Mystery
May 2022
Celebrate Pride Month in June
As You Look
by Verónica Gutiérrez

A Yolanda Ávila Mystery

What is it about: When Former LAPD cop-turned private investigator Yolanda Ávila's godson is kidnapped and his parents are suspected of murder, Yolanda finds herself caught between what she feels and what she knows. And with the escalation of the case comes the escalation of her dreams as she tries to overcome the guilt and deal with her pent-up grief.
The Verifiers
by Jane Pek

Introducing Claudia Lin: a sharp-witted amateur sleuth for the 21st century.

What is it about: 
Stealth-recruited by Veracity, a referral-only online-dating detective agency, Claudia, when a client disappears, breaks protocol to investigate and uncovers a maelstrom of personal and corporate deceit. 
Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies
by Misha Popp

What happens: Daisy Ellery's pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men. But Daisy finds herself on the receiving end in Misha Popp's cozy series debut, a sweet-as-buttercream treat for fans of Ellery Adams and Mary Maxwell.
Real Easy
by Marie Rutkoski

Buzz: "Riveting...An adrenaline ride filled with grit and compassion."
--People, Book of the Week


What happens: In 1999, Georgia, a dancer at the Lovely Lady strip club, is drawn into the investigation of two fellow dancers—one dead and one missing—as she tries to assist a Harvard-educated detective with a complicated story of her own. 
Last Call at the Nightingale
by Katharine Schellman

What is it: First in a captivating Jazz age mystery series from author Katharine Schellman, Last Call at the Nightingale beckons readers into a darkly glamorous speakeasy where music, liquor, and secrets flow. New York, 1924.

What is it about:  At The Nightingale, Vivian forgets the dangers of Prohibition-era New York and finds a place that feels like home. But then she discovers a body behind the club, and those dangers come knocking. Caught in a police raid at the Nightingale, Vivian discovers that the dead man wasn't the nameless bootlegger he first appeared. Vivian finds herself caught between the dangers of the New York's underground and the world of the city's wealthy and careless, where money can hide any sin and the lives of the poor are considered disposable...including Vivian's own.
Recent Releases
Jane and the Year Without a Summer
by Stephanie Barron

May 1816: Feeling poorly, Jane Austen, with her sister Cassandra in tow, goes to Cheltenham Spa to rest and take the curative waters.

What happens: Jane runs into handsome artist Raphael West (introduced in Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas), discovers that someone at her guest house is a poisoner, and also investigates a fatal stabbing.

Series alert: This evocative, well-researched 14th Jane Austen mystery follows 2016's Jane and the Waterloo Map. Those who'd like to begin with the 1st book can pick up Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor.
Murder at the Porte de Versailles
by Cara Black

The setup: Weeks after 9/11, a bombing at the Paris police lab where Boris Viard works leaves him unconscious...and accused of setting off the explosive.

What happens: To
 prove her friend Boris' innocence, fashionable PI and single mom Aimée Leduc investigates political intrigue and terrorist threats. She also faces pressure from the father of her three-year-old daughter to move to the country, where he says it's safer.

Series alert: This compelling 20th Aimée Leduc novel offers evocative descriptions of the City of Light, fascinating characters, and complex plotting.
Don't Know Tough
by Eli Cranor

The game plan: Just before the state high school football playoffs, the Christian head coach of a small-town Arkansas team and his family try to help troubled Billy Lowe, a star running back whose abusive home life translates to dangerous aggression on the field.

Foul (on the) play: When the cruel boyfriend of Billy's mother is found murdered, Billy is the main suspect, but what really happened?

For fans of: acclaimed rural noir debuts; crime novels with unforgettable characters and evocative settings, such as S.A. Cosby's novels and David Heska Wanbli Weiden's Winter Counts.
Murder on an Irish Farm
by Carlene O'Connor

Wedding bells? Not so fast -- though friends and family are gathered together, Siobhan O'Sullivan and Macdara Flannery postpone their nuptials after a skeleton is found on their new farm in County Cork.

What happens: Since both are Irish police officers, they investigate, linking the remains to the 50-year-old case of a local man who went missing on his own wedding day -- and then there's a new murder.

Series alert: This 8th Irish Village mystery is a delight for cozy readers who appreciate likeable characters and charming settings.
One-Shot Harry
by Gary Phillips

1963 Los Angeles: Black freelance photographer Harry Ingram takes pictures of a car crash that killed a white jazz musician, a guy Harry had served with in Korea. Despite what the LAPD says, Harry thinks it was murder and seeks justice for his friend in a city rife with racism as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Freedom Rally approaches. 

Reviewers say: "a particularly satisfying, no-nonsense hero" (Booklist); "propulsive...crackles with authenticity" (Wall Street Journal).

For fans of: James Ellroy; Walter Mosley (especially his Easy Rawlins books); and Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Dakota County Library
www.dakotacounty.us/library

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