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| A Very Vexing Murder by Lucy Andrew Harriet Smith investigates...A murder most Austen. A witty debut whodunit that reimagines Harriet Smith, the gullible sidekick of Jane Austen's Emma, as a spitfire con woman, hired to break off an engagement and uncover a murderer in the genteel village of Highbury. Is a killer lurking in the idyllic country domain of Emma Woodhouse? No longer Emma's naïve companion, Harriet Smith is a feisty con-woman-turned-detective tasked with breaking off Frank Churchill's engagement and uncovering his aunt's would-be murderer. While Harriet has doubts that the deadly threats are little more than society scandal, the shrewd Mrs. Churchill suspects Frank's unsuitable fiancée, Jane Fairfax, is out to kill her. What begins as a routine investigation among Highbury's elite quickly spirals into a web of deception, dangerous secrets, and a game of survival. With a cast of unforgettable characters--including a charming scoundrel, a lovesick farmer, a ghoulish butler, and a ruthless heiress determined to hide her skeletons at any cost-- this brilliantly reimagined mystery featuring the characters from Jane Austen's Emma is as deliciously dark as it is delightfully clever. |
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| The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. BrownA dual-timeline murder mystery set in an English country manor, when an ambitious professor discovers the long-lost manuscript of a Reformation-era prophetess.Historian Alison Sage has made a groundbreaking archival discovery: she found a manuscript containing the prophecies of a 16th century nun, Elizabeth Barton. Barton's prophecy condemning Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn led to her execution and the destruction of all copies of her prophecies--or so the world believed.
With Alison's discovery, she scores an invitation to the exclusive Codex Consortium, a week of research among a select handful of fellow historians at a crumbling manor in England, located next to the ruins of the priory where Elizabeth Barton once lived. What begins as a promising conference turns into a nightmare as the eerie house becomes the site of a murder. Everyone is a suspect, and it seems that answers lie in a local legend about centuries-old hidden treasure.
Alison's world of academia becomes almost as dangerous as Elizabeth Barton's sixteenth-century England, where heretics are beheaded, visions can kill, and knowing who to trust is a deadly art. The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton is a thrilling novel, crackling with the voices of the past and propelled by a mystery that will leave readers in suspense until the very last page. |
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Family Lies by Karen RoseThe fourth nerve-shattering installment of the San Diego Case Files from New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose. As an infant, Kit McKittrick's foster sister Akiko was abandoned at a firehouse. Now 32, Akiko has received an unsettling phone call from a woman named Mary Sherman who says that she knew Akiko's birth mother, but refuses to divulge any details except in person. Akiko is nervous but also thrilled at the prospect of finally learning about her blood relations. Kit has a bad feeling about this and insists on accompanying Akiko to meet the woman. Sure enough, as they stand on Mary Sherman's doorstep, shots are fired, Kit is hit...and inside the house is a corpse: Mary Sherman herself. Although Kit is on medical leave and forbidden to work the case, she cannot rest. With police psychologist Sam Reeves, she undertakes a covert investigation into the mysterious Mary Sherman. Was she Akiko's birth mother? Why did she reach out after all these years? And who had a motive to kill her? As more bodies pile up, Kit starts to put together the pieces of the frightening puzzle that is Akiko's birth family, and she'll start to wonder if some secrets should stay buried after all. |
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| Deadly Force by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles A police officer is murdered, found washed up on the banks of a canal in this gritty, page-turning mystery set in London and featuring DCI Bill Slider - "one of Britain's most engaging coppers" (Booklist) DCI Bill Slider and his team are plunged into a city-wide manhunt when the body of a police officer is found dumped in a canal. Murder is always treated seriously, but when the victim is a serving copper, the killer is going to find the whole London force on their tail - and there will be no let up until they're caught. Colleagues say PC Peter Bentley was a quiet bloke who kept himself to himself. But as Slider and Atherton dig deeper, it becomes clear that this likeable bobby had secrets. Was he involved in something that got out of control or had something from his past come back to bite him? Soon, the hardships of 'the Job' and the office politics at play make for an intriguing mystery that, this time, feels too close to home . . . This critically acclaimed British police procedural series is a great choice for fans of Catherine Aird, Ann Cleeves and Peter James. This is Slider's 26th outing, but new readers can start here. If you haven't met Bill Slider and his team, why not start now? |
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Death at a Firefly Tea by Laura ChildsAs fireflies dazzle like tiny glowing lanterns, tea maven Theodosia hosts an elegant evening tea on the patio of the Tangled Rose B and B. But in this gentle darkness an intruder has made their way in and slipped deadly drugs into the baked Alaska of Mrs. Van Courtland, one of Charleston's local grande dames. Shocked by this brazen act of murder, urged on by Mrs. V's grieving son, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. Soon, she finds herself at odds with a greedy developer, the questionable residents of Honey Badger House, a vengeful ex- daughter-in-law, ne'er do well relatives, and a housekeeper who knows all the secrets. As Theodosia hosts a Moulin Rouge Tea and a Queen Victoria Tea, her tea sommelier Drayton is assaulted by a masked stranger, and the fiancâe of Mrs. V's son is kidnapped. It's only at the Starry Starry Night black tie ball that Theodosia stumbles upon the killer and gets pulled into a dramatic life and death chase.
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The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives by Elizabeth ArnottA Library Reads Pick, one of Marie Claire's Most Anticipated Books of 2026, and one of Glamour's Best Books for Book Clubs, a remarkable trio whose lives have been cracked wide open by their husbands' crimes unite to catch a serial killer in this dazzlingly captivating novel. Beverley, Elsie, and Margot are not your average housewives. They are all wives of convicted killers. During the sun-drenched summer of 1966, the three women form an unlikely friendship after the discoveries of their husbands' brutal crimes. With their exes--some of California's most infamous murderers--dead or behind bars, they are attempting to forge a new future for themselves. Headstrong Beverley tries compulsively to maintain control of everything around her, all while raising two children. Bookish Elsie fights to make a name for herself in the newsroom, working among men who sneer at her career goals. Glamorous Margot prefers partying to homemaking and devotes all her energy to upholding the appearance that everything is fine--anything to quell the shame from her husband's deceit. They know people look at them and think only one thing: How could they not have known what their husbands were doing? How much are they to blame? And yet when a string of local killings hits the news, the three women--underestimated, overlooked, shrewd--decide to get to work. After all, who better to catch a killer than those who have shared their lives and homes with one? At once a riveting portrayal of shattered trust and a story of gripping suspense, The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives is a testament to the intricacies of women's lives and how the deep bonds of female friendship can empower, uplift, and lead us to endure. |
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When the Wolves Are Silent by C. S. HarrisA string of shocking ritual killings has London's ruling elite panicked in the latest Sebastian St. Cyr mystery by C. S. Harris London, 1816: When a notorious young aristocrat is burned alive on a windswept hill popular with neo-Druids, former cavalry officer Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, finds himself plunged into a murder investigation shadowed by tales of ancient human sacrifices and long-buried secrets. The victim, Marcus Toole, was the only son and heir of a prominent nobleman. Sebastian and his brilliant wife, Hero, follow a tangled trail that leads from a disaffected former soldier-turned-highwayman to a beautiful, courageous journalist and a Jamaican-born fencing master with ties to a radical political movement. .With the palace shaken by the fear of riots and one horrifying death following another, Sebastian must race to stop a ruthless plot that threatens the lives of innocents and could rip his troubled nation apart. |
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| How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen PerrinFrom the gritty streets of 1960s Soho to the lofty galleries of present-day West London, two interlocking mysteries decades apart unfold in this latest installment of the award-winning, Castle Knoll Murder Mystery series 1968: Frances Adams is loving her new London life, and she’s stepped into a world of glamour thanks to her new friend, Vera Huntington--a magnetic socialite as mysterious as she is provocative. Vera dances around London like she owns it, taking Frances with her. Present day: When Annie Adams heads to London to visit her famous artist mother, Laura, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Least of all for it to be Laura’s new protégée, left in an alley with her heart surgically removed from her chest. Annie is no stranger to murder--after all, she’s solved a few already. And something about this case feels familiar. She’s read about one just like it in the journals of her late great aunt Frances, whose friend Vera was killed in the 1960s in the exact same way. As Annie investigates, threats pile up on Laura’s doorstep, and it soon becomes clear that she’s next. With her mother’s life on the line, can Annie find the killer before it’s too late?This dual-timeline mystery is the 3rd Castle Knoll novel, but works just as well for newcomers. |
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Short Circuit by Wolf HaasA clever, electrifying puzzle of a novel, inspired by MC Escher's optical illusions, in which two mirrored plots --a man waiting for an electrician and a mafia informant entering witness protection-- delightfully converge. Franz Escher is waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. To pass the time, he buries himself in a book about a Mafioso-turned-informant Elio Russo. Elio is in jail, awaiting his imminent release into witness protection. He has betrayed so many people that he fears for his life. Unable to sleep, he lies awake at night reading a book about a man named Franz Escher who's waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection...So begins Wolf Haas's Short Circuit, an inventive new take on the detective novel. Styled after one of M. C. Escher's impossible drawings, its two stories gradually intertwine only to solve each other, culminating in one final short circuit. A phenomenon after its German publication, this brilliantly entertaining novel promises to defy all expectation. |
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| The Agnes Sharp mystery series ends with a bang in this explosive finale from the author of Three Bags Full .
The octogenarian housemates at Sunset Hall are busy preparing for the wedding of one of their own, the blind and blushing bride Bernadette, but as the big day approaches, they must fend off a mysterious killjoy from the past. Sunset Hall is abuzz with anticipation of Bernadette's upcoming wedding. But not everyone is feeling celebratory. Her best friend, Agnes Sharp, isn't a fan of Bernadette's plan to leave the house share and its residents behind. Nevertheless, Agnes and the not-so-sprightly gang of pensioners launch into wedding-planning after a spot opens at the high-class Foxglove Manor--in just two weeks.
Just when they think they have the guest list squared away, a threatening note appears at the house. Agnes and the others decide to handle it themselves, not wanting to cause the betrothed stress. With some assistance from a private investigator, Agnes digs into the case of the poison-pen letter, determined to ensure the wedding goes off without a hitch--aside from the bodies they've already had to hide from the bride. Will Bernadette and Jack happily ride off into the sunset together, or will this be sundown for Sunset Hall for good? This final book in the Miss Sharp Investigates trilogy has a surprise ending and works best for those who've read the earlier novels. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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The Public Library
501 Copper NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
505-768-5141abqlibrary.org |
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