Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/03/2010
ISBN-13: 9780312386955
ISBN-10: 0312386958

Humorous Mystery. Anyone living near a chicken farm knows that fresh air can be difficult to come by. In East Texas, complaints about unpleasant smells originating from Lester Hamilton's massive chicken operation are common, but fowl odors aren't part of Blacklin County Sheriff Dan Rhodes' jurisdiction. So, he leaves things for the state's air-quality enforcement agency to settle...until someone drowns Hamilton in a fishing pond. If you like fun, light-hearted mysteries peopled with memorable series characters, check out this 17th entry in Bill Crider's Dan Rhodes novels.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/03/2010
ISBN-13: 9781439101469
ISBN-10: 1439101469

Humorous Mystery. In this deadly funny follow-up to Loser's Town, stuntman-turned-private investigator David Spandau finds himself working for Hollywood's elite. Taking a job protecting an aging, somewhat-suicidal actress from a stalker, Spandau engages in a deadly cat-and-mouse game that takes him from the streets of Tinseltown to the chaos of the Cannes Film Festival. This is "a laugh-out-loud crime story; all that's missing is the popcorn" (Kirkus Reviews). For another fast-paced mystery involving a tough (albeit female) detective protecting a leading lady, try Robert B. Parker's Blue Screen.

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 award-winning series is sure to win the talented author new fans.

Publisher: Overlook Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/05/2010
ISBN-13: 9781590203880
ISBN-10: 1590203887

Historical Mystery. New York State Supreme Court Judge Joseph Crater disappeared in August 1930--and what happened to him has been the subject of speculation for years. In The Man Who Never Returned, author Peter Quinn has come up with a plausible solution to this real-life mystery. Twenty years after Crater's disappearance, retired detective Fintan Dunne (last seen in 2005's The Hour of the Cat) is hired to investigate the cold case for a media piece and discovers the unsettling truth. Readers interested in Manhattan history will relish this book's authentic details of life in the city in the '30s and '50s.

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/31/2010
ISBN-13: 9780312586454
ISBN-10: 0312586450

Historical Mystery. In 1936 Moscow, Stalin is in control, food is in short supply, and everyone is afraid--even the cops. Captain Alexei Korolev of the city's Criminal Investigation Division finds himself investigating the grisly murder of a young woman--an American nun, who might have also been a smuggler of religious icons--in a deconsecrated church. Korolev (who hides a Bible under his floorboards) searches for clues wherever he can find them, even among the city's underworld. If you like Martin Cruz Smith's detail-rich Renko novels or Tom Rob Smith's gruesome Soviet books, you should check out this "remarkable" (Library Journal, starred review) debut novel.

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/20/2010
ISBN-13: 9780312638344
ISBN-10: 0312638345

Historical Mystery. In this murder-mystery mash-up of Jane Austen's classic Mansfield Park, Fanny Price isn't the meek woman you may recall, but a spoiled, condescending, and generally hated heiress. Then there's Mary Crawford, who's become a sweet-natured young lady. New to the mix is a charismatic London "thief-taker," who's hired to solve a murder. Jane Austen fans who don't mind someone reworking her classic stories will appreciate this book, as author Lynn Shepherd wonderfully captures Austen's writing style. For more mysteries like this one, pick up one of Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/08/2005
ISBN-13: 9780743261708
ISBN-10: 0743261704

Historical Noir. Lora and Bill King are orphans who've had only each other since they were kids. Now in Pasadena, California, in the 1950s, they have a good life--Lora is a schoolteacher and Bill's an investigator with the district attorney's office. But when glamorous Alice Steele enters their lives, Bill falls for her hard and they marry in a matter of months. Suspicious of her new sister-in-law, likeable schoolteacher Lora plays Nancy Drew and delves into the woman's shady past. This is one atmospheric tale--Kirkus Reviews says that "you can almost smell the smoke and hear the clinking of ice cubes."

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Publisher: Avon Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/01/1997
ISBN-13: 9780380728251
ISBN-10: 0380728257

Mystery. Divorced, ex-NYPD cop Matthew Scudder lives day by day, drink by drink, picking up work as an unofficial PI to his barroom buddies (he does "favors"; they "gift" him money). But when three of his cases collide, he finds himself dealing with some seriously nasty business, including blackmail, double dealing, betrayal, and murder. If you're interested in a gritty look at Manhattan through the workings of an alcoholic hero who's battling personal demons, check out these superb books, of which this is the 6th. For another long-running series featuring a detective similar to Scudder, try J. A. Jance's Seattle-based J.P. Beaumont novels.

Publisher: Vintage Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/14/1989
ISBN-13: 9780679723226
ISBN-10: 0679723226

Noir Fiction. When Walter Huff, a basically honest insurance salesman, meets Phyllis Nirdlinger, the wife of a wealthy client, he's attracted to her shape and concerned by one of her questions ("Do you handle accident insurance?"). But before Walter can stop himself, he's helping the unscrupulous woman plot to kill her husband and collect the insurance money. First published as a magazine serial in 1936, this classic noir gem was later published in book form and, like others of Cain's novels, such as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Mildred Pierce, adapted for the silver screen.

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Publisher: Warner Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/1997
ISBN-13: 9780446674249
ISBN-10: 0446674249

Historical Noir. Treading a fine line between right and wrong are three troubled 1950s Los Angeles cops: Ed Exley, the intelligent son of a successful cop who's trying to make his own way; vengeful Bud White, who witnessed his mother's murder by his father; and Jack Vincennes, a shakedown artist with Hollywood dreams who's on the payroll of a celebrity scandal magazine. All three men end up investigating a mass murder at the Nite Owl coffee shop and discover a multitude of secrets. This is the 3rd intricately plotted noir novel in Ellroy's L.A. Quartet. A 1997 movie based on the book starred Kevin Spacey and Russell Crowe and won Kim Basinger an Oscar.

Publisher: Vintage Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/01/1989
ISBN-13: 9780679720409
ISBN-10: 0679720405

Noir Fiction. This 1st book in the Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones series--are there detectives with better names?--won France's Grand Prix de la Littérature Policière when it was first published in 1957 as For Love of Imabelle, but the two African-American policemen play somewhat minor roles. The quick-moving plot focuses on a naïve man, Jackson, who loses all of his money (and some that isn't his) to con artists. Jackson also has a new love, Imabelle, but there's something slightly shady about the lady. Toss in a man cross-dressing as a nun and a trunkload of gold, and you've got one entertaining story. Chester Himes is a must-read author for those who care about early masters of the form.

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Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/19/2006
ISBN-13: 9780312426385
ISBN-10: 0312426380

Noir Fiction. In Iceland, Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson heads up the investigation into the murder of an elderly man found in his Reykjavik apartment. Who could have killed this solitary man? Perhaps one of the women he raped years ago? Erlendur digs deep to find victims (and answers) even as he deals with other crimes (a missing runaway bride) and personal problems (his daughter is pregnant and using drugs). If you like dark, atmospheric tales set in foreign countries, try Arnaldur Indridason's award-winning and critically acclaimed series, of which this is the 1st--the 6th and latest, Hypothermia, was recently released in the U.S.