Celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage, and Jewish Heritage Month in May |
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The Midnight Taxi
by Yosha Gunasekera
New York taxi driver Siri Perera loves true crime podcasts, so when she picks up public defender Amaya Fernando, they bond over this and their shared Sri Lankan heritage. This connection comes in handy when Siri's next customer is somehow murdered during the ride. Arrested, Siri has five days to clear her name with help from Amaya and the childhood best friend who pays her bail. Witty and clever, this debut will please fans of Mia P. Manansala, Gigi Pandian, and Sarah Fox's Definitely Maybe Not a Detective.
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Blood Rubies
by Mailan Doquang
In Bangkok, expat jewel thief Rune Sarasin and her boyfriend, Kit, have just pulled off the heist of a lifetime. However, the excitement is short-lived when they learn that Kit's teenage sister, Madee, has disappeared. The rubies that Rune has snatched from Charles Lemaire, a black-market broker, take a backseat to finding Madee. Rune and Kit trace her to a youth center deep in Bangkok's monsoon-soaked slums, but lose the trail after wrestling Madee's backpack away from a raging meth addict. Unfortunately, Rune also loses the rubies in the fight. When Lemaire and his goons turn up, Rune's only play is to persuade Lemaire to allow her to retrieve the rubies she's "hidden." Her ploy buys her twenty-four hours to find Madee and the rubies, with Kit held as collateral. Rune's instincts tell her that the youth center's aims aren't altruistic, and she's soon digging too deeply into a deadly smuggling plot.
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Guilt: A Mystery
by Keigo Higashino
A tour de force crime novel from one of the international masters of the form, where a simple murder case questions the simple notions of good and evil, guilt and redemption. Homicide Detective Godai of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is assigned to investigate the death of a lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, whose body was found on a Central Tokyo riverbank. His investigations leads him to one Tatsuro Kuraki, who claims to have had limited contact with Shiraishi - but, surprising the investigators, Kuraki not only confesses to the lawyer's murder, but another one from thirty years ago - for which another man was arrested and died in custody before trial. This brings unexpected resolution to two cases but there is one problem: to Detective Godai the confession rings false. And Godai is not the only one who cannot accept Kuraki's explanation of both murders and his professed motives. The confessed murderer's son and the victim's daughter both feel strongly that both the act and the motive claimed are untrue. As Godai investigates further, he discovers that the relation between the murder of thirty years ago and the recent one is complex, raising multi-faceted questions of guilt and innocence.
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Crown City
by Naomi Hirahara
Pasadena, 1903: Eighteen-year-old Ryunosuke Ryui Wada staggers off the boat from Yokohama, Japan, ready to reinvent himself after the untimely deaths of his parents. Though battling loneliness and culture shock, Ryui does his best to settle into his work as an art dealer's apprentice while adjusting to his new home. From his enigmatic photographer roommate, Jack, to the beautiful seamstress living downstairs, Ryui finds himself surrounded by colorful characters and unbelievable opportunities and is soon utterly swept up in all Crown City has to offer. But tensions are seething under Pasadena's bustling prosperity. Ryui is the victim of an anti-Japanese attack, and a painting is stolen from the studio of Toshio Aoki, Pasadena's most successful Japanese artist, who then hires Ryui and Jack to investigate. It's not long before their sleuthing leads them into real danger. Ryui is a naive young man in a foreign country-has he bitten off more than he can chew? In this fish-out-of-water mystery, studded with cameos by real historical figures, Edgar Award-winner Naomi Hirahara brings to life a fascinating slice of California history-- Provided by publisher.
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My Grandfather, the Master Detective
by Masateru Konishi
He's not your average Grandpa. As a lover of classic crime stories, it's no surprise that schoolteacher Kaede encounters everyday mysteries more often than your typical twenty-seven-year-old. Solving them is another matter, though. For that, she turns to her beloved grandfather, who retains a keen sharpness of mind despite his dementia, and who was once a key member of The Waseda Mystery Club. From impossible locked room murders to confounding missing persons cases, the grandfather-granddaughter duo weave stories to get to the bottom of every mystery. But all the while, an insidious shadow from Kaede's past slowly closes in on her . . . Steeped in references to classic crime from Christie to Chesterton to Poe, My Grandfather, the Master Detective plays with the genre, capturing readers' imagination in this Tokyo-set escapist mystery. Its charming characters and affectionate focus on relationships echo heartwarming Japanese titles such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
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Death and Dinuguan
by Mia P. Manansala
Love is in the air for the citizens of Shady Palms, but Cupid's arrow isn't the only thing striking the town--not with another killer on the loose. Things are looking up for the Brew-ha Cafe, and Lila Macapagal can't think of anything that could break the spell, especially with Valentine's Day coming up--she can't wait to celebrate with her boyfriend, Jae Park. Adding to the lovey-dovey atmosphere is Hana Lee, Shady Palms's newest resident. She's also Jae's beloved cousin and chocolatier at Choco Noir, the latest addition to the town's culinary offerings. Everything is coming into place for Hana, who left her old life in Minnesota behind to work at Choco Noir, owned by her best friend. Unfortunately, beneath the sweet surface of Shady Palms runs a bitter undercurrent, as a series of attacks against women-owned businesses in the area escalates from petty theft to assault and murder when Hana is found knocked unconscious inside Choco Noir, and the chocolate shop owner is put out of business--for good. With Hana left in a coma, a murderer hiding amongst them, and the safety of the women entrepreneurs of Shady Palms at risk, the Park brothers team up with the Brew-ha crew to put a stop to the villain before they strike again.
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The Star from Calcutta
by Sujata Massey
A movie censor murdered, a leading lady vanished--the glamour, romance, and intrigue of the beginnings of Bollywood come to vivid life in the thrilling new installment of the Perveen Mistry historical mystery series. India, 1922: Perveen Mistry, the only female lawyer in Bombay, has secured her biggest client yet: Champa Films, a movie studio run by director Subhas Ghoshal and his wife, Rochana, the biggest name in Indian cinema. In the public eye, Rochana is notorious for her beauty and her daring stunts--behind the scenes, she has recently left the studio in Calcutta that made her famous, and the studio owner is enraged by what he claims is a breach of contract. Rochana needs Perveen's legal help to extricate Champa Films from the impending controversy. To study Rochana's glamorous world, Perveen attends a special screening and brings her film fanatic best friend, Alice Hobson-Jones. But in the aftermath of the event, one of the guests is found dead, and to make matters worse, Rochana has disappeared. To protect her clients, Perveen begins to investigate the developing murder case, peeling back the glitz to reveal a salacious web of blackmail, deceit, and romantic affairs. For the first time in their friendship, Alice seems to be keeping a secret from Perveen. Is she hiding key information about the night of the murder? Will Perveen be able to detangle the truth from lies while protecting herself--and her closest friend?
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Tokyo Express
by Seicho Matsumoto
A secluded bay. An apparent lovers' suicide. And a pair of detectives with a nagging suspicion that the pieces don't add up. Can you solve one of the most astonishing literary puzzles ever written? An irresistible Hitchcockian gem: a fiendishly plotted crime novel told in crisp, elegant prose.--Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train In a rocky cove at Hakata Bay, the bodies of a young and beautiful couple are discovered. Standing on the cold beach, the police see nothing to investigate: The flush of the couple's cheeks and the empty juice bottle speak clearly of cyanide, of a lovers' suicide. But in the eyes of two men, senior detective Torigai Jutaro and Kiichi Mihara, a young gun from Tokyo, something is not quite right. Together, they begin to pick at the knot of a unique and calculated crime. Now widely available in English for the first time, Tokyo Express is celebrated around the world as Seich Matsumoto's masterpiece.
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First Do No Harm: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery
by S. J. Rozan
With River Valley Hospital in the midst of negotiations to avert a nurses' strike, a wealthy benefactor is set to give a large donation to honor of the Chief of Emergency Medicine: Dr. Elliott Chin, the brother of private investigator Lydia Chin. Before the donation can be finalized, a member of the nurses' negotiating committee is found murdered. A morgue assistant is arrested and although he denies even knowing the victim his father and brother, both doctors at the hospital, are quick to urge him to take a plea. Another negotiating committee member abruptly resigns and a senior biomedical technician disappears. An officially off-limits section of the hospital basement turns out to be a hotbed of unauthorized--and in some cases criminal--activity. Hired by the arrested man's lawyer, Lydia Chin and her partner Bill Smith start to dig into the events and personnel at the hospital. Among the union disputes, blackmail, thefts, lies, and a detective who really, really doesn't like them, one thing becomes clear: the dictum to First Do No Harm is not in effect at River Valley. As time runs short, Lydia and Bill face a complicated and dangerous task: they must unlock the hospital's secrets to save an innocent man.
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Eight Very Bad Nights
by Tod Goldberg
Curated by New York Times bestselling author Tod Goldberg, this collection of twelve delightful and twisted Hanukkah capers will entertain you through all eight nights of the Festival of Lights. This captivating collection, which features bestselling and award-winning authors, contains laughs aplenty, the most hardboiled of Hanukkah noir, and poignant reminders of the meaning of the Festival of Lights. Includes stories by David L. Ulin, Ivy Pochoda, James D.F. Hannah, Lee Goldberg, Nikki Dolson, J.R. Angelella, Liska Jacobs, Gabino Iglesias, Stefanie Leder, and Jim Ruland, plus a foreword and story by Tod Goldberg.
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Adventures of Max Spitzkopf: The Yiddish Sherlock Holmes
by Jonas Kreppel
Meet Max Spitzkopf: legendary private eye, undefeated foe of villains, and passionate defender of the Jewish people. No matter how hopeless or dangerous the case, when the investigatory profession's greatest artist is summoned, justice is assured. Aided by his trusty assistant, Fuchs, super-sleuth Spitzkopf deploys equal parts physical bravery and intellectual ingenuity-- not to mention a knack for stealthy disguise-- to unpick evil conspiracies, outwit the canniest of criminals, and restore moral order to the world. Giving a unique twist to a beloved literary genre, this complete collection of the fifteen Spitzkopf mysteries is also a vibrant testament to Jewish life, in all its variety, during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Reading the tales, with every iota of their linguistic verve and historical charm preserved in Mikhl Yashinsky's translation, it's easy to see why the young Isaac Bashevis Singer thought them masterpieces.
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The Forbidden Book
by Sacha Lamb
Sorel leaps out her window to escape marriage, stealing a man's identity to keep herself from being discovered. This would be easier if the real Isser Jacobs wasn't a revolutionary wanted by powerful people, but at least she's immersed in the city's underworld. An entire society where different factions vie for control of the Jewish community, forcing Sorel to decide exactly who she wants to be.
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The Paper Man
by Billy O'Callaghan
In 1980s Ireland, Jack Shine, while sorting through his mother's belongings, finds German letters and newspapers clippings that help him piece together his family history and reveal his father's hidden identity, in this thrilling story of 20th-century Europe, the Holocaust, the cost of fame and love against the odds.
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The Jazz Club Spy
by Roberta Rich
In 1939 NYC, Giddy Brodsky, a cigarette girl at a Manhattan jazz club, recognizes one of the Cossacks who burned down her family's home in Russia and enlists the help of the Chief Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island to bring him to justice.
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The 12th Commandment
by Daniel Torday
A two-time National Jewish Book Award winner's haunting new novel about murder, memory, and an ancient cult of Jewish mystics in the rural Midwest.
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Beat the Devils
by Josh Weiss
Holocaust survivor and LAPD detective Morris Baker investigates a gruesome double-homicide in 1958 during the height of the Red Scare and stumbles upon a conspiracy that could destroy all of Los Angeles.
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| Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. BreedloveSince she hasn't heard from her godmother Sue in years, Willow Stone is surprised by a letter asking her to visit her Maine island home. When Willow arrives, she learns from locals that Sue recently inherited a historic mansion and had a fatal fall there. When another death connected to the house occurs, Sue investigates, getting a bit of ghostly help. For fans of: award-winning debuts; cozyish mysteries with paranormal elements, like Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity series or Olivia Blacke's Ruby and Cordelia mysteries. |
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| The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J.D. BrinkworthOut-of-work Jane Pye wrangles her boyfriend Simon Mash into taking a private detective class, and they're assigned a mysterious case: every ten years, a young woman named Nellie Thorne is reported missing around Kent, England, but officially the woman never seems to exist. While some think it's a joke, to Dev Hooper, whose girlfriend Nellie has just disappeared, it's reality. Luckily, Jane and Simon are determined to help. Read-alike: Sarah Fox's Definitely Maybe Not a Detective. |
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| The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn ClarkeSix struggling authors are invited to the private Scottish island of bestselling novelist Arthur Fletch, a recluse known for his fiendish plot twists. Upon arrival, they are told Fletch has died and left an unfinished manuscript. It's up to one of them to write the best ending in 72 hours, and whoever wins gets money and publicity. But then a real murder occurs. For fans of: the Knives Out films; Ande Pliego's You Are Fatally Invited. |
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| The Widow Hamilton by Mollie Ann CoxIn December 1805, a young woman is found dead in a bad part of Manhattan, and then the friend who went searching for her disappears. The police aren't interested in the case, but Eliza, the widow of Alexander Hamilton, feels compelled to investigate since the women had ties to Pearl Street House, a home for widows. Read-alikes: Amanda Flower's Emily Dickinson mysteries; Lauren Willig's The Girl from Greenwich Street. |
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| Dirty Metal by Allison LamotheIn 1992 New York, pill-addicted journalist Parker Snow messed up a story and was bumped from reporting on street crime to covering organized crime. While writing about the new influx of Russian gangsters, she can't help but also investigate the deaths of two women found in different parts of the city and wonder if a serial killer is at work. For fans of: atmospheric 1990s New York settings; gritty noirish debuts. |
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| The Best Little Motel in Texas by Lyla LaneLibrarian Cordelia West never planned on returning to the hometown she last saw as a ten-year-old, but then she inherits the Chickadee Motel. To her shock, she discovers the motel is actually a brothel and home to three "chicks," 60-somethings Daisy, Arline, and Belinda Sue. When an elderly pastor is fatally poisoned and dies in Daisy's bed, hijinks ensue as Cordelia investigates and clashes with the pastor's handsome FBI agent son. Try this next: Jo Nichols' The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective. |
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| Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin StevensonWriter and amateur sleuth Ernest Cunningham has gone to the bank hoping to get a loan to bankroll a new PI business. When Ernest and everyone else inside is taken hostage, he manages to nose around, learning that more than one person planned to rob the bank that day. Then a murder occurs. Kirkus Reviews raves, "nobody from Agatha Christie to Anthony Horowitz beats Stevenson for cleverness." This is the 4th in a delightful series by Australian author Benjamin Stevenson. For fans of: Richard Osman.
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Recent Cozy Mystery Releases
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Tell-Tale Treats
by Jennifer J. Chow
Mass Market Paperback Original
Is Felicity to blame when a hotel guest drowns after eating her enchanted cookies? Felicity Jin returns in the third installment of the Magical Fortune Cookie series.A group of high school alumnae reunite years later and reserve rooms at Pixie Inn for an extended retreat. As part of their pampering package, Felicity delivers a scrumptious assortment of enchanted pastries, including her new almond cookies. But the queen bee of the group is soon found dead in her bathroom, drowned in the tub, and she recently sampled the delicious baked goods. Could Felicity's almond cookies have set off a fatal nut allergy? The enchanted pastries are supposed to bring joy, not sorrow--and certainly not death. Boyfriend, Kelvin Love, is eager to assist, although odd things have been happening to his senses ever since he baked with Felicity. Will his extra sensitivity help or hinder the investigation? Plus, special bunny Whiskers lends a magical paw to the detecting since Felicity can't and won't relax until she restores both order and magic to her world.
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Crime Rangoon: A Noodle Shop Mystery
by Vivien Chien
Mass Market Paperback Original
It's stranger than fiction when Lana Lee investigates a murder that mimics the plot of a bestselling mystery, working together with her detective boyfriend for the first time ever. Cindy Kwan, owner of Asia Village's bookshop, The Modern Scroll, is privileged to host best-selling author, Charlene Chan for a signing in honor of the writer's latest book, The Mystery of General Tso. Lana Lee is equally excited for the appearance of her favorite author and even more so when Cindy asks her to be Charlene's handler for the event. Taking her duties very seriously, Lana stays by the side of the prominent author to assist in anything that she might need. With a line out the door and stretched through the plaza, Cindy is overjoyed at what a success this is for her shop. But, unfortunately for Cindy, her success comes with a price: the author is found dead in the mystery aisle, clutching a copy of her own book. Coincidentally the book's plot matches the details of the murder. Lana's boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau, is charged with leading the case investigation, but finds himself overwhelmed when he realizes just how much of the book series is mimicked in reality. For the first time in their relationship, Adam calls on Lana to partner up with him to help solve the case. The couple must work through the novel to outwit the murderer, stay one step ahead, and beat the die-hard fan to the last chapter.
Series note: Noodle Shop mystery #12
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Truffle Trouble
by Amanda Flower
Mass Market Paperback Original
The Amish Candy Shop Mysteries continue, as summer wedding season comes to the village of Harvest, Ohio... Horror d'oeuvres Summer is finally upon the village of Harvest, Ohio, nestled in picturesque Amish Country, and folks are abuzz over their very own Bailey King's upcoming June wedding. The Amish Candy shop owner and star of TV's Bailey's Amish Sweets is marrying Holmes County Sheriff Aiden Brody. To sweeten the occasion will be a scrumptious giant chocolate truffle wedding cake, made especially for the happy couple by Bailey's New York City mentor, Jean Pierre. Other than the risk of the ring bearer, Jethro the pig, taking a bite out of the confection, what could go wrong? As it turns out, a food-related disaster does befall the day. But with Bailey in the mix, it's nothing so pedestrian as a peckish pig. At the reception, a wedding guest dies after sampling the hors d'oeuvres. Café owner and new caterer Darcy Woodin, who made all the food except the desserts, is pegged by police as the number one suspect. Even more incriminating, the victim is one of Darcy's ex-boyfriends . . .Still, Bailey is friends with Darcy, and she's certain the young woman is innocent. Even before the first dance with her new husband, Bailey's on the case. Can she help solve it in time for her honeymoon--or will a killer try to end her happily ever after before it's even begun.
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A Cruise to Die for
by Heather Graham
Special agents face deadly, uncharted waters in this tense romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham.Special Agent Chloe McMurray has been asked to do many things in the name of her job. Going undercover on a cruise ship leaving from her home port of Miami, however, is a new one. Not only that, but she's tasked with posing as the wife of her federal counterpart, Special Agent Wesley Law.Their investigation? A string of murders and suicides across three states that seem unrelated, until they uncover a deadly technological connection. Every victim was an expert in technology and had some connection to Milestones, a megacorporation with ties to many industries...including the cruise industry.Chloe and Wesley must successfully go undercover as tech employees on the ship hosting the ten-year anniversary of the Milestones cruise company. A tough ask when the two have never met before. They'll infiltrate the technology events, investigate their fellow passengers and try to uncover what's really going on.However, danger is never far behind. Their killer can use tech to do the job without lifting a finger, and at sea, there's no escape if their covers are blown.
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Easter Egg Murder
by Leslie Meier
Light pink, robin's egg blue, daffodil yellow, mint green--Easter eggs hiding sweet treats come in every pastel color. But in a few small towns this year, cracking them could be more fatal than fun...A trio of holiday-themed stories from a veteran team. Two family-focused trips collide in Meier's "Easter Egg Murder." Small-town reporter Lucy Stone is headed to Paris to visit Elizabeth, her pregnant daughter, when she meets brash, city-bred Carole Capobianco, who's on her way to see her mother in Provence. Because of a strike in Paris, the two end up together in the French countryside, and at a dinner for the two families hosted by Carole's mom, the cook, Mathilde, is killed. Readers would be hard-pressed to ferret out the murderer, but it's a treat to see the interplay between Meier's two franchise heroines. In Hollis' "Death by Another Easter Egg," on the other hand, it's glaringly obvious who killed investigative reporter Emma Lane. Hayley Powell, owner of the restaurant where Emma died, grills potential suspects in a manner so confrontational that it's no wonder she lands in the killer's crosshairs. Ehrhart's "An Eggy Way to Die" provides the best blend of engaging characters and a genuine puzzle. Bettina Fraser and Pamela Paterson enjoy a warm friendship that makes them natural partners when it comes to sleuthing.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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