LibraryAware October 2025

Recent Releases

Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library
by Amanda Chapman

After closing Manhattan's Mystery Guild Library for the day, book conservator Tory Van Dyne discovers a woman who says she's Agatha Christie...which does appear to be the case, despite Christie being dead. So when Tory's actress cousin Nic is linked to a suspicious death, Tory works with Christie to solve the crime. For fans of: traditional mysteries with clever plotting; Colleen Cambridge’s Phyllida Bright mysteries; Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime.

Guilty by Definition
by Susie Dent

A cryptic letter with references to Shakespeare arrives at the Clarendon English Dictionary offices in Oxford, England. Senior editor Martha Thornhill thinks the odd missive might be related to her sister’s disappearance a decade earlier, so when more notes appear, Martha and her team work to solve the clues and possibly a crime. This clever debut novel by English lexicographer and TV presenter Susie Dent will please both mystery fans and language lovers. Try this next: Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg.

Battle Mountain
by C. J. Box

Nate Romanowski seeks vengeance after a devastating attack, while Joe Pickett teams up with a rookie game warden setting both on separate paths destined to collide at Battle Mountain, in the latest addition to the series following Three-Inch Teeth.

Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue
by Spencer Quinn

After winning a senior tennis competition, 71-year-old Floridian Loretta Plansky drives her doubles partner home, arriving just in time to see his yacht explode. He claims it was lightning, but Loretta isn’t sure, so when he disappears and she learns her estranged son might somehow be involved, she investigates in her fun 2nd outing. Try this next: Rachel Ekstrom-Courage’s Murder by Cheesecake.

Mayhem at a Halloween Wedding
by Emmeline Duncan

Lazy Bones Books owner Bailey, overwhelmed with friend Raven's wedding preparations and the annual holiday festival, throws a Halloween parade bachelorette party to keep peace among the bridal party—but when an explosion kills bridesmaid Ivy and bridesmaid Colby is suspected, Bailey must track down the killer. For fans of: Laurien Berenson's Halloween Murder: A Melanie Travis Canine Mystery.

The Witch's Orchard
by Archer Sullivan

Kentucky PI Annie Gore, a former military investigator, takes a case she isn’t sure she can solve. But she needs the money and the desperate teen boy who hires her hopes she can find his sister, who was abducted ten years ago along with two other Quartz Creek, North Carolina girls. While locals talk of folklore, witches, and more, Annie makes progress in the twisty case. For fans of: atmospheric debut novels with creepy vibes.

The Librarians
by Sherry Thomas

The lives of four Austin, Texas, librarians are altered after their library’s murder-mystery board game night results in an actual murder. Since they each have secrets, the co-workers team up to uncover the killer before the cops do in this leisurely paced latest by the author of the popular Lady Sherlock historical mysteries. For fans of: work-centric mysteries; Robert Thorogood.

Smuggler's Cove
by Fern Michaels

After inheriting a rundown marina in Smugglers Cove, estranged siblings Madison and Lincoln Taylor find their plans to sell it derailed when a body surfaces under their dock, forcing them to navigate small-town life, local legends and a mysterious treasure map while uncovering long-buried secrets. For fans of: Jamie Day's The Lake Escape: A Novel.

Contact your librarian for more great books!