Mystery
January 2026

Recent Releases
The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict
The Queens of Crime
by Marie Benedict

Dorothy L. Sayers, a cofounder of the Detection Club, wants to prove to the male members that the women writers are just as worthy. So in 1931, she teams up with Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy to solve a real murder. Read-alikes: Colleen Cambridge's Phyllida Bright mysteries; Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey mysteries; Nina de Gramont's The Christie Affair.
Everyone in the Group Chat Dies
by L.M. Chilton

A 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.
The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers with Alex Kiester
The Missing Half
by Ashley Flowers with Alex Kiester

Haunted by her sister's unexplained disappearance seven years ago, 24-year-old Nicole "Nic" Monroe lives with her grief-stricken dad in her Indiana hometown and struggles to move forward. When Jenna Connor, whose sister vanished in similar circumstances, asks Nic to team up, they risk everything to uncover the truth in this fast-paced debut by "Crime Junkie" podcaster Ashley Flowers. Try this next: Julia Heaberlin's Night Will Find You; Jessica Strawser's Catch You Later.
Silent Bones
by Val McDermid

In 2025 Scotland, a motorway landslide unearths the body of investigative journalist Sam Nimmo, who'd gone missing 11 years ago after his girlfriend was murdered. In her compelling 8th outing, DCI Karen Pirie of Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit digs into the case that has ties to Scottish independence, gambling, and Edinburgh's the Scotsman Steps. Try these next: Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae mysteries; Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan novels.

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The Devil in Oxford: A Ruby Vaughn Mystery by Jess Armstrong
The Devil in Oxford: A Ruby Vaughn Mystery
by Jess Armstrong

If someone were to ask American heiress Ruby Vaughn how exactly the occult came to play such a large role in her life, she would immediately point to her octogenarian housemate and employer, Mr. Owen. Together, the pair run a rare book shop in Exeter. Mr. Owen's penchant for arcane, unusual--and occasionally illegal--books has been known to get Ruby into her fair share of trouble. And after the last year, she is looking forward to spending a quiet holiday in picturesque Oxford while Mr. Owen attends the annual meeting of his antiquarian society. Secretly, Ruby is also looking for a holiday from her confounding feelings for Ruan Kivell, the intriguing folk healer Pellar that she met in Cornwall. When Mr. Owen secures two tickets to an upcoming exhibition of artifacts amassed by disgraced scholar Julius Harker, Ruby reluctantly agrees to attend. The evening turns out to be more eventful than either of them bargained for--
Booked for murder by P. J. Nelson
Booked for murder
by P. J. Nelson

"In this atmospheric southern cozy debut, Madeline Brimley returns to the bookstore she inherited, discovering that small towns hold deadly secrets. Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she's left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn't leave immediately. But Madeline Brimley, not one to be intimidated, ignores the threats and soldiers on. Until there's another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now with a cloud of suspicion falling over her, it's up to Madeline to untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim."
Books You May Have Missed
No Second Chances by Rio Youers
No Second Chances
by Rio Youers

From Rio Youers, the acclaimed author of Lola on Fire, comes a blistering high-octane thriller about desperate love, vengeance, and the precarious pursuit of fame.A rip-roaring Hollywood noir that smashes the pedal to the metal and keeps it there. The best villain since Ian Fleming's James Bond novels . . . This one is hot. -Stephen KingLuke Kingsley's glory days are behind him. A star on the rise, his life and career imploded after his soul singer wife, Lisa Hayes, disappeared without a trace, silencing a very public and tumultuous marriage. Most people, especially an avenging PI, think Luke got away with murder. The last thing he expects is to be pulled back from the brink by a starstruck stranger.Wannabe actress Kitty Rae has chased her dreams all the way from Kentucky to Hollywood. Saving a washed-up actor's life wasn't one of them, but she believes in Luke--as much as she believes her own career is just one lucky break away. For now, she works for Johan Fly, a charismatic, wealthy, and seriously unbalanced drug dealer to the rich and famous. When Johan discovers that Kitty has been skimming the product, he vows to make her pay.As Luke steps up to help Kitty, he uncovers a web of violence and corruption, as well as a single, enticing clue about his wife's disappearance. Barreling across the Mojave Desert, Luke and Kitty set off to find the long-lost Lisa. But Johan, hungry for vengeance, is hot on their trail. There's no limit to what he will do to find them. And in a world where fortune favors the ruthless, there's also no limit to what Luke and Kitty will have to do to survive.
Racing the Light by Robert Crais
Racing the Light
by Robert Crais

Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, are back on the case in this brilliant new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais. Adele Schumacher isn't a typical worried mom. When she hires Elvis to find her missing son, a controversial podcaster named Josh Shoe, she brings a bag filled with cash, bizarre tales of government conspiracies, and a squad of professional bodyguards. Finding Josh should be simple, but Elvis quickly learns he isn't alone in the hunt--a deadly team of mysterious strangers are determined to find Josh and his adult film star girlfriend first. With dangerous secrets lurking behind every lead, Elvis needs his friend Joe Pike more than ever to uncover the truth about Josh, corrupt politicians, and the vicious business cartels rotting the heart of Los Angeles from within. And when Elvis's estranged girlfriend, Lucy Chenier, and her son, Ben, return, he learns just how much he has to lose...if he survives. Written with the heart, humor, and relentless suspense for which Crais is famous, Racing the Light delivers Elvis Cole's most dangerous case yet.
The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong
The Curse of Penryth Hall
by Jess Armstrong

In 1922 England, Ruby Vaughn, a modern-minded American, visits Penryth Hall to catch up with an old friend. But after a murder and talk of a local curse, Ruby works to keep her friend safe and unearth the truth. This award-winning, Gothic-tinged debut offers an "intriguing and altogether enchanting mystery" (Kirkus Reviews). Read-alike: Sarah Penner's The London Séance Society.
Beartooth
by Callan Wink

In Montana's rugged Beartooth mountains, two brothers, 27-year-old Thad and 26-year-old Hazen, try to survive while burdened by their dead father's medical bills and a falling-apart off-the-grid house. Luckily, they know how to hunt and deal with the elements. Not so luckily, their long-gone mom reappears and a local man tempts Hazen into illegally gathering elk horns in this gritty, evocative crime novel. For fans of: Peter Heller; the 2016 film Hell or High Water; TV's Yellowstone.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street, Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100

https://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us