Celebrate Pride Month in June |
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Despite Herself
by Jessie Chandler
Bec Harrison flees Detroit for Minnesota after a bitter divorce, trading heartbreak for the icy shores of Lake Superior and a fresh start as a detective with the Duluth police department. Theo Zaccardo owns The Mashed Spud, a popular Duluth LGBTQ bar where her no-strings lifestyle keeps her haunted past at bay. That is until a body appears in her dumpster--and her very own pizza cutter turns out to be the murder weapon. When Bec is assigned the case, unexpected chemistry clouds the investigation and cracks appear in Theo's carefully crafted world. The line between duty and attraction begins to blur. Can their unexpected attraction overcome painful pasts and long-buried secrets?
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All of Us Murderers
by KJ Charles
When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative's remote Gothic house on Dartmoor, he finds all the people he least wants to see in the world - his estranged brother, his loathsome cousins, and his bitter ex-lover, Gideon Grey. Nothing, he is certain, could possibly be worse. Then the grizzled old patriarch announces the true purpose of the gathering: He intends to leave the vast family fortune to whichever of the men marries Cousin Jessamine, setting off a violent scramble for her hand and his wealth. Disinterested in being tied further to a family he can barely stand, Zeb tries to leave only to realize that he's been trapped. The walls are high, the gates are locked, and when the mists roll in, there's no way out. And there may be something trapped within the dark monstrosity of a house with them. Fear and paranoia ramping ever-higher, Zeb has nowhere to turn but to the man who once held his whole heart. As the mists descend, the gaslight flickers, and terror takes its hold, two warring lovers must reconcile in time to uncover the murderous mysteries of Lackaday House - and live to tell the tale.
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A Crushing Walk in Cornwall
by Nicholas George
For retired San Diego detective Rick Chase Chasen, week-long walks in the English countryside are an enjoyable new pastime. But sometimes these outings take deadly detours... Chase is disappointed that his partner Mike won't be joining him on his tour of the rocky Cornish coast--but like long-distance walks, long-distance relationships can require an occasional break. He still has his friend Billie for company, though, and a few more fellow Americans, from a New Orleans restaurateur to a New York travel writer, joining them on their jaunt. When the group hears before their departure that local landowners have been sabotaging the trail with booby-traps, their walk leader dismisses it as rumor--but some in the group are worried, especially after a terrifying incident on a bridge the very next morning. As they bravely continue their expedition, twelve-year-old chatterbox Ivy, who's already spilled some of her mother's secrets, continues gossiping to Chase about the group members. She's been researching online and thinks they're not all as they seem. When one of them nearly plunges to her death during a visit to a 16th-century castle, Ivy's sure a killer walks among them. That turns out to be a real possibility when the near miss is followed by a suspicious death during a meal break. Did a Cornish property owner take a prank too far? And is Ivy just a drama-obsessed internet addict, or is ignoring her warnings a fatal misstep? If murder is truly afoot, Chase will have to rely on his investigative wits to trip the killer up.
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Big Name Fan
by Ruthie Knox
The detective show Craven's Daughter never acknowledged the romantic subtext between leads Cora Banks and Henri Shannon--nor the obvious chemistry between the actors who played them, Bexley Simon and Samantha Farmer--but when the show ended abruptly five years ago, the fans wrote their own happy endings for the women in fan fiction posted online. When Bex and Sam join forces for a rewatch podcast leading up to a reunion special, their first guest, a former castmate, intimates that the most popular writer of Craven's Daughter fanfic may have been an insider telegraphing intel about on-set conflict in her stories, including clues about what really happened to Jen Arnot, the show's makeup designer, who fell to her death from a filming location's balcony. This new information spurs Bex and Sam to press their former colleagues about things many would prefer to keep quiet while simultaneously building the bravery to finally admit their feelings for each other.
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Coastal Views to Die for
by Sam Lumley
The fabulous Oregon coast is a scenic getaway to behold, but for a gay, autistic travel writer and amateur sleuth, there is no such thing as a vacation from murder... Though sparks flew between travel writer Oliver Popp and extroverted photographer Ricky Warner on their last assignment together, when they're teamed up again for a road trip, they agree to keep things low-key. But that's a little at odds with Oliver's new assignment: finding romance on the Oregon coast. The destination is a picturesque inn overlooking the Pacific. With the crashing waves below, it seems like an ideal spot for dramatic love connections. Curiously, the other guests are innkeeper Mary Alice's large extended family, headed by a fabulously wealthy aunt, with various children, in-laws, husbands and wives, all vying to stay in her good graces...and her will. Then on the first night, settling into their room, Oliver and Ricky make an unsettling discovery: a dead man in their hot tub--one of Mary Alice's tragically unlucky relatives who, from the looks of it, dropped in from the balcony above. The sheriff concludes it was an accident. Considering the circumstances of this odd family reunion, Oliver and Ricky have doubts. When another body turns up, the vibes on what was supposed to be a relaxing getaway take an absolutely sinister turn. As family secrets, old grudges, and greedy motives come to light, Oliver's sleuthing side is coming out. Who's the next heir in line to die? As the suspects pile up, Oliver is certain of only one thing: it's no mystery that murder is bringing him and Ricky closer together...
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Beneath a Broken Sky
by Joshua Moehling
A killer hides in the wreckage of a broken town...It's a hot, miserable summer in the small town of Sandy Lake. Detective Ben Packard has finally settled into life here--just in time for a tornado to sweep through the county, causing irreparable damage. Trees are felled, homes are destroyed, and people are desperate.Hiding among the debris is someone with a secret. When a mother who made enemies defending her bullied son is killed, the suspect list stretches across the entire town. For Packard, the case hits uncomfortably close to home. The deeper he digs, the more Sandy Lake hums with a tension that refuses to break.As thick smoke from nearby wildfires chokes the air, someone from Packard's past shows up on his doorstep without warning, forcing him to confront the reality of navigating life as a gay man in a small town bent on tradition, no matter the cost. The heat suffocates. The violence simmers. Before the summer is out, someone else will die.
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Mirage City
by Lev AC Rosen
In the 1950s, ex-cop turned San Francisco PI Evander "Andy" Mills takes a case that (unhappily) leads him home. A woman who's part of a secretive gay rights organization tells him three members have gone missing, which leads Andy to Los Angeles where he deals with a motorcycle club, a psychiatric clinic, and his estranged mother in his gritty 4th outing.
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Passing Through a Prairie Country
by Dennis E. Staples
For decades, a dark force has terrorized the Languille Lake reservation. Only spoken of in whispers as the sandman, he lurks in the Hidden Atlantis Lake Resort and Casino, the reservation's main attraction and source of revenue, leeching its patrons' dreams and ambitions and also preventing the ghosts that linger there from moving on. Fleeing a breakup, Marion Lafournier, a mid-twenties Ojibwe, seeks solace in the slot machine's siren song. Here he falls afoul of the sandman, an encounter Marion barely escapes through the timely intervention of his cousins Alana and Cherie, who both work at the casino and are intimately aware of the sandman's power. Meanwhile, Glenn Nielan, only recently out of the closet and an aspiring documentarian, hopes to capture the faces of the Ojibwe land while experiencing the casino's thrills. But he will learn that all who choose to play the sandman's games are in danger of falling into his grasp.
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Recent Cozy Mystery Releases
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The Diva Hosts a Murderer
by Krista Davis
With a big crowd descending on her Northern Virginia home, it's a good thing event planner Sophie Winston is an expert at entertaining. Whipping up patriotic pastries is as easy as pie for her, though meeting the man her widowed Aunt Melly just impulsively married in Las Vegas is a little more awkward. Especially when Melly's longtime, now-heartbroken secret admirer is there too, which could lead to some fireworks. But the house party really gets explosive when Sophie's favorite tour guide falls victim to a killer--and evidence points to Sophie's own father. Will DNA really incriminate her dad? And what's the real story with her new uncle-by-marriage and the mysterious pal he's brought along with him? Some of the secrets Sophie's discovering are raising flags--and while the police department casts suspicion on her father, she has to declare her independence as a detective to find the real culprit, and serve justice along with her red, white, and blue cupcakes . . . Includes delicious recipes, fabulous decorating tips, and easy entertaining hacks!
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The Chowder House Murder
by Lee Hollis
The first in a brand new, multi-generational cozy mystery series introduces three generations of strong, no-nonsense women who head the Holbrook family seafood dynasty in Downeast Maine... Soon grandmother and granddaughter are immersed in a stew of rivalries, long held feuds, and looming threats. Because beneath the surface, even a pretty town has its ugly side . . .
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Murder Most Delicious
by Danielle Postel-Vinay
Starting over in Paris was supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime for American sommelier Olivia Beech--until her dream job ends in murder. Once a rising star in the wine world, Olivia was one of a handful of women in the world to hold the distinction of being a Master Sommelier before COVID stole her sense of taste--and her career. Adrift and depressed, she gets a second chance when beloved celebrity chef Jacques de Bizet invites her to Paris for a job interview. But as the interview begins, he collapses, poisoned, making Olivia the prime suspect. Olivia is in trouble, but she has an advantage: her extraordinary nose is still sharp enough to detect the subtlest of scents, including the poison that killed Jacques. Olivia knows she's innocent, but how can she prove it? Enter the Paris Neighborhood Watch, an eccentric circle of locals determined to protect their quartier. At the helm is the mysterious Augusta Dupin, a brilliant but agoraphobic detective, aided by her intuitive British shorthair cat, Chateaubriand. Olivia and Augusta join forces with the group of neighborhood amateur sleuths to solve the crime, a search that helps them find not only the killer but fresh purpose in their lives.
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The Body in the Kitchen Garden
by Paula Sutton
Pudding Corner is abuzz: the enigmatic Lord Hugh Darlington has returned to his crumbling ancestral home after years away. With his fiance, he plans to revive the grand Darlington Hall--and who better to help than antique-hunting Daphne Brewster? Daphne is enchanted by the estate's stained-glass windows, regal turrets, and sprawling kitchen garden. But amidst the overgrown greenery, she stumbles upon something far less picturesque: a body. A body that no one can identify. As the shocking murder rocks the village, Daphne dusts off her sleuthing skills--despite the local PC's warnings to stay out of trouble. When Lord Darlington is attacked and a string of burglaries shakes Pudding Corner, it's clear that no one is safe. With secrets buried deep and loyalties more tangled than ivy, Daphne must unearth the truth . . . before the killer strikes again. Wickedly witty and brimming with twists as sharp as a pair of antique shears, The Body in the Kitchen Garden is a cozy crime page-turner that will keep you guessing until the very last clue is uncovered.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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