Here is a list of some of the new releases for the week of June 25th, 2017. Since there were so very many books this week, I am going to divide them between four days. Here is the first day of my list. Hope you find some selections for your weekly reading. Enjoy and happy reading.
The New York Times bestselling author of the Manor House Mysteries and the White House Chef Mysteries returns with a mix of murder and mayhem for curator Grace Wheaton.
Now that Grace Wheaton has officially been named heir to Bennett Marshfield’s fortune, her usually busy schedule has become a juggling act. In addition to her duties at Marshfield Manor, she’s bankrolling her roommates’ refurbished wine shop, Amethyst Cellars. Grace is excited to check out the rustic space with Bruce and Scott. But that excitement turns to dismay when they stumble upon the body of the banker involved with the sale.
Grace wants to get to the bottom of this mystery quickly so that her friends’ new venture isn’t overshadowed by an unsolved murder, but she’s got even more to balance when her troubled sister, Liza, is released from prison early. Liza’s first stop is Marshfield Manor and her first priority is grabbing a bite of Bennett’s fortune for herself. Grace has to keep her greedy sister at bay and catch a killer before her new life comes crashing down around her. (Goodreads)
The newest member of Martha’s close-knit quilting circle has an eye for couture. But when the designer’s fingerprints are found blanketing a crime scene, Martha must prove that he didn’t have a hand in homicide! Martha Rose is alarmed by the discovery of Dolleen Doyle’s dead body, especially when evidence suggests a fellow quilter committed the crime. Set on clearing her pal, Martha searches for answers—but with ties to a convicted fraudster’s stolen millions and a secret office room, the victim’s past raises even more questions. As Martha inches towards the culprit, she learns that wrapping the case up—and living to baste another square—will be trickier than she ever imagined . . .Praise for Mary Marks and her Quilting Mysteries
“Characters are brilliantly written in entertaining situations . . . Gone are the stereotypes of mature women expected to stay at home and knit quietly by the fire.” —RT Book Reviews on Gone but Knot Forgotten
“A pleasurable and satisfying addition to any quilting mystery fan’s reading list. Recommend to those who cannot get enough of Terri Thayer, Elizabeth Craig, or Earlene Fowler.” —Library Journal on Knot in My Backyard
(Goodreads)
Dani Hedley is back in Innocence, California and happily reconnecting with the family & friends she’s missed for so long. But there’s one person she could do without…
Her father has a new tenant and he simply rubs Dani the wrong way. As a theatrical actor, it’s not surprising that he is a bit overdramatic and brash. But there seems to be something else about him that doesn’t sit well with Dani.
So, when the actor is found dead in the middle of a play, Dani immediately begins to wonder who else may have had issues with him. And, as she investigates, digging into the private lives of those around her, she realizes that narrowing the list down to just one culprit may be more difficult than she’d anticipated. That is, until she finds a roll of film in the victim’s apartment and discovers that the killer’s motive may be right in front of her…in the Exposed Negatives!
Can Dani discover the truth and bring the killer to justice?
Find out in Exposed Negative, the 2nd story in Nancy McGovern’s newest cozy mystery series, “Shot & Framed”!
Nancy McGovern is also the author of the popular culinary cozy mystery series, “A Murder In Milburn” & “Slice of Paradise Cozy Mysteries”, featuring delicious recipes and even tastierwhodunits, as well as the witch-based paranormal cozy mystery series, “Bluebell Knopps Cozy Mysteries”. Follow the link in ANY of Nancy’s books to join her mailing list and receive a FREE COZY MYSTERY just for signing up! (Goodreads)
After Grace completes her last mystery, she’s hoping for some down time with her friends and enjoy some relaxation in the coastal town of Hemlock Cove. But things are anything but quiet when the town’s two warring families, the Mannings, and Kings, take their long-running feud to all new levels.
To make matters worse, there’s still a killer on the loose and hints of dark make wherever Grace turns. As Grace continues to stretch her magical abilities with her on-going training, she soon realizes that she’ll need every ounce of power that she can muster if she’s to rid Hemlock Cove of the dark magic, find the murderer, and bring peace to the feuding families.
A Peculiar Pursuit can be read as a standalone mystery but to learn more about the Angelo family and Hemlock Cove readers can start at book 1: A Mystic Murder. (Goodreads)
The Lost Spaniel is the third novella in the Lost and Found Pets series. Alexandra Prescott opened Lost and Found Pets because she loves animals. Reuniting pet and owner is more than just a job.
When Alex’s mentor, Eddie Hill, calls about his lost Cocker Spaniel, Alex rushes to the rescue. They quickly track the dog to an abandoned construction site, but after bullets start flying, Alex realizes there’s more to this case than a missing dog.
Alex and Eddie have to dig into their pasts to find out who might want to harm them or their pets. The list of suspects grows long as Alex tries to solve the mystery of the lost Spaniel. (Goodreads)
Helen Evans returns in Susan McBride’s fourth River Road Mystery!
Spring has sprung, the river is rising, and when Luann Dupree, the head of River Bend’s Historical Society, vanishes into the night, everyone in town is convinced she’s run off with her Internet Romeo. But her lifelong friend, Sarah Biddle, is convinced Luann is the victim of foul play. No one believes her—not even her husband, the local sheriff, so she turns to Helen Evans for help.
As River Bend’s resident puzzle-solver, Helen’s tackled many a local mystery before. So she agrees to help Sarah, even though she’s not so sure herself that Luann is really in trouble. But as the town’s flood waters slowly recede, dead fish and muck aren’t the only things Helen finds. She begins to uncover town secrets, false identities…and the very real chance that Luann might not be discovered alive…
“Packed with small town charm!”—Denise Swanson (Goodreads)
As fashion maven Cookie Chanel tracks a murderer at the Kentucky Derby, all bets are off…
When Cookie Chanel lands a dream assignment of providing vintage hats for a high-society Kentucky Derby party, she’s brimming with excitement. Leaving her mother and best friend to mind the store at It’s Vintage Y’All, Cookie packs up her psychic cat and races to Kentucky. But before she can hang her hat, her enthusiasm is dampened when the rider of the potential Derby-winning horse is put out to pasture. Now she’s saddled with the jockey’s ghost, who insists she find his killer. With suspects ranging from an odds-on favorite to a dark horse, Cookie may just find herself in a dead heat before the photo finish…
Don’t Miss Cookie Chanel’s Fashion Tips
Praise for the Haunted Vintage Mysteries
“A delightful protagonist, intriguing twists, and a fashionista ghost combine in a hauntingly fun tale.” —Carolyn Hart
“Snappy dialogue and well-drawn characters in a lovely small town setting.” —Jenn McKinlay
“An appealing protagonist who is as sweet as a Southern accent . . . The designer name-dropping and shopping tips add allure for shopaholics.” – Library Journal (Goodreads)
There’s nothing like family during the holidays… unless one of those family members is in jail, and you’re the cop who was responsible for putting him there.Police Chief Aggie Malone is facing her first Christmas as a married woman, and hoping for a relatively uneventful holiday in the quiet Gulf Coast community of Dogleg Island where she, along with her perspicacious border collie Flash, is in charge of keeping the peace. She is still trying to find her place in the big, boisterous Grady family, but unlike Flash—and her own husband, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady—Aggie does not see the appeal of the holiday, and the magic of the season is completely lost on her.
The old-fashioned Christmas Grady has planned for his bride begins to unravel when Aggie’s investigation into a homicide hit-and-run leads to the arrest of her own brother-in-law and exposes a crime syndicate that’s responsible for spreading millions in counterfeit bills throughout the southeast. A police informant turns up dead, and evidence suggests his murder may be the result of corruption at the highest levels of law enforcement.
Flash, who is an expert at putting things together, understands that all these pieces of the puzzle are related, and with Aggie’s help they’ll soon be able to see the big picture. But not even Flash can foresee the demons their search for the truth will unearth. When the shadows from the past reach forward to cloud their future, Aggie, Grady, and Flash find the limits of their loyalty tested, even as they discover the lengths to which they will go to protect the ones they love. (Goodreads)
Ellie Rocca tapped the best party-planning company in the state, Luxe, for her mother’s seventy-fifth birthday party, and she’s not disappointed. The food is perfect, the wine and beer are flowing freely, and all the guests are having a wonderful time. In fact, everything is going along just perfectly until one of the guests turns up dead, strangled with her own scarf.
Ellie’s police detective boyfriend, Sam, is at the party, so he’s off the case. Ellie doesn’t have much faith is the two officers in charge, and neither does Enza Biondi, the co-owner of Luxe ,who discovered the body. Ellie may have sworn off snooping, but Enza’s curiosity is peaked, and she keeps drawing Ellie deeper and deeper. Just when the two of them think they’ve got the whole thing figured out, new and more chilling facts come to light, and Ellie discovers the real killer is much closer to home than she ever imagined.
This is the sixth and final novella in the Mt. Abrams Mystery Series. 29K words long. (Goodreads)
Private Investigators Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews have worked their share of domestic cases. So when Tammy Sue Lyerly hires them to find out what her husband is hiding, they expect to find something looney but harmless. After all, this is the guy who claims to have been a DEA agent, a champion bull rider, and a NASCAR driver. But when he turns up dead the morning after Liz and Nate deliver the incriminating photos, Tammy is the prime suspect.
Questioning the truth of Zeke Lyerly’s tall-tales, Liz and Nate race to uncover small town scandals, long buried secrets, and the victim’s tumultuous past to keep Tammy Sue out of jail and the case from going up in flames.
“The authentically Southern Boyer writes with heart, insight, and a deep understanding of human nature.” – Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha Award-Winning Author of What You See
“Susan M. Boyer gets it. And by ‘it,’ I mean ‘the Southern voice.’ And by that I do not mean she throws ‘Y’all’ into every other line of her dialogue. I mean she understands deep down how Southern people talk and can replicate the cadence and music of that speech on the page as delicately as a master chef adding a last pinch of sea salt to a batch of Hollandaise sauce.” – CriminalElement.com
Related subjects include: women sleuths, private investigator mystery series, cozy mysteries, murder mysteries, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), book club recommendations, Southern fiction, Southern humor, Southern living.
Books in the Liz Talbot Mystery Series:
LOWCOUNTRY BOIL (#1)
LOWCOUNTRY BOMBSHELL (#2)
LOWCOUNTRY BONEYARD (#3)
LOWCOUNTRY BORDELLO (#4)
LOWCOUNTRY BOOK CLUB (#5)
LOWCOUNTRY BONFIRE (#6)
Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you’ll probably like them all… (Goodreads)
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