Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/20/2013
ISBN-13: 9780805094404
ISBN-10: 0805094407

Historical Mystery. When a dead journalist is discovered in a canal, 1950s Dublin pathologist Quirke and police Inspector Hackett team up to figure out who killed him. Jimmy Minor, who'd been working on a story about the Catholic Church, had been a friend of Quirke's adult daughter and Quirke, a heavy drinker who's been experiencing hallucinations related to his past, must keep himself together if he's to solve the case. Holy Orders is the 6th in this character-driven series by Benjamin Black, a pseudonym of Booker Prize winner John Banville; to best follow the complex relationships, newcomers should start with the 1st book, Christine Falls. Readers who'd like another dark and lyrically written Irish mystery series that often looks at the Catholic Church should pick up Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor novels.

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Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/06/2013
ISBN-13: 9781250029676
ISBN-10: 1250029678

Historical Mystery. After rebuffing a marriage proposal arranged by her sister-in-law, 36-year-old spinster Dido Kent (who has no income of her own) must accompany her ill-tempered but wealthy Aunt Manners to her childhood home as punishment. While there, Dido learns that a 19-year-old guest in the house disappeared the day before their arrival. It's presumed that her absence has to do with Tom Lomax, the young gentleman she was last seen with. But though the other guests say she never came through the manor door, he claims he last saw her entering it. Where did she go? Seeking answers, Dido attempts to clear Tom from suspicion, partially because she believes him and partially because he's the son of the man she truly loves. This 4th in a fine Regency-era series should especially please mystery readers who adore Jane Austen.

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/06/2013
ISBN-13: 9780547738758
ISBN-10: 0547738757

Police Procedural. Norwegian police inspector Konrad Sejer, a reserved and thoughtful man, finds it odd that he has two homicide cases in a small town that usually has none. Both victims -- a family man and a prostitute -- died within days of each other...and both have a connection to Eva, a divorced mother who scrapes by selling the occasional painting. Though Eva's Eye is the 1st Inspector Sejer novel written by author Karin Fossum, who's known as Norway's Queen of Crime, eight later books in the series have already been published in English. If you're new to Fossum's work, this "tour de force" (Kirkus Reviews) is a great place to start. If you like psychologically rich, well-paced tales like those by P.D. James and Ruth Rendell, give Fossum a try.

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/20/2013
ISBN-13: 9781250028532
ISBN-10: 1250028531

Mystery. It's Halloween in Perry Hollow -- and someone is making it a scarily gruesome one...again. Over the course of a harrowing 24 hours, small-town Pennsylvania Police Chief Kat Campbell searches for a killer who begins his work not long after midnight by torching the town's museum with the bludgeoned-to-death curator inside. Kat, who is the single mom of a son with Down Syndrome, knows that there must be a connection between this and the events of last October 31st, when she and journalist Henry Goll were trapped in a burning sawmill (see Bad Moon, the 2nd in the series, for details). As another building is set ablaze, she must work fast to catch a clever criminal. Try Devil's Night if you'd appreciate a "twisty mystery with enough suspects to keep you guessing to the bitter end" (Kirkus Reviews).

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Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/27/2013
ISBN-13: 9780062237156
ISBN-10: 0062237152

Historical Mystery. When a dying patient utters the name of a disgraced individual from her childhood, World War I nurse Bess Crawford begins to remember her early days in India. In 1908, Lieutenant Thomas Wade had been a young, well-liked member of her colonel father's regiment until he allegedly killed several people while on leave in England. When military police came after him in India, Wade escaped into dangerous territory and has long been presumed dead. But could he be alive and in France? When Bess catches a glimpse of a man she thinks is Wade, she secretly investigates, even traveling home to England searching for clues. This 5th book in a character-driven series can easily be read by newcomers. Bess Crawford fans who'd enjoy post World War I mysteries that feature a former battlefield nurse should try Jacqueline Winspear's bestselling Maisie Dobbs mysteries.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/15/2007
ISBN-13: 9780312426132
ISBN-10: 0312426135

Historical Mystery. In 1836 Istanbul, ten years have passed since the elite but corrupt military force called the Janissaries were crushed by the Sultan's New Guard -- but could the group be on the rise again? The murders of four New Guard officers seem to indicate they are, which means that the Sultan himself is likely in danger. Yashim Togalu, a highly trusted eunuch who's able to enter all areas of the palace (including the harem), is asked to investigate the killings as well as the case of some missing jewels and the murder of a concubine. In the process, Togalu uncovers political deceit and corruption in this atmospheric 1st in a series, which won the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery Novel.

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Publisher: William Morrow
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/01/2007
ISBN-13: 9780061128851
ISBN-10: 0061128856

Crime Novel. A confused and distressed middle-aged woman flees the scene of a Maryland hit-and-run. When captured by the police, she claims that she is the younger of the two Bethany sisters, girls who went missing from a shopping mall 30 years earlier. Though the woman refuses to tell the cops much more -- including where she's been living and what name she's been using -- she clearly knows things about the sisters that show an intimate knowledge of their lives. Kevin Infante, a divorced Baltimore County police department detective, is charged with figuring out the truth. This compelling stand-alone novel, which uses multiple points of view to great effect, won both an Anthony and a Macavity Award.

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Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/22/2012
ISBN-13: 9781250007377
ISBN-10: 1250007372

Historical Cozy. Star-crossed lovers belonging to two rival department-store families add up to death in this "truly baffling traditional murder mystery" (Publishers Weekly). Called in to find 20-year-old Mirren Aitken (her wealthy family think she's run off with her beau), Dandy Gilver discovers a dead body at Aitkens' Emporium's 50th anniversary celebration. Readers who enjoy Rhys Bowen's historical cozies should like independent-minded Dandy and the Golden Age feel of these novels, which are set in the 1920s, and fans of M.C. Beaton's Hamish MacBeth novels may appreciate the well-drawn small-town Scottish settings. This 6th outing for Dandy won the 2013 Agatha award for Best Historical Mystery and the 2013 Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award.

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Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/01/2011
ISBN-13: 9780312672805
ISBN-10: 0312672802

Mystery. Even in crime-plagued Newark, New Jersey, when four bodies are found in a vacant lot, each with one bullet to the head, it's news -- and that means investigative reporter Carter Ross writes the story. When Carter thinks the police are on the wrong path, he gets even more involved and sets out to solve the crimes himself. Recruiting some colorful friends to help him, Ross discovers some new leads and the killers soon want to put him out of print forever. Stephanie Plum fans take note -- in a starred review, Library Journal calls this "the most hilariously funny and deadly serious mystery debut since Janet Evanovich's One for the Money." Faces of the Gone won the 2010 Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel.

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/28/2010
ISBN-13: 9780312377045
ISBN-10: 0312377045

Mystery. After a case gone wrong leaves him troubled and on leave, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache travels to Québec City to stay with his retired mentor. Still, when a French-speaking historian's body is found in an English-language library that Gamache has been visiting, he assists with the politically charged investigation. He also begins to doubt that he arrested the right person in a recent case and sends one of his top investigators back to the small village of Three Pines. Steeped in Québec history, this fantastic (it's received starred reviews from multiple publications) 6th book in an acclaimed series is sure to win the talented author new fans; it certainly won awards, including an Agatha, an Anthony, an Arthur Ellis, a Macavity, and a Dilys.

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