Mystery
October 2025

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November
Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove
Mask of the Deer Woman
by Laurie L. Dove

As the new tribal marshal on the Oklahoma reservation where her dad grew up, ex-Chicago cop Carrie Starr, who struggles with addiction and her teen daughter's death, is assigned to work cold cases of missing Indigenous women. But on her third day, there's a new woman reported missing and Carrie's determined to find her. 
Exposure by Ramona Emerson
Exposure
by Ramona Emerson

Detectives in Gallup, New Mexico consider calling in Rita Todacheene, an Albuquerque PD forensic photographer who sees ghosts, after a serial killer targets indigent, local Native people in the second novel of the series following Shutter.
The bone thief by Vanessa Lillie
The Bone Thief
by Vanessa Lillie

When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate.
Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
Indian Burial Ground
by Nick Medina

When the facts surrounding her boyfriend Roddy's apparent suicide don't add up, Noemi, suspecting something sinister is stalking their tribal lands, relies on help from her uncle, who has returned to the reservation, bringing with him secrets, horror and what might be the key to determining Roddy's true cause of death.
Silent Are the Dead by D.M. Rowell
Silent Are the Dead
by D.M. Rowell

Mud Sawpole, a Kiowa woman who runs a storytelling business in Silicon Valley, is still in Oklahoma in this sequel to Never Name the Dead. When her high school sweetheart finds a body that then disappears, Mud and her cousin Denny investigate while also dealing with a stolen ancestral headdress, illegal fracking, and more.
Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon
Broken Fields
by Marcie R. Rendon

Ojibwe sleuth Cash Blackbear is happy sort-of dating a Vietnam vet and driving a tractor all day. But after she finds her farmer boss fatally shot and a mute Indigenous child hiding nearby, Cash helps mentor Sheriff Wheaton with the case. She also tries to make sure the traumatized girl doesn't suffer in foster care like she did. 
Recent Releases
Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library
by Amanda Chapman

After closing Manhattan's Mystery Guild Library for the day, book conservator Tory Van Dyne discovers a woman who says she's Agatha Christie...which does appear to be the case, despite Christie being dead. So when Tory's actress cousin Nic is linked to a suspicious death, Tory works with Christie to solve the crime. For fans of: traditional mysteries with clever plotting; Colleen Cambridge’s Phyllida Bright mysteries; Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime.
Guilty by Definition
by Susie Dent

A cryptic letter with references to Shakespeare arrives at the Clarendon English Dictionary offices in Oxford, England. Senior editor Martha Thornhill thinks the odd missive might be related to her sister’s disappearance a decade earlier, so when more notes appear, Martha and her team work to solve the clues and possibly a crime. This clever debut novel by English lexicographer and TV presenter Susie Dent will please both mystery fans and language lovers. Try this next: Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg.
The House at Devil's Neck
by Tom Mead

In 1939 England, sleuth and magician Joseph Spector travels with a group to an allegedly haunted house on a lonely island, where a storm isolates them and a murder occurs. Meanwhile, police inspector George Flint investigates an apparent suicide in London that mirrors an old crime in this twisty, atmospheric 4th outing in the acclaimed Spector series. For fans of: Golden Age mysteries; locked-room mysteries like those by John Dickson Carr.
Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue
by Spencer Quinn

After winning a senior tennis competition, 71-year-old Floridian Loretta Plansky drives her doubles partner home, arriving just in time to see his yacht explode. He claims it was lightning, but Loretta isn’t sure, so when he disappears and she learns her estranged son might somehow be involved, she investigates in her fun 2nd outing. Try this next: Rachel Ekstrom-Courage’s Murder by Cheesecake.
The Dead Come to Stay
by Brandy Schillace

Autistic American Jo Jones has recently relocated to rural Yorkshire, England, after inheriting a rundown family estate. In her 2nd outing, Jo unearths more secrets about her ancestors and teams up with handsome detective James MacAdams after her new tenant is killed. For fans of: Nita Prose’s Maid novels.
The Witch's Orchard
by Archer Sullivan

Kentucky PI Annie Gore, a former military investigator, takes a case she isn’t sure she can solve. But she needs the money and the desperate teen boy who hires her hopes she can find his sister, who was abducted ten years ago along with two other Quartz Creek, North Carolina girls. While locals talk of folklore, witches, and more, Annie makes progress in the twisty case. For fans of: atmospheric debut novels with creepy vibes.
The Librarians
by Sherry Thomas

The lives of four Austin, Texas, librarians are altered after their library’s murder-mystery board game night results in an actual murder. Since they each have secrets, the co-workers team up to uncover the killer before the cops do in this leisurely paced latest by the author of the popular Lady Sherlock historical mysteries. For fans of: work-centric mysteries; Robert Thorogood.
Murder at the Wham Bam Club
by Carolyn Marie Wilkins

In 1922, young Nola Ann Jackson, whose Harlem Hellfighter husband died in the war, lives with her psychic Aunt Sarah in her fast-growing Illinois hometown. Nola, who’s been embracing her own psychic talents, helps investigate when a murder occurs that’s related to a local girls' school she once attended. For fans of: historical mysteries with a strong sense of place and paranormal elements.
Recent Cozy Mystery Releases
Laying down the latte by Ellie Alexander
Laying Down the Latte
by Ellie Alexander

Mass market paperback original

While vacationing at a lush Costa Rican coffee farm with her husband Carlos and their trusty barista Andy, baker Jules Capshaw's relaxing getaway turns deadly when a worker is found murdered, forcing her to trade lattes for sleuthing before the killer strikes again. 

Series: Bakeshop mystery, #21
A perilous plot by Lorna Barrett
A Perilous Plot
by Lorna Barrett

When their mother shows up with an urn supposedly holding their father's ashes, bookstore owner Tricia Miles and her sister uncover lies, a stolen watch, and a murder in the latest addition to the long-running series following A Controversial Cover.

Series: Booktown mystery, #19
Mayhem at a Halloween wedding by Emmeline Duncan
Mayhem at a Halloween Wedding
by Emmeline Duncan

Lazy Bones Books owner Bailey, overwhelmed with friend Raven's wedding preparations and the annual holiday festival, throws a Halloween parade bachelorette party to keep peace among the bridal party—but when an explosion kills bridesmaid Ivy and bridesmaid Colby is suspected, Bailey must track down the killer. 

Series: Halloween bookshop mystery, #2
Natural barn killer by Amanda Flower
Natural Barn Killer
by Amanda Flower

Mass market paperback original

When her dog unearths a decades-old skeleton during Thanksgiving festivities, Shiloh Bellamy's peaceful farm gathering unravels into a cold case investigation that threatens her late grandmother's legacy and forces her to confront buried secrets the town wants left alone.

Series: Farm to table mystery #5 
A Matter of Pedigree by Leslie Meier
A Matter of Pedigree
by Leslie Meier

Armed with a pampered spaniel and designer shoes, Carole Capobianco must clear her husband's name and uncover the truth after a wealthy venture capitalist is found bludgeoned to death, in the first novel of a new series, Carole and Poopsie mysteries.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Dakota County Library
www.dakotacounty.us/library

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