| In the hour of crows / Dana Elmendorf. |
 Gifted with the ability to talk the death out of the dying, Weatherly, when she's unable to save the mayor's son and the whole town suspects she was out for revenge for her cousin Adaire's murder, must prove her innocence and find Adaire's killer, no matter what it takes. |
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| The noh mask murder / Akimitsu Takagi , translated from the Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood. |
 "Strange things are happening in the Chizurui mansion... At night, a figure clad in a Hannya mask is spotted wandering around the house. The amateur crime fiction writer, Akimitsu Takagi, is sent to investigate, but then tragedy strikes. The head of the Chizurui family is found dead inside his study, locked from the inside, with only a Hannya mask and the scent of jasmine as clues to his mysterious death. As Takagi delves deeper into the case, can he discover the link between the family and the curse of the Hannya mask? Who was the person who called the undertaker and asked for three coffins? And how many buried secrets lie behind the inexplicable murder?"--Provided by publisher. |
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| positively morbid / Cara Johns. |
 "Parker came to the West Coast seeking peace—but the murders in her past are catching up with her. Now a meditation instructor, Parker wants two things: to run on the Oregon beaches with her dog Mouse, and to leave behind the murders that threw her life off track. She's practicing a positive mindset when her new outlook is shaken by a voice from the past—once-beloved man who betrayed her in a time of suspicion and murder. When she discovers a client's body on the beach, she begins to understand—her tainted history is repeating itself, and the danger is only beginning." From back cover. |
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| A collection of lies / Connie Berry. |
 Kate Hamilton and her new husband try to uncover the provenance of a bloodstained dress purported to belong to a Victorian lace maker accused of murder. |
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| Requiem for a mouse / Miranda James. |
 "At last, Charlie and Helen Louise's wedding is only a month away. They're busy preparing for the big day, and the last thing Charlie needs is a new mystery to solve. Enter Tara Martin, a shy, peculiar woman who has recently started working part-time at Helen Louise's bistro and helping Charlie in the archive. Tara isn't exactly friendly and she has an angry outburst at the library that leaves Charlie baffled. And then she abruptly leaves a catered housewarming party Charlie's son Sean is throwing to celebrate his new home in the middle of her work shift. Before ducking out of the party, Tara looked terrified and Charlie wonders if she's deliberately trying to escape notice. Is she hiding from someone? When Tara is viciously attacked and lands in the hospital, Charlie knows his instincts were correct: Tara was in trouble and someone was after her. With the help of his much beloved cat, Diesel, Charlie digs deeper, and discovers shocking glimpses into Tara's past that they could never have predicted. Will they catch the villain before Charlie's own happily ever after with Helen Louise is ruined?"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| A daughter of fair Verona / Christina Dodd. |
 The eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet rejects the betrothal planned by her parents and tries to find the groom-to-be a more suitable bride. |
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| An art lover's guide to Paris and murder / Dianne Freeman. |
 After a footbridge collapses at the Paris Exposition, the American-born Countess of Harleigh discovers one of the victims died of stab wounds. |
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| All the colors of the dark : a novel / Chris Whitaker. |
 "From the New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End comes an epic novel about a man fixated on finding a missing woman and the FBI agent on his tail, who might be even more obsessed than he is"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Middletide : a novel / Sarah Crouch. |
 "One peaceful morning, in the small, Puget Sound town of Point Orchards, the lifeless body of Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on the property of prodigal son and failed writer, Elijah Leith. Sheriff Jim Godbout's initial investigation points to an obvious suicide, but upon closer inspection, there seem to be clues of foul play when he discovers that the circumstances of the beautiful doctor's death were ripped straight from the pages of Elijah Leith's own novel. Out of money and motivation, thirty-three-year-old Elijah returns to his empty childhood home to lick the wounds of his futile writing career. Hungry for purpose, he throws himself into restoring the ramshackle cabin his father left behind and rekindling his relationship with Nakita, the extraordinary girl from the nearby reservation whom he betrayed but was never able to forget. As the town of Point Orchards turns against him, Elijah must fight for his innocence against an unexpected foe who is close and cunning enough to flawlessly frame him for murder in this scintillating literary thriller that seeks to uncover a case of love, loss, and revenge."--Provided by publisher. |
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| The perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh / by Claudia Gray. |
 "The third book in the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series, which finds the amateur sleuths facing their most daunting challenge yet: preventing the murder of the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Someone is trying to kill Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Esteemed aunt of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, generous patroness of Mr. William Collins, a woman of rank who rules over the estate of Rosings Park with an unimpeachable sense of propriety-who would dare? Lady Catherine summons her grand-nephew, Mr. Jonathan Darcy, and his investigative companion, Miss Juliet Tilney, to find out. After a year apart, Jonathan and Juliet are thrilled to be reunited, even if the circumstances-finding whoever has thus far sabotaged Lady Catherine's carriage, shot at her, and nearly pushed her down the stairs-are less than ideal. Also less than ideal: their respective fathers, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mr. Henry Tilney, have accompanied the young detectives to Rosings, and the two men do not interact with the same felicity enjoyed by their children. With attempts against Lady Catherine escalating, and no one among the list of prime suspects seemingly capable of committing all of the attacks, the pressure on Jonathan and Juliet mounts-even as more gentle feelings between the two of them begin to bloom. The race is now on to provoke two confessions: one from the attempted murderer before it is too late-and one, perhaps, of love"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Murder buys a one-way ticket / Laura Levine. |
 "What could be more idyllic than starting a new gig with an exclusive train ride from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara? Turns out, a whole lot. Jaine must figure out how to tolerate her client--Chip Miller, aka Iron Man, a wealthy gym chain owner--who Jaine soon discovers is a tyrant and a bully with an ego as pumped as his pecs. Practically everyone on board seems to have it in for Chip--his dysfunctional family members, his beleaguered staff, even his supposed best buddy from the gym. So it's no shocker when he's found dead in his cabin. Unfortunately for Jaine, she's the one who finds Chip's body, leaving her DNA on the murder weapon, and making her a prime suspect in the police investigation. Forced to save her own caboose, can Jaine chug on through an unexpected love connection and ID the killer--or has she finally reached the end of the line?"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| A cyclist's guide to crime & croissants / Ann Claire. |
 "Nine months ago, Sadie Greene shocked friends and family by ditching her sensible office job in the Chicago suburbs and buying a sight-unseen French bicycling tour company, Oui Cycle. Now she's living the unconventional life of her dreams in the gorgeous village of Sans-Souci-sur-Mer. Sans souci means carefree, but Sadie feels enough pressure to burst a tire when hometown friends arrive for a tour, including her former boss, Dom Appleton. Sadie is determined to show them the wonders of France and cycling--and to prove she made the right move. She hopes her meticulously planned nine-day itinerary will win them over, with its stunning seascapes, delicious wine tastings, hilltop villages, and, of course, frequent stops for croissants. When Dom drags his heels on fun, Sadie vows he'll enjoy if it kills her. That is, until Dom ends up dead. The tragedy was no accident. Someone went out of their way to bring a permanent end to Dom's vacation. As more crimes--and murder--roll in, suspicions hover over Oui Cycle. To save her dream business, help her friends, and bring justice, Sadie launches her own investigation. However, mysteries mount with every turn. On an uphill battle for clues, can Sadie come to terms with her painful past while spinning closer to the truth--or will a twisted killer put the brakes on her for good?"--Amazon |
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| Ice blonde / Elaine Viets. |
 "The last thing Chouteau County death investigator Angela Richman wants to do during the holidays is her job. So it's with some trepidation that she agrees to help the desperate Mr. and Mrs. LaRouche when they show up on her doorstep. Their daughter Juliet is missing. She was last seen leaving a high school party just before midnight, and they'd like Angela's help getting their trusted local detectives involved. The officer assigned to the case--Chouteau newcomer Det. Jace Budewitz--is far too blunt and impolite for their liking. And with the weather murderously cold, they can't bear the thought that their little princess is in the harsh winter wilderness. Discreetly investigating Juliet's disappearance, Angela finds herself struggling to break through the silence from the rich teenagers who knew Juliet and their infuriatingly detached parents. She also discovers that their vicious bias against the local working class has cast a shadow over the case. The more she digs, the less Angela can comprehend the lengths the one percent will go to protect their own. Angela must work quickly as she searches for answers with the acute awareness that Juliet LaRouche edges closer to becoming just a memory ..."--Amazon |
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| A pose before dying / Alex Erickson. |
 Ashley Branson has a lot to prove with her new cat yoga studio, A Purrfect Pose. It's a place for humans to find inner wellness -- and adopt adorable cats from the local shelter. It's also a chance for Ash to run her own life, out from under her overbearing mother and a stifling relationship. So far, so successful. Until she discovers one of her new clients, a much-disliked college professor, dead in her studio, locked in child's pose ... To make matters worse, Ash's hapless always-in-trouble brother, Hunter, instantly becomes the cops' prime suspect. Determined to clear his name and save her business, Ash does a deep lunge into the surprising -- and strange -- connections the victim had with her other clients. But countless suspects, contradictory leads, not to mention people desperate to see her studio shut down, mean Ash will have to stretch to the max to outthink a clever killer who's ready to strike her red in tooth and claw... -- Provided by publisher. |
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| The judge / Peter Colt. |
 "Boston, 1985. With the late December cold comes a new job for ex-military operative turned private investigator Andy Roark. Boston judge Ambrose Messer is being blackmailed, and he needs Roark's help to stop the culprit. Messer is judging the bench trial of a chemical company accused of knowingly dumping chemical waste in an unsafe manner, causing birth defects and cancer. The evidence against them is overwhelming, but the message from the blackmailer is clear: If you don't want the world to know your secret, the chemical company wins. Messer doesn't want to let a threat corrupt his judgement . . . but then again, he could lose everything if his secret comes out! Judging his client to be a man with morals, Roark plunges into action, determined to find the blackmailer before it's too late. But the disturbing, unexpected revelations he uncovers make him a target of some very dangerous people, who soon seem determined not only to wreck the life of his client, but to destroy Roark's too . . ." -- provided by the publisher. |
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| Flat white fatality / Emmeline Duncan. |
 "To top off her coffee business, Sage is now helping out with her boyfriend Bax's gaming company ... That makes it easy for her to pitch in with Bax's employee team-building event. The plan is to boost morale with a scavenger hunt. And it seems to be going well--until Robbie, a programmer known for being a prankster, turns up dead in Sage's roastery. There are two suspects so far--Now, it's up to Sage to find the culprit--before another life grinds to a halt"-- Provided by publisher |
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| Double shot death / Emmeline Duncan. |
 "At Campathon, an annual eco-friendly festival held on a farm outside of Portland ... Sage has scored a coveted place for her Ground Rules coffee cart thanks to her new-ish boyfriend, Bax, who's friendly with Maya, one of the musicians performing ... When Sage stumbles upon [a] dead body in the nearby woods--his hand still clutching one of her coffee mugs--it's clear that someone's grudge boiled over into murder"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Hunted / Abir Mukherjee |
 A breakout thriller from an "enthralling" (New York Times Book Review) and award-winning author : Can two parents find their lost children before disaster strikes? It's a week until the US presidential elections when a bomb goes off in an LA shopping mall. In London, the police storm Heathrow Airport to bring in a father for questioning about his missing daughter. In Florida, a mother makes a connection between her son and the bomber, fearing he has been radicalized. And in Oregon, an unknown organization's conspiracy to bring America to its knees unfolds ... On the run from the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to stop a catastrophe that will derail the country's future forever. But can they find their kids before it's too late? -- (dust jacket) |
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| The diva goes overboard / Krista Davis. |
 In Old Town Alexandria's unlikeliest match, Natasha Smith's free-spirited mother, Wanda, is engaged to notoriously pompous antiques dealer, Orson Chatsworth--leaving Natasha to plan the entire wedding, beginning with an elaborate engagement party. For the extravagant affair, Natasha splurges on trendy food boards created by rising social media star, Stella St. James. The sumptuous boards go way beyond basic cheese and crackers, as Stella dazzles guests with picture-worthy butter boards, dessert boards, and even doughnut boards. Just as Natasha planned, the food is to die for--until someone actually does. When the groom collapses, it seems as if a heart attack is to blame. Then guests discover Orson was poisoned, and suddenly Stella's bespoke boards look a lot less appealing. But with an event this big, the spread of suspects is sure to be impressive. Could Orson's killer be a jilted ex-lover? A money hungry relative? A bitter former business partner? When even Sophie is not above suspicion, she knows it's time to get on board and scrape together an investigation of her own... before murder becomes the town's next trend. -- Provided by publisher. |
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| Peg and Rose play the ponies / Laurien Berenson. |
 While in Kentucky to sell her Thoroughbred broodmare's offspring at a high-stakes yearling sale, rival sisters-in-law Peg and Rose discover something seems off about Six Oaks farm, and when the yearling manager with serious anger issues is murdered, the ladies enter the ring to expose the culprit. |
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| Neighborhood watch : a novel / Sarah Reida. |
 "Oleander Court in Alpharetta, Georgia looks like a utopia, complete with identical McMansions and pruned lawns. The residents collecting their newspapers at the end of their drives similarly appear perfect. The beauty ends at the surface, however, with no one as they seem. Tripp, the cheery politician, always waves but won't lift a finger for a neighbor. Pam uses her position as the Homeowners Association president for petty revenge, gleefully issuing citations. Conner acts like a family man but has future plans involving a mistress. And so on and so forth. Money might be able to buy happiness, but it can't buy integrity or kindness. Starting with a double murder, a killer sets their sights on the prestigious neighborhood, picking off the worst of the lot in spectacular fashion, and suddenly the residents' biggest problem is no longer the rising cost of Botox. In the wake of the horror, several neighborhood ladies gravitate together as they attempt to identify the killer while seeking protection in numbers. Adelaide, the scrappy former trailer park resident has never attempted to be social, but she's willing to try for Ray, her best friend and outspoken lesbian with a dark secret. Soon-Li, cybersecurity firm owner, has a propensity for solving tangled problems. Helen, the elderly artist, is the neighborhood voyeur from behind her front porch trellis. And poor Laura, Oleander Court's "new money" resident, only wanted to fit in before someone decided to reduce her prospects for new friends. As the bodies pile up and no one appears safe or clearly innocent, fleeing Oleander Court appears to be the best solution. But then an arrest within the group makes this impossible for some while testing the trust of others. Will the killings stop at cutting out the rot marring the beautiful neighborhood, or will they destroy Oleander Court entirely? Told from the viewpoints of its diverse (in every sense of the word) cast of characters and the victims, Neighborhood Watch has an unreliable narrator aspect best appreciated in one night while curled up with a glass of Malbec"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Farewell, Amethystine / Walter Mosley |
 "January 1970 finds Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, LA's premier Black detective, at 50 years of age despite all expectations. He has a loving family, a beautiful home, and a thriving investigation agency. All is right with the world... and then Amethystine Stoller, his own personal Helen of Troy, arrives. Her ex-husband is missing. A simple enough case. But even as Easy takes his first step in the investigation he trips. He falls into the memory of things past. Little things, like loss, love, a world war, and a hunger that has eaten at him since he was a Black boy on his own on the streets of Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas. The missing ex, a young white man named Curt Fields, is found dead. Easy's only real friend in the LAPD, Melvin Suggs, has gone into hiding rather than allow his femme fatale wife to go to the gas chamber. And that's only the beginning. Easy finds himself pressed into a reckoning. All of his success cannot succor his heart. The 1970's have ushered in new expectations of men and women, Black and White, and Easy has to make a choice that will almost certainly hasten a permanent descent, one that might sunder his soul."--Amazon. |
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| Hall of mirrors / John Copenhaver. |
 Suspicious after his lover and writing partner's death in house fire is ruled a suicide in 1954 Washington, DC, Lionel joins forces with two friends and amateur sleuths to investigate and stop a serial killer. |
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| The queen of poisons : a novel / Robert Thorogood. |
 "Geoffrey Lushington, Mayor of Marlow, dies suddenly during a town council meeting. When traces of aconite--also known as the queen of poisons--are found in his coffee cup, the police realize he was murdered. But who did it? And why? The police bring Judith, Suzie, and Becks in to investigate the murder as civilian advisors right from the start, so they have free rein to interview suspects and follow the evidence to their heart's content... which is perfect because Judith has no time for rules and standard procedure. But this case has the Marlow Murder Club stumped. Who would want to kill the affable mayor of Marlow? How did they even get the poison into his coffee? And is anyone else in danger? The Marlow Murder Club is about to face their most difficult case yet..."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The last note of warning / Katharine Schellman. |
 "Prohibition is a dangerous time to be a working-class woman in New York City, but Vivian Kelly has finally found some measure of stability and freedom. By day, she's a respectable shop assistant, delivering luxurious dresses to the city's wealthy and elite. At night, she joins the madcap revelry of New York's underworld, serving illegal drinks and dancing into the morning at a secretive, back-alley speakeasy known as the Nightingale. She's found, if not love, then something like it with her bootlegger sweetheart, Leo, even if she can't quite forget the allure of the Nightingale's sultry owner, Honor Huxley. Then the husband of a wealthy client is discovered dead in his study, and Vivian was the last known person to see him alive. With the police and the press both eager to name a culprit in the high-profile case, she finds herself the primary murder suspect. She can't flee town without endangering the people she loves, but Vivian isn't the sort of girl to go down without a fight. She'll cash in every favor she has from the criminals she calls friends to prove she had no connection to the dead man. But she can't prove what isn't true. The more Vivian digs into the man's life, and as the police close in on her, the harder it is to avoid the truth: someone she knows wanted him dead. And the best way to get away with murder is to set up a girl like Vivian to take the fall"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| If something happens to me : a novel / Alex Finlay. |
 "For the past five years, Ryan Richardson has relived that terrible night. The car door ripping open. The crushing blow to the head. The hands yanking him from the vehicle. His girlfriend Ali's piercing scream as she is taken. With no trace of Ali or the car, a cloud of suspicion hangs over Ryan. But with no proof and a good lawyer, he's never charged, though that doesn't matter to the podcasters and internet trolls. Now, Ryan has changed his last name, and entered law school. He's put his past behind him. Until, on a summer trip abroad to Italy with his law-school classmates, Ryan gets a call from his father: Ali's car has finally been found, submerged in a lake in his hometown. Inside are two dead men and a cryptic note with five words written on the envelope in Ali's handwriting: If something happens to me... Then, halfway around the world, the unthinkable happens: Ryan sees the man who has haunted his dreams since that night. As Ryan races from the rolling hills of Tuscany, to a rural village in the UK, to the glittering streets of Paris in search of the truth, he has no idea that his salvation may lie with a young sheriff's deputy in Kansas working her first case, and a mobster in Philadelphia who's experienced tragedy of his own."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| A limited edition murder / Lauren Elliott. |
 Although enjoying her extended stay working at Second Chance Books and Bindery in West Yorkshire, Addie still feels adrift--far from home, her friends, and her own beloved bookstore, Beyond the Page Books and Curios. The engagement party of her dear friend, Tony, at Milton Manor promises to be a joyful distraction. But there's an ill wind blowing at the estate: When Tony presents his fiancé with a special copy of Wuthering Heights as an engagement gift, the lord of the manor insists the book was stolen from his library... Things go from troubling to tragic when Addie takes her Yorkipoo, Pippi, out for a walk on the moors and stumbles across the body of a young woman. When the police suspect Tony of foul play, Addie vows to get to the bottom of what's going on. But it's a twisted, treacherous path to the truth and Addie will need to watch her every step... |
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| The last murder at the end of the world : a novel / Stuart Turton. |
 "From the bestselling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, and an audacious solution. Solve the murder to save what's left of the world. Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists. Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island--and everyone on it. But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer--and they don't even know it. And the clock is ticking"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| One perfect couple / Ruth Ware. |
 "Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she's pretty sure they won't extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren't going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples--Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana--in order to win a cash prize. But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real--and the stakes are life or death"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| A talent for murder : a novel / Peter Swanson. |
 Martha Ratliff conceded long ago that she'd likely spend her life alone. She was fine with it, happy with her solo existence, stimulated by her job as an archival librarian, constantly surrounded by thought-provoking ideas and the books she loved. But then she met Alan, a charming and sweet-natured divorcee with a job that took him on the road for half the year. When he asked her to marry him, she said yes, even though he still felt a little bit like a stranger. A year in and the marriage was good, except for that strange blood streak on the back of one of his shirts he'd worn to a conference in Denver. Her curiosity turning to suspicion, Martha investigates the cities Alan visited over the past year and uncovers a disturbing pattern-five unsolved cases of murdered women. Is she married to a serial killer? Or could it merely be a coincidence? Unsure what to think, Martha contacts an old friend from graduate school for advice. Lily Kintner once helped Martha out of a jam with an abusive boyfriend and may have some insight. Intrigued, Lily offers to meet Alan to find out what kind of man he really is . . . but what Lily uncovers is more perplexing and wicked than they ever could have expected. |
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| Pitch dark / Paul Doiron. |
 "Game Warden Mike Bowditch must chase down a cunning and dangerous fugitive in the North Maine Woods in this nail-biter of a thriller from Edgar Award-nominated author Paul Doiron, Pitch Dark. Legendary bush pilot Josie Jonson can't believe her luck when a skilled builder just happens to show up after she purchases land near Prentiss Pond. All Mark Redmond asks in return for building Josie's dream cabin is that he be left alone to homeschool his 12-year-old daughter, Cady. For Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch, the intensity of Redmond's secretiveness is troubling, especially in light of suspicious criminal activity being reported around the area--including rumors of an armed man offering large sums of money in exchange for the location of Redmond and Cady. Josie, though hesitant to violate the trust of her prized builder, eventually agrees to fly Mike and his father-in-law Charley Stevens to the secluded pond in an attempt to protect Redmond and Cady. But hours after landing, the trip takes a dark turn when they witness a horrific murder and are taken captive themselves. Freeing himself, Mike is forced to set off through the impenetrable Maine forest towards Canada, alone and unarmed in pursuit of a mysterious fugitive. As he navigates a windblown landscape choked with deadfalls and blocked by swollen streams, he marvels at his enemy's bush craft. The killer possesses skills surpassing his own, and Bowditch can't tell if he is the cat or the mouse in this dangerous game. Can Mike Bowditch stop his adversary in time to save the life of a young girl, or will he be forced to watch another innocent soul die?"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The seminarian / Hart Hanson. |
 "Xavier "Priest" Priestly is a snarky former seminarian turned private investigator. Dusty Queen is a hard-as-nails professional stuntwoman and freelance bodyguard. When Dusty's girlfriend suddenly disappears, a woman in a strange blue wig tries to assassinate Priest, and a twelve-year-old boy shows up claiming to be his son, the two friends are thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue and high-stakes violence that's as convoluted and dangerous as it is hilarious. Thankfully, Priest and Dusty don't have to navigate these tangled mysteries alone. Aided by a lawyer who's underwhelmed by their extra-legal methods, a straight-laced detective who doesn't trust them as far as he can throw them, and Priest's father, a notorious bank robber, they are well equipped to deal with potential kidnapping and attempted murder. But whether Priest is up to the challenge of a son with a gun, a backpack full of weed, and a major attitude problem ... well, that's a different story. With its unforgettable cast, parade of twists and turns, and breakneck pace, The Seminarian showcases Hart Hanson at his best. Packed with action and glistening with snappy dialogue, surprising tenderness, and (mostly) good people doing some exceptionally bad things, this distinctive thriller is as entertaining as it is insightful."--Amazon. |
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| Forget me never / Susan Wittig Albert. |
 "Olivia Andrews is locally famous for her blog and podcast, "Forget Me Not: A Crime Victim's Storyboard," which is dedicated to telling the stories of victims of crime. Now, she has a stunning story to tell about a decades-old murder mystery involving a prominent citizen of Pecan Springs-someone who isn't the man everybody thinks he is. But she is killed by a hit-and-run driver while she's out jogging early one morning. Was it an accident-or something else? Her sister wants to know. And Olivia's friend China Bayles also wants to know, urgently. Who is the prominent citizen Olivia was about to expose? How did he manage to get away with murder twenty years ago? Did he kill Olivia to keep her from revealing his secret? What is local lawyer Charlie Lipman trying to hide? And when there's another murder . . . well, it has to be a part of the same story, doesn't it? And so does the scrapbook a cousin has compiled to honor the memory of one of the victims and make sure she won't be forgotten. It might hold the answer-except that the one person whose face China wants to see has been scissored out of every photo"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| You'll never find me / Allison Brennan. |
 "Working alone as a private investigator is tough. Estranged from her PI family, Margo Angelhart does what she must to get by--including taking on sordid cases that pay the bills, even if she'd rather be helping those the justice system has failed. That is, until a cheating husband case she's working intersects with her siblings' corporate espionage investigation, forcing Margo to cooperate with the Angelhart firm. Now, as the siblings compare notes, it's clear they need to work together before a white-collar crime escalates to murder. With far more questions than answers and a key suspect on the run, they'll need the whole family to pitch in. But as they investigate the ever-twisting mystery, Margo isn't sharing everything. Can she learn to trust her family and heal their once-close relationship before her secrets put those she loves most in danger?"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Don't let the devil ride : a novel / Ace Atkins. |
 Addison McKellar isn't clueless, she knows she and her husband Dean don't have the perfect marriage, but she's still shocked when he completely vanishes from her life. At first Addison is annoyed, but as days stretch into a week and she's repeatedly stonewalled by Dean's friends and associates, her frustration turns into genuine alarm. When even the police seem dismissive of her concerns, Addison turns to an old friend of her father, legendary Memphis PI Porter Hayes. Porter and Addison begin to dig deeper into Dean's affairs and quickly discover that he was never the hardworking business owner and family man he pretended to be. As they piece together the connections between a hook-handed mercenary, one of Elvis's former leading ladies, and a man posing as an FBI agent, it becomes clear that Dean was deeply enmeshed in a high-stakes web of international intrigue, and Porter and Addison aren't the only ones looking for him. Dean angered some very dangerous people before he disappeared, people who have already killed to get what they want, and they won't hesitate to come after his family to even the score. |
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| Molten death / Leslie Karst. |
 The first Orchid Isle cozy mystery, set in tropical Hilo, Hawai'i, introduces a fun and feisty LGBTQ+ couple who swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions! Retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have come to the Big Island of Hawai'i to treat themselves to a well-earned tropical vacation. After the recent loss of her brother, Valerie is in sore need of a distraction from her troubles and is looking forward to enjoying the delicious food and vibrant culture the state has to offer. Early one morning, the couple and their friend -- tattooed local boy, Isaac -- set out to see an active lava flow, and Valerie is mesmerized by the shape-shifting mass of orange and red creeping over the field of black rock. Spying a boot in the distance, she strides off alone, pondering how it could have gotten there, only to realize to her horror that the boot is still attached to a leg -- a leg which is slowly being engulfed by the hot lava. Valerie's convinced a murder has been committed, but as she's the only witness to the now-vanished corpse, who's going to believe her? Determined to prove what she saw, and get justice for the unknown victim, Valerie launches her own investigation. But, thrown into a Hawaiian culture far from the luaus and tiki bars of glossy tourist magazines, she soon begins to fear she may be the next one to end up entombed in shiny black rock. |
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| Lights, camera, bones / Carolyn Haines. |
 "Delaney Detective Agency gets a taste of the spotlight when they are called to a case on a movie set in Greenville, MS, right on the Mississippi River. Marlon Brandon, heir to a wealthy and influential political family, has brought a film crew to town to film a drama about the 1927 flood that submerged a great deal of Greenville. Marlon wants the world to know the story of the flood--and the heroic role the Brandon ancestors played in rescuing dozens of local residents from drowning. Or at least that was the plan until he disappeared. If this weren't concerning enough, the situation appears even more dire when a severed foot is discovered in the Mississippi River, and clues indicate that Marlon may have fallen victim to a freak bull shark attack. But as rumors swirl around the Delta about Marlon's motives for making the film, Sarah Booth and Tinkie have to wonder whether a shark is to blame, or an equally ferocious human offender. The show must go on, and Sarah Booth and her crew will have to investigate all manner of creatures, over land and sea, in order to solve the mystery and save the day"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Some murders in Berlin / Karen Robards. |
 "September 1943: Berlin is the heart of darkness--and the last place Dr. Elin Lund wishes to be. An expert in psychological profiling, she's been summoned from Copenhagen to investigate the gruesome murders of eight young women. Even in the midst of unspeakable evil, these killings stand apart. And with her homeland now under Nazi occupation and a young son to protect, Elin can't refuse such a request. Homicide Detective Kurt Schneider, head of the criminal police unit, is grudging in his welcome. The orders to find the killer come from the top, and to fail means death. The stakes are too high to risk any mistakes--or to trust a stranger. Yet the pair, trapped in an uneasy partnership, each has expertise the other needs. And Schneider, like Elin, is clearly guarding secrets of his own. Racing to complete the investigation and return to her son, Elin feels the net tightening. Every sliver of evidence reveals a killer infinitely more dangerous, and more powerful, than anyone suspected. And in drawing closer to the terrifying truth, Elin has unwittingly made herself his new obsession..."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| One deadly eye / Randy Wayne White |
 "A Russian diplomat disappears while Doc is tagging great white sharks in South Africa, and members of a criminal brotherhood, Bratva, don't think it's a coincidence. They track the biologist to Dinkin's Bay Marina on the west coast of Florida, where Brotherhood mercenaries have already deployed, prepared to pillage and kill in the wake of an approaching hurricane. No one, however, is prepared for a cataclysmic event that will forever change the island and leaves Doc to deal with escapees from Russia's most dangerous prison, including a serial killer--the Vulture Monk--who has a taste for blood. His only ally is an enigmatic British inventor whose decision to ride out the storm might have more to do with revenge than protecting a priceless art collection. Doc has a lot at stake--the lives of his fiancée, Hannah Smith, and their son, plus the fate of his hipster pal, Tomlinson, whose sailboat has disappeared in the Gulf of Mexico. The greatest threat of all, though, is a force that cannot be escaped--a Category Five hurricane that, minute by minute, melds sins of the past with Florida's precarious future"-- Provided by publisher |
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| Locked in pursuit / Ashley Weaver. |
 "Safecracker Ellie McDonnell hasn't seen Major Ramsey--her handsome but aloof handler in the British government--since their tumultuous mission together three months before, but when she hears about a suspicious robbery in London she feels compelled to contact him. Together they discover that a rash of burglaries in the city all lead back to a hotbed of spies in the neutral city Lisbon, Portugal, and an unknown object brought to London by a mysterious courier. As the thieves become more desperate and their crimes escalate, it becomes imperative that Ellie and Ramsey must beat them at their own game. Fighting shadowy assailants, enemy agents, and the mutual attraction they've agreed not to acknowledge, Ellie and Ramsey work together to learn if it truly takes a thief to catch a thief"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| A fox in the fold / Candace Robb. |
 October, 1376. Owen Archer is summoned by sheriff Ralph Hastings regarding a stripped and bloodied body discovered on the road to York. At first Owen believes the catalyst for murder and menace in York is the arrival of the political pariah William Wykeham, but he soon suspects that a formidable adversary from his past has arrived in the city, thrusting him and his family into grave danger, and his investigation becomes a race to uncover the truth before his old nemesis destroys all he holds dear. |
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| Disturbing the dead / Kelley Armstrong. |
 "Victorian Scotland is becoming less strange to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson. Though inhabiting someone else's body will always be unsettling, even if her employers know that she's not actually housemaid Catriona Mitchell, ever since the night both of them were attacked in the same dark alley 150 years apart. Mallory likes her job as assistant to undertaker/medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray, and is developing true friends--and feelings--in this century. So, understanding the Victorian fascination with death, Mallory isn't that surprised when she and her friends are invited to a mummy unwrapping at the home of Sir Alastair Christie. When their host is missing when it comes time to unwrap the mummy, Gray and Mallory are asked to step in. And upon closer inspection, it's not a mummy they've unwrapped, but a much more modern body"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Overdue or die / Allison Brook. |
 Carrie Singleton has more than her fair share on her plate: her job at the Clover Ridge Library, preparing for her wedding to Dylan Avery, and hoping that the local art gallery doesn t steal away one of her part-time employees. Her fiancé Dylan accompanies her to the beautiful home of Victor Zalinka--art collector and successful businessman--to select paintings for an art show at the library. While Carrie muses that Victor's home would be the perfect wedding venue, Dylan spots a forgery among the paintings in Victor's collection. Then Martha Mallory is found murdered in her art gallery. With the assistance of Evelyn, the library ghost; the resident cat, Smoky Joe; and the office manager of Dylan s private investigation company, Carrie comes up with a suspect list long enough to rival the size of an encyclopedia. During her investigation, Carrie stumbles across a terrible truth: Martha s murder was part of something far bigger and more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. And it all leads back to the art gallery. How far will Carrie go to find the killer and uncover the truth? If the killer finds her first will Carrie finally be taken out of circulation? |
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| Murder at Tanton towers / Amy Myers. |
 Everyone told Cara Shelly that she was crazy to set up a café in the shadow of eccentric Kentish stately home Tanton Towers. But three years later, the Happy Huffkin café is thriving, and Cara considers the Tanton Towers staff - and its eccentric owners, Max and Alison - to be like family. But one summer evening, Alison comes hurtling down to the café to beg her for help. Daphne Hanson, queen of the Towers' costume-clad dancing troupe is lying dead in the orangery. Strangled! But by whom? And why? Determined that the culprit should not be one of her friends, and suspicious of the detective assigned the case - the annoyingly attractive DCI Andrew Mitchem - Cara launches her own investigation. But the more secrets she uncovers, the more she's forced to consider the unthinkable: that one of her dear friends could be the killer... |
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| Death of an author / E.C.R. Lorac ; with an introduction by Martin Edwards. |
 "Vivian Lestrange--celebrated author of the popular mystery novel The Charterhouse Case and total recluse--has apparently dropped off the face of the Earth. After he was reported missing by his secretary Eleanor, whom Inspector Bond suspects to be the author herself, crime and murder are afoot when Lestrange's housekeeper is also found to have disappeared. Bond and Warner of Scotland Yard set to work to investigate a murder with no body and a potentially fictional victim, as E. C. R. Lorac spins a twisting tale full of wry humor and red herrings, poking some fun at her contemporary reviewers, who long suspected the Lorac pseudonym to belong to a male author."-- Publisher description. |
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| Perilous waters / Terry Shames. |
 FBI dive instructor Jessie Madison's survival skills are stretched to breaking point when she is plunged into danger in this exhilarating thriller--the first in a pulsating new series. Jessie Madison escaped to the Bahamas when she made a terrifying discovery at home and a bad decision got her dismissed from the FBI training program. Three months later, Jessie is ready to return to Virginia to pick up the pieces of her shattered life--until she and a friend are attacked during a boat ride and thrown overboard, with devastating consequences. |
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| Home fires / Claire Booth. |
 "Branson Sheriff Hank Worth is one of the first on the scene of a mass casualty incident - a local fireworks warehouse has exploded, killing everyone inside. As over a dozen victims are pulled from the smoldering ruins, the painstaking identification process begins. Chief Deputy Sheila Turley returns early from medical leave to assist in the office, while Hank delves deeper into the increasingly complicated situation at the morgue. He discovers that the previous forensic pathologist was hasty at best and negligent at worst. What starts as an offhand request to look into the errors turns into a discovery that shakes Hank's world off its axis . . . With Hank secretly investigating his discovery at the morgue, his short-handed team is stretched to the brink as it investigates the cause of the explosion. Then a shocking revelation leaves Sheila and her fellow deputies scrambling for answers to an unexpected crime. Just what happened in the warehouse in the moments before the blast? Can they unravel the mysteries in time to save Branson from yet more heartbreak? And can Hank, adrift and alone, figure out what happened before it destroys everything he holds dear?"--Provided by publisher. |
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| Nonna Maria and the case of the lost treasure : a novel / Lorenzo Carcaterra. |
 "As Nonna Maria's longtime friend and sometimes colleague, Captain Murino of the Ischian caribineri, never wanted to see harm brought to the doorstep of everyone's favorite espresso-brewing, counseling-giving amateur sleuth. But when you live a long life, you're bound to make a few enemies. And when those enemies come calling, you have to rely on friends. Faced with an assassin seeking revenge for a decades-old grudge, Captain Murino has no choice but to turn to Maria, who will have to use all her neighborly resources, clever faculties, and lifelong friends to save him from his perilous predicament. On the other side of the island, another mystery begins to unfold from the deathbed of another of Maria's old friends, a fruit peddler with a simple life, a man of modest means. Alone with his granddaughter, the man hands her a yellowed letter and tells her of a treasure to be found in one of Ischia's secret caverns, known as the Magician's Cave. There are traps and pits. There will be others with sinister motives who will do all they can in their malicious power to make the unspoken treasure their own. But this letter is a guide, a secret-the only gift he has to give. When the granddaughter needs help cracking the code, she turns to her grandfather's trusted friend, Nonna Maria. From battling foes in medieval castles to exploring the notorious caverns where smugglers hid their goods, Nonna Maria and her friends--some old, some new--embark on their most swashbuckling adventure yet."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Death and glory / Will Thomas. |
 "In 1894, Cyrus Barker, London's premier enquiry agent, is entangled in a conspiracy to revive the American Civil War by prominent figures, long believed deceased. Private Enquiry agent Cyrus Barker, along with his partner Thomas Llewelyn, has a long, accomplished history - he's taken on cases for Scotland Yard, the Foreign Office, and even the crown itself, fulfilling them all with great skill and discretion. None of those cases, however, are as delicate and complicated as the one laid before him by a delegation of men who, thirty years before, fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. These men want to revive the Confederacy with a warship promised to the Rebels from the British Government in 1865. To get it now, they're threatening to reveal the long-secret treaty with the Confederacy. Barker is hired to use his connections to discreetly bring their threats to the Prime Minister. With a web of prominent, if secret, supporters throughout England ready to through their support to their efforts to wage war anew on the United States, the delegates are just waiting for the warship to begin their plans. But some of the men are not who they claim to be, and the American government has their own team watching, and waiting, for the right moment to take action. As this fuse on this powder keg of a situation grows ever shorter, it's up to Barker & Llewelyn to uncover the real identities and plans of these dangerous men"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The Mayfair dagger : a novel / Ava January |
 "London, 1894. Albertine Honeycombe never wanted a husband and certainly not the one with fifteen children that her cousin, Aubrey, is trying to marry her off to. She reinvents herself as Countess Von Dagga, a private detective aiding the upper echelons of women in society. As the Countess, she is a married woman, with a conveniently absent husband who doesn't exist, which allows her far more freedom than being single. When Lord Grendel, from whom she has recovered blackmail letters, is murdered, Albertine is suspect number one--having been the last person to see him. And when the Duke of Erleigh comes looking for her utterly fictitious husband, she realizes she has landed herself in hot water, without a tea bag. When Albertine also becomes the prime suspect in her fictional husband's death, things are looking grim. Unless Albertine can prove who murdered Lord Grendel and clear her name, her choices are stepmothering enough small children to start a school or hanging from the end of Her Majesty's rope."--Dust jacket |
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| Where they lie : a thriller / Joe Hart. |
 "Family is content for Kaylee Volk. Her vlogs celebrate a happy home with her husband and their three foster children, Bethany, Mason, and Andrea. Everything is perfect until the day the family's private plane plummets into the ocean. Only Kaylee manages to survive-with a shocking revelation: Andrea did it. This is particularly devastating for Nora McTavish, a child protective services agent who is already familiar with Andrea's troubled history. Given Nora's own traumatic childhood, how could she not have sensed the profound darkness festering within the girl? What did she miss? Could she have stopped Andrea? As Kaylee struggles to cope with the crushing loss, Nora's investigation begins. But her guilt soon turns to unease. Secret by secret, Nora pieces together a Volk family puzzle that's more twisted than anyone saw-one far from the picture-perfect life Kaylee sold to the public. And the closer Nora looks, the more disturbing it gets"-- Provided by publisher |
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| Next of kin : a novel / Samantha Jayne Allen. |
 "At a gathering for her cousin's wedding party, newly-licensed PI Annie McIntyre gets asked an age-old question: what really makes us who we are, nature or nurture? Clint Marshall, an up-and-coming musician and an adoptee at a personal crossroads, wants to hire Annie to find his biological parents, and that question is on his mind. Annie accepts his case, not knowing then that she, too, must decide if she really believes what she tells him that night-in essence, that people are in charge of their destinies. That people can change. When Annie discovers her client's father is a bank robber who her granddad, Leroy, arrested back when he was sheriff, reverberations sound between the past and the present, igniting old flames and rivalries. When the brother of her client dies suddenly, his death ruled a suicide, Annie questions whether or not it was in fact homicide-and who in this family of outlaws would rather some secrets stay buried. As Annie sets out to find who killed the brother-and stays out of sight lest she be next-she finds herself searching abandoned, overgrown fields, scouring pool halls and roadside motels, wondering if she will ever escape the sense that her world in Garnett, TX expands and contracts in off-kilter ways, growing smaller and yet still more confounding. Fearing that in a place where everyone knows everyone, your enemy is always closer than you think"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Under the paper moon / Shaina Steinberg. |
 Five years after working for the Office of Strategic Services with Nick, whom she gets close to until the World War II' end brings with it an act of deep betrayal, former spy Evelyn, now working as a PI, finds herself back in Nick's orbit when her latest case brings the war to her doorstep. |
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| Death by chocolate raspberry scone / Sarah Graves. |
 "With the August heat strong enough to melt solid chocolate into syrup, Jake and Ellie crave a break from the bakery ovens, despite tourist season promising a sweet payday. But they never envisioned spending the last weeks of summer drifting around Passamaquoddy Bay searching for pirate's treasure--and a dead body. Sally Coates believes her husband was murdered off the coast, and begs Ellie, a trusted childhood friend, to locate his remains. It's unusual that a skilled fisherman would vanish along with the gold doubloon he inherited from his grandfather. And Sally isn't the only one coveting the valuable heirloom for her own. As Jake and Ellie island-hop for answers, they find themselves caught between hungry sharks and hungrier suspects. Can the duo tempt fate and dodge danger before there's blood in the water--or are they destined to fall into the jaws of a killer's trap?"--Provided by publisher |
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| Patchwork quilt murder / Leslie Meier. |
 "When a community center opens in town, many embrace it as a space where locals of all ages can gather and create. Others view it as a waste of taxpayer dollars. The director, Darleen Busby-Platt, is no less controversial. Intense and showy, Darleen has huge plans for her new role. But Lucy believes the woman isn't exactly as warm hearted--or qualified--as she seems. That hunch deepens when Darleen and a young employee vanish... and dismembered remains appear! With lots of clues and few concrete answers, Lucy rushes to connect loose ends. First there's the disappearance of Tim Stillings, a troubled twenty-something who endured harsh treatment on the job. Next there's Darleen herself, who made fast enemies as the highest-paid resident in Tinker's Cove. Finally, there's Darleen's rich ancestry and ties to heirlooms worth either a fortune or nothing at all. The closer Lucy gets to the facts, the more she realizes that solving this murder depends on the lies. Because the truth rests somewhere between wild rumors, a trusted friend's emotional new sewing project, and the authenticity of a mysterious three-hundred-year-old patchwork quilt. And Lucy must piece together the big picture--before she becomes part of crafty killer's deadly design..."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The poison pen / Paige Shelton. |
 "Edinburgh is mourning recent the death of Queen Elizabeth II when Bookseller Delaney Nichols's boss comes to her with a most unusual assignment. An old friend of his, living in an estate in the village of Roslin, has found what could be a priceless relic on her property, and Delaney is tasked with investigating. Could Jolie possibly have an item of breathtaking Scottish historical significance in her possession? But when Delaney arrives at Jolie's estate, she is greeted by a legal team with a vested interest in the property. Jolie manages to remove the interlopers, but as they're examining the priceless item, they hear a scream, and meet a much less welcome discovery: a body. As Delaney digs deeper, she discovers Jolie's own fascinating history. Jolie's mother had long claimed that her daughter was the rightful heir to the throne, not Elizabeth II, because of an affair she claimed to have with King Edward VIII. The only evidence, however, is in the form of a purported journal that one of Edward's secretaries kept. The puzzles become more confusing when a connection is uncovered between this far-fetched story and the murdered man. Delaney will have to read between the lines to put together the pieces...or become history herself"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The dark edge of night / Mark Pryor. |
 "Winter 1940: With soldiers parading down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Nazi flags dangling from the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower defaced with German propaganda, Parisians have little to celebrate as Christmas approaches. Police Inspector Henri Lefort's wishes for a quiet holiday season are dashed when the Gestapo orders him to investigate the disappearance of Dr. Viktor Brandt, a neurologist involved in a secret project at one of Paris's hospitals. Being forced onto a missing persons case for the enemy doesn't deter Henri from conducting his real job. A Frenchman has been beaten to death in what appears to be a botched burglary, and catching a killer is more important than locating a wayward scientist. But when Henri learns that the victim's brother is a doctor who worked at the same hospital as the missing German, his investigation takes a disturbing turn. Uncovering a relationship between the two men-one that would not be tolerated by the Third Reich-Henri must tread carefully. And when he discovers that Dr. Brandt's experimental work is connected to groups of children being taken from orphanages, Henri risks bringing the wrath of both the SS and the Gestapo upon himself and everyone he loves."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The clock struck murder / Betty Webb. |
 "Expat Zoe Barlow has settled well into her artist's life among the Lost Generation in 1920s Paris. When a too-tipsy guest at her weekly poker game breaks Zoe's favorite clock, she's off to a Montparnasse flea market to bargain with the vendor Laurette for a replacement. What Zoe didn't bargain for was the lost Chagall painting that's been used like a rag to wrap her purchases! Eager to learn whether Laurette has more Chagalls lying about like trash, Zoe sets off to track her down at her storage shed. With no Laurette in sight, Zoe snoops around and indeed finds several additional Chagalls--and then she finds Laurette herself, dead beneath a scrap heap, her beautiful face bashed in. With Paris hosting the 1924 Summer Olympics, the police are far too busy with tourist-related crimes to devote much time to the clock seller's murder. After returning the paintings to a grateful Marc Chagall, Zoe begins her own investigation. Did the stolen paintings play any part in the brutal killing? Or was it a crime of passion? Zoe soon discovers that there were many people who had reason to resent the lovely Laurette. But who hated the girl enough to stop her clock permanently? When Zoe discovers a second murder victim, the pressure is on to find the killer before time--and luck--run out."--Amazon. |
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| Butter : a novel of food and murder / Asako Yuzuki ; translated by Polly Barton. |
 "The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story. There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine. Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Center convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back. Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought? Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, "The Konkatsu Killer," Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan." -- Jacket flap |
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| The whole truth / Cara Hunter. |
 "She has everything at stake; he has everything to lose. But one of them is lying, all the same. When an Oxford student accuses one of the university's professors of sexual assault, DI Adam Fawley's team think they've heard it all before. But they couldn't be more wrong. Because this time, the predator is a woman and the shining star of the department, and the student a six-foot male rugby player. Soon DI Fawley and his team are up against the clock to figure out the truth. What they don't realise is that someone is watching. And they have a plan to put Fawley out of action for good."--Provided by publisher. |
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| Never come back : a thriller / Joe Hart. |
 "Family advocate Nora McTavish is settling into her new practice when she receives a call from Tess Grayson, a childhood friend she hasn't spoken to in years. Tess is entangled in a custody battle with her ex-husband, Neil, a popular professor at a local university. It's getting vicious--and dangerous. Rumors are swirling of Neil's affairs with students, one of whom was found bludgeoned to death. Though the charges against him were dropped, Tess doesn't want the man anywhere near their nine-year-old daughter. But as Nora digs deeper into the shattered Grayson marriage, she sees more sides to the story than anyone anticipated. Which side can she trust is the question. Old secrets and lies are beginning to emerge--some from Nora's own past--and as suspicions begin to shift, another murder draws Nora perilously close to a killer. This time she's not just betting her reputation on a case. She's betting her life on it."-- Amazon website. |
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| The hollow tree / Philip Miller. |
 "Intrepid investigative journalist Shona Sandison, gone freelance following the tragic events of The Goldenacre, is attending the wedding of her closest friend and former colleague, Vivienne. But the night before the wedding, Vivienne's reclusive old school friend, Dan, throws himself off a roof. Shona is the only witness to the suicide--and so the only person who saw the occult tattoos covering Dan's body, and heard the unsettling, mystical phrases he was uttering. Shona sets off on a conflicted quest to find out why Dan killed himself, the meaning of the strange messages, and what happened to Vivienne's missing brother twenty years prior. Despite knowing that investigating Viv's family will mean she could lose her friend forever, Shona travels to a small, forgotten town in the north of England to investigate a small group of classmates who have held a dark secret for decades."-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The night in question / Susan Fletcher |
 Florrie Butterfield--eighty-seven, one-legged, and of cheerful disposition--believes there can't be any more surprises in life. Yet one evening, there's an accident at Babbington Hall--the adult residence where she lives--so shocking and strange that Florrie is suspicious; is this really an accident? Or is she being lied to? Is she living alongside a potential murderer? In her efforts to learn the truth, Florrie is forced to look back on her own life, with all its passions and regrets; she must confront her own bloody secret--and, at last, confess. Above all, she learns, through the help of her new friend, Stanhope, that when it comes to love, it's never too late. |
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| The vacancy in room 10 / Seraphina Nova Glass. |
 "When Anna Hartley’s husband, Henry, calls her with a terrible, guilty confession, she can’t believe what she hears. It has to be a bad joke—the mild, predictable artist she married would never hurt a fly, let alone commit murder. But her confusion turns to horror when police find his body washed up on the banks of the Rio Grande. Desperate for answers to the millions of questions his untimely death has raised, Anna checks in to The Sycamores, the run-down motel turned apartment Henry rented as an art studio. As she absorbs every bit of gossip the eclectic mix of residents are willing to share about her husband and each other, she begins to piece together a picture of a very different man than the one she married, and the life he led behind her back. The more she learns, and the less sense things seem to make, she finds herself wondering: Did she ever really know Henry at all? But Henry’s secrets aren’t the only ones; as Anna’s search for clues expands, Cass, the mysterious, jaded motel manager, seems more and more determined to keep Anna in the dark. And when threatening letters start appearing at her door, Anna has to decide what’s more important—the truth, or her own safety." -- Provided by publisher. |
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| The hunter's daughter / Nicola Solvinic. |
 "A hypnotic, sinister debut mystery about a seemingly good cop who is secretly the daughter of a notorious serial killer who must, against all the rules, insert herself into a new investigation when ritually killed bodies start appearing in her father's old territory. Anna Koray has shut the door on her past. The records of her childhood--and the troubling memories--are sealed away thanks to a controversial hypnosis treatment. She's a police lieutenant in a rural town, raising money for good causes, coaching girls' soccer, and even on-and-off dating Nick, a local ER doctor. Then she shoots a man in the line of duty and finds herself terribly drawn to him in the moment of his death. Her childhood memories return, igniting terrible dreams of her beloved father, his hands red with blood, surrounded by flower-decked corpses he had sacrificed to the god of the forest. Simultaneously, to Anna's horror and fascination, a serial killer has emerged who is copying her father. Can it be a coincidence? Is her father alive after all? Will the killer expose her, destroying everything she has built for herself, including her rekindled relationship with Nick? Does she want him to? Against all the rules Anna inserts herself into the investigation, walking a thin line between justice and protecting her secrets. But as she haunts the forest, using her father's tricks to hunt the killer, will she find what she needs most...or lose herself in the gathering darkness?"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Clete / by James Lee Burke. |
 "James Lee Burke returns to his bestselling Dave Robicheaux series, bringing Dave's partner and friend Clete Purcel to the forefront for the first time as Clete and Dave attempt to stop the ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug. Clete Purcel-private investigator, former cop, and war veteran with a hard shell covering just a few soft spots-is Dave Robicheaux's longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past. When Clete picks up his car from the local car wash, only to find it ransacked by a group of thugs tied to the drug trade, it feels personal-his grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose, and his fists curl when he thinks of the dealers who sold it. As Clete traces the connections in this far-reaching criminal enterprise, Clara Bow, a woman with a dark past, hires Clete to investigate her scheming, slippery ex-husband, and a string of brutal deaths all link back to a heavily tattooed man who lurks around every corner. Clete experiences shockingly lifelike hallucinations and questions Clara's ulterior motives when he and Dave start to hear rumors of a dangerous substance with potentially catastrophic effects. The thugs who destroyed Clete's car might have been pawns in a scheme far darker than they could've imagined. Gripping and suspenseful, yet interlaced with Clete's humor and fierce drive to protect those he loves, Clete brings a fresh perspective to an iconic series. James Lee Burke proves yet again that he is the "heavyweight champ" and "great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed" (Michael Connelly)"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| A murder most French / Colleen Cambridge. |
 Tabitha Knight investigates the sudden death of a chef at a cooking school who poured himself a glass of wine from a rare vintage bottle. Set in midcentury Paris and starring Julia Child's fictional best friend, this magnifique reimagining of the iconic chef's years at Le Cordon Bleu blends a delicious murder mystery with a unique culinary twist. |
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| Rough trade / Katrina Carrasco. |
 "In this propulsive follow-up to The Best Bad Things, Alma Rosales (and her alter ego, Jack Camp) is back as a stevedore and part-time opium smuggler"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Lost birds / Anne Hillerman |
 Joe Leaphorn may be long retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, but his detective skills are still sharp, honed by his work as a private detective. His experience will be essential to solve a compelling new case: finding the birth parents of a woman who was raised by a bilàgana family but believes she is Diň based on one solid clue, an old photograph with a classic Navajo child's blanket. Leaphorn discovers that his client's adoption was questionable, and her adoptive family not what they seem. His quest for answers takes him to an old trading post and leads him to a deadly cache of long-buried family secrets. As that case grows more complicated, Leaphorn receives an unexpected call from a person he met decades earlier. Cecil Bowleg's desperation is clear in his voice, but just as he begins to explain, the call is cut off by an explosion and Cecil disappears. True to his nature, Leaphorn is determined to find the truth even as the situation grows dangerous. Investigation of the explosion falls in part to Officer Bernadette Manuelito, who discovers an unexpected link to Cecil's missing wife. Bernie also is involved in a troubling investigation of her own: an elderly weaver whose prize-winning sheep have been ruthlessly killed by feral dogs. |
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| Every time I go on vacation, someone dies / Catherine Mack. |
 "Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for. "Quick, captivating, and oh-so-much-fun! This delicious mystery is as spellbinding as Knives Out."-Elle Cosimano, New York Times bestselling author of the Finlay Donovan series All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series-is that too much to ask? Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor's life-the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can't get out of her life-Eleanor's enlisted to help solve the case. Contending with literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker-and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly-theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who's really trying to get away with murder? Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the irresistible and hilarious series debut from Catherine Mack, introducing bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate the world in her books"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Cold to the touch : a novel / Kerri Hakoda. |
 When women are being kidnapped and murdered, including a bright young college student he bought coffee from every morning, in the dead of an Alaskan winter, Anchorage homicide detective DeHavilland Beans and his team are determined to stop a serial killer's spree before it's too late. |
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| The comfort of ghosts / Jacqueline Winspear. |
 "London, 1945: Four adolescent orphans with a dark wartime history are squatting in a vacant Belgravia mansion - the owners having fled London under heavy Luftwaffe bombing. Soon after a demobilized British soldier, ill and reeling from his experiences overseas, takes shelter with the group, Maisie Dobbs visits the mansion on behalf of the owners. Maisie is deeply puzzled by the children's reticence. Their stories are evasive and, more mysteriously, they appear to possess self-defense skills one might expect of trained adults in wartime. Her quest to bring comfort and the promise of a future to the youngsters and to the ailing soldier brings to light a decades-old mystery concerning Maisie's first husband, James Compton, who was killed while piloting an experimental aircraft. As Maisie picks apart the threads of her dead husband's life, she is forced to examine her own painful past and question beliefs she has always accepted as true. The award-winning Maisie Dobbs series has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, readers who are drawn to a woman who is of her time, yet familiar in ours - and who inspires with her resilience and capacity for endurance at the worst of times. This final assignment of her own choosing not only opens a new future for Maisie Dobbs and her family, but serves as a fascinating portrayal of the challenges facing the people of Britain at the close of the Second World War"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| The last hope / Susan Elia MacNeal. |
 "All will be revealed in the no-holds-barred finale of the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated Maggie Hope series as the intrepid spy teams up with fashion designer - and possible double agent - Coco Chanel to bring down the physicist behind Nazi Germany's nuclear program. Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill's secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she's learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who's long held her heart. British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany: she's shaken by the assignment. An assassination is unlike anything she's ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture. At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel has requested a meeting with the undercover agent. Chanel, a spy in her own right, with ambiguous loyalties, is meeting with the British Ambassador in Madrid - and has requested Maggie join them. And Chanel provides the perfect cover for Maggie's trip to Spain. The two play cat and mouse as Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg. But the most shocking curveball is from the most intimate player: Maggie's own mother has kept a hand in the war--and has secrets of her own to share. Maggie desperately wants to find her "happily-ever-after," but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves - with fateful implications for the future of the free world"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| First frost / Craig Johnson. |
 "Following the events of The Longmire Defense, we return to find Walt and our familiar cast of characters from Abaroska county tasked with solving a crime even more challenging than the last. Walt Longmire returns in this twentieth installment of the award-winning and bestselling series that has been a hit on both the page and the screen. Set in the unpsoiled countryside of Wyoming, Sheriff Walt Longmire has to navigate his own increasingly complicated personal life with the ever-changing and often violent underworld that encroaches on what was once referred to as the Old West. This time, he is up against a sinister plot that could hurt the people closest to him and forever change the way he sees his beloved Wyoming"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Stuart Woods' Smolder / Brett Battles. |
 Stone Barrington is on the trail of a ring of art thieves in Santa Fe. |
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