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Happy spring! As well as bringing warmer weather and longer days, April is the time to celebrate National Library Week! This year's theme is "Find Your Joy" and there is plenty of joy to be had this month for mystery and thriller lovers at Cranberry Public Library. From murder at the St. Louis World's Fair to death at a Pittsburgh prep school, we have the books that will make you happy to be a reader! |
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The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives
by Elizabeth Arnott
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 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. 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 decide to get to work. After all, who better to catch a killer than those who have shared their lives and homes with one?
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Poison and Pooches
by Sandra Balzo
Lucky dog-sitter Arial Mayes Kingston has inherited property in Monterey, California. But the novelty of being a first-time homeowner is short-lived due to a noxious termite fumigation in the guest house and the discovery of a body under the floorboards. Foul play seems most likely, but who was the victim? And why would the killer stash the body under the guest house? Determined to put her observational skills to good use, Arial must overcome neighborly tensions, unravel mysterious disappearances, and mop up canine misdemeanors as she attempts to sniff out a killer!
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Death of a Groom
by M. C. Beaton
It is February and the Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh is dealing with heavy snow and freezing temperatures. Sergeant Hamish Macbeth can handle the weather, but with a surprise influx of high-society visitors for a Valentine's Day wedding at Tommel Castle Hotel, he has bigger problems. The guest list includes not one, but two women from his own romantic past and Hamish isn't the only one disrupted by the arrival of the wedding party. The groom, the supposedly suave and sophisticated Darius Palmerston, is involved in a series of incidents in the local pub. Tensions between guests and villagers escalate until, shortly after the lavish wedding ceremony, a body is found in the hotel dining room. The gruesome killing means Hamish suddenly has a murder investigation on his hands, one with a very long list of suspects.
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Vanished in the Crowd: A Molly Murphy Mystery
by Rhys Bowen
Retired detective Molly Murphy Sullivan investigates the disappearance of a female scientist with New York busier than ever as two million visitors come to the city to witness the Hudson-Fulton celebration in 1909, marking the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson's discovery of the Hudson River. Parades, exhibitions, carnivals, and a marvelous display of the wonders of the latest invention--electricity--across the city make for two straight weeks of celebrations, which Molly and her family, along with their friends Sid and Gus, are excited to enjoy. But Molly is secretly dealing with financial troubles. She is too proud to ask her friends for a loan, but when they want to hire her as a detective she jumps at the chance. Sid and Gus are hosting fellow Vassar graduates to take part in one of the parades but one of the women, a brilliant scientist, never shows up. It seems nobody knows where she is, including her husband. Is she trying to run away from her life or is it something more sinister? Why have the Vassar women really come to New York City? When Daniel asks Molly to spy on her friends and find out just what they are planning she finds her loyalties horribly divided. Then the parade turns deadly and only Molly has the tools to find out the truth.
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Fine Young People
by Anna Bruno
Frankie is a good daughter, a loyal best friend, and a model student, coasting through her final semester at an elite Catholic prep school in a wealthy Pittsburgh enclave. But acceptance to her dream college leaves her unmoored. When a classmate takes his life after posting a cryptic message about Woolf Whiting, a former student hockey player who died in a presumed suicide years earlier, Frankie and her best friend, Shiv, decide to investigate Woolf's death as part of their journalism class project. As the community mourns, a muffled conversation between Frankie's mom, who teaches history at the school, and the priest who teaches her philosophy class draws the girls further into unraveling the mysterious life and death of Woolf. Frankie speaks to his sister, now a high-powered lawyer in New York; his former girlfriend, who Woolf's mother is convinced knows more about his death than she has revealed; and his best friend. As she does, she discovers much more than she expected about the history of her supposed elite education--and the truth about her own past.
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Death at a Firefly Tea
by Laura Childs
As 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 entered and slipped deadly drugs into the baked Alaska of Mrs. Van Courtland, one of Charleston's local grande dames. Shocked by this brazen act and 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 a kidnapping takes place. 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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Mayhem on the Marzipan Express
by Rebecca Connolly
A romantic getaway turns deadly when a passenger on the train is murdered and a famous chef is the prime suspect. Amateur baker and part-time sleuth Claire Walker is looking forward to a vacation with her boyfriend, Jonathan Ainsley. The happy couple boards the famed Scottish train, the Mallaig Steam Express--temporarily renamed The Marzipan Express in honor of chef Alan Gables, who is hosting an exclusive culinary experience for his most devoted fans. The trip has barely begun when Claire and Jonny discover a dead body, and though it appears to be an accident, Claire can sense something is wrong as easily as she can sense an overbaked soufflé. All clues point to Alan as the culprit: He doesn't have an alibi, his assistant is oddly nervous around him, and a shadowy figure keeps appearing at all the wrong times. Is someone from Alan's past trying to frame him? Or could Alan be trying to cover his tracks?
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Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line
by Elle Cosimano
Life hasn't been easy for Finlay Donovan lately, but it just got a whole lot harder. Her nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, has been extradited from Virginia to Maryland, where she's facing criminal charges for a theft she swears she didn't commit. A prisoner to an ankle bracelet as she awaits her trial, Vero is forced to live with her overbearing mother and nosy aunt. Threatening messages keep arriving on her mother's door, demanding Vero turn over the money or else. If she doesn't figure out who really stole her former sorority's treasury funds, her next home might be a prison cell. Proving her innocence might be an impossible feat. Vero was the treasurer of her sorority when the money went missing, one of the only people who had access to the cash. In addition, her alibi is a date who ghosted her. With her court date quickly approaching and her mysterious stalker on her tail, Vero needs to clear her name fast. Finlay decides a trip to Maryland is in order. After all, Vero stood by her through her darkest moments, and Finlay will be damned if she lets her best friend and children's nanny be convicted for something she didn't do.
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A Bad, Bad Place
by Frances Crawford
If it hadn't been for her wee stupid dog Sid Vicious, 12-year-old Janey Devine might never have stumbled upon the corpse of Samantha Watson and then maybe she'd still be able to sleep at night. And maybe her nana wouldn't be so worried sick all the time. And maybe Billy "The Ghost" Watson, a notorious gangster, wouldn't be on her tail. For it's Billy's daughter who was left for dead on those train tracks, and now Billy wants answers. Fear and gossip spread through the tight-knit community of Possilpark, Glasgow, and while Janey swears she can't remember the details of that morning, the cops think she's hiding something. Indeed, there's something she knows that she's not quite ready to tell anyone else, not even her nana, who won't rest until this whole thing is behind them.
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Anatomy of an Alibi
by Ashley Elston
Everyone at Chantilly's Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss with her red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. She flirted a little with a local but returned alone to her B&B before midnight in her sleek car. But that woman wasn't Camille Bayliss--it was Aubrey Price. Aubrey has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she's convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there's more than one way to get to the truth and she may have found the perfect way in. Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life, married to hot-shot lawyer Ben, and daughter to a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it appears: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can't find proof because he tracks her every move. Camille and Aubrey hatch a plan that will get them the answers they so desperately seek.
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The Fair Weather Friend
by Jessie Garcia
It's always sunny in Detroit for Faith Richards. The popular TV meteorologist, endearingly referred to as 'The Fair Weather Friend' by her viewers, has the world by the tail. But one night, Faith leaves work on a dinner break and never returns. Her body is found the next morning. The town is reeling, suspects emerge, and long-buried secrets are uncovered. While her allies rally, her list of adversaries also grows. Little does anyone know that only the deepest secrets will expose the truth.
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The List of Suspicious Things
by Jennie Godfrey
In 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.
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Murder in Constantinople
by A. E. Goldin
21-year-old Ben Canaan attracts trouble wherever he goes in 1854 London. His father wants him to be a good Jewish son, working for the family business on Whitechapel Road, but Ben and his friends, the 'Good-for-Nothings', just want adventure. Then the chance discovery of an enigmatic letter and a photograph of a beautiful woman bring Ben an adventure more dangerous than anything he'd imagined. Suddenly he is thrown into the heart of a mystery that takes him away from everything he has known and all the way to Constantinople, the jewel of an empire and the center of a world on the brink of war. Now he must find what links a string of grisly murders, following a trail through kingmaking and conspiracy, poison and high politics, bloodshed and betrayal. In a city of deadly secrets, no one is safe and one wrong step could cost Ben his life.
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No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done
by Sophie Hannah
The doorbell. The policeman. The words that turn your world inside out--I'm afraid there's been an incident. For Sally Lambert, those words mean only one thing--danger. Not just for her family, but for Champ, their loyal and beloved dog. A single accusation, a neighbor's grudge, and suddenly the Lamberts are trapped in a nightmare with no escape, unless they make one. Most people would never run. Most people would never leave behind everything they know to protect an animal who can't defend himself. But for Sally, Champ is more than a dog, he's one of her children. And most people aren't the Lamberts. No one has ever done this before. No one has ever gone this far. But the Lamberts have never been quite like any other family.
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A Pretender's Murder by Christopher HuangThe year is 1925. A labyrinth of roads and rails spirals out from the bones of a nearly forgotten settlement, Londinium. Once the far-flung edge of the vast Roman Empire, it is now the seat of a greater one. Few have given more for the Empire than Colonel Hadrian Russell. Robbed of his four sons by the Great War, he now holds court as the acting president of the Britannia, a prestigious soldiers-only club in London. But when the Colonel is shot and thrown out the club's front window, it seems the shadows of the Great War may extend further than previously thought. Lieutenant Eric Peterkin, newly installed secretary at the Britannia, finds himself thrust into the role of detective after Scotland Yard points fingers at friends he knows are innocent. Accusations from personal betrayal to wartime espionage mount among the suspects as Eric's investigation draws him back to scenes and sites of a war he's sought to leave behind.
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The Ivory City
by Emily Bain Murphy
The St. Louis World's Fair, 1904: A miniature city of palaces and pavilions that becomes a backdrop for romance, betrayal, and murder. Cousins Grace and Lillie have been best friends since birth, despite Grace's vastly inferior social status ever since her mother married for love instead of wealth. When Lillie invites Grace to the biggest event of the century, the legendary World's Fair, also known as The Ivory City, Grace hopes her fortunes might be about to change. But when a member of their party is brutally killed at the fair, and suspicion falls on Lillie's brother Oliver, Grace must prove Oliver's innocence before her beloved cousins' family is ruined forever. Along the way, she'll discover that the city's wealthy elite, including Oliver's handsome but irritable friend Theodore, aren't quite who they appear to be. And amidst the glitz, glamor, and magic of the Ivory City lurks a danger that just may claim her life.
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Ruby Falls
by Gin Phillips
To drum up publicity and attract tourists during the Great Depression, the proprietors of Ruby Falls, a massive waterfall inside a Tennessee cave, have a psychic attempt to find a hatpin hidden inside. In case of emergency, the psychic and his group of five are secretly shadowed by Ada, a friend of the owners who knows the caves well, and Quinton, a cavern guide. Then a shocking murder occurs deep underground.
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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.
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How to Survive in the Woods
by Kat Rosenfield
Raised by a doomsday prepper and hardened by the startup world, Emma Sharp has learned how to endure, especially in her marriage to Logan Grant, a charismatic tyrant who keeps her under tight control. To Emma, her marriage is a cage: it keeps you in, but it also keeps you safe, until it doesn't. When Emma forms an unexpected bond with Logan's former girlfriend, the two women make a plan to help Emma take her life back. Destination: the punishing final stretch of the Appalachian Trail known as the Hundred Mile Wilderness. After all, bad things happen in the woods all the time. As the three venture deeper into Maine's backcountry, desire and dread curdle into something unpredictable, dark, and deadly. Someone is lying. Someone is watching. And in the remote heart of the forest, someone is about to be lost . . . or found.
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The Dentist
by Tim Sullivan
DS George Cross, who’s autistic and detail-oriented, investigates an unhoused man’s murder in South West England. Noticing clues that others miss and with help from his partner DS Josie Ottey, George unearths links to an old killing in this acclaimed series starter and bestselling police procedural from the United Kingdom.
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If you would like more book recommendations or suggestions, don't hesitate to ask any of the staff members at the CPL circulation desk. We are always happy to help you find your next great read! Until next month, happy reading! |
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Cranberry Public Library
2525 Rochester Road, Suite 300
Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania 16066
(724) 776-9100www.cranberrylibrary.org |
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