| The Shadow Step by Mark BillinghamWhen a body is found in a park, the dog walker who'd had a violent encounter with the victim the previous evening believes he's responsible and confesses. But with the dead man linked to a drug queenpin, DS Declan Miller and his partner DS Sara Xiu keep digging. As another killing and a kidnapping occur, Miller consults with his dead wife's ghost, whom only he can see. This is Billingham's 3rd outing of the Detective Miller series. Try these next: Tim Sullivan's George Cross novels; Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks mysteries. |
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| Killer Vibes by Jack FridayA Texas PI uncovers a web of secrets within his family in Friday's quirky and charming debut. After being evicted from his Dallas home, 29-year-old gumshoe Peter Theodore Key unexpectedly inherits a crumbling Austin house from his late uncle Forrest, whom he barely knew. The windfall is far from simple: the property, worth over a million dollars, is mired in debt. Peter receives cryptic warnings urging him to vacate the grounds, and a stern loan officer threatens foreclosure. Stubbornly resisting all pressure to leave, Peter befriends Carlos Torres, a sharp-witted Austin local who helps him uncover a secret cousin, a stash of his late uncle's hidden cash, and his family ties to a secretive fraternity. Friday's breezy plotting keeps things moving at a steady pace, and his flawed, funny characters call to mind the antiheroes of Carl Hiaasen. |
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| Whose Body in the Library by Eva GatesLucy McNeil, newly promoted director of Bodie Island Lighthouse Library welcomes 50-something Nichelle Gilchrest, who's become a librarian after a divorce. On her first day, Nichelle finds the body of her long-missing father, leading her to investigate his murder with detecting tips from boss Lucy, who's solved a few crimes in the past. Introducing a new sleuth, this 13th Lighthouse Library mystery is great for newcomers. Read-alike: Jenn McKinlay's Library Lover's mysteries. |
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Murder by Design: A Thriller
by Lee Goldberg
Edison Bixby is wealthy, handsome, and, due to a traumatic brain injury, impulsively rude. He's also a brilliant insurance investigator who solves baffling crimes by figuring out how the design of the man-made world around us makes them possible. Enter Wally Nash: a struggling actor hired to keep Bixby from offending everyone he meets. Their first case together looks like a simple accident. Caroline Crowley took a nasty fall down a staircase at a shopping mall in front of dozens of witnesses. Video clearly shows the deadly misstep. But Bixby is certain she was murdered by design, subtly manipulated into causing her own demise. The mall itself made the crime intentional, if not inevitable. Now Bixby must prove his outrageous theory before a very cunning killer gets others on his hit list to murder themselves, too.
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| Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess KiddIn 1950s Kent, England, former nun Nora Breen resides in a shabby coastal boarding house while creating a new life for herself. In her 2nd outing, her close friend DI Rideout attends a séance where the spiritualist is mysteriously murdered. When other attendees are soon killed, Nora is desperate to catch the murderer and keep Rideout alive. To read next: The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery. |
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| Rules for Aging and Larceny by Julia LondonFrances Deluca was once part of a gang of four who stole from those who deserved it, but that ended decades ago with some drama. Now she's 74, widowed, bored and recently kicked out of the local pickleball league for being too aggressive on the court. Deciding she'll pull one last heist, she hits the road to locate her old associates, including scam artist Irene, still in the game; Joan, who's made a killing selling medical marijuana in Colorado; and Edie, who married rich and is now a doting grandmother. Once the four are reunited, they settle on their target--a Las Vegas tech bro who scammed Edie's granddaughter out of a fortune. |
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| The Cloak and Dagger Club by Jackie McMahonIn 1930 London, Lucy Hubbard's acclaimed debut mystery garners an invitation to the elite Cloak and Dagger Club, led by the king of crime fiction, Horace Hazelmoor. When Horace is murdered shortly thereafter, Lucy's handsome ex Frank, the club's rising star, is accused of the crime, so Lucy and Frank team up to clear his name in this witty 1st in a series. For fans of: Golden Age crime novels; cozy historical mysteries with charm and romance. |
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The Tailor: A DS George Cross Mystery
by Tim Sullivan
Measure twice. Cut once. Detective Sergeant George Cross is nothing if not precise. When a man is found dead in the first-class toilet of a train--his throat cut, a plastic bag over his head--the grisly scene shocks his fellow officers. Cross registers every detail, but it's not the blood that interests him. It's the victim's exquisite suit. The dead man is a tailor by the name of Billy Titcomb, trusted by clients around the world for his meticulousness and discretion. Who would want a tailor dead? With his new partner, DC Alice Mackenzie, Cross starts pulling at the threads. There's a widow grieving in peculiar ways. A dead scientist whose suicide doesn't add up. And two South Korean tourists with embassy connections who keep showing up in places they shouldn't. The deeper Cross digs, the less this looks like a simple murder, and the more it looks like a professional operation. DS George Cross has the highest conviction rate in the force. But in the world of spies and state secrets, the rules are different--and for the first time, the people trying to stop him may be on his own side. Can Cross stitch it all together before the case unravels him?
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| The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert ThorogoodAfter the murders of a famous footballer and a bestselling writer, DI Tanika Malik turns to the Marlow Murder Club for help. But before elderly crossword maker Judith, dogwalker Suzie, and vicar's wife Becks can do much, Tanika is unfairly placed on leave. Meanwhile, the daughter of Judith's long-dead Greek husband turns up accusing Judith of murdering him. Despite all obstacles, the trio search for a killer in their fun 5th outing. |
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Hot Girl Murder Club
by Ashley Winstead
What's a girl got to do to get some fame, a few million record sales, and justice for murder? Ten years ago, aspiring singer-actress Scout Sage lost the only thing that mattered: her sister, Georgia. Ever since Georgia's mysterious death at a Hollywood party, Scout's done her best to honor her memory, clawing her way through the industry and collecting a network of climbers along the way, fellow hot girls in stilettos with cutthroat ambition, a new Hollywood order. But when a slew of targeted murders makes headlines across L.A., all pointing to Scout as the killer, she turns overnight from a mid-tier pop star into the world's most famous (alleged) murderer. Now everything she's worked to build--including the justice she wants for Georgia--will fall apart unless Scout can prove she's not guilty. Meanwhile, the young and unusual detective assigned to her case, herself no stranger to tragedy, begins to unearth secrets not even Scout knows, let alone her millions of new fans. Particularly about the ways Georgia's death connects to an even older pattern of crimes long hushed over in Hollywood--an old reign of terror that, if brought to light, could be the fuel that ignites a reckoning the world over.
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Recent Cozy Mystery Releases
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Murder at First Slice
by V. M. Burns
Social media queen-turned-small-town baker Maddy Montgomery, her feisty friends, and her faithful English mastiff know you have to break a few eggs to solve a murder. . . As Maddy's wedding day approaches, friends and family descend on the little town of New Bison, Michigan, to celebrate--so much so that Maddy wonders if there might be another happily-ever-after in store for her widowed father and innkeeper Mrs. Law. Unfortunately, she also has to deal with an unhappy couple: feuding cousins Hannah and Dorothy, who haven't spoken in decades. Maddy can only hope the spectacular wedding cake crafted by her head baker doesn't wind up as ammunition in a food fight. But she doesn't have to wait long for a wedding disaster to strike. When the imperious Dorothy crashes the rehearsal dinner--with several uninvited guests in tow--and starts battering everyone with constant complaints, the drama reaches reality-show levels. And the next day, Dorothy is dead . . . with Hannah standing over the body, bloody rolling pin in hand. Nobody in town believes Miss Hannah could commit murder. But a detective newly relocated from New York doesn't know the sweet, memory-challenged Hannah the way the locals do--and the evidence seems open-and-shut as an oven. Now, with her sous-sleuths the Baker Street Irregulars, the bride-to-be is busy digging into Dorothy's past to catch a killer before she cuts the cake . . .
Series note: Baker Street mysteries #5
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A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras
by Ellen Byron
It's cozy. It's culinary. It's Mardi Gras madness It's the fifth book in this fabulous mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today-bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron. Step 1: join a killer krewe It's carnival season in New Orleans, and Ricki James-Diaz and her friends from Bon Vee are dressing up for Mardi Gras. They've joined the notorious krewe of Chew to support Ricki's chef boyfriend, Virgil, who is to be crowned this year's king. It's all fun, throws, and over-the-top outfits until the krewe's captain is found strangled with his own medallion. Step 2: survive the festivities The prime suspect is Ricki's friend, the deceased's wife who discovered he was cheating on her. It seems a straightforward case, but Ricki isn't so sure. The krewe's leader had many enemies including his mistress, his krewe co-founder who he ousted, and his college friend whose girlfriend he stole. One thing's clear, Ricki's at the center of yet another murder investigation. And if she's not careful, her first Mardi Gras could also be her last . . . Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke, these delightful mysteries bring New Orleans to life with fun characters and delicious recipes.
Series: Vintage cookbook mystery, #5
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Eight Enchanting Elixirs
by Lynn Cahoon
Mia's grandmother is feeling stress about an ex who's returned . . . from the dead. Mia's boyfriend is confined to his home for six weeks in a desperate attempt to get his fluffy Maltese pup, Cerby, trained as a hellhound. And Mia herself is being hassled by the coven, which is suddenly questioning the validity of her witch credentials! Suspected of cheating on her exam, Mia is pressured to retake it. When she not only passes but moves up two levels, national coven rep Suzanne Parker is furious. Parker, a relative of a witch hanged in Salem, threatens Mia with a witch's worst nightmare. When she's found dead the very next day, the coven suspects the kitchen witch's potions contained an extra, very lethal ingredient. With all this toil and trouble, Mia has no choice but to prove that she's a good witch-in every sense of the word . . .
Series note: Kitchen witch mystery #8
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A Zoom with a View
by Jess Cannon
A cozy murder mystery filled with hometown drama, social media influencers, an over-the-top mother, and two very attractive local men, A Zoom with a View will make you want to move to Blue Oak--if only the Fourth of July festivities didn't end with a dead body. Leo can't believe she's back in Blue Oak. Her small, quirky Texas hometown feels suffocating after trying to make it big as an English professor in New York - especially due to her strained relationship with her overly hair-sprayed mother, Karina. But with Leo's career in academia in shambles, at least she's able to work as a photographer for her godmother's real estate business. And her best friend, Emily, is around to help her navigate through the mess--and maybe force her to reconnect with her old high school boyfriend, Mack. But while at work, Leo makes a grisly discovery at one of her godmother's properties: the dead body of rival real estate agent and social media influencer Chaz. Even worse, Leo and Emily have been secretly running a snarky Reddit page making fun of Chaz's cringe-inducing advice and duck-faced selfies. When someone she loves is accused of the murder, Leo finds herself flung headfirst into a dangerous investigation, teaming up with a local detective who is a lot more attractive than she remembered when they were both teenagers. Meanwhile, Karina has been acting stranger and stranger, as if all her hair hides a big secret. . . .
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A Delicious Deception
by Lucy Burdette
Mother-to-be Hayley Snow bites off more than she can chew in the sixteenth installment of Lucy Burdette's USA Today bestselling Key West Food Critic mysteries. When Sheriff's Deputy Darcy Rogers asks Hayley for a small favor, she can't say no. Nine months pregnant and temporarily benched from her food critic duties, Hayley's itching for a distraction and eager to help. All she has to do is tag along while a young woman picks up her daughter from her father at Monroe County's safe custody exchange location. Easy, right? Wrong. In the chaos of the Sheriff's Office open house, the mother disappears. Then the father bolts, leaving Hayley with a terrified girl and the realization that something has gone terribly wrong. Hayley and Deputy Rogers head north up the Keys to search for answers. When a body turns up, Hayley realizes this isn't just a missing-persons case--it's a race against time. With the little girl's safety at risk, Hayley must trust her instincts--and her heart--to uncover the truth.
Series note: Key West food critic mystery #16
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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