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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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| Silent Bones by Val McDermidIn 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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| 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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| The Burning Grounds by Abir MukherjeeIn 1920s Calcutta, India, where the dead are burned by the river, a popular British philanthropist is found murdered. Police detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to the case, giving him a chance to reignite the career he sacrificed to help his wrongly accused colleague, Surendranath Banerjee. Meanwhile, Banerjee has returned from Europe to look for his missing cousin, leading the two to reunite in order to help each other in their gritty, intricately plotted 6th outing. |
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A Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage
by M.K. Oliver
Meet Lalla Rook. Lalla has a lot on her plate: She needs to guarantee her husband makes partner, secure her dream house in Hampstead, and get her daughter into a prestigious prep school. And on the afternoon she stabs a stranger seven times after he breaks into her living room, she has a four-year-old's birthday party to host. With an unambitious partner, two demanding children, and a barely adequate large house in a nice (if not quite fashionable) part of town, Lalla's life isn't quite perfect yet.
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The Storm
by Rachel Hawkins
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins is back with a thrilling new gothic suspense about a Gulf Coast beach motel that has survived a century of hurricanes-and has also been the site of multiple mysterious deaths.
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Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife
by Martin Edwards
Six down-on-their-luck people with links to the world of crime writing have been invited to play a game this Christmas by the mysterious Midwinter Trust. The challenge seems simple but exciting: Solve the murder of a fictional crime writer in a remote but wonderfully atmospheric village in north Yorkshire to win a prize that will change your fortunes for good.
Six members of staff from the shadowy Trust are there to make sure everyone plays fair. The contestants have been meticulously vetted but you can never be too careful. And with the village about to be cut off by a snow storm, everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Midwinter can play tricks on people's minds. The game is set - but playing fair isn't on everyone's Christmas list.
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| How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen PerrinAnnie Adams moves into the English country house she inherited from her great aunt Frances, which also contains Frances' diaries notating village secrets. Fortune teller Peony Lane mysteriously visits Annie, then is found murdered inside the locked home, leading Annie to investigate. This sequel to How to Solve Your Own Murder once again uses dual timelines with parts set in the 1960s. Try this next: Brandy Schillace's The Framed Women of Ardemore House. |
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Everybody Wants to Rule the World
by Ace Atkins
It's 1985, what will soon become known as 'The Year of the Spy,' and fourteen-year-old Peter Bennett is convinced his mom's new boyfriend is a Russian agent. 'Gary' isn't in the phone book, has an unidentifiable European accent, and keeps a gun in the glove box of his convertible Porsche. Peter thinks Gary only wants to get close to his mom because she works at Scientific Atlanta, a lab with big government contracts. But who is going to believe him? He's just a kid into BMX and MTV. But after another woman who works at the lab is killed, Peter recruits an unlikely pair of allies--a has-been pulp writer and muckraker named Dennis Hotchner and his drag performer buddy and heavy, Jackie Demure. Both soon become the target of an unhinged Russian hitman (Is it Gary? Maybe!) with a serious Phil Collins obsession.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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