Illustrated bookshelf that says Mystery & Thriller.
Mystery
January 2026

Recent Releases
The Queen Who Came in from the Cold
by S.J. Bennett

In 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.
The Bridesmaid by Cate Quinn
The Bridesmaid
by Cate Quinn

When a celebrity bridesmaid is murdered weeks before an exclusive society wedding, forensic attorney Holly Stone is drafted as an unlikely undercover replacement. Working to unpick the secrets of the notoriously private Kensington family, glamour-averse Holly discovers a new worst enemy in bridezilla Adrianna. And beneath the veneer of sophistication, she realizes the Kensingtons have secrets worth killing for. As the wedding day gets closer, it seems clear that one of the five hand-picked bridesmaids has committed murder - and the destination wedding is a perfect place to strike again. 
Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Ace Atkins
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. 
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.
The Burning Grounds
by Abir Mukherjee

In 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.
The Botanist's Assistant
by Peggy Townsend

Routine-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.
Books You May Have Missed
The Burning Library by Gilly MacMillan
The Burning Library
by Gilly MacMillan

On a frigid, windswept day in Scotland’s Western Hebrides, Eleanor Bruton’s body is discovered on the shore. To her family Eleanor was an ordinary middle-aged woman. Little did they know she was harboring a dark and all-consuming secret. For over a century, two rival organizations of women--the Order of St. Katherine and the Fellowship of the Larks--have gone to deadly lengths to secure the valuable artifact in the hopes of finding the original medieval manuscript from which it was torn. Meanwhile, translator Anya Bowen has been handpicked at great personal danger to translate ancient texts that the Fellowship believes critical to their mission.
Fever Beach
by Carl Hiaasen

Dale Figgo has been kicked out of the Proud Boys for stupidity (he mistakenly vandalized a Confederate statue), but propped up by a congressman and a couple of billionaires, he aims to make the new far-right Strokers for Liberty a success. Mix in money laundering, child labor, a disgruntled wealth director, a rich social justice warrior, fake dating, and more, and you've got "Hiaasen at his finest" (Publishers Weekly).
How to Seal Your Own Fate
by Kristen Perrin

Annie 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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Happening soon at HPL
R.L. Stine headshot
Still Afraid of the Dark: An Evening with R.L. Stine
Tue, Feb 24 at 7pm
Live on Zoom
Bestselling author R.L. Stine defined horror for a generation of young readers. Join Illinois Libraries Present live on Zoom with The Guinness Book of World Records’ “most prolific author of children’s horror novels,” R.L. Stine, to discuss his illustrious and still-expanding body of work. 
 
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