Mystery
February 2026

Recent Releases
Definitely Maybe Not a Detective
by Sarah Fox

With her bestie's help, jobless Emersyn Gray creates a fake detective agency to scare her ex into giving back the money he stole from her, money that she needs to care for her orphaned seven-year-old niece. Then her Bronx building superintendent is killed and the other residents find her fake business card, leading her to team up with a hunky guy to solve the case. For fans of: Bellamy Rose's Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder; Elle Cosimano's Finlay Donovan series.
Fire Must Burn
by Allison Montclair

This witty, well-plotted 8th Sparks & Bainbridge novel finds Iris Sparks recovering from events in the previous book with help from Gwen Bainbridge, her partner in a matchmaking business in 1947 London. But when MI6 suspects a friend from Iris's Cambridge days of working for the Soviets, Iris and Gwen are compelled to help. To see relationships develop, start with the 1st book, The Right Sort of Man. For fans of: Ashley Weaver's Electra McDonnell novels; Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope mysteries.
Listen
by Sacha Bronwasser; translated by David Colmer

After her manipulative professor betrays her, Dutch art student Marie becomes an au pair in 1989 Paris, working for a complicated family. Years later, during the 2015 terror attacks in Paris, Marie sees her old professor in the area she once worked. This suspenseful, slow-burn crime novel by a Dutch art critic provides a thought-provoking look at trauma and will work for general fiction readers, too.
Murder at Donwell Abbey
by Vanessa Kelly

When Emma Knightley, née Woodhouse, learns her father is to remarry, she's alarmed about having excitable Miss Bates as a stepmother and having to plan a betrothal party in six days. When Emma's maid is discovered dead at the festivities, most think it was an accident, but suspicious Emma uses her quick, observant mind to investigate her 2nd case. For fans of: mysteries featuring Jane Austen or her characters, such as Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries.
Murder in Manhattan
by Julie Mulhern

For her Gotham Magazine social column, reporter Freddie Archer frequents speakeasies and parties, mingling with people like Dorothy Parker, Tallulah Bankhead, and the Fitzgeralds. After a man mentioned in her latest dispatch is murdered, Freddie looks for the fashionable woman she saw him with, taking her from ritzy locales to gritty tenements in this fun 1st in a new series. For fans of: Katharine Schellman's Last Call at the Nightingale novels; Nekesa Afia's Harlem Renaissance mysteries.
The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
by Rob Osler

In 1898, 21-year-old detective agency junior field operative Harriet Morrow investigates when a journalist who'd been looking into corrupt government officials is fatally stabbed in a Chicago tenement house. Going undercover, Harriet dons a variety of guises to get to the truth in her richly detailed 2nd outing, which also sees her find a girlfriend. For fans of: Stephen Spotswood; Lev AC Rosen; Cathy Pegau's A Murderous Business.
The Italian Secret
by Tara Moss

PI Billie Walker inherited her dad's office in Sydney, Australia, so when she finds old love letters, she books a trip to Italy to find the letter writer to investigate if her dad had an affair. Meanwhile, a client is killed, and Billie suspects the woman's abusive husband either did it or hired gangster Vincenzo Moretti. Then, Moretti appears during Billie's Italian trip in this atmospheric 3rd in an engaging series. For fans of: Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mysteries.
The Living and the Dead
by Christoffer Carlsson

In a small Swedish town in 1999, the teenage son of a local landowner is murdered after a party. Police officer Siri Bengtsson arrives to question folks, but the death of a main suspect and a catastrophic landslide leave the case unsolved. Twenty years later, when a related murder occurs, a retired Siri agrees to help the detective in charge in this 3rd Halland novel. Try this next: Hans Rosenfeldt's Cry Wolf.
The Quiet Mother
by Arnaldur Indridason

Retired Reykjavik police detective Konrad declines to investigate when a terminally ill woman asks him to find the son she gave up for adoption decades earlier. But when the woman is killed and her apartment ransacked, guilt forces Konrad to look into the murder, and what he finds may connect to his own life in his 3rd outing. Read-alikes: Stig Abell's Death Under a Little Sky; Ragnar Jonasson's Dark Iceland series.
Wreck Your Heart
by Lori Rader-Day

Chicago's Doll Devine hopes to make it as a country singer, but for now she's singing at a tavern owned by Alex McPhee, who's helped her since she was a kid. When her estranged mom briefly shows up after 20 years, followed by a woman claiming to be Doll's half-sister, Doll doesn't know what to think, and then her ex is found dead outside the bar. For fans of: standalone mysteries with a strong sense of place and a wisecracking main character.
We're Attending . . .
Oklahoma Black Communities Symposium
Saturday, February 28, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Downtown Library

The Metropolitan Library System will be hosting a series on discussions and presentations on Black community research and preservation in Oklahoma. This event will bring together individuals, organizations, and institutions from across the central part of Oklahoma working on documenting the history of Black urban enclaves, rural communities, and Black towns. Keynote speaker: professional genealogist Nicka Sewell-Smith on "From Tulsa and Beyond: African-American Genealogy in Oklahoma". Other presentations will feature on-going projects from across the area focusing on specific communities, scholarship in the field, and coalition building to create successful preservation projects. Registration is recommended.
The Five Moons of Oklahoma with OKC Ballet
Monday, March 2, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Edmond Library

This month, we will learn about five women from Oklahoma, Yvonne Chouteau, Maria Tallchief, Marjorie Tallchief, Rosella Hightower and Moscelyne Larkin, who broke barriers and made significant contributions to the world of ballet, becoming cultural icons and ambassadors for their Native American heritage. Registration required.
Tuskegee Airman Recognition Month
Wednesday, March 4, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Midwest City Library

March is Tuskegee Airmen Recognition Month! Join us for a powerful program honoring the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American military aviators in U.S. history. We’ll watch a series of recorded interviews featuring their personal stories of courage, perseverance, and breaking barriers during World War II. Afterward, we’ll open the floor for a group conversation to reflect on their experiences and discuss their lasting impact on history and equality. *Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration required.
Back to Nature: Oklahoma Gardening Series - Native Landscapes
Monday, March 9, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Northwest Library

This program is a four part series highlighting the basics of gardening here in Oklahoma. We will discuss topics of soil health, starting seeds, garden maintenance, compost piles and more!This will be a lecture series with consumable take home information, DIY garden project ideas, and a place to connect with others passionate about gardening. Come down and join in the conversation about how we can get back to nature! Registration opens March 2, 2026 at 9:00 AM.
Gettin' By By Makin' Do: Women's Lives on the Great Plains During the Great Depression
Saturday, March 7, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Edmond Library

After the Stock Market Crash of 1929, life changed radically for the vast majority of Americans. Funds and foods were hard to find. For those who lived in small towns, ranches, and farms on the Great Plains, life became harder than ever. Join Dr. Sara Jane Richter as she provides a detailed look at how females carried on through desperate times. Regardless of families’ financial straits, they still had to eat, clothe themselves, doctor their ills, clean house, and work. Suffering with summer heat, making food, shoveling dust, and resewing their used clothing were just a few of the assignments that fell to women. In this presentation, Dr. Richter will offer insights on how people got along in the worst of times in this cruel chapter of American history. Registration opens February 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM.
E-Resources
African-American History Online
Covers more than 500 years of African-American history using biographies, primary sources, images, videos, timelines, maps, and charts.
American Indian History Online
Explore more than 15,000 years of culture and history with event and topic entries, biographies, images and videos, maps and charts, legends, primary sources, and timeline entries.
GreenFILE
Contains well-researched information covering the relationship between human beings and the environment. GreenFILE's collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes coverage on topics like climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
Contact your librarian for more great books!