New Releases For The Week Of October 23, 2022–Part 3

Springtime—and another murder case—comes to Goosebush, Massachusetts, in Julia Henry’s latest installment in the Garden Squad Mystery cozy series featuring sixty-something gardener Lilly Jayne!

With spring’s arrival in Goosebush, Lilly and the Beautification Committee turn their eyes to new projects. A cleanup of the historic Goosebush Cemetery may be in order, after Lilly and Delia find the plots there sorely neglected and inexplicably rearranged. Lilly soon discovers that Whitney Dunne-Bradford snapped up custodianship of the graveyard once she inherited Bradford Funeral Homes. But before Lilly can get to the bottom of the tombstone tampering, she stumbles upon Whitney’s body at the Jayne family mausoleum . . .
 
Though at first it appears Whitney died by suicide, Lilly has doubts, and apparently, so does Chief of Police Bash Haywood, who quickly opens a murder investigation. Plenty of folks in town had bones to pick with Whitney, including her stepdaughter, Sasha, and funeral home employee, Dewey Marsh—all three recently charged with illegal business practices. But when the homicide inquiry suddenly targets an old friend, Lilly and the Garden Squad must rally to exhume the truth before the real killer buries it forever . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audibook

Sheriff Jax Turner is staring down the barrel of his broken past. On the brink of ending it all, he feels like a failure following his daughter’s tragic passing and his subsequent divorce. But when a schoolgirl vanishes and her backpack is found in a sex offender’s backseat, the weary lawman drags himself into action and vows to nail one last sociopath.

Shocked to discover the teen’s aunt had lost her life in an abduction years prior, the devastating outcome that he’s taken personally, Jax believes the killer has returned with a vengeance. But as the desperate cop frantically hunts down a mysterious relative in search of a suspect, the girl’s time keeps ticking away…

Can the jaded sheriff take down the culprit in time to bring the young girl home alive? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Set in Ireland’s striking, rugged countryside, the USA Today bestselling author’s unsettling, atmospheric new crime fiction novel combines the eerie mood of Tana French and Louise Penny with the compulsively taut plotting of Dervla McTiernan and Lucy Foley, as an Irish veterinarian grapples with life, death, family dynamics, and the secrets at the heart of her small community…

On a rocky beach in the southwest of Ireland, the body of Jimmy O’Reilly, sixty-nine years old and dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes, is propped on a boulder, staring sightlessly out to sea. A cryptic message is spelled out next to the body with sixty-nine polished black stones and a discarded vial of deadly veterinarian medication lies nearby. Jimmy was a wealthy racehorse owner, known far and wide as The Dancing Man. In a town like Dingle, everyone knows a little something about everyone else. But dig a bit deeper, and there’s always much more to find. And when Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien is dispatched out of Killarney to lead the murder inquiry, he’s determined to unearth every last buried secret.
 
Dimpna Wilde hasn’t been home in years. As picturesque as Dingle may be for tourists in search of their roots and the perfect jumper, to her it means family drama and personal complications. In fairness, Dublin hasn’t worked out quite as she hoped either. Faced with a triple bombshell—her mother rumored to be in a relationship with Jimmy, her father’s dementia is escalating, and her brother is avoiding her calls—Dimpna moves back to clear her family of suspicion.
 
Despite plenty of other suspects, the guards are crawling over the Wildes. But the horse business can be a brutal one, and as Dimpna becomes more involved with her old acquaintances and haunts, the depth of lingering grudges becomes clear. Theft, extortion, jealousy and greed. As Dimpna takes over the family practice, she’s in a race with the detective inspector to uncover the dark, twisting truth, no matter how close to home it strikes . . .

“Compelling…this is the best of O’Connor’s Irish mysteries to date.”- Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

“Wise, riveting, and full of surprises, Anywhere You Run will keep you up past your bedtime and stay with you long after the book is closed.” —Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

From the award-winning author of All Her Little Secrets comes yet another gripping, suspenseful novel where, after the murder of a white man in Jim Crow Mississippi, two Black sisters run away to different parts of the country . . . but can they escape the secrets they left behind?

It’s the summer of 1964 and three innocent men are brutally murdered for trying to help Black Mississippians secure the right to vote. Against this backdrop, twenty-one year old Violet Richards finds herself in more trouble than she’s ever been in her life. Suffering a brutal attack of her own, she kills the man responsible. But with the color of Violet’s skin, there is no way she can escape Jim Crow justice in Jackson, Mississippi. Before anyone can find the body or finger her as the killer, she decides to run. With the help of her white beau, Violet escapes. But desperation and fear leads her to hide out in the small rural town of Chillicothe, Georgia, unaware that danger may be closer than she thinks.

Back in Jackson, Marigold, Violet’s older sister, has dreams of attending law school. Working for the Mississippi Summer Project, she has been trying to use her smarts to further the cause of the Black vote. But Marigold is in a different kind of trouble: she’s pregnant and unmarried. After news of the murder brings the police to her door, Marigold sees no choice but to flee Jackson too. She heads North seeking the promise of a better life and no more segregation. But has she made a terrible choice that threatens her life and that of her unborn child? 

Two sisters on the run—one from the law, the other from social shame. What they don’t realize is that there’s a man hot on their trail. This man has his own brand of dark secrets and a disturbing motive for finding the sisters that is unknown to everyone but him . . .

Anywhere You Run had me hooked from the first page… It’s a novel both tender and ferocious—an absolute stunner.” —Lou Berney, Edgar Award–winning author of November Road (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

Clare McKenna returns with the latest book in a historical cozy mystery series sure to appeal to fans of Alyssa Maxwell and Anna Lee Huber.

Against all expectations in Edwardian England, newly married American heiress Stella Kendrick and British aristocrat Viscount “Lyndy” Lyndhurst are bucking traditions—and investigating murder—on their honeymoon . . .

 
Leaving behind tragedies surrounding their wedding at Morrington Hall, travel-worn Stella and Lyndy arrive at the grand Majestic Hotel in York to more misfortune—their stately honeymoon suite has been given away to Horace Wingrove, owner of England’s largest confectionery. Stella refuses to let an innocent booking mistake spoil the mood, but her optimism vanishes when Horace suffocates in the room where she and Lyndy should have stayed . . .
 
Unlike authorities on the scene, Stella can’t believe the business magnate’s death can be explained away as an accident. Troubling signs are everywhere—strange murmurs in the hallway, tight-lipped hotel staff, and a stolen secret recipe for Wingrave’s famous chocolate. Then there are Horace’s murky intentions for visiting the historic cathedral city, and those who were closely watching his every move . . .
 
As Stella and Lyndy tour Yorkshire and mingle with royals as husband and wife, they face a sinister mystery that puts their vows to the test. Can the couple work together to discover the truth about their romantic destination and the strange happenings haunting their trip before they’re treated to another terrifying surprise? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover

After a royal prince is assassinated at the Tower of London, Kitty Worthington is asked to investigate. The murder seems to be the work of a madman who soon makes her his next target. Can she catch the killer before she loses her head as well?

London. 1923. Excited about her new direction in life, Kitty Worthington motors about London in her spiffy new roadster. Granted, finding purloined Poodles and lost Labradors may not be what she envisioned, but they keep her busy enough. At least, there aren’t any bodies dropping at her feet.

But then a visiting royal dignitary loses his head at the Tower of London, and she finds herself embroiled in yet another murder investigation.The suspects are endless. Could it be the wastrel son? The betrayed wife? The devious cousin? The ghost of Anne Boleyn?

With the help of her ace team, comprised of lords and ladies, her maid and chauffeur, and her ever flatulent Basset Hound, Sir Winston, she sets out to solve the mystery. But there’s a madman on the loose who seems equally at home among the glamorous world of British high society and London’s dark underbelly. If she wants to catch the murderer, she needs something more, someone who knows all about the royals. And that can be only one person, heaven help her, her mother.

Murder at the Tower of London, Book 4 in The Kitty Worthington Mysteries, is another frolicking, historical cozy mystery filled with cagey suspects, a duplicitous villain, and an intrepid heroine sure to win your heart. For lovers of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey alike. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

The Feisty Goat has some … colorful regulars. And Dave is one of the best. Gruff. A little scary. But a heart of gold.

Too bad he’s got a secret past.

When a writing professor is murdered, Dave is the number-one suspect, and rumors about his biker life aren’t helping.

Sheriff King thinks the case is open and shut, but I know Dave is no murderer. Proving his innocence isn’t going to be easy, but I’m not going to see my friend go to prison — even if I have to find out the secrets he doesn’t want anyone to know. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

College dreams, sketchy contracts and death!

Lucy’s volunteer efforts at Reading High School lure Fee into the testosterone-laced world of football. To her surprise, billionaire Nelson Delamonte shows interest in the local star. Trouble is, he’s not counting on murder or the fact he’s one of the suspects. Can Fee find out who did it before Fleming Investigations loses its best client? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle