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| A Very Vexing Murder by Lucy AndrewHarriet Smith isn't the gullible girl she appears to be in Jane Austen's Emma, but a clever young con woman. Known in the village of Highbury as someone who can help with delicate matters, she's hired by Mrs. Churchill to break up her nephew's engagement and get back the jewelry she thinks his betrothed stole. But there's also a killer about, and Harriet is afraid it's someone from her past. Try these next: Vanessa Kelly's Emma Knightley mysteries; Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar's Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator. |
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| The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. BrownHistory professor Alison Sage finds a manuscript containing the lost prophecies of Elizabeth Barton, a 16th-century nun who went against Henry VIII and was killed. Invited to a conference in Canterbury where Barton lived, Alison hears rumors of treasure, and then a shocking murder occurs. Covering both Alison's and Elizabeth's times, this is a well-researched, suspenseful debut. Try this next: A.D. Bell's The Bookbinder's Secret. |
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Blunt Instrument
by Amy Bloom
An Oprah Daily Best Book of Summer 2026 A failed professor solves a murder on campus in this new whodunit from bestselling author Amy Bloom. The case of the bludgeoned lecturer has all of Cromwell University reeling, even though the elderly Professor Bullfinch wasn't particularly well-liked. His ornery nature and Old World approach to campus politics ruffled more than a few feathers over the years, and present tensions within his department mean there are more suspects than mourners in the wake of his death. And the murder weapon--a bronze bust of Nathaniel Hawthorne--does seem to indicate that the attack may have been academically motivated... Enter Dell Chandler, the failed English professor turned self-taught private detective whom Dr. Cutty calls in to investigate the crime. She has the background to tease out the motives among the staff and just enough experience to conduct a thorough inquiry. If she solves the case before the cops do, the university could keep the whole thing quiet, avoiding sensational media about the dark side of campus life. But to do so, she'll have to dodge her own demons from her past life as a disgraced academic. Written with the same depth of character and insight that readers have come to expect from author Amy Bloom's novels and memoirs, Blunt Instrument is an engaging and entertaining mystery with a clever, complex protagonist at its core.
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The First Time I Saw Him (a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick)
by Laura Dave
Five years after her husband Owen disappeared, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter Bailey have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together, they've forged a relationship with Bailey's grandfather Nicholas and are putting the past behind them. But when Owen shows up at Hannah's new exhibition, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger again. Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety--and finds there just might be a way back to Owen and their long-awaited second chance--
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It Could Have Been Her
by Lisa Jewell
#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell brings her thrilling, chilling (Chris Whitaker) suspense to this shocking new thriller about a lost dog, a missing woman, and a house of long buried secrets. Jane Trevally is walking her dogs on her country estate when a small white terrier appears, alone and with no sign of the teenaged girl he'd been staying with nearby. When the teenager is reported missing, Jane offers to return the dog to his registered owner, hours away in London. Arriving at a run-down house called Thornwood in the deepest backwaters of Hampstead, she is immediately on alert--because Jane has a dark history with this house. The man who answers the door is not the man that Jane remembers from her past. He is cagey, and claims to know nothing about the missing teenage girl. Then, through the window of the house, Jane catches a glimpse of a haunted-looking woman. Conjuring her memories from twenty-five years ago, Jane knows this unsettling house holds the key--to the missing teenager, to her own traumatic story, and to the dark, dark secrets of the past.
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| It Happened One Murder by Liz LawsonHaving lost her New York City reporting job, Harriet Baker is living at her mom's New Jersey beachfront estate, where the over-the-top 26th birthday party her eccentric mom throws her ends in murder. Wanting her old job back, Harriet teams up to investigate the case with Nic, a fling from high school whose sister has been arrested for the crime. For fans of: fun romantic mysteries; Sarah Fox's Definitely Maybe Not a Detective. |
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Divine Ruin
by Margot Douaihy
INDIE NEXT Pick - Publishers Weekly Editor's Pick - A CrimeReads Best Crime Novel of 2026 In the latest in the USA Todaybestselling, award-winning, critically acclaimed series, New Orleans punk rock nun-detective Sister Holiday plunges into a hellish underworld of drug trafficking, addiction, and her own dark past in a journey that is both riveting and sacred. (Ana Reyes, New York Times bestselling author of The House in the Pines) Divine Ruin is fearlessly inspired. (Gillian Flynn) It's a steamy, restless end of the school year in New Orleans. Sister Holiday is finishing her music classes and preparing for her permanent vow ceremony, a pivotal moment in her journey of faith. But when one of her favorite students is found dead of a fentanyl overdose, Sister Holiday and her partner-in-PI, Magnolia Riveaux, are determined to track down the drug dealers. As students continue to fall prey tothis sinister drug, Sister Holiday becomes more desperate to stop the epidemic--while facing her own past with addiction, a demon that is never too far. With Douaihy's signature mix of grit, heart, and faith, Divine Ruin tests the limits of Sister Holiday's devotion in her darkest and most shocking case yet.
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| How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen PerrinAfter her artist mother finds a new apprentice dead on her doorstep with her heart removed, amateur sleuth Annie Adams heads to London to help. She learns the case has ties to her village of Castle Knoll and also connects to a prediction by a fortune teller. Switching to 1968, Annie's great aunt Frances enjoys life in swinging Soho until a friend is killed and her heart removed. This dual-timeline mystery is the 3rd Castle Knoll novel but can work for newcomers. Try this next: Jess Armstrong's The Curse of Penryth Hall. |
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| The Tuxedo Society by Paul RudnickStruggling New York City actor Andrew Birnbaum goes with his best friend to an exclusive Tuxedo Society dinner, where Andrew learns that due to his improv and acting skills, he's being recruited to join an espionage group made up of LGBTQIA+ people. Jetting around the world, Andrew and the group look for missing jewels and protect the United States' popular first lady in this fun, action-packed 1st adventure. For fans of: lighthearted spy stories; Steven Rowley's The Guncle. |
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| Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die for by Leonie SwannWhen two of Sunset Hall's octogenarian housemates hear about a cancellation at a posh manor turned event space, their friends pull together to make a wedding happen in two weeks. Then a threatening note has retired copper Agnes investigating who it's from and hiring a PI for help, but that doesn't prevent murder and more. This final book in the Miss Sharp Investigates trilogy has a surprise ending and works best for those who've read the earlier novels. For fans of: mysteries with senior sleuths and dark humor. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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