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Murder on Cold Street
by Sherry Thomas
Starring: brilliant, logical Charlotte Holmes, who pretends to have a brother, Sherlock, in order to work as a woman in Victorian London.
What happens: Just before Christmas 1886, Charlotte's friend, Scotland Yard Inspector Treadles, is charged with murder -- he's been found in a locked room with two dead men, both connected to his wife's newly inherited business, and refuses to explain what happened.
Series alert: This 5th in the Lady Sherlock series features a clever locked-room mystery, a simmering romance, and appealing characters.
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| The Night of the Fire by Kjell Eriksson; translated by Paul NorlenWhat it's about: Police inspector Ann Lindell has left the Violent Crimes Unit to retire to a village and make local cheese. But she's linked to her old job when an anonymous caller to headquarters will only speak to her. Locally, there's also strange goings-on, including a fatal fire at a refugee shelter (possibly linked to neo-Nazis) and a dead badger left on Ann's bed.
Series alert: This slow-building Swedish police procedural is the 8th in a series and offers fascinating characters, smart plotting, and an insightful look at timely issues. |
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| The War Widow by Tara MossIntroducing: Billie Walker, a smart, stylish former war correspondent whose photojournalist husband went missing in Europe during the war.
What happens: In 1946 Sydney, Australia, Billie has reopened her late father's private inquiry business and agrees to find the missing teenage son of Jewish immigrants, which sees her swept up in a dangerous case involving a ritzy nightclub, Nazi war criminals, treasure, and the mistreatment of Aboriginal people.
For fans of: Kerry Greenwood, Sulari Gentill, or Charles Todd's Bess Crawford mysteries. |
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Books You May Have Missed
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| The Case of the Reincarnated Client by Tarquin HallStarring: Vish Puri, the amiable middle-aged owner of India's Most Private Investigations, who's always ready for good meal.
What happens: Vish investigates a woman claiming to be a reincarnated murder victim, deals with an unhappy customer (a potential husband whom Vish had checked out prior to an arranged marriage turned out to be a snorer), and to his dismay, learns his daughter wants a love-match marriage.
Series alert: Like the earlier entries, this delightful 5th and most recent Vish Puri mystery works as a standalone. Those who prefer to start with Vish's 1st outing can pick up The Case of the Missing Servant. |
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Borrowed Time
by Tracy Clark
Cassandra Raines, the former Chicago cop turned private investigator, looks into a suspicious death as a favor to a friend--and makes some powerful enemies.Tim Ayers, scion of a wealthy Chicago family, has been found dead, floating in Lake Michigan near his luxury boat. Cass reluctantly begins digging only to discover that Tim Ayers was terminally ill. Given the large quantities of alcohol and drugs found in his body, Ayers' death appears to be either an accident or suicide. But there are too many unanswered questions and unexplained coincidences. Why would anyone kill a dying man? Working her connections on both sides of the law, Cass tries to point the police in the right direction. But violence is escalating around her, and Cass's persistence has already attracted unwanted attention, uncovering sinister secrets that Cass may end up taking to her grave.
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| And the Killer Is... by G.A. McKevettWhat it's about: When an elderly movie star is murdered in her clutter-filled California mansion, plus-sized PI Savannah Reid and her cop husband search for answers as Savannah juggles caring for a child she's temporarily taken in.
Series alert: This is the 25th Savannah Reid mystery; the 26th, A Few Drops of Bitters, comes out in July. Murder at Mabel's Motel, the 3rd book in the author's spinoff Granny Reid mysteries -- which includes a spunky young Savannah growing up in Georgia -- is out this month. |
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| Cartier's Hope by M.J. RoseWhat happens: Intrepid, well-to-do journalist Vera Garland investigates possible misdeeds around jeweler Pierre Cartier’s recently acquired (and supposedly cursed) Hope Diamond. A facet of Vera's article will also, she hopes, provide revenge against her late father's blackmailer.
Why you might like it: Painting a vivid picture of gilded age New York, Cartier's Hope includes history, mystery, and romance.
Did you know? M.J. Rose's next historical novel, The Last Tiara, comes out in February and deals with a missing Romanov treasure. |
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| Broken: Six Short Novels by Don WinslowWhat's inside: six wide-ranging, gritty crime novellas featuring lively, compelling prose and a few familiar characters, like surfer Boone Daniels from The Dawn Patrol and The Gentlemen's Hour.
Don't miss: The San Diego Zoo, a humorous homage to Elmore Leonard that begins, "No one knows how the chimp got the revolver."
Reviewers say: Broken "will keep readers entertained with wit, humor, and occasional sadness" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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