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| Solemn Graves by James R. BennStarring: Irish American Army Lt. Billy Boyle, a former Boston cop who's now a special detective for General Eisenhower.
What happens: Just after D-Day, Billy and two friends investigate an American officer's murder at a Normandy farm near the top secret Ghost Army (which is using inflatable tanks to trick the enemy).
For fans of: This 13th Billy Boyle World War II mystery should please those who like Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope novels (Maggie starts off working for Winston Churchill) or Martin Limon's George Sueno and Ernie Bascom mysteries (featuring Army investigators in 1950s Korea). |
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Kingdom of the blind
by Louise Penny
Starring: Chief Inspector Gamache
What happens: When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder. None of them had ever met the elderly woman.
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| The Vanishing Box by Elly GriffithsStarring: Brighton, England DI Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto, who met in a secretive World War II unit nearly ten years ago.
What happens: Edgar is called to a murder scene where a body is arranged as if in a famous Jane Grey painting...which calls to mind the poses that the young women in Max's new opening act create.
Series alert: This 4th Magic Men novel is a charming holiday mystery featuring romance and a well-crafted plot. To start with the 1st book (and see character relationships develop), pick up The Zig Zag Girl. |
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| The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson; translated by Victoria CribbIntroducing: Hulda Hermannsdottir, a dogged 64-year-old Detective Inspector with the Reykjavik Police who's being forced into retirement.
What happens: With two weeks left on the job, Hulda's begrudgingly allowed to select a cold case to investigate. She picks the murder of a Russian asylum seeker -- and not everyone's happy about it.
For fans of: This debut in the Hidden Iceland series should please readers of Arnaldur Indridason's Iceland-set mysteries as well as Anne Holt's Hanne Wilhelmsen novels, which star an older female detective. |
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| The Hollow of Fear: The Lady Sherlock Series by Sherry ThomasThe premise: Sherlock Holmes doesn't exist; he's an alter ego made up by socially ruined Charlotte Holmes, who uses her extraordinary powers of deduction to succeed as an inquiry agent in Victorian London.
What happens: Aided by the capable Mrs. Watson (a former actress), Charlotte helps her sister (who, unable to speak, is hidden away by their parents), her half-brother (whose life is in danger), and a friend (whose estranged wife is discovered dead on his estate).
Series alert: This is the 3rd book in the atmospheric, cleverly plotted Lady Sherlock historical mystery series that begins with A Study in Scarlet Women. |
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Fool's Moon
by Diane A. S Stuckart
Introducing: Ruby Sparks and her growing menagerie of enchanted pets. What happens: Most days, Ruby feels like the sign that says "Tarot Card Reader Extraordinaire" should say "Tarot Card Reader Fairly Competent." But as challenging as it is to take care of her half-sister's New Age shop, Ruby never worries that she's bitten off more than she can chew...until a customer wants her to divine the truth about a murder.
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If You Like: Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series
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| Recipes for Love and Murder: A Tannie Maria Mystery by Sally AndrewWhat it's about: In rural South Africa, 50-something Tannie Maria (tannie means "auntie" in Afrikaans and is a term of respect), writes a newspaper column that combines food and advice (recipes included).
What happens: Maria pens advice for an anonymous abused woman and then investigates a murder...much to the chagrin of a handsome cop.
Why Alexander McCall Smith fans might like it: Featuring a kind-hearted detective, it's the 1st in a charming cozy series set in Africa by a writer who knows and loves her part of continent. |
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| A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan BradleyStarring: Flavia de Luce, a precocious, quirky (and adorable, but don't tell her) 11-year-old chemist, who lives in a large house in a 1950s English village with her widowed father and two tormenting older sisters.
What happens: Flavia draws on her knowledge of poisons, Romani lore, and more to discern what happened to a long-missing child and figure out who committed a murder in the present.
Why Alexander McCall Smith fans might like it: This witty 3rd in a series beautifully describes rural village life and the relationships therein, and features a sleuth whose personal life plays a role in each book. |
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Malice: A Mystery
by Keigo Higashino
What Happens:hIt's 1996, and a bestselling Japanese novelist is found dead in a locked room by his wife and a friend. Who murdered him? Though police detective Kyochiro Kaga decides he knows who did it before the book is halfway through, he has no idea what the motive might be. As he digs deeper, twists upon twists come his way in this book that is narrated by both Kaga and his main suspect.
Why you might like it: If you'd like a fresh, sophisticated take on the traditional mystery novel, you might want to try Keigo Higashino's work; he "combines Dostoyevskian psychological realism with classic detective-story puzzles reminiscent of Agatha Christie" (Wall Street Journal).
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| Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James RuncieIntroducing: unconventional clergyman Sidney Chambers, who teams up with a police inspector friend on various occasions to investigate a suspicious suicide, a jewelry theft, the unexplained demise of a jazz promoter, and a shocking art forgery.
Why Alexander McCall Smith fans might like it: the people and places are just as or more important than the mysteries in this collection of interlocking short stories, the 1st in the Grantchester mysteries.
Did you know? The TV show Grantchester is based on James Runcie's books, but aren't as cozy and introspective and are faster paced. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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