New Releases For The Week Of February 28th, 2021–Part 1

Tea maven Theodosia Browning brews up trouble in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

It is the week before Halloween and Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her tea sommelier, Drayton, are ghosting through the dusk of a cool Charleston evening on their way to the old Bouchard Mansion. Known as the Gray Ghost, this dilapidated place was recently bequeathed to the Heritage Society, and tonight heralds the grand opening of their literary and historical themed haunted house.

Though Timothy Neville, the patriarch of the Heritage Society, is not thrilled with the fund-raising idea, it is the perfect venue for his grandniece, Willow French, to sign copies of her new book, Carolina Crimes & Creepers.

But amid a parade of characters dressed as Edgar Allan Poe, Lady Macbeth, and the Headless Horseman, Willow’s body is suddenly tossed from the third-floor tower room and left to dangle at the end of a rope. Police come screaming in and Theodosia’s boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, is sent to Willow’s apartment to investigate. But minutes later, he is shot and wounded by a shadowy intruder.

Timothy begs Theodosia to investigate, and shaken by Riley’s assault, she readily agrees. Now, she questions members of the Heritage Society and a man who claims the mansion is rightfully his, as well as Willow’s book publisher and her fiancé, all while hosting a Sherlock Holmes tea and catering several others.

But the Gray Ghost holds many secrets, as do several other key suspects, while this murder mystery plays out on the eve of Halloween.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Murder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this intricate new novel by internationally best-selling author Elly Griffiths, a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.

The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing.

But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station: while clearing out Peggy’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.

And then things escalate: from an Aberdeen literary festival to the streets of Edinburgh, writers are being targeted. DS Kaur embarks on a road trip across Europe and reckons with how exactly authors can think up such realistic crimes . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

The Devil is in the details . . .

Cletus Byron Winston wishes to marry Jennifer Anne Donner-Sylvester (aka The Banana Cake Queen) posthaste! He’s spent the last year wanting nothing more than for the celebrations to be brief, libations flowing, and BYOB (bring your own blueberries). His future mother-in-law has other plans, plans his intended has been willing to indulge, much to Cletus’s chagrin. Therefore, so must he. To a point. But truth be told, he wouldn’t mind if the meddlesome matriarch disappeared, at least until the nuptials are over.

On the night of Cletus and Jenn’s long-awaited engagement party, just when the surly schemer is of a mind to take matters into his own hands, a shocking event upends everyone’s best laid plans and sends the small hamlet of Green Valley into complete disarray. The final months leading up to Cletus and Jenn’s matrimonial bliss are plagued with chaos and uncertainty. Will Cletus and Jenn finally make it to the altar? Or will murder and mayhem derail their happily-ever-after?
And most importantly, who done it?

‘Marriage and Murder’ is the second book in the cozy mystery series Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries. It is best read after Winston Brothers #3, ‘Beard Science’ (which can be read as a standalone) and Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries #1, ‘Engagement and Espionage.’ (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Missing diamonds. Mysterious deaths. And all that jazz.

London, 1925. With their band the Dizzy Heights, jazz musicians Ivor ‘Skins’ Maloney and Bartholomew ‘Barty’ Dunn are used to improvising as they play the Charleston for flappers and toffs, but things are about to take a surprising turn.

Superintendent Sunderland has had word that a deserter who stole a fortune in diamonds as he fled the war is a member of the Aristippus private members’ club in Mayfair—where the Dizzy Heights have a residency. And the thief is planning to steal a hoard of jewels hidden there under the cover of a dance contest.

As mutual pal Lady Hardcastle has suggested, Skins and Dunn are perfectly placed to be Sunderland’s eyes and ears—and Skins’s wife Ellie soon lends a hand with a bit of light snooping. But the stakes change dramatically when a mysterious death at the club brings a sinister note to the investigation.

With the dance contest fast approaching, the trio must solve the mystery of the missing diamonds, unmask the murderer, and prevent more deadly crimes—all without missing a beat. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

In this charming mystery series set in an ice cream shop, no case is too cold to crack!

Bronwyn Crewse is delighted that Crewse Creamery, the ice cream shop her family has owned for decades, is restored to its former glory and serving sweet frozen treats to happy customers in the picturesque small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. But when a big city developer comes to town intent on building a mall, a killer with a frozen heart takes him out.

 After literally stumbling across the body, one of Win’s closest friends becomes the prime suspect, and to make things worse, Win’s aunt has come to town with the intention of taking command of Crewse Creamery. Even though Win has a rocky road ahead to help her friend and keep her ice cream shop, it’ll take more than a sprinkle of murder to stop her from solving the crime and saving the day. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

In addition to her house-flipping talents, Jazzi Zanders is breaking ground as a sleuth. But she’s going to need every tool at her disposal to solve two crimes . . .
 
In their hair salon, Jazzi’s sister Olivia and mother are savvy businesswomen whose creativity brings fashion and flair to the folks of Rivers Bluff, Indiana. So when their newest hairstylist Misty is caught scamming clients’ debit cards and selling beauty products during off hours to pocket the profits, Olivia fires her. But Misty retaliates by hitting back with a defamation lawsuit—which she is more than happy to drop if Olivia pays her ten grand.
 
But neither blackmail nor courtroom fees are accrued after Misty’s body is discovered in the salon with Olivia’s scissors stuck in her chest. Olivia may be the number one suspect, but her murdered employee had a reputation for making enemies.
 
Then Jazzi’s ex Chad appears, asking for help with his marital strife. This already awkward situation worsens when Chad’s wife vanishes and the police investigate him. Now, it’s up to Jazzi to clear both her sister’s and ex’s names while the killer—or killers—could be a mere hair breadth’s away . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

“Welcome to the Punkhorns gives the old forest adage of “Leave No Trace” a whole new meaning!”

“A twisty thriller! I was hooked from start to finish.”

When three people vanish from the same patch of forest, it looks unlike any case that Detective Delaney Shepard has ever seen in the sleepy beachside village of Brewster, Massachusetts. As she investigates, she soon learns that the scene of their disappearance has been the source of urban legends for centuries. After all, whether they’re true or not, the whole town fears The Punkhorns.

When the case stalls, the town hires Casper Kelly, an out-of-town private investigator, to bring some order to the chaos that has erupted in the town. Delaney reluctantly teams up with the outsider and prays that he’ll wrap this up quickly. But even Casper has no explanation for this puzzling case.

As they work together to unravel the cryptic evidence left behind, the case takes a sudden twist. Then another. Soon, Casper and Delaney suspect that the truth may be far more sinister than any urban legend… (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

‘A wildly entertaining read for lovers of cosy mystery and romance alike’ Fiona Leitch, author of ‘The Nosey Parker mysteries’

Love can be the death of you …

American Eve Holdsworth is living her quintessential English dream in a picturesque village in the countryside. Meeting an attractive stranger adds to the appeal.

But Ben Dryden is a pariah in Eve’s new neighbourhood, since his wife was murdered five
years ago, and he was the only suspect. Eve, who is absolutely sure someone as charming as Ben could never be a killer, is determined to solve the case and clear Ben’s name, even if it’s against his will.

Soon enough Eve finds herself in deep waters, and with her life at stake, she can only pray that her romantic notions won’t be the end of her … (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Who wouldn’t want to make a living from her favorite pastime?

Although sometimes self-doubt creeps in along the way, artist Amanda Trent has been striving to do just that, ever since her ex-husband dumped her for a younger woman and she moved to Lonesome Valley, Arizona, to start a new life. So when her friends from the Roadrunner Gallery urge her to join them and world-renown artist Ulysses Durand in a plein air paint-out, she hesitates, fearing that she might not be able to complete a painting in the four-hour time limit.

But everything goes smoothly at the public open-air event—until Ulysses’s wife goes missing and he asks Amanda for her help. Has his past come back to haunt the famous artist? With a little help from her nemesis, cranky Lieutenant Belmont, the support of her friends, and the companionship of her furry feline Mona Lisa and her lovable golden retriever Laddie, Amanda tracks a killer who’s determined to strike again unless Amanda can save the day. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback

One artist. One student. One deadly mystery.

When Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton’s corpse is discovered behind the easels of Manhattan’s famed art school, whispers in the art community say he had it coming. As Benton’s list of enemies lengthens to include League instructors, Vietnam War protesters, and members of Andy Warhol’s entourage, one art student is ultimately pinned for the crime. The only problem: the suspect has vanished.

Why would an art student murder Benton? And if he were innocent, why would he run?

When TJ Fitzgerald, son of Detective Juanita Diaz and Captain Brian Fitzgerald of the NYPD, discovers his classmate is the prime suspect, he uses his investigative skills to try and clear his name. But as TJ and his girlfriend work to unravel the clues, he begins to wonder if the police got it wrong and one secret may be the key to it all… (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

It all began when a dying man with an arrow in his chest grabs her ankle.
During a heat wave at a Santa Fe resort, Julienne has the resort owner pressuring her to solve the murder. The victim is a high profile business man who made enemies rather than friends, leaving Julienne with a roster of suspects. She was supposed to be training the staff and spending quality time with Mason rather than investigating a murder. The heat turns up when an old girlfriend of Mason’s checks in and is determined to get back together.
Arrowed is the fourth book in Avery Daniel’s Resort to Murder series and is an exciting contemporary cozy mystery. If you like Cleo Coyle, Maddy Hunter, Duffy Brown, Lynn Cahoon, and Annette Dashofy, then you’ll love this series with a strong intelligent sleuth, lavish settings, and tantalizing mysteries.
Buy this spunky clean cozy mystery and start enjoying Julienne’s adventures today! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Spring is just around the corner, and Madis is back with more business than she might be able to handle. But she’s hired a couple of new faces to add to her small crew, and it seems like it’ll be a productive start to the season of landscaping. Properly staffed and rested after the winter break, it should be all systems go.

Not quite. Before her employees can really get busy, Madis encounters a dead man lying in a bed of ivy and tulip sprouts. Her entire crew is questioned since they’ve visited the scene, but they’re not the only ones under suspicion. The victim had enemies aplenty, from an angry former lover, a nosy neighbor, and a competitive rival.

While there’s no such thing as bad publicity, finding a corpse at a jobsite isn’t ideal. Can she figure out who the killer is before things get muddier? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Scout Randall has lived her life in the shadows, always wondering who abandoned her when she was a child and where the magic she boasts came from. Finally, she is about to get some answers.
It won’t be easy, though.
After a wild fight that saw shifters and vampires joining together to battle under an eclipse, things in Hawthorne Hollow are relatively quiet. Scout’s newly-found sister is locked in a cell, her grandfather is laying low, and the enemy appears to be regrouping.
That allows Scout and her boyfriend Gunner to make a trip to her childhood home. Upon their return, a shifter attacks and throws their world into a tailspin. He’s easily dispatched but appears to be suffering from a magical infection that has his body wasting and his mind collapsing.
It’s up to Spell’s Angels to figure out what’s going on, and because nothing is ever easy for Scout, the investigation is going to be harder than she imagined.
It seems there’s a new top vampire in town, and his powers are extensive for a creature who wasn’t born into his legacy. On top of that, he’s crossed paths with Scout before and knows exactly how to push her buttons.
Scout is a fighter but the world is closing in on her. She’s going to need her new co-workers and the family she doesn’t know to help her out on this one … and even then nothing is a given.
The road before her is winding but answers are finally here. Scout will finally know what she is. Whether she survives long enough to benefit from the knowledge is completely up in the air. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Audiobook

A peaceful kayak trip through the marsh suddenly turns terrifying for Chris Landrum and his friend, Charles Fowler, when a single-engine airplane plummets toward their watercraft. After coming inches from certain death, the kayakers’ heroic efforts save two of the plane’s occupants but failed to save the other two passengers. Learning the pilot had been poisoned and three of the plane’s passengers live on Folly Beach, site of Chris and Charles’s retirement homes, Charles, the self-proclaimed private detective, decides it’s up to the two retirees to catch the killer. While no simple task, it’s made more difficult when they realize they don’t know the identity of the intended victim or victims. Further complicating their undertaking, Chris is detracted when he learns another of his friends comes face-to-face with a life-altering secret going back a half-century.

Once again, Chris and his cast of quirky characters are challenged to solve a crime the police are unable to unravel before lives are lost, possibly their own.  (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

It’s Brother Hermitage, it’s new and it’s nearly a thousand years old.

From Best Selling Howard of Warwick comes yet more mysterious nonsense…

In what should be a straightforward investigation, Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances, (look him up), sends Hermitage, Wat and Cwen to find out who murdered one Brother Egeus.

Or does he?

It quickly becomes apparent that the bishop has more ulterior motives than a conclave of liars.

If they can find out who killed Egeus that would be nice, but there are far more important matters to resolve. Matters that virtually everyone seems to have a hand in.

And the more they find out about Brother Egeus, the more surprised they are that he stayed alive as long as he did. There isn’t enough woodwork in the world for all his trouble to come out of.

There are big Normans and little Normans, abbots, monks, butchers and bakers but no candlestick makers. And they all have an interest in what Egeus was up to and might have wanted him dead.

If Hermitage can work his way through this mess, he’ll be very surprised. Perhaps just hoping something occurs to him at the last moment is the only way to go with this one…

Comment on Howard of Warwick continues unabated:

5* Laugh a minute
5* Howard of Warwick writes incredibly funny stories of Brother Hermitage
5* This, like all the rest, is a great laugh and laughter is incredibly valuable at present
5* Oh joy, oh rapture! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle