New Releases For The Week Of April 11th, 2021–Part 2

After a surprisingly successful first investigation, Andrew Cheatham’s cold case unit is considering murder this time around. No one knew that Paul Bernhard was in New York City. No one knows why he was brutally murdered. No one knows where to find the woman he was meant to be meeting on the night he died.


Trying to keep her mind on murder, Bessie finds herself getting distracted by the idea that someone might be staying in one of the supposedly vacant holiday cottages near her home. Two people have already been murdered in that particular cottage. The last thing Bessie wants is to find another body.


Can Bessie help Andrew and the rest of the cold case unit work out what happened to Paul? Can she find out who has been staying in the empty holiday cottage? And does she even want to know how to play Prisoners of Cardavar? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Josiah is joined by Shaneika, and her sweet, innocent cousin, Heather, on an archaeological dig at Fort Boonesborough where Daniel Boone led pioneers to the wild frontier of “Caintuck.” At Boonesborough Josiah and Shaneika meet the Dane twins, rich society women, who just rub them the wrong way. However, Heather is entranced by the sisters, having read about them in the society columns and financial pages. That is until Heather catches one of them plotting to murder her identical twin. But which twin is planning to murder the other? Heather can’t tell them apart. She tells Josiah what she witnessed, hoping our intrepid sleuth will intervene. Josiah is unable to prevent the murder, but soon discovers Heather is neither sweet nor innocent and might have a motive for lying about the Dane sisters. As Josiah does some digging of her own, it turns out other participants on the excavation also have motives for murder. Josiah searches for truth in a land that hides its secrets well in soil soaked with the blood of innocents and scoundrels alike. Kentucky is not called the “dark and bloody ground” for nothing. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A murder mystery game. A terminal twist. Can this psychic sleuth swap coal for clues?

Mitzy Moon hopes to earn some girlfriend points on a scenic weekend getaway. Steaming off on a historic train with her handsome beau seems like the perfect way to outrun fate. But their 1920s-themed sleuthing party abruptly derails when they discover an actual corpse…

Now they’re on the wrong side of the tracks, and Mitzy and her sheriff will have to solve the case before the guilty party disappears at the next depot. With a list of suspects as long as the cast of characters, she’ll need to push her powers to the boiling point before more tickets get lethally punched.

Will Mitzy’s dangerous excursion end with an arrest, or will the killer claim another life?

Dames and Deadly Games is the thirteenth book in the hilarious paranormal cozy mystery series, Mitzy Moon Mysteries. If you like snarky heroines, supernatural misfits, and a dash of romance, then you’ll love Trixie Silvertale’s iron horse escapade.

Buy Dames and Deadly Games to blow the whistle on a murderer today! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

A DETECTIVE WHO’S NO ANGEL DESPITE HIS NAME.

Discover a gripping series of murder mysteries set in south Yorkshire.

Detective Angel returns! A brand-new mystery in the bestselling series.

MEET DETECTIVE INSPECTOR MICHAEL ANGEL. AN OLD-SCHOOL POLICEMAN WHO SOMETIMES RUBS HIS COLLEAGUES UP THE WRONG WAY. HE’S GOT HIS FLAWS, BUT HE NEVER GIVES UP ON A CASE.
____________________

She was his leading lady, his wife, his everything.
NOW HE WANTS HER DEAD.

Late one night, hotshot director Miles Persimmon turns to his wife Lisa, a stunning young actress. ‘I have to murder you,’ he slurs, his voice dripping with hatred and brandy.

He tells her that she will die in two weeks’ time.

AN EMPTY THREAT — OR A CHILLING PROMISE?

Lisa knows he means what he says.

In desperation, she turns to Detective Angel.

But Angel’s hands are tied. With only her word against his, Lisa’s claims are impossible to prove.

Her slippery husband has a history of conveniently losing his wives.

Is the stage now set for a repeat performance? The clock is ticking . . .

A BRILLIANTLY ABSORBING MYSTERY FULL OF TWISTS

Perfect for fans of R.D. Wingfield, Colin Dexter, Peter Robinson, Reginald Hill, and Agatha Christie.
____________________

THE DETECTIVE
Michael Angel is over fifty, married to Mary. Michael works at the small local police station and is devoted to defeating crime, murder, and dishonesty of any sort and has no personal ambition beyond being a good husband and a successful detective. He doesn’t want promotion with all the routine office work and stress that goes with it. He is incorruptible but always short of money. He is always at odds with his immediate chief, Detective Superintendent Horace Harker, who is lazy, a hypochondriac and not a bit interested in assisting Angel in serious police work.

THE SETTING
Bromersley is a market town at the bottom of the Pennines surrounded by stone and hawthorn-edged fields grazed by cattle and sheep. The town’s industry today includes the manufacture of ball bearings and whisky bottles, and a huge brewery produces Bromersley’s best bitter, which is considered the finest beer for miles around. Wednesday is market day, and the town centre is host to the frequent cries of stall-holders hawking their wares while the enticing smells of cheeses, coffees, foreign spices and fish and chips tempt your taste buds as you wander through the stalls.

PRAISE FOR ROGER SILVERWOOD

“Solid plotting, unpretentious writing, thoroughly reliable entertainment.” Morning Star

“A cast of characters you really want to populate with familiar faces of actors you see each week on TV — great fun. Angel is terrific.” Books Monthly

“Once again Silverwood combines a classic mystery plot with well-developed characters.” Publishers Weekly

DETECTIVE ANGEL SERIES
Book 1: THE MISSING NURSE
Book 2: THE MISSING WIFE
Book 3: THE MAN IN THE PINK SUIT
Book 4: THE MORALS OF A MURDERER
Book 5: THE AUCTION MURDERS
Book 6: THE MISSING KILLER
Book 7: THE UMBRELLA MURDERS
Book 8: THE MISSING MILLIONAIRE
Book 9: THE MISSING THIEF
Book 10: FIND THE LADY
Book 11: THE MISSING MODEL
Book 12: MURDER IN BARE FEET
Book 13: THE MISSING HUSBAND
Book 14: THE CUCKOO CLOCK MURDERS
Book 15: SHRINE TO MURDER
Book 16: THE SNUFFBOX MURDERS
Book 17: THE DOG COLLAR MURDERS
Book 18: THE CHESHIRE CAT MURDERS
Book 19: THE DIAMOND ROSARY MURDERS
Book 20: THIRTEEN STEPS TO MURDER
Book 21: THE FRUIT GUM MURDERS
Book 22: THE MONEY TREE MURDERS
Book 23: ANGEL AND THE ACTRESS
Book 24: THE MURDER LIST
Book 25: THE LIPSTICK MURDERS
Book 26: THE MUSIC BOX MURDERS
Book 27: MURDER ON TIME (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Book Four in the international bestselling Catherine Tregowyn Mystery Series, about which Publisher’s Weekly says:
“…readers
will fall in love with the charming cast of characters, each of whom
seems above suspicion. By blending romance and thrills with a spunky,
brilliant protagonist, the author serves up a golden age-style treat for
any book-loving armchair sleuth”.–Publisher’s Weekly

When Oxford academics Catherine Tregowyn and her beau,
Dr. Harry Bascombe, travel “across the pond” to teach a summer course
at UCLA, the last thing they expect to encounter is a murder. However,
the daughter of one of their fellow passengers on the Queen Mary is
arrested the day they arrive in Los Angeles. Miss Daphne Binoche, a
famous actress, stands accused of murdering her director, Michael
Fields. Miss Binoche’s father pleads with Harry and Catherine to lend
their expertise to the problem, as he and his daughter are European Jews
and do not trust the police. 

Their investigation
takes Harry and Catherine to the Starlight jazz club where the Hollywood
elite gather to dance and gossip. While questioning the rich and
famous, they find that many denizens of Hollywood have a horror of
European Fascism resulting in a thriving anti-Nazi presence. 

Another
murder takes place and the community of actors teems with suspects. Are
the two murders related? Catherine and Harry move within this
artificial society trying to penetrate the enigmatic personalities of
people who routinely change identities for a living. Who is lying? Who
is misleading them? And from whom are they in danger? 

Nothing
around them—neither place nor person—seems reliable as they pursue a
killer through the make-believe world that is Hollywood in the 1930s. 
 . . . characters are colorful, their world
engaging, and Dr. Harry is especially charming. Details of food and
fashion give a lush touch to the well-painted period settings–Oxford is
evoked especially well–and the portrayal of factions, competition, and
power plays within the scholarly world lend amusement and intrigue.
Ongoing references to poetic theory, the Bloomsbury group, and the dark
shadow of Hitler add to the textured sense of place. Those who aren’t
yet fans of Vandagriff will be hooked.”

–Historical Novel
Review (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

After solving the murder of Captain Rummings, Miss Victoria Parker is ready to resume her daily life in London. That sentiment is short-lived, however, when her friend Laura Grant is tasked to create a chapeau for the darling of the gossip columns. Miss Louisa Brooks is beautiful, rich, and engaged to a baron, and her patronage could make Laura’s shop the talk of the ton…

And talk they do – when the bride-to-be collapses dead in the millinery.

When the constable places Laura at the top of his list of suspects, and with the real murderer on the loose, Victoria sets out to save her friend’s life and reputation. The task proves daunting, for the list of people who find the baron’s fiancée disagreeable is long, and rumors of her tumultuous past cast a shadow over the inquest.

As James has been tasked by his brother to escort a young debutante around London, Vicky fears for the smile he now wears, leaving her to face her challenge alone. But as the clock draws closer to midnight, Vicky must not only save Laura, but also the new relationship with James – lest she risk both of those for whom she cares fleeing London, never to return.

A cozy, romantic Regency murder mystery that will keep you guessing til the end. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Haunted House Bed-and-Breakfast…

Top Four Private Investigators…

Scavenger Hunt to Die For!

When Ryli and Aunt Shirley learn not only are they being nominated as a duo for Private Investigator of the Year, but the nominees are being treated to a weekend of fun before the awards ceremony, they are ecstatic. Until Ryli learns the weekend of fun consists of a scavenger hunt…at a haunted house! Add to the mix Ryli is being blackmailed by Willa Trindle, her arch-nemesis, to attend the hunt, and Ryli yearns to beg off. When the three women arrive at the Gothic mansion, Graves Manor, things go from bad to worse when they are told they must all room together. Just when Ryli thinks she’s at her breaking point…real terror begins! The clues that are supposed to be easy and fun have turned menacing and deadly! When people start getting hurt, and one person winds up dead, Ryli, Aunt Shirley, and Willa must race to find the killer before they are next in line! Not too hard for Ryli and Aunt Shirley…if only Willa would have left her catsuit and high-heeled boots at home! Can the dynamic duo–Ryli and Aunt Shirley–come through again? Or will this be the last case the girls solve together? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

From USA Today Bestselling Author, P.D. Workman!

Fortune Cookies Favor the Bold

The baker turned sleuth is hard at work once more, trying to run her business while at the same time tracking down a missing boy. Is he missing by his own choice, as the police suggest, or has he been kidnapped and held against his will?

The clues are all there, but can Erin decipher them before it is too late?

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ The author has the ability to pull you into her story and keep you firmly rooted there until the end. Her characters are interest and have depth. She isn’t afraid to explore the areas of our society that many would rather sweep under the rug.

Like baking mysteries? Cats, dogs, and other pets? Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman brings readers back to small town Bald Eagle Falls for another culinary cozy mystery to be solved by gluten-free baker Erin Price and her friends.

Have your gluten-free cake and eat it too. Sink your teeth into this sweet treat now! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

In a new mystery from Agatha Award-winning author Edith Maxwell, midwife Rose Carroll confronts a killer on the cusp of a new age . . .

As the nineteenth century nears an end, midwife Rose Carroll can see signs of progress and change everywhere in her Amesbury community. Adding to the excitement is the annual Spring Opening, when the town’s world-famous carriage manufacturers throw open their doors to visitors from all over the globe. This year’s festivities are tainted, however, when a representative from a prominent Canadian carriage company is murdered.

Driven by her strong sense of justice, Rose is determined to track down the killer. She has only just begun her investigation when she learns that the plans for a radical new horseless carriage have gone missing. Faced with the question of whether the two crimes are connected—and a list of suspects that includes some of Amesbury’s own residents and any number of foreign visitors—Rose has to delve into a case with implications for the future, even if the motive for murder is one of mankind’s oldest . . .

Praise for the Quaker Midwife Mysteries:

“Through Quaker Rose Carroll’s resourceful sleuthing—and her midwifery—we are immediately immersed in the fascinating peculiarities, tensions and secrets of small-town life in late-19th-century Amesbury.” —Susanna Calkins, author of the award-winning Lucy Campion Mysteries and the Speakeasy Mysteries

“Edith Maxwell’s latest Quaker midwife mystery teems with authentic period detail that fascinates as it transports the reader back to a not-so-simple time. A complex, subtle, and finely told tale, Judge Thee Not’s sensitive portraits and vivid descriptions, along with Rose Carroll’s humanity, intelligence, and—yes—snooping, make this a sparkling addition to a wonderful series. A sublimely delightful read.” —James W. Ziskin, author of the award-winning Ellie Stone Mysteries

“The historical setting is redolent and delicious, the townspeople engaging, and the plot a proper puzzle, but it’s Rose Carroll—midwife, Quaker, sleuth—who captivates in this irresistible series . . .” —Catriona McPherson, Agatha-, Anthony- and Macavity-winning author of the Dandy Gilver series

“Not only is it a well-plotted, intelligent mystery, it also shines light on how women were treated—and, in many cases, mistreated—by people they trusted for help in desperate situations. Highly recommended.” —Suspense Magazine

“Clever and stimulating novel . . . masterfully weaves a complex mystery.” —Open Book Society

“Riveting historical mystery . . . [a] fascinating look at nineteenth-century American faith, culture, and small-town life.”
—William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Cape Cod and The Lincoln Letter

About the Author:

Agatha Award-winning author Edith Maxwell writes the Amesbury-based Quaker Midwife historical mysteries, the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. She blogs at WickedAuthors.com and MysteryLoversKitchen.com. Read about all her personalities and her work at edithmaxwell.com. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Lumpy cupcakes, misfiring magic, and an angry werewolf.

I always walk a fine line with my baking magic, but when I’m asked to be a judge on the Bewitching Baking Showdown, I know my secrets are about to fly out for the whole magical baking community to see.

There’s no way I can hide my failings? Or is there?

It doesn’t help I have a debt collector on my back and a disgruntled werewolf, who isn’t impressed I chained him up and drained him of his power.

Throw in a murder, a heap of egotistical suspects, and my best friends getting super nosey about why my magic doesn’t always work, and this is one line I might wobble off.

***

Join Luna Brimstone in this magical baking mystery as she struggles to hide her secret failings, deal with her catnip addicted familiar, stay out of the grasp of an angry werewolf, and judge a baking contest, all while solving a most puzzling murder. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

New York City, 1925

Florence Winters is ready to escape the whispers about her.

At twenty-three, being unmarried is almost unheard of in small town Ohio, which leaves Florence living with her busy-body parents who’d like nothing more than to marry her off to the first fellow who so much as looks her way.

Everything changes when the wealthy and slightly eccentric Aunt Julia requests Florence’s companionship in the city where dreams come true—the one and only New York City. Intrigued but still cautious, Florence accepts the invitation but she has no idea what awaits her in Aunt Julia’s ravishing brownstone in the West Village.

Secret meetings. Secret passages. Secretive house staff. Even Aunt Julia’s cat seems to have something to hide!

Florence isn’t the type to pry, but when one of Aunt Julia’s adversaries ends up missing and Aunt Julia is suspected of foul play, Florence feels she owes it to her hostess to search for the truth. Even if it means braving the glitzy and glamorous New York City night life in the process.

Life in 1920s New York City is more than just the bee’s knees!
Between the dazzling lights of the city and unraveling its secrets, things have never been more exciting for Flo and the gang.
This fun 1920s cozy mystery is a clean read with no graphic scenes or strong language.

The Curious Case of Florence Winters is book one in the Florence Winters Mystery series. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A struggling inn, a dead philanthropist, and a jobless bartender forced to find the truth.

Recently fired and about to be evicted, Simone Evans is desperate for any distraction from her dismal life. A call from a lawyer she’s never met, about an inn she hasn’t seen in years, sets her on a new path.

But the inn’s cranky general manager and a dead body are making things tougher than she expected. With a charity auction to plan, Simone isn’t so sure she can handle this new life.

After someone close to her is arrested for murder, Simone learns this sleepy tourist town is filled with secrets. Aided by two geriatric thrill-seekers and an affectionate beagle named Lola, Simone must uncover the killer before the killer gets to her. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

When the mayor of Norwich disappears without trace roughly half-way through his term of office, the entire city government is thrown into chaos. Every thought turns to Mr Foxe, who is told to make finding the mayor his single priority. Nothing must stand in the way of achieving that goal. Nothing.

Foxe, listless and bored, has not had a mystery worthy of his attention for several months. He’s also still hurting from Lady Cockerton’s treatment of him. Even his oddly platonic friendship with Mrs Danson must end in two days, when she finally leaves Norwich for good. Perhaps a mystery will put some life back into him?

Before he can even begin, an unexpected encounter in Alderman Halloran’s hallway turns Foxe’s life upside down, so that for three days of confusion and anguish he can do nothing but struggle with an overwhelming crisis in his own life. The search for the mayor is forgotten.

At length, with help from an unexpected source, Foxe sets out doggedly on the trail of the missing man. He soon finds he must unravel a complex and unexpected tangle of events to get anywhere. Blocked and frustrated many times, he finally reveals the slow descent into darkness and an inevitable fate that lies behind what seemed a simple puzzle.

All the time, he is still struggling with a problem that threatens to wreck his entire future. Just as he sees a path ahead that offers the possibility of undreamed-of joy and happiness, he finds he may well have managed to block it completely before he can even set out. Can he find his way through this tangle as well? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Anty Boisjoly tackles the peculiar case of the war hero who visits his old friends on Christmas morning — after being murdered on Christmas Eve.

This is the Jeeves & Wooster that Agatha Christie dared not write, the Poirot that never occurred to PG Wodehouse.

In The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning, Wodehousian clubman, flaneur, idler and sleuth Anty Boisjoly pits his sardonic wits against another pair of impossible murders. This time, Anty Boisjoly’s Aunty Boisjoly is the only possible suspect when a murder victim stands his old friends a farewell drink at the local, hours after being murdered.

Like The Case of the Canterfell Codicil, the first Anty Boisjoly mystery, The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning fits the narrow literary needs of those who feel that Miss Marple isn’t frivolous enough and that Blandings Castle could stand a few more baffling murders. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Today is Amy Maxwell’s fortieth birthday. Instead of gifts, she got dilemmas. Four dilemmas to be exact.
Dilemma number one: How to deal with those bittersweet and melancholy feelings of her oldest child graduating high school and going off to college…while navigating the endless paperwork and trying not to have a heart attack at the price tag.
Dilemma number two: How to deal with her sister marrying Amy’s own knight-in-shining armor Jason Collins…in Amy’s own backyard, turning her life upside down in more ways than one.
Dilemma number three: How to deal with the bachelorette party from hell that she planned which not only turns out to be more risque than she anticipated, but leaves one guest MURDERED.
And finally…Dilemma number four, the big one: How to deal with being trapped in the murderer’s closet with her elderly mother (who does not know how to whisper) and a shelf full of pointy shoes precariously hanging over her head.
Can Amy solve her dilemmas and escape, before the killer discovers her and Amy ends up with dilemma number five…how to plan her own funeral when she’s already dead. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Quinn Learns to Dream Walk

Quinn and Ridley have a new ghost friend who teaches Quinn how to dream walk in order to locate her lost friend Nora. But all is placed on hold when a murder occurs. Someone is poisoned with jellyfish toxins and the team must figure out who is using their oceanic friends to kill an unsuspecting victim.

Was it the hardworking yet under appreciated assistant, a former reporter who was minimized and trolled by the scientist, or Quinn’s ex-boyfriend who has popped up unexpectedly?

Will Penny find out more about her magical friends….perhaps more than she ever bargained for? And will this put a crimp in her relationship with Robin?

***Find out in the third book in the Nautical Witch Mystery Series*** (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback