begin dating soldiers only to be found dead shortly afterwards.
Series alert: This is the first installment of the Woman of WWII Mystery series.
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| The Chestnut Man by Søren SveistrupWhat it is: a chilling, suspenseful Scandinavian crime novel featuring two newly partnered Copenhagen police detectives, Naia Thulin and Mark Hess, who don't get along at first.
What happens: A serial killer leaves dolls made of chestnuts and matchsticks at murder scenes and Thulin and Hess follow forensic clues linking the case to a politician’s kidnapped daughter.
For fans of: Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbo, Jussi Adler-Olsen, or Helene Tursten. |
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Blind Search
by Paula Munier
What it's about: Former MP Mercy Carr and her retired bomb-sniffing dog investigate a murder to which the only witness is a 10-year-old boy on the autism spectrum.
Why you might like it: Paula Munier's mystery is a compelling roller coaster ride through the worst of winter—and human nature. It is also the sequel to the page-turning, critically acclaimed A Borrowing of Bones.
Did you know? This novel was inspired by the true search-and-rescue case of an autistic boy who got lost in the Vermont wilderness.
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| Sorry for the Dead by Nicola UpsonStarring: real-life British Golden Age mystery author Josephine Tey.
What happens: Past and present collide in 1938 when, to protect her name after a gossipy news story, Tey reconsiders the suspicious 1915 death that closed the girls' horticultural school she taught at and also threatened to destroy the lives of the two women who ran it.
What sets it apart: Combining period details, appealing characters, and a compelling plot that traverses decades, this 8th in a series also depicts the trials and dangers faced by same-sex couples of the time. |
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Holiday Country House Mysteries
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| Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie BarronWhat it's about: Spending part of the snowy 1814 Christmas holidays at the country home of the Chute family (and happily away from her parsimonious brother and his hypochondriac wife), Pride and Prejudice author Jane Austen teams with a fellow guest, artist Raphael West, after a murder occurs and an invaluable political treaty goes missing.
Read this next: If you enjoy this well-researched 12th in a historical mystery series, try Anna Dean's mysteries starring Dido Kent, who has a background similar to Jane, or Carrie Bebris' Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries, which star Austen's characters but include hints of supernatural elements. |
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| The Ghost of Christmas Past by Rhys BowenWhat it's about: Just before Christmas 1906, Molly Murphy Sullivan is struggling with depression in the aftermath of trauma and miscarriage.
What happens: Molly, her police detective husband, and their two-year-old son are gathered with friends at a Hudson River mansion when a 13-year-old girl claiming to be their hosts' long-missing daughter appears.
Who it's for: Readers who enjoy compelling stories featuring strong women will appreciate this 17th series entry; for those who want to start with book one, pick up Murphy's Law. |
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| Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha ChristieWhat it is: a locked-room mystery that takes place at a snow-covered English country house at Christmas.
What happens: A manipulative and cruel patriarch calls his family together for the holidays and proceeds to announce that he's changing his will. Of course he ends up dead, and famous private detective Hercule Poirot, who's vacationing nearby, helps the police sort it all out.
Did you know? This 17th Poirot mystery was first published in 1938 and is Agatha Christie's only full-length Christmas book (it's also been published as Murder for Christmas and A Holiday for Murder).
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| Murder in the Dark by Kerry GreenwoodStarring: the Honourable Phryne Fisher, a wealthy, free-spirited, and always glamorous flapper who grew up poor and now dabbles in PI work.
What happens: Phryne makes sure to attend after she's anonymously warned off the Last Best Party of 1928, a five-day gathering thrown by self-indulgent brother-and-sister twins at an Australian manor house -- and she's soon investigating a murder.
Movie buzz: Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears, a feature film based on the atmospheric Phryne Fisher series, of which Murder in the Dark is the 16th entry, comes out in 2020. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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