Here are a few new mysteries that you may not have heard about that you may want to consider for your reading pleasure.

M.L. Longworth’s Death at the Château Bremont is the first novel in a projected series set in Aix-en-Provence. Booklist compares Longworth’s voice to “ a rich concoction of sparkling Dorothy Sayers and grounded Donna Leon.” The novel introduces readers to Antoine Verlaque, the handsome and seductive chief magistrate of Aix, and his on-again, off-again love interest, law professor Marine Bonnet. When local nobleman Etienne de Bremont falls to his death from the family chateau, the town is abuzz with rumors. Verlaque suspects foul play and must turn to Marine for help when he discovers that she had been a close friend of the Bremonts. This is a lively whodunit steeped in the rich, enticing, and romantic atmosphere of southern France. Continue »

Nice Stories

Ahern, Cecelia. The Gift. ISBN 0061706264 $19.99 HC
A winning tale of magic and redemption. Despite job stress and a crumbling home life, workaholic businessman Lou Suffern gives Gabe, a homeless man, a job in his company’s mail room; but the mysterious Gabe seems be in two places at once and he’s meddling in Lou’s private affairs.

Carlson, Melody. The Christmas Shoppe. ISBN 9780800719265 $15.99 HC
The small town of Parrish Springs is not quite ready for Matilda Honeycutt. A strange woman with scraggly hair and jewelry that jangles as she walks, When rumors start to fly about what might be going on behind the papered-up windows and the locked door, the image-conscious residents start looking for a way to get this woman and her wares out of their town before Christmas. But Matilda Honeycutt has a little something for each one of them sitting on those cluttered shelves, just waiting to be discovered.

Keller, Cynthia. A Plain & Fancy Christmas. ISBN 9780345528759 $16.00 HC
Manhattan businesswoman Ellie Lawrence and Amish widow Rachel Yoder learn that they were accidentally switched at birth. The tight Pennsylvania community where Ellie’s Amish birth family lives introduces her to a stability and sense of belonging she has never known. An extended stay in New York to allow Rachel and her daughter to get to know their new family proves less rewarding.

Roberts, Sheila. The Nine Lives of Christmas. ISBN 9780312594497 $14.99 HC
A humorous, heartwarming Christmas novel about a matchmaking cat who brings a couple together just in time for the holidays.

Sparks, Nicholas. The Best of Me. (2011) ISBN 9780446547659 $25.99 HC
Two former high school sweethearts return to their hometown for the funeral of a mentor and confront the choices they have made since they last met.

VanLiere, Donna. The Christmas Shoes. (2002) Christmas Hope Series; bk.1 ISBN 9780312289515 $14.95 HC
In these heartwarming and poignant stories, families and characters struggle with difficult situations, but they are able to face these challenges and gain new perspectives as they find faith, love, and generosity during the Christmas season.
The Christmas Note (2011) bk.7 ISBN 9780312658960 $14.99 HC

Romances

Basso, Adrienne. Tis the Season to Be Sinful. ISBN 9781420111910 $6.99 pbk
After their marriage of convenience turns into something more, sending her new husband running for cover, Juliet Wentworth, when Christmas time celebrations bring him back to their country manor, will stop at nothing to win over his heart, night after night.

Dailey, Janet. To Santa with Love. ISBN 9781420120738 $6.99 pbk
The holidays are coming. . .and free-spirited Jacquie Grey plans to head west and start a whole new life. Her solo road trip is going great–until she collides with rancher Choya Barnett in Arizona. Good thing that no one’s hurt. But she can’t afford to fix her car until he proposes hiring her to take care of his little boy and his house.

Duarte, Judy. Christmas on Nutcracker Court. Mulbury Park series; bk.4 ISBN 9780758238955 $15.00 pbk.
For fans of Debbie Macomber: The fourth entry in Duarte’s subtle Christian fiction series focuses on single mom Carly Westbrook and bachelor writer Max Tolliver. While Carly tries to make ends meet on her hairdresser’s income, the ladies in Tolliver’s upscale Nutracker Court neighborhood are encouraged by a mysterious house sitter to count their blessings as Christmas draws near.

Graham, Heather. An Angel for Christmas. ISBN 9780778312796 $16.95 HC
When two strangers appear during the annual MacDougal family Christmas celebration in the Blue Ridge Mountains, siblings Shayne, Morwenna, and Bobbie must band together to fend off the growing danger and figure out whom they can trust.

Gray, Shelley. Christmas in Sugarcreek. Seasons of Sugarcreek series; bk. 4 ISBN 9780062089762 $16.99 HC
As the holidays approach, Judith Graber, feeling overwhelmed, overworked, and underappreciated, is attracted to her father’s new employee, Ben Knox, Sugarcreek’s own bad boy, but refuses to be another one of his conquests.

Knight, India. Comfort and Joy. (2011) ISBN 9780143119814 $14.00 pbk
If Bridget Jones had two ex-husbands, three children, and invited her entire extended family over for Christmas… in this very British and funny story…Clara Dunphy, a twice-divorced mother of three spends frenzied days preparing for sixteen Christmas guests, including in-laws, out-laws, and assorted ex-family members.

Macomber, Debbie. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane. ISBN 9780778312697 $16.95 HC
Beth Morehouse expects this Christmas to be one of her best. Her small Christmas-tree farm is prospering, her daughters and her dogs are happy and well, and her new relationship with local vet Ted Reynolds is showing plenty of romantic promise. But her daughters have invited their dad, Beth’s ex-husband, Kent, to Cedar Cove for Christmas!

Patterson, James and Richard DiLallo. The Christmas Wedding. ISBN 9780316097390 $25.99 HC
Relates the story of Gaby Summerhill, a widow planning a holiday wedding to a groom whose identity remains a surprise to her four children.

Woods, Sherryl. An O’Brien Family Christmas. Chesapeake Shore series; bk.8 ISBN 9780778312703 $16.95 HC When a relationship with noted ladies’ man Matthew O’Brien ruins her career, Laila Riley impulsively breaks things off, but neither expects to end up going to Ireland for Christmas with the entire O’Brien clan.

Historical Romances

Burrowes, Grace. Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish. ISBN 9781402261541 $7.99 pbk
Lady Sophie Windham has maneuvered a few days to herself at the ducal mansion in London before she must join her family for Christmas in Kent. Suddenly trapped by a London snowstorm, she finds herself with an abandoned baby and only the assistance of a kind, handsome stranger standing between her and complete disaster.

Harte, Amanda. Dancing in the Rain. ISBN 9780803496064 $23.95 HC
Determined to prove that there is more to her than her pretty appearance, Carolyn Wentworth leaves her small Texas hometown to volunteer as a nurse’s aide in France, where she discovers the terrible costs of World War I.

Romain, Theresa. Season for Temptation. ISBN 9781420118957 $6.99 pbk
James, the new Viscount Matheson, believes that Louisa, a kind, intelligent beauty, will make a suitable bride until he meets her impetuous stepsister Julia, and, torn between two women, James has no idea what to do until fate intervenes during the holidays.

Mysteries

Duncan, Elizabeth. A Killer’s Christmas in Wales. Penny Brannigan series; bk.3 ISBN 9780312622831 $24.99 HC
For fans of Nancy Atherton, M. C. Beaton, and Dorothy Cannell…In a Welsh village outing, the Canadian ex-pat and new spa owner is asked to don her amateur sleuthing cap when the rogue who swindled her neighbor is murdered. Cozy fans will enjoy this light, quick read. The Cold Light of Mourning (2009) bk.1 ISBN 0312533454 $7.99 pbk & A Brush with Death (2010) bk.2 ISBN 9780312534271 $7.99 pbk

Michaels Fern. Christmas at Timberwoods. ISBN 9780821775875 $7.99 pbk
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…and for Heather Andrews, security manager at Timberwoods Mall, undoubtedly the busiest. But this Christmas, Heather has more to contend with than frazzled parents and disgruntled Santas. Angela Steinhart, a young woman who designed the mall’s spectacular holiday displays, has had a premonition that tragedy will strike on Christmas Eve. And Angela’s visions have a habit of coming true.

Perry, Anne. A Christmas Homecoming . Christmas Mysteries; bk.9 ISBN 9780345524638 $18.00 HC Traveling up the Yorkshire coast with her husband and his acting troupe, Caroline anticipates their arrival at the famed fishing village landing sight of Count Dracula and develops an awareness about inviting and disallowing evil. A Christmas Journey (2003) bk.1 Not in print.

Todd, Charles. Bitter Truth. (2011) Bess Crawford Mysteries; bk.3 ISBN 9780062015709 $24.99 HC
Bess finds herself back in London, on leave from her nursing duties on the World War I battlefields of France. Upon arriving at her London, she finds a battered woman in her doorway and takes her to her home in Sussex. On arrival there, Bess finds herself in the midst of a family devastated by untimely death and hiding poisonous secrets. Recommended for all British wartime mystery aficionados who like plucky investigators similar to Maisie Dobbs.
A Duty to the Dead (2009) bk.1 ISBN 9780061791772 $14.99 pbk & An Impartial Witness (2010) bk.2 ISBN 978-0061791796 $14.99 pbk

Red Hot (Popular)

Brown, Sandra. Lethal. (2011) ISBN 9781455501472 $26.99 HC
After Honor Gillette is visited by Lee Coburn, a suspected murderer seeking a valuable object that Honor’s late husband left behind, they find themselves running from the FBI and untangling a web of corruption and depravity. Intricately plotted, fast paced, suspense set in the Louisiana Bayou.

Baldacci, David. Zero Day. (2011) ISBN 9780446573016 $27.99 HC
Combat veteran John Puller, now working as an investigator for the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division, tries to solve the murder of an Army man and his Pentagon contractor wife in their isolated rural home. Not one of author’s series.

Connelly, Michael. The Drop. (2011) Harry Bosch; bk.17. ISBN 9780316069410 $27.99 HC
Relentlessly pursuing two cases, A 1989 rape and murder and the murder of Councilman Irvin Irving’s son, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department. If you have never read this series, you may want to start with The Black Echo (1992).

Patterson, James. Kill Alex Cross. (2011) Alex Cross; bk.18. ISBN 9780316198738 $28.99 HC
Detective Alex Cross is thwarted at every turn while he attempts to investigate the abduction of the president’s son and daughter and also discovers a deadly contagion released in the capital’s water supply that foreshadows a larger, more devastating attack. 1st in series is Along Came a Spider (1993)

Penny, Louise. A Trick of the Light. (2011) Three Pines Mystery; bk.7. ISBN 9780312655457 $25.00 HC
Gamache is a man of moral integrity. He is intelligent, loves to eat, and has the loyalty of his colleagues. While Gamache is the main attraction here, Penny’s fans also enjoy her cast of secondary characters, especially the residents of Three Pines. Penny’s settings have a timeless feel, and the tone of her novels is that of hope and resilience despite adversity. The mysteries themselves are intricate and quirky, while their pacing reflects the thoughtful pace of Gamache himself. Start with Still Life (2006).

Pelecanos, George. The Cut. (2011) Spero Lucas, bk.1. ISBN 9780316078429 $25.99 HC
After returning home from serving in Iraq, Spero Lucas makes a living doing special investigations for a defense attorney and catches the attention of a high-profile crime boss who offers Lucas a high-paying job he cannot refuse. Good choice for Lehane, Connolly and Crais fans who enjoy gritty, bloody action.

Cornwell, Patricia. Red Mist. (2011) Scarpetta; bk.19. ISBN 9780399158025 $27.95 HC
As she investigates the murder of her former deputy chief, Kay Scarpetta discovers links a series of otherwise unrelated killings, and soon finds herself unraveling a global terror conspiracy. Postmortem (1989) is the first in the series.

Grafton, Sue. V is for Vengeance. (2011) Kinsey Millhone; bk.22. ISBN 9780399157868 $27.95 HC
On her thirty-eighth birthday, Kinsey Millhone receives a facial punch that leaves her with a broken nose and two black eyes before she tackles a suspicious suicide involving a host of unscrupulous characters. Began with “A” is for Alibi (1982) if you are interested in the series.

Grisham, John. The Litigators. (2011) ISBN 9780385535137 $28.95 HC
Law firm partners Oscar Finley and Wally Figg see a chance for huge financial gain when they learn of a pending class action lawsuit against the makers of Krayoxx, a popular cholesterol-reducing drug suspected of causing heart attacks.

Should Be Red Hot

Abbott, Jeff. Adrenaline. (2011) ISBN 9780446575171 $24.99 HC
When his pregnant wife is kidnapped and he discovers that he has been set up as a traitor, brilliant CIA agent Sam Capra begins a desperate hunt for the unknown enemy who he believes has targeted the wrong man.

Box, C. J. Back of Beyond. (2011) ISBN 9780312365745 $25.99 HC
Cody Hoyt, while a brilliant cop, is an alcoholic struggling with two months of sobriety when his mentor and AA sponsor Hank Winters is found burned to death in a remote mountain cabin. At first it looks like the suicide of a man who’s fallen off the wagon, but Cody knows Hank better than that. Sober for fourteen years, Hank took pride in his hard-won sobriety and never hesitated to drop whatever he was doing to talk Cody off a ledge. When Cody takes a closer look at the scene of his friend’s death, it becomes apparent that foul play is at hand. After years of bad behavior with his department, he’s in no position to be investigating a homicide, but this man was a friend and Cody’s determined to find his killer.

Bradley, Alan. I am Half-Sick of Shadows. (2011) Flavia De Luce; bk.4. ISBN 9780385344012 $23.00 HC
Flavia, a an 11-year-old chemistry prodigy, must push her previous project—concocting a super stickum to trap Santa—to the back burner after actress Phyllis Wyvern turns up dead in a wingback chair with “a length of ciné film, tied tightly, but neatly, in an elaborate black bow” around her throat. The murder investigation pits the cheeky schoolgirl’s considerable deductive prowess against the local constabulary—and puts her in grave danger. With its sharply drawn characters, including the hiss-worthy older de Luce sisters, and an agreeable puzzle playing out against the cozy backdrop of a British village at Christmas, this is a most welcome holiday gift for village mystery fans. Start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009).

Coes, Ben. Coup D’Etat. (2011) Dewey Andreas; bk.2. ISBN 9780312580766 $25.99 HC
Dewey Andreas, now a hunted man has gone into hiding in the remote outback of Australia, hoping the men after him will eventually give up. But they are ruthless and have connections Andreas doesn’t know about. Meanwhile, a radical new Pakistani president unleashes a nuclear weapon on India. India wants to retaliate, but the U.S. offers a plan to help. If the Indian government waits, the U.S. government will send in their best man, Andreas, to execute Pakistan’s president. India agrees to hold off—but only briefly. Andreas will have less than two days to elude his pursuers, break into Pakistan, and eliminate a president. Start with Power Down (2010), bk.1

Cohen, William S. Blink of an Eye. (2011) ISBN 9780765327642 $24.99 HC
Pulling from years of international affairs and defense planning experience, the former Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton creates a sweeping, all-too-real political thriller. After a nuclear bomb flattens a major American city, national security advisor Sean Falcone is charged with identifying the attackers, but if his sources are incorrect, it could mean inciting war with the entire Muslim world.

Gross, Andrew. Eyes Wide Open. (2011) ISBN 9780061655968 $25.99 HC
When disaster strikes his older brother Charlie, who once fell under the sway of a deeply disturbed cult-like figure, Jay Erlich is drawn back into his brother’s past of secrets, terror, and lies.

Horwitz, Anthony. The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel. (2011) ISBN 9780316196994 $27.99 HC
With approval from the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a best-selling novelist and Sherlock Holmes expert brings the greatest detective in literary history back to life on Baker Street for the first time since 1930.

Hunter, Stephen. Soft Target. (2011) Ray Cruz; bk.2. ISBN 9781439138700 $26.99 HC
Chronicles the day when the unthinkable happens: twelve gunmen open fire in a mall corridors, driving the pack before them. Those on the upper floors take cover or get out any way they can, but within a few minutes the gunmen have herded more than a thousand hostages into the mall’s amusement park. Ray Cruz, shopping with his fiancée and her family is the only one with a plan and the guts to confront the gunmen. Now all he needs is a gun. Preceded by Dead Zero (2010), bk.1

Moore, Graham. The Sherlockian. (2010) ISBN 9780446572590 $24.99 HC
For fans of Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie, The Sherlockian, Moore’s first novel, is a fast-paced literary thriller featuring parallel narrative, on one hand following a modern day literary researcher and Holmes enthusiast, Harold White, on his search for the lost Arthur Conan Doyle diary, and on the other hand tagging along with Conan Doyle himself and his friend Bram Stoker as they attempt to solve a crime in 1890s London.

Rotella, Sebastian. Triple Crossing. (2011) ISBN 9780316105309 $24.99 HC
In this stunning debut, rookie Border Patrol agent Valentine Pescatore is recruited as an informant by a beautiful U.S. agent investigating a powerful Mexican crime family and is plunged into the lawless “triple border” region of South America.

Spiegelman, Peter. Thick as Thieves. (2011) ISBN 9780307263179 $24.95 HC
Carr, ex-CIA, is the reluctant leader of an elite crew planning to take tens of millions of dollars belonging to a disgraced financier, Curtis Prager. But Carr’s seasoned pros are wound drum-tight. Months before, the man who brought them together was killed in what Carr suspects was a setup.

Verdon, John. Shut Your Eyes Tight. (2011) Dave Gurney; bk.2. ISBN 9780307717894 $24.00 HC
Superstar detective Dave Gurney’s renewed efforts to retire are halted by the brutal murder of a young bride at her wedding reception, a crime subsequently linked to a brilliant criminal who targets Gurney’s family to further his agendas. Preceded by Think of a Number (2010); bk.1.

Aames, Avery. Lost and Fondue (2011) ISBN 9780425241585 $7.99 pbk
While catering a fund-raiser for her best friend, Charlotte Bessette–the owner of Providence, Ohio’s Cheese Shop–soon discovers that murder is also on the menu when a dead body is found in the wine cellar and her niece Quinn becomes the prime suspect in the case.

Bolin, Janet. Dire Threads (2011) ISBN 9780425241899 $7.99 pbk
When Mike Krawbach, the town’s corrupt commissioner, who keeps denying her renovation plans, is found dead in her yard, Willow Vanderling, Threadville’s newest resident, becomes the prime suspect and works to clear her name.

Carl, JoAnna. The Chocolate Castle Clue: a Chocoholic Mystery (2011) bk. 11 ISBN 9780451234742 $22.95 HC
When a dusty old trophy awarded to her aunt’s old high school singing group turns up and brings back memories of an old unsolved murder, chocolate shop manager Lee McKinney Woodyard realizes it is actually a clue to a present-day killing.

Dunnett, Kaitlyn. Scotched (2011) ISBN 9780758238818 $22.00 HC
When her hometown of Moosetookalook, Maine hosts the First Annual Maine-ly Cozy Con, a mystery book conference, Liss MacCrimmon and her fiancée Dan discover that the truth is stranger–and deadlier–than fiction when a muckraking reviewer with a grudge supposedly jumps to her death.

Hechtman, Betty. Behind the Seams (2011) Crochet, bk. 6. ISBN 9780425241424 $24.95 HC
The Tarzana Hookers investigate the poisoning of a television producer to clear the name of CeeCee’s production-assistant niece.

Lipperman, Liz. Liver let die (2011) Clueless Cook, bk.1. ISBN 9780425244043 $7.99 pbk
While filling in for the culinary reporter at the Ranchero Globe, Jordan McAllister, who dreams of being a sports reporter, finds her first assignment taking a deadly turn when a waiter from the new steak house in town is found murdered outside her door.

Swanson, Denise. Murder of a Creped Suzette (2011) Scumble River, bk. 14. ISBN 9780451235008 $7.99 pbk
School psychologist Skye Denison becomes immersed in honky-tonk murder and mayhem when Suzette Neal, a rising country star, is found murdered after asking Skye to investigate her mother’s suspicious death, which occurred 27 years earlier.

Several authors this summer are writing about the same topical material. This trend seems to be purely coincidental; however, it makes for great thematic reading.

One of the themes is memory loss. S. J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep Continue »

**Highly Recommended by readers

Arthurson, Wayne. Fall from Grace. Canadian debut. Journalist in Alberta.

Cain, Chelsea. Sweetheart. Archie & Gretchen bk.2
Continue »

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