New Releases For The Week Of October 11th, 2020–Part 1

Andy Carpenter and his golden retriever, Tara, are finding that all is not calm or bright in Silent Bite, the latest Christmas mystery in this heartwarming series from bestselling author David Rosenfelt.

Lawyer Andy Carpenter can finally take a breath; he’s back on dry land after a family Caribbean cruise forced on him by his wife, Laurie, to get into the Christmas spirit. Of course the family’s first stop is to the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization that has always been Andy’s true passion.

But when Andy arrives, his partner, Willie Miller, needs his help. Willie’s old cellmate, Tony Birch, has been arrested for murder. Andy doesn’t necessarily believe in Tony, but Willie does. And Andy believes in Willie, which is why Andy decides to take the case.

Once again David Rosenfelt puts readers in the Christmas spirit in a tale that is equal parts mystery and holiday cheer. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Spunky southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney tackles a string of strange accidents while celebrating the holiday season in Carolyn Haines’s cozy A Garland of Bones

Sarah Booth has traded in hosting this Christmas season for a road trip with her besties. Each little Delta town has a special Christmas activity, and Sarah Booth’s bff and detective partner, Tinkie, has arranged to rent a limo for the gang and drive to Columbus, MS, to stay in a B&B. Visions of Christmas shopping, parade floats, and romantic rendezvous are already dancing in their heads.

But Christmas cheer soon turns to Christmas fear when, at one event after another, people keep getting hurt. Christmas karaoke gets ugly when one singer’s microphone gives her an electric shock. A party during a historic home tour ends with a fall down the stairs for one of Columbus’s most disreputable “players.” And when the woman who hires Sarah Booth to find the villain behind the so-called accidents is nearly killed with an arrow during a holiday mumming, Sarah Booth knows something more sinister is at work.

The Christmas bells are ringing hauntingly in Columbus this year, and Sarah Booth and Tinkie—with a little help from hunky Sheriff Coleman Peters, of course—are determined to catch the wrong-doers and ensure they receive nothing but coal in their stockings. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Max Rosen always said the diamond business isn’t about sorting the gems, it’s about sorting the people. His daughter Mimi is about to learn that some people, like some diamonds, can be seriously flawed.

After Mimi’s diamond-dealer cousin Yosef is murdered–seemingly for his $4 million pink diamond–Mimi finds herself in the middle of a massive conspiracy, where she doesn’t know who to trust, or what to believe. Now she must find out the truth about both the diamond and her cousin, before whoever killed Yosef, gets her. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Paperback

Miss Fisher meets Downton Abbey in this critically acclaimed mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble.

Roasted chestnuts from vendor’s carts, fresh cut spruce trees lining the sidewalks, extravagant gifts, opulent dinners, carols at St Patrick’s Cathedral, a warm meal and a few minutes shelter from the cold at one of the charitable food lines . . .

It’s Christmas in Gilded Age Manhattan.

And for the first time ever an amazing giant ball will drop along a rod on the roof of the New York Times building to ring in the New Year. Everyone plans to attend the event.

But the murder of a prominent newsman hits a little too close to home. And when a young newspaper woman, a protégé of the great Jacob Riis and old Vassar school chum of Bev’s, is the target of a similar attack, it is clear this is not just a single act of violence but a conspiracy of malicious proportions. Really, you’d think murderers would take a holiday.

Something absolutely must be done. And Lady Dunbridge is happy to oblige in A Resolution at Midnight, the third book in this best selling series.

At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Last time she investigated the saints of the Solme Complex. This time it’s the sinners of the Sensation… Presenting the second Salvi Brentt novel from award-winning author, Amanda Bridgeman.

A series of brutal murders has the homicide division of San Francisco’s Hub 9 working overtime. But as the bodies mount, they begin to question whether the attacks are random or somehow connected.

When one of their own falls victim, Detective Salvi Brentt and the Hub 9 homicide team join forces with the narcotics and cyber divisions to track down those responsible. They soon discover a volatile new drug-tech experience, involving black market neural implants, has hit the streets, causing the epidemic of violence and missing persons.

With the clock ticking and the bodies piling up, Salvi must go deep undercover in the seedy Sensation club scene to find out who is behind it. But in the secretive playgrounds of the rich and powerful, some will stop at nothing to protect their empire…

File Under: Science Fiction [ Electrical High | Rich vs All | Deathly Addiction | If You Go Down to the Woods… ] (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Claire Barclay is enthusiastic about her British Mystery Book Tour business. She enjoys taking her guests, usually from America, to the settings of mystery novels where bodies are long dead. Her neighbor’s plea for help to deal with a recently murdered well-known author unsettles her. She leaves the body to the police and takes her guests to Cornwall, including a British tourist who far is too interested in the dead author. (Amazon)

When home bakery owner Kayla Jeffries discovers her elderly friend has been strangled, she draws upon her strengths as an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) to help solve the murder and restore peace to her quiet oceanside community. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Paperback

In this entertaining debut novel Lynn Downey takes us back to San Francisco in 1952. Restless war widow Phoebe McFarland decides it’s time to make some changes in her life. She quits her job, bids her surprised friends farewell, and heads south to spend the next six months on her in-laws’ dude ranch in Tribulation, Arizona.

Phoebe has enjoyed multiple vacations at the ranch, loves the desert, and is happy to have the opportunity to spend time with her husband’s sister. In exchange for room and board she will help out in the office, and she hopes to finally finish the novel she is working on. When a group of magazine writers comes to stay, including an attractive single man, Phoebe sees a chance to connect with the professionals.

But Tribulation soon lives up to its name. When Phoebe finds an old diary hidden in her desk, she stumbles onto secrets from the town’s past that collide with a shocking revelation from her own, leading her down a trail to both discovery and danger. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Paperback

June Wright had already published three popular mysteries by the time she created her most memorable detective, the Reverend Mother Mary St Paul of the Cross. The kindly Mother Paul may seem vague and otherwordly, but little escapes her attention—she has a shrewd grasp of everything that’s going on beneath the surface. In Reservation for Murder, the first of three Mother Paul novels (originally published in 1958), she is in charge of a residential hostel for young women who work in offices and shops in Melbourne. A tense atmosphere pervades the house—many of the residents have received unpleasant anonymous letters, and there is much speculation as to their author. When Mary Allen finds a stranger stabbed in the garden, who dies after uttering a mysterious name, and a few days later one of the residents is found drowned, an apparent suicide, the tension reaches fever pitch. Is there a connection between these two deaths? Or between them and the letters? The police investigation, abetted by the resourceful Mary Allen, proceeds in fits and starts, but meanwhile Mother Paul pursues her own enquiries. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

The only witch in the world? It might feel like it to Stormy Morgan but she knows better.
Twenty minutes away, in a town called Hemlock Cove, witches have taken over. Sure, the bulk of the town is made up of frauds looking to shore up their tourism industry, but there are real witches, too. There’s a family, last name of Winchester, and they’re notorious. Stormy wants to meet them but she has a myriad of problems darkening her doorstep.
The first is Hunter Ryan, her childhood love who is back in her life and ready to take the next step, which is formal dating … just as soon as he’s given proper respect to his previous relationship. While Stormy is waiting for that to happen, she runs to the aid of customer at the family diner when the older woman collapses as she’s leaving after breakfast. Before Stormy can offer even a dollop of help, though, the woman is dead and there are more questions than answers.
When the cause of death is determined to be poison, Stormy and Hunter have to follow a tangled trail of clues … and it leads them straight to the senior center. It seems the victim was a regular visitor there, and one of the better euchre players at the lauded weekly tournaments. Is that a motive for murder, though?
Stormy has her hands full with out-of-control euchre madness, magic she is trying to control, and hormones that are threatening to run rampant. When she finally makes it to Hemlock Cove, her nerves threaten to get the best of her.
She needs help. This is a world she doesn’t understand. The truth has to come out, but is she ready? It might not matter because a murderer has marked Stormy for death. It’s up to her and her motley crew of friends and family to save the day … if they can all come together as a team.
That will be easier said than done. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

He got away with murder once before…

But the sickening realization that his arch-enemy, Lucas Thorne, may not be guilty of the crime that put him behind bars is the least of Sam’s worries. A dangerous killer is targeting young girls and Sam and his K-9 Lucy must stop him.

But life at the White Rock Police station is complicated. Sam has just discovered that his second in command, Jody Harris, hasn’t exactly been truthful to him. Officer Kevin Deckard is still in a coma, and newcomer Wyatt Davis has secrets of his own. The only steady thing in Sam’s world right now is his trusty K-9 Lucy.

As the killer escalates, Sam races against the clock to prevent the death of another victim. But the leads are dead ends and the clues don’t make any sense… until Sam uncovers the shocking true identity of the killer…. Too bad he may have figured it out, just moments too late. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery—and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot—as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.

Riches to rags. … Chaos again. … Winning is important, … at least for some!

Doreen is overwhelmed with joy when she sees all the volunteers who show up to help get her deck addition built. Most of the men are cops, friends of Corporal Mack Moreau’s, and are happy to help Mack’s special friend and the lady who has helped solve so many crimes for them with a spot of home renovation.

But before the deck improvement can be finished, duty calls, and the cops are called away on a case. Another gray-haired lady has dropped dead. Yet another heart attack victim is added to the long line of previous ones. And, of course, neither of these recently deceased women had a heart condition that would explain their sudden demise.

With her animals at her side, Doreen is determined to figure out what the ladies had in common, plus why and how kiwis keep popping up in this case. As she digs into the ladies’ lives, the things Doreen discover are shocking, … but not as shocking as the answer is to this riddle … (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle. Paperback

Welcome to Marshmallow Hollow, Maine, a holiday mystery, where it’s all Christmas all the time and murder is hung by the chimney with care…

I’m Halliday Valentine (yep; funny name is funny), a psychic witch who’s recently moved from New York City back to my very human hometown of Marshmallow Hollow, where I run the family factory that caters to all things Christmas. I inherited the factory from Mom, who inherited from Nana Karen, but now it’s just me (kinda…long story), my curmudgeonly British familiar hummingbird, Atticus; one ungrateful rescue cat; my talking reindeer, Karen; and my BFF Stiles (the only human aware of my witchy side).

Oh, and Digby Dainty (known as Hobbs), the tall drink of water who rents my guest cottage. And who I wouldn’t mind getting to know better. We have a lot in common, including a love of true crime. So as macabre as it sounds, when a shady real estate tycoon shows up dead in the middle of the annual ice festival, I’m thrilled to spend time with Hobbs, flexing our amateur sleuthing skills.

Well…not thrilled. I mean, a guy’s dead after all. But he did try to con some businesses right out from under the hard-working locals. In fact, the only thing more surprising than a murder in our charming Christmas town is how many of my friendly, beloved neighbors seemed to want the man dead… (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Clementine’s adventures continue in Demolition Premonition.
Clementine Cooke has a lot of stuff to figure out. Not only has Malene dropped a bombshell of a reveal, but Clem is also processing her feelings for Rufus, who is bound and determined to make her a Spellhunter.
But when a new home designer moves into town, she starts stealing all of Clem’s clients. Clem is ticked, and rightfully so. Things heat up in Peachwood when the interloper is found murdered and of course, Clem is the primary suspect.
Can Clem clear her name, accept Malene’s new role in her life, and finally tell Rufus the truth? Or will she fall short in more ways than one and find herself at the mercy of the Peachwood murderer? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Aunt Bessie zeroes in on the perfect house for her friends, Elizabeth Quayle and Andy Caine.

Actually, the Looney mansion isn’t anyone’s idea of a perfect house. Decades of neglect have left the house in need of a complete renovation, but Andy and Elizabeth have the funds needed to restore the house to its former glory.

Aunt Bessie zeroes in on the body on the bed.

Finding another murder victim isn’t all that surprising for Bessie, but the dead man’s identity is a shock to everyone.

Aunt Bessie zeroes in on the suspects.

Doing what she does best, Bessie talks to everyone she knows about the victim, why he was on the island, and who wanted him dead. No doubt, before long, Bessie will be zeroing in on a killer. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Murder followed her on vacation…

Determined to enjoy their holiday and put the murders and mysteries of Blackwood Cove behind them for a while, Jasmine Moore and her faithful companion Luffy are looking forward to getting a well-deserved break.

But murder is no stranger to the land of the rising sun. After the horrific discovery of a dead body, Jasmine finds herself plunged against her will into a new case to find a twisted killer – one that threatens to finally be her match. Stalked by an avid super-fan who knows her like a book, the killer is seemingly one step ahead of every decision Jasmine makes.

Surrounded by strange sights and unfamiliar people, Jasmine and Luffy will need all the help they can get if they want to solve their toughest case yet and bring the murderer to justice. Can Jasmine outwit a killer who seems to know her better than herself? Or this time, has she finally met her match?

Three Lines of Inquiry is a page-turning mystery packed with twists, turns, and a whole heap of spine-tingling suspense. If you loved the last books in Jasmine and Luffy’s adventures, you won’t want to miss out on the greatest mystery this duo of sleuths will ever face. Grab your copy now! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Eunice Griggs does not want to spend the summer working in her family’s mortuary, but her parents give her no other choice. Dead bodies and the smell of formaldehyde is not what she was looking forward to the summer before her senior year.Despite her hatred at first, she quickly finds her calling as makeup artist for the dead. With the summer coming to a close, she is looking forward to finishing her job and celebrating with friends as she tries to grab the attention of Shawn Linden.But when a body goes missing on her watch, Eunice is racing against time to get it back, lest a zombie outbreak be her fault. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

New York City, 1954

With skill and imagination, Gemma Gaines has landed a job writing radio dramas for Consolidated Broadcasting Company at the famous Rockefeller Center building. But Gemma’s worried her imagination might have gotten the best of her when she thinks she hears a behind-the-scenes murder. Later, when her boss is found dead in his apartment, she can’t keep herself from working on the case. With the help of Erik, her Secret Service boyfriend, she gathers clues and compiles a complex cast of questionable characters, until the real-life drama reaches a finale that no one saw coming.

Go sleuthing with the Nosy Parkers

Inspired by the famous Girl Detective, the members of the Olentangy Heights Girls’ Detective Society, affectionately known as the Nosy Parkers, spent their formative years studying criminology, codes, and capers. Opportunities to practice their unique skills were thin in their little corner of post-WWII suburbia, so they eventually grew up to pursue more sensible careers. Yet mysteries seem to follow them wherever they go. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle