"When Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett received the call every parent dreads, he was standing knee-high in thick sagebrush, counting the carcasses of sage grouse. He was up to twenty-one." ~ from C.J. Box's Endangered
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New and Recently Released!
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| The Marauders: A Novel by Tom CooperCrime Novel. What does a pill-addicted, one-armed treasure hunter have in common with violent, marijuana-growing identical twin brothers? They all haunt the moonlit swamps of tiny Jeannette, Louisiana, situated near Gulf Coast waters devastated by the massive BP oil spill. Added to this toxic mix are a shifty BP rep who's trying to get folks to take low-ball settlements, two inept ex-con newcomers, and a troubled widower and his 17-year-old son, who blames his dad for his mom's death during Hurricane Katrina. This evocative debut novel has received high praise from many, with Kirkus Reviews saying "somewhere, Donald E. Westlake, John D. MacDonald and Elmore Leonard are smiling down on this nasty, funny piece of work." |
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| The Unquiet Dead: A Novel by Ausma Zehanat KhanPolice Procedural. In Toronto, widowed Detective Esa Khattack and his partner, Detective Rachel Getty, land a case that may have religious and international connections. Though a local man's fall from a cliff appears to be accidental, doubts arise when it's suspected that he was a Bosnian war criminal responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which many Muslims were killed. But there's also a money-motivated fiancée -- did she have a hand in his death? As Rachel and Esa, a Muslim himself, sift through the details, they also have personal problems: one of the dead man's neighbors is Esa's former best friend, and Rachel longs for her runaway brother to return. This haunting debut novel by a Muslim author who's extensively studied war crimes examines loss and the cost of justice. |
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| Hush, Hush: A Tess Monaghan Novel by Laura LippmanMystery. Combining a compelling mystery with an unflinching look at parenthood, Hush, Hush tells the story of beautiful, upper-crust Melisandre Dawes, who purposefully left her baby in a hot car ten years ago. She was notoriously found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity and left the country. Now Dawes is back in Baltimore, having hired a down-and-out documentary filmmaker to tell her story and hoping to repair her relationships with her 15- and 17-year-old daughters. Along with her new Cuban partner Sandy Sanchez, PI Tess Monaghan, worn out from caring for her strong-willed three-year-old daughter, does security checks and tries to discover who's been sending the woman threatening notes -- and eventually tracks down a killer in this excellent 12th in a series. Readers who want more mysteries with a personable heroine and who enjoy the outdoors may want to try Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon books. |
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If You Like: C.J. Box's Joe Pickett
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Set in the modern West, often outdoors, the evocative Joe Pickett mysteries feature complex characters, thought-provoking story lines, and twisty plotting. Joe, a Wyoming game warden with a strong sense of justice and a family he loves, certainly isn’t perfect (he’s a terrible shot, for one), but he tries very hard to do the right thing. Readers who enjoy C.J. Box's acclaimed, bestselling Joe Pickett mysteries will be excited that his 15th book in that series, Endangered, is out this month. If you’re on the hold list for it and are looking for similar books, try some of our selections below. If you haven't read Box before, pick up Open Season, his 1st book, which features Joe as a fresh, new game warden.
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| Track of the Cat: The First Anna Pigeon Novel by Nevada BarrMystery. In West Texas's Guadalupe Mountains, recently widowed National Park Service ranger Anna Pigeon is on a routine assignment when she stumbles upon the body of fellow park ranger Sheila Drury. It appears that Sheila has been mauled by a mountain lion -- and that's the official ruling -- but Anna isn't convinced. When another death occurs, Anna knows she needs to act fast to find a cunning killer. In this 1st in a bestselling series, C.J. Box fans will appreciate the hauntingly evocative prose and the strong sense of place that makes readers feel like they're with Anna every step of the way. For other books that feature an independent outdoorswoman, try Jessica Speart's Rachel Porter mysteries. |
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| Trespasser: A Novel by Paul DoironMystery. A young Harvard Business School student hits a deer and calls 911, but both are gone before 25-year-old Maine game warden Mike Bowditch arrives at the scene. Eventually, he finds the young woman, raped and murdered. The setup reminds him of a notorious local case from seven years ago -- but there's a man in prison for that crime. Ignoring warnings from higher-ups, Mike secretly investigates in this 2nd in a series. Like C.J. Box's Joe Pickett, Bowditch is a game warden; though he's younger and works in the East, he also has a strong sense of integrity and faces similar dangers from animals, humans, the weather, and the great outdoors. Those who want to start with Mike's excellent 1st appearance can pick up The Poacher's Son; the 6th in the series, The Precipice, comes out in June. |
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| A Cold Day in Paradise: An Alex McKnight Novel by Steve HamiltonMystery. After a shootout 14 years ago that left a bullet near his heart, Alex McKnight retired from the Detroit Police and moved north. Now working as a PI in the Upper Peninsula on the shores of Lake Superior, he goes to work for a wealthy man's worried mother, who wants McKnight to protect her gambling son (not only did she dream that her son was in danger, but in real life, someone has killed his bookie). Meanwhile, McKnight finds roses and notes presumably left by Maximilian Rose, the man who fired the bullet that's still in him -- but since Rose is still locked up, what's going on? C.J. Box fans who try this Edgar and Shamus Award-winning debut, the 1st in a series that now numbers ten, will appreciate McKnight's sense of justice and the dangerous wilderness backdrop. |
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| The Cold Dish: The First Novel in the Walt Longmire Series by Craig JohnsonMystery. When herders find the body of a young man on Bureau of Land Management property, Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire grabs a six-pack and heads out to see what's going on. Turns out, the dead man and three other white men were convicted of raping a mentally disabled Cheyenne girl four years ago, but were let off with a wrist slap. Could the two crimes be connected? Longmire, his deputy Victoria Moretti (a transplant from Philadelphia), and his longtime friend Henry Standing Bear try to sort it all out and keep race relations from spiraling out of control. Like C.J. Box's Joe Pickett books, the Walt Longmire mysteries place an emphasis on family and offer an Old West feel. Dry Bones, the 11th Longmire book, publishes in May. |
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| Thunder Bay: A Novel by William Kent KruegerMystery. Over 70 years ago an Ojibwe man fell in love with a white woman, and their relationship resulted in an unexpected pregnancy. The implications of that event drive the action in PI Cork O'Connor's 7th case. Cork doesn't expect to encounter much violence in his small Minnesota hometown, but that's before his sick friend, elderly Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux, asks him to find his 70+ year-old-son, the product of that long-ago relationship. Cork finds himself visiting Canada's Thunder Bay, looking to the past for answers, and investigating an attempted murder. Though William Kent Krueger's territory is the northern Midwest -- northern Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula -- it's no less dangerous and just as compelling a wilderness as C.J. Box’s. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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