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Badlands
by C.J. Box
Mystery. Thanks to a massive oil discovery, once-dying Grimstad, North Dakota has been transformed into a sprawling boom town full of newcomers and new houses -- as well as drugs, gangs, and violence. Early one morning, 12-year-old paperboy Kyle Westergaard, who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome, witnesses a vehicle fatally force another car off the road -- but the police say it's a single-car accident. Complicating things is Kyle's decision to take a bag that fell out of the crashed car -- a bag that lots of people want. Narrated by both Kyle and deputy sheriff Cassie Dewell (readers of The Highway will remember her), this atmospheric novel brims with suspense and action. For another compelling mystery that deals with fracking, murder, and a rapidly changing community, try Tom Bouman's Dry Bones in the Valley.
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No Roast for the Weary
by Cleo Coyle
New York City's Village Blend coffee shop has been around for decades but business after COVID hasn't been too hot. To draw in customers, master roaster and co-owner Clare encourages writers to hang out, which they do...but that brews up a murder with ties to the past. This cozy 21st outing for Clare features fun characters and an assortment of culinary tips and recipes.
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| The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison GoodmanIn Regency England, 42-year-old twin sisters and amateur sleuths Augusta and Julia Colebrook have never married, each for her own reasons. Their compelling 2nd adventure combines mystery and romantic elements as the two try to clear an innocent man's name, hide a woman from her controlling brother, and push against the restrictions society places on women. Try this next: Katharine Schellman's Lily Adler mysteries; Vanessa Riley's Lady Worthing mysteries. |
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King of Ashes
by S. A. Cosby
After returning to Jefferson Run, Virginia, and family business Carruthers Crematorium—with brother Dante in debt to criminals and sister Neveah exhausted from holding everything together—Roman discovers that his father's crash was no accident and Dante has placed them all in real danger.
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| Marble Hall Murders by Anthony HorowitzAfter breaking up with her Greek boyfriend, Susan Ryeland is back in London, editing a novel by the late Alan Conway that's been completed by Eliot Crace. But troubled Crace has laced the plot with references to his well-known grandmother's suspicious death, and this leads to murder. Fine for newcomers and featuring a book-within-a-book, this 3rd Magpie Murders novel "dazzles" (Publishers Weekly). Read-alikes: Sulari Gentill's The Woman in the Library; Janice Hallett's The Twyford Code. |
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Murder Takes a Vacation
by Laura Lippman
Former private investigator and middle-aged widow Muriel Blossom's vacation on a Parisian river cruise turns into a deadly international mystery… that only she can solve.
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| This Is Not a Game by Kelly MullenOn Michigan's Mackinac Island, septuagenarian Mimi invites her granddaughter Addie to a socialite's charity auction with an ulterior motive. Mimi is being blackmailed by the host and wants Addie, cocreator of a murder mystery video game, to help find a solution. But then the guests are snowed in and the host is murdered in this atmospheric, well-plotted debut. Read-alikes: Ally Condie's The Unwedding; Louise Hegarty's Fair Play. |
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| Esperance by Adam OyebanjiDetective Ethan Krol needs to figure out how a man and his young son drowned in sea water in a Chicago high rise. Things get trickier when he learns of similar deaths in Nigeria and Rhode Island. Meanwhile, a woman with strange powers appears in Bristol, England, asking about a slave ship from 1791. This "excellent" (Booklist) novel will please fans of intricately plotted science fiction mysteries, such as Silvia Park's Luminous. |
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| Big Bad Wool by Leonie SwannThe sheep of Glennkill, Ireland, including clever Miss Maple, are wintering in France with their shepherdess Rebecca and her tarot card-reading mum. But strange deer deaths attributed to a werewolf and the killing of a human find the flock once again using wit and courage to solve crimes in this charming sequel to Three Bags Full. "A complete original," raves Booklist. |
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| One Death at a Time by Abbi WaxmanAward-winning actress Julia Mann is drunk when she finds a body in her Los Angeles pool. She did time for her ex's death, so the cops want to pin this on her, too. But her young, bubbly-with-an-edge sobriety sponsor Natasha is determined to clear Julia's name in both cases. This entertaining novel introduces a fun duo who are witty, sarcastic, and full of heart. Try this next: Kemper Donovan's Ghostwriter mysteries. |
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