New Releases For The Week Of October 18th, 2020–Part 1

“Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.” —Tana French, New York Times bestselling author of the Dublin Murder Squad novels

An all-new collection of winter-themed stories from the Queen of Mystery, just in time for the holidays—including the original version of “Christmas Adventure,” never before released in the United States!

There’s a chill in the air and the days are growing shorter . . . It’s the perfect time to curl up in front of a crackling fire with these wintry whodunits from the legendary Agatha Christie. But beware of deadly snowdrifts and dangerous gifts, poisoned meals and mysterious guests. This chilling compendium of short stories—some featuring beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple—is an essential omnibus for Christie fans and the perfect holiday gift for mystery lovers.

“Agatha Christie [is] the maestro of murder tales.” —People (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews returns with another Meg Langslow mystery written “firmly in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie’s Christmas books” (Toronto Globe and Mail).

The 28th book and the seventh Christmas mystery in the Meg Langslow series, The Gift of the Magpie is yet another wonderfully merry and funny book from New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews.

Meg’s running Caerphilly’s Helping Hands for the Holidays project, in which neighbors help each other with things they can’t do and can’t afford to have done. Her hopes for a relatively peaceful (if busy) Christmas vanish when someone murders Harvey the Hoarder, whose house the Helping Hands were decluttering. Was there any truth to the rumor that he had something valuable hidden beneath all his junk? Was one of his friends, neighbors, or relatives greedy enough to murder him for the rumored treasure? And what about the magpie that has been bringing her family bits of tinsel and costume jewelry—does the bird’s latest gift hold a clue to solving the crime?

Full of intrigue, this Christmas mystery will take readers home to Caerphilly, where the suspense falls as thick as the snow. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

It’s Christmas, and things are looking good at the Slocombe house. Thea’s daughter Jessica has come to stay, much to her stepdaughter Stephanie’s delight. But then things take a turn for the worse. A local family, the Frowses, find themselves increasingly harassed by an aggressive landlord. When Beverley Frowse goes missing, Thea and Stephanie both feel they should do their best to help her husband and son to solve the mystery.

Christmas Day arrives. There are presents, a turkey, and general goodwill, despite Thea’s suppressed hankering to be involved in events at the Frowses’ house, where a dead man has been discovered… (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover

There’s a shooter on the loose who keeps missing his target. But that doesn’t stop him from trying again…and again. It’s up to Corrie Locke, rookie lawyer and spunky sleuth, to find the gunman before he hits his mark, Assistant Deputy D.A. James Zachary, Corrie’s hunky and complicated frenemy.

When Corrie is stuck with more questions than answers, she enlists a team with various strengths, from weapons to cooking skills, to help her find the shooter. Her computer whiz boyfriend Michael is onboard. So is former security guard Veera. Toss in an over-the-hill informant and a couple of feuding celebrity chefs and Corrie’s got her very own A-Team. Okay, maybe it’s more like a B-Team.

Can Team Corrie hunt down the shooter before he scores a bulls-eye? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

The Youth Fund Raiser Potluck at Cedar Creek Church got more exciting when the youth director found the dead body of the church treasurer afloat in the baptistry. Who sent him to his watery grave? Economics professor and amateur sleuth Faye Winters needs to find out before anybody else winds up dead, but no one seems to match the pious face they wear to church. Who’s guilty? The handsome Sunday school teacher who may be a cat burglar? The ditzy youth director with a violent past? The disgruntled neighbor? The jealous husband? The resentful son? Faye is drowning in a sea of suspects, but neither she nor the rumpled Columbo-like Lieutenant Chambers is able to sort through them. Meanwhile, Faye seems to face a rising tide of dangerous accidents. Will she find the killer before he sinks her? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

USA Today Bestselling author Kathi Daley brings you a heartwarming mystery series about finding answers and fostering hope while building friendships and embracing the magic of life by the sea and small town holidays.

Ainsley Holloway came to Gooseberry Bay to find answers about her past. She came to find an explanation for the dreams that had haunted her after the death of the cop who’d both rescued and raised her, and she came to find the identity of the family she couldn’t remember but assumed at one point she’d been part of.

She hoped that by finding these answers she’d also find healing. She hoped that once she exorcised the memories buried deep in her mind, she’d find peace.

The Cottage at Gooseberry Bay is a series about, not only finding answers, but finding hope. It’s a story about family and friendship, and it’s a story about the ties that bind one resident of a small close knit community to another. It’s a series about shared holidays, festivals, and celebrations. It’s a series about shared heartbreak and hardship as well. And it’s a series about the bond that can be forged amongst strangers when tragedy binds two or more individuals with a common goal.

In book 2 in the series, Ainsley finally meets Adam Winchester who agrees to help her find the answers she is looking for.

Meanwhile, Ainsley joins forces with Parker, Jemma, and Josie as they search for the truth about what might have happened to the family who vanished five Thanksgivings ago. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Lions and tigers and… black cats? OH MY!

Picture a chilly fall night spent curled up in your favorite armchair with a purring cat on your lap and a mug of steaming cider in your hand… Are you cozy?

Good. Now imagine how much more cozy you’ll feel when you add a book to the scene.

BLACK CAT CROSSING offers the perfect finishing touch for all that autumnal bliss. This collection of 11 all new, never-before-read cozy mysteries is thrilling without being terrifying—yup, it’s just what the witch doctor ordered.

From talking pet detectives to strays harboring magical secrets, friendly ghosts in need of aid, vampires who don’t bite, and even poison apples intended for costumed princesses, come celebrate Halloween with ten sweet and delicious stories that will keep you up well past your bedtime.

Note: While intended for a grown-up audience, these stories are clean and wholesome and okay to share with the younger readers in your life, too. Enjoy! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

When one of Tess’s friends…

…arrests another

What’s a pawnshop owner-turned-amateur sleuth to do?

Jack is a tiger shifter and a private investigator. Tess can see how you’ll die from a single touch. When a fifty-year-old skeleton turns out to be their friend’s long-lost husband, they know their search for clues may take them back half a century.

And the killer may be killing again today.

An ogre who runs a gambling ring…

…may be the only suspect still alive to talk.

Can a small-town girl and an ex-rebel soldier solve a mystery that’s older than they are?

What if everybody confesses?

You’ll love this latest laugh-out-loud addition to the Tiger’s Eye Mysteries, because Dead End is a town where family and friends mean everything, and dead bodies show up more often than indigestion on chili dog night at Bingo.

Get it now. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

The wedding was supposed to be a happy occasion, but when the wedding planner is murdered and a mysterious ghost appears, librarian and haunted tour guide RIpley Van Raden must find the killer. Not only is she a suspect, but her mother and best friend also have an accusatory finger pointed their way. Ripley must solve the crime before someone ties the knot… around her neck. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Finally, Flora Hyde-Clare has wrest the narrative from Beatrice by finding her own compelling murder mystery to solve.

Well, it’s not entirely her own because the victim is her cousin’s former beau, Mr. Theodore Davies, whose father cruelly separated the young lovers (though not so cruelly, for it left the door open for Bea to woo the Duke of Kesgrave). Bea insists, of course, that the law clerk’s death was merely an accident. If only he had not been in the path of that wretched carriage!

Oh, but Flora knows that evasive look on her cousin’s face. Bea is hiding something. Clearly, Davies had gotten himself entangled in some nefarious business, and Flora is determined to discover the truth despite the danger it puts her in.

Or is that because it puts her in danger? After all, any heroine worth her salt must be willing to take on a great deal of personal risk. And Flora has her mind set on being a heroine of the highest order. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A sudden death uncovers a string of secrets in a small village…

When seamstresses Iris and Lily Dickinson are accidental witnesses to a murder, the spinster sisters resolve to keep themselves – and their pristine reputations – a discreet distance away from the sordid business. But the unexpected discovery that the killer might be in their very midst soon changes everything, sparking an urgent desperation to ferret out his identity.

While assisting the local constable in his investigation, Iris stumbles across a family mystery of her own, a buried secret that calls into question everything she thinks she knows about her sister. With Iris’s once-blind faith in Lily shaken, can the sisters unite long enough to escape the schemes of a dangerous lunatic?  (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

When you stop running, the past catches up with you.

Detective Erin O’Reilly has never needed anyone to tell her she’s tough. She’s taken the worst New York City can throw at her, surviving gunfights, explosions, mobsters, and serial killers. But now, as she returns from a well-earned vacation, she finds there are some enemies that bullets can’t touch. As she and her K-9 partner Rolf dive into their newest case — a military veteran and his wife murdered in a cold-blooded home invasion — Erin must confront the lingering legacy of trauma.

Violence leaves scars on the flesh and the spirit of victims and perpetrators alike. Plagued by the aftershocks of what she’s already survived, Erin will need to dig deep to struggle through new dangers. In the process she will tear open the wounds of broken men who are back from war but still fighting for their lives and their sanity. But she will soon find that the enemies on the outside are nothing compared to the toughest battle: the struggle for her own soul. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Joan and Michael are back and everything is changing at Doveby House. After the fire across the road, Michael’s house is uninhabitable, leaving him no choice but to move into Doveby House. Their other neighbour, Stuart, is still staying in one of the guest rooms while his house is being rebuilt, and Janet is finding having two men in the house somewhat odd.

When someone breaks into the shed that the builders are using to store materials for the construction across the road, Janet can’t help but want to get involved in the investigation. Another break-in, this time at the Doveby House carriage house, complicates things.

Can Janet work out who has been breaking into unoccupied buildings in the area? Can she discover why Stacey, the waitress at the local café, is acting so oddly? And can she learn to live with two men after a lifetime of sharing a house with only her sister Joan? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

#1 Amazon, New York Times & USA Today Bestselling series!
When death hits a contestant on America’s favorite game show, fashion designer turned amateur sleuth is on the case!

I’ll take “What is Murder” for $200 please, Alex?

Maddie Springer may know more about fabulous heels than tough trivia, but she’s thrilled when her hairdresser-to-the-stars stepfather, Fernando, earns a spot on a celebrity edition of American’s favorite game show. But she’s not so thrilled when, after taping ends, one of the other contestants dies, the media are suddenly everywhere, and one reporter in particular is threatening to not only point the finger at Fernando, but also expose his biggest secrets to the world!

The victim was Doggy Z, a famous rap artist turned recreational marijuana supporter turned cooking show co-host. And it seems everyone in his life had a reason to want him dead—from the 4 ex-wives he was serially unfaithful to, to his deceptively wholesome looking cooking show co-host, to the network executive seen arguing with Dog just before his death, and even the soap opera star who competed against him on the trivia show. Now it’s up to Maddie to sift through the suspects and figure out just which person the rapper may have wronged enough to want him dead. With the help of her Hollywood BFF, her hot homicide detective husband, and her endearingly meddling mom, can Maddie track down a cold blooded killer… before she finds herself in final jeopardy?

The High Heels Mysteries:
#1 Spying in High Heels
#2 Killer in High Heels
#3 Undercover in High Heels
#3.5 Christmas in High Heels (short story)
#4 Alibi in High Heels
#5 Mayhem in High Heels
#5.5 Honeymoon in High Heels (novella)
#5.75 Sweetheart in High Heels (short story)
#6 Fearless in High Heels
#7 Danger in High Heels
#8 Homicide in High Heels
#9 Deadly in High Heels
#10 Suspect in High Heels
#11 Peril in High Heels
#12 Jeopardy in High Heels

What critics are saying:

“Ms. Halliday is the undisputed queen of the genre: she knows how to blend fashion, suspense, laughter, and romance in all the right doses.”
~ Fresh Fiction

“A saucy combination of romance and suspense that is simply irresistible.”
~ Chicago Tribune

“Stylish… nonstop action…guaranteed to keep chick lit and mystery fans happy!”
~ Publishers’ Weekly, *starred review*

“Maddie Springer is like a cross between Paris Hilton and Stephanie Plum, only better. The dialogue is snappy and the suspense beautifully interwoven with Ms. Halliday’s unique humor. This is one HIGH HEEL you’ll want to try on again and again.”
~ Romance Junkies

Rating: This story does not contain any graphic violence, language, or sexual encounters. Its rating would be similar to PG-13 or what you would find on a Hallmark Channel movie or TV series. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

“Very entertaining. I highly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that appreciates a very well written mystery, with some twists and an intelligent plot. You will not be disappointed. Excellent way to spend a cold weekend!”
–Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Murder in the Manor)

AGED FOR MAYHEM (A TUSCAN VINEYARD COZY MYSTERY) is book #3 in a charming new cozy mystery series by #1 bestselling author Fiona Grace, author of Murder in the Manor (Book #1), a #1 Bestseller with over 100 five-star reviews—and a free download!

Olivia Glass, 34, turns her back on her life as a high-powered executive in Chicago and relocates to Tuscany, determined to start a new, simpler life—and to grow her own vineyard.

Olivia is thrilled to take her first trip to Florence, and that her love life is heating up. She is even more ecstatic that her small vineyard produces its first bottle of wine. Yet when a famous wine critic trashes her wine—and then ends up dead himself—Olivia finds herself in the crosshairs of a murder that she is pinned for—and that she must urgently solve herself.

Is the Tuscan life really for Olivia? Or was it all just a fantasy?

Hilarious, packed with travel, food, wine, twists and turns, romance and her newfound animal friend—and centering around a baffling small-town murder that Olivia must solve—AGED FOR MAYHEM is an un-putdownable cozy that will keep you laughing late into the night.

Books #4 (AGED FOR SEDUCTION), #5 (AGED FOR VENGEANCE), and #6 (AGED FOR ACRIMONY) are also available! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle