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| The Queen Who Came in from the Cold by S.J. BennettIn 1961 England, Queen Elizabeth II and her private secretary Joan discreetly investigate after a lady-in-waiting claims she saw men disposing of a body on the royal train. Before it's all sorted, the queen travels on the royal yacht around the Mediterranean and helps a Soviet defector. This fun 5th outing for the queen and Joan works for newcomers. Try this next: Allison Montclair's A Royal Affair. |
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| Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. ChiltonA year after the death of Esme, a true-crime influencer obsessed with a 1990s serial killer, a text arrives from her: "Everyone in the group chat dies." The group, made up of former 20-something flatmates in small-town England, includes aspiring journalist Kirby Cornell, and when members start dying, she tries to figure out what's going on. Try this next: Kristen Perrin's How to Solve Your Own Murder. |
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| The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie GodfreyIn 1979, 12-year-old Miv lives with her lonely father, her opinionated Aunty Jean, and her mother, who had a breakdown and no longer speaks. With the (real-life) Yorkshire Ripper terrorizing the area, curious Miv investigates with her loyal best friend. Though steeped in crime, this isn't as much a traditional mystery as an atmospheric coming-of-age tale. Great for book clubs, it explores friendship, community, prejudice, and loss. Read-alike: Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney. |
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How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder
by Nina McConigley
A bold, inventive, and fiercely original debut novel that begins with an uncle dead and his tween niece's private confession to the reader-she and her sister killed him, and they blame the British--
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You'll Never Forget Me
by Isha Raya
In this captivating cat-and-mouse thriller, a struggling actress is only just beginning to enjoy the life she's always wanted after inadvertently killing her rival-but now she must contend with the woman who threatens to take it all away-- Provided by publisher.
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| The Botanist's Assistant by Peggy TownsendRoutine-loving 50-something Margaret Finch is dedicated to her job helping a talented botanist at a small university. But when he dies and it's said to be natural causes, Margaret disagrees, noticing small things that make her sure it was murder. With the help of a former journalist turned custodian, Margaret investigates, turning her precise world upside down. For fans of: Zoe B. Wallbrook's History Lessons; Jesse Q. Sutanto's Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. |
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Wreck Your Heart: A Mystery
by Lori Rader-Day
From award-winning author Lori Rader-Day, Wreck Your Heart is an engaging, wisecracking and wonderful crime novel with a big heart, about a country and midwestern singer out to catch her big break before family--or murder--wrecks everything. Dahlia Doll Devine had the kind of hardscrabble beginning that could launch a thousand broken-hearted country songs, but now she's the star of her own stage at McPhee's Tavern. As part of Chicago's--yes, Chicago's--country music scene, Dahlia is an up-and-coming singer in spangles and boots of classic country tunes. Up and coming, that is, until her boyfriend Joey up and went, taking the rent money with him. So Dahlia is back to square one, relying on Alex McPhee--again. Alex helped her out of a bad situation when she was a kid living rough with her mother. Now he's part landlord, part band booster, all-around rescuer. It's just that Dahlia wishes she didn't keep giving him reasons to have to do it. Just as Dahlia suspects she's scraped rock bottom, the mother she hasn't spoken to in twenty years shows up with something to say. The next morning, a distraught young woman arrives at the bar, asking after her missing mother--Dahlia's mother, too, even if the missing suburban PTA mom the girl describes sounds pretty different from the one who let Dahlia down all those years ago. Though no one is using the word sister any time soon, Dahlia lets herself be drawn into reuniting the family that might have been hers. But when a body is discovered outside McPhee's Tavern, the crime threatens not just the place Dahlia has made into a home, but everything she's believed about her past, her dreams for the future, and the people she was just, maybe, beginning to let into her heart.
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You've Lost That Livin' Feelin'
by Nicholas George
Introducing Adam Parrall--retired drummer, vinyl record store owner . . . and amateur sleuth! Adam Parrall's wild days as a drummer in a rock band are far behind him. Now semi-retired and running a record store in the sleepy town of Cordoba on the mid-California coast, life is considerably calmer, with pleasant surprises such as winning a lifetime achievement award (which Adam learns, depressingly, is intended for deceased artists). There's plenty of life left in Adam yet, though sadly the same can't be said of Righteous Brother tribute artist Barry Haddon, whose dead body is discovered by Adam outside a nightclub. Suddenly Adam discovers an exciting new hobby--sleuthing! Is a knife-wielding robber terrorizing the locals responsible for Barry's murder? As panic and confusion sweep through the town, Adam can't rule anything--or anyone--out. Unfortunately, his meddling may mean that he'll qualify for that lifetime achievement award sooner than he thought! The first in an irresistibly charming cozy mystery series featuring a retired drummer seeking to recapture the excitement of his rock band heyday by solving crime. A page-turning must-read for fans of M.C. Beaton, Richard Osman and J.M. Hall!
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Death and Other Occupational Hazards
by Veronika Dapunt
Her job is to die for. Literally. Most people think that when they meet Death, it'll be a skeleton in a black potato sack. Maybe with a scythe. Truth is, she's just a woman doing a job, and she's very good at it. But when Death takes a much-needed break to live on earth, things start to go terribly wrong. Someone's killing people not on her list (well, not yet anyway) and it's down to her to find the culprit before it's too late. To make matters worse, her sanctimonious sister, Life - whom Death hasn't got on with in millennia - won't stop blaming her . . . And then there's the slight problem of the charming (sexy) parasitologist she's suspicious of. But she'll be fine, right? After all, who better to investigate a murder than Death herself?-- Provided by publisher.
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Definitely Maybe Not a Detective
by Sarah Fox
In this delightfully charming rom-com mystery, a woman becomes accidentally entangled in a murder investigation (and with a handsome stranger) when her fake detective agency is enlisted to solve a real homicide. Emersyn Gray is definitely not a detective. Really, she's an unemployed twenty-eight-year-old raising her beloved niece in the only place she can afford after her ex-boyfriend ran off with her life savings: a run-down, seniors-only apartment complex that was desperate for tenants. But never fear--her wild best friend has the perfect plan to get Emersyn back on her feet and stick it to her thieving ex: scare him into returning her money by hiring a private investigator to prove he stole it. Only, there won't be an actual detective, just a fabricated business card from Wyatt Investigations . . . and a ridiculously hot stranger, who steps in to play the part--a stranger whose name is, coincidentally, Wyatt. Emersyn can't help but notice the real-life Wyatt is capital H-O-T hot, even though she's wary of his intentions. But her ex does seem flustered, and if she can get her money back and regain control of her life, maybe it'll finally prove to her parents that she can be a responsible caregiver to her niece. But the day after they set their plan in motion, the superintendent of Emersyn's apartment building winds up dead, and her neighbors turn to her fake detective agency for help after finding one of the phony business cards. With so many eyes on them--or maybe just their eyes on each other--Emersyn and Wyatt agree to take on the case. Now the question is, Can they solve the murder without getting tangled up in their own fictions--or each other? Fast-paced and quippy.--Catherine Mack, USA Today bestselling author of Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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