Mystery. Attorney Clay McCann killed four Yellowstone National Park campers in cold blood and immediately turned himself him--but he knows he can't be prosecuted for the crimes. In the small area of the park known as the free-fire zone, prosecution is impossible due to strange jurisdiction problems and the lack of inhabitants to form a jury. Unhappy with the legalized murders (and the bad press), Wyoming's governor offers fired game warden Joe Pickett his job back--if he'll take on the case. This 7th in an award-winning series should please fans who love multi-faceted characters and the great outdoors.

Historical Mystery. Nefertiti, the beautiful queen of Ancient Egypt, has disappeared at a crucial moment in her husband Akhenaten's reign--the pair have moved the capitol city from Thebes to Akhenaten and have discarded the people's old gods in favor of a new one, the Sun God. With a celebration of the massive changes drawing nigh, Nefertiti must be found. King Akhenaten orders young Thebes detective Rai Rahotep to find the queen--or Rai and his family will all die. In the new city, Rai finds deception and danger--but will he find Nefertiti? Wonderful historical details and excellent writing (the author is also a poet) make this tale a treasure.

Noir Fiction. In 1950s Texas, 21-year-old Kristin Van Dijk--aka Baby Shark (she's proficient at playing pool, fighting, and shooting)--has taken a job with private investigator Otis Millett, the friend and mentor who previously helped her locate her father's killers. This time though, the case is just business: locate a runaway teenage heiress. The job sounds simple enough until it turns out that the rich girl witnessed a double murder and may have been kidnapped. Library Journal praises the "witty dialog, colorful characters, and nonstop action" in this worthy--and violent--sequel to Baby Shark.

Mystery. Fans of traditional mysteries who have yet to read the Gregor Demarkian novels are in for a treat when they meet this "Armenian-American Poirot" and encounter author Jane Haddam's twisty plots. In Glass Houses, retired FBI profiler Demarkian looks into the arrest of Henry Tyder, an alcoholic, sometimes homeless member of a prominent Philadelphia family, who is thought to be the notorious plate glass serial killer--but even though Tyder confessed to the crimes and was found covered in blood near the 11th victim, things don't add up. In this 22nd outing, Demarkian must sort through lies and police feuding to find the truth.

Mystery. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec returns for his 2nd outing in this well-reviewed novel, which was originally released in Canada in 2006 under the title A Dead Cold. In late December, Gamache is sent to Three Pines, a village south of Montreal, to investigate the death of CC de Poitiers, an unpopular woman electrocuted while watching a Boxing Day curling match. He learns that his question isn't who wanted her dead (which is everyone), but who would actually do it. Booklist calls this "a fine mystery in the classic Agatha Christie style."

Crime Caper. What's so funny? Hapless crook John Dortmunder's latest outing, that's what. After an ex-cop persuades him (i.e., he blackmails him and threatens jail time), Dortmunder agrees to do the impossible: steal a unique (it was intended to be a birthday gift for the last Romanov czar), heavy (it's over 600 pounds), and valuable (it's made of gold and jewels) chess set that's been buried deep in bank vault for over 60 years. Dortmunder gathers his usual crew, decides on a gambit, and gives it a go. This 13th book in the series, which many reviewers are calling one of the best, is as much fun for newcomers as it is old-timers.

Classic Mystery. That indefatigable Belgian detective Hercule Poirot takes a case where the physical clues are long gone, the death having occurred 16 years earlier. Thankfully memory can be just as telling as blood. Famous artist and incorrigible womanizer Amyas Crale was supposedly killed while painting in the garden--by his jealous wife who was convicted of the crime and quickly died in prison. But now the couple's daughter, Carla Lemarchant, wants to clear her mother's name. Christie fans will enjoy watching Poirot piece together the past in this novel that has also been published as Murder in Retrospect.

Historical Cozy Mystery. In 1923 England, the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple has chucked aristocratic tradition--she lives alone and works as a writer for Town and Country magazine. While on assignment at gloomy Occles Hall, home of the autocratic Lady Valeria and her eclectic family, Daisy and the Welsh undergardener discover the body of the missing parlor maid buried in the garden. The local police arrest the poor Welshman since he'd been dating the maid, but Daisy refuses to believe he is guilty and calls in her friend from Scotland Yard, Alec Fletcher. This delightful mystery should especially charm readers who love a country house locale.

Cozy Mystery. Readers who like the combination of murder and mulch will enjoy the horticulturally rich English Garden mysteries that feature retired botanist Dr. Lawrence Kingston. In this 2nd book in the series (after The Blue Rose), Kingston has been retained by a young American woman, who has recently inherited an estate from a complete stranger, to refurbish the English manor's ten-acre gardens. In the course of his work, Kingston discovers an overgrown chapel with a healing well--and inside the well is a human skeleton. The Water Lily Cross, the 3rd in the series, was just published.

Historical Mystery. Pineapples are symbols of hospitality and graciousness, but attorney John Cobb wasn't welcomed at the estate of Herbert Bentnick with open arms--he is found dead in the "pinery," the pineapple conservatory, and no one in the household claims to know him. Bentnick and his new fiancée, Sabine Mercer, aren't too concerned by the death, but they are upset by the disappearance of a necklace that Sabine was wearing for their wedding portrait. Joshua Pope, the portraitist, is accused of the theft and must find the supposedly cursed necklace and solve the murder. In a starred review, Booklist calls the novel "top-notch."

Mystery. Japanese-American gardener and Hiroshima survivor Mas Arai travels from his home in California to his estranged daughter's apartment in Brooklyn, New York, after she calls and asks for his help. When he arrives in New York, he learns that his new grandson has been sick and that his daughter Mari and his son-in-law Lloyd need his help restoring a Japanese garden, a project started by Lloyd's boss Kazuhiko Ouchi. Mas agrees--and finds a dead body in a koi pond that turns out to be Ouchi. When the police look at Mari and Lloyd as likely suspects, Mas investigates. This is the 2nd book, after The Big Bachi, in this acclaimed series.

Cozy Mystery. PBS garden-show host Louise Eldridge combines business with pleasure when she goes to the Litchfield Falls Inn in Connecticut to film a garden tour and takes her family along. The family's fellow inn-mates are a diverse bunch--newlyweds, relatives of the inn's owner, couples who run a school for troubled children, nursery owners, and a botanist. After the tranquility is interrupted by a mountain climbing accident and a supposed suicide, Louise uses her horticultural know-how to dig up the truth in her 4th outing. As an added bonus, gardening essays are seeded throughout.