July 2024 New Mystery Releases!

 

I decided to get up bright and early (which is saying something since I usually don't go to bed until 3 or 4 AM) to get some chores done. Now that they're done, I decided to move onto blog posts, and what better way to spend a quiet morning than talking about brand-new books to read?

While I'm waiting to get my hair cut, I'm going to share my picks for the best new crime fiction being released throughout the month of July.

I've grouped them according to their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon.

Let's see if I can add a title or two to your own Need To Read lists!

=== July 1 ===

Title: Mary's Place

Author: Charlotte Hinger

Standalone novel set in 1980s Kansas

330 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Iron and Mary Barrett’s farming family is rural royalty, their success symbolized by a magnificent three-story house, Mary’s Place. Years in the building, the house is a testament to Mary’s grit and organizational abilities. But when bank examiners apply new ratings for agricultural loans in the 1980s, the family’s belief that its prosperity is a natural outcome of hard work is sent reeling.

Bank president J.C. Espy had never done anything crooked in his life until the FDIC changed the rules for agricultural loans. After becoming desperate to save his hundred-year-old bank, he worries that his resulting choice will cause his friend Iron to lose his land. Frantically J.C. works to convince Iron he will lose everything if he doesn’t comply with the new standards. In the meantime, both Iron and J.C. must negotiate with sons who have contempt for their fathers’ old-fashioned values. While Iron agonizes, Mary maneuvers to keep the family together and save the farm.

Mary’s Place is an unforgettable tribute to the rural families who weathered one of the worst agricultural disasters in American history." 

=== July 2 ===

Title: Death in a Lonely Place

Author: Stig Abell

Series: #2 in the Jake Jackson (former police officer) series set in rural England. 

352 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Former London detective Jake Jackson—introduced in the acclaimed mystery Death Under a Little Sky—finds his new life in the country threatened by an old case from the past in this absorbing mystery that will challenge readers’ detective skills.

In a quiet village, a storm is brewing . . .

Detective Jake Jackson left London for a quiet life in Caelum Parvum. The idyllic country village offers the peace he craves—tending to his chickens, swimming in his lake, and spending long, lazy evenings with his new love, Livia. It’s the perfect setting for their relationship to blossom.

Then a case from the past re-emerges, shattering the calm and plunging Jake into the shadowy world of No Taboo—a clandestine group which serves the extravagant whims of Britain’s elite. And when Livia accepts a position working for a powerful publishing magnate, suspicions arise about her new employer’s connection to the mysterious group.

As unseen forces manipulate those around him, Jake races to expose the deception that threatens his peaceful world. Amid the desolate beauty and seemingly friendly faces of this small, cozy community, Jake must decide who he can really trust . . . or learn just how far No Taboo will go to protect their secrets."

 

 

Title: The Quiet Woman

Author: Priscilla Masters

Series: #2 in the Nurse Florence Shaw series set in England.

208 pages

 

Synopsis: "Nurse Florence Shaw is baffled when a quiet patient dies in an apparent suicide pact with her husband. Can she uncover the truth behind this mysterious woman?

Richard and Christine Clay have been married for decades. Their relationship has stood the test of time despite Christine appearing passive while her husband is unmistakably dominant - at times bullying and controlling.

Nurse Florence Shaw has seen Christine at the surgery a number of times with minor complaints over the past year, none of which has led to a serious diagnosis. But when Florence hears that the couple appear to have entered into a suicide pact, she is shocked, though not surprised that Richard has survived. Was Christine's death really a suicide, or was there more to this quiet woman than meets the eye?"

 

 

Title: Dog Day Afternoon

Author: David Rosenfelt

Series: #29 in the Andy Carpenter series set in New Jersey.

304 pages

 

Synopsis: "Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter has run the Tara Foundation―the dog rescue organization named after his beloved golden retriever―for years. It's always been his calling, even as Andy's pulled into representing clients in court. His investigator, Marcus Clark, has been at Andy's side for a long time. Even though they've known each other for years, Marcus keeps his personal life a mystery.

So it’s a shock when Marcus arrives at the Tara Foundation with two strangers in tow. Turns out Marcus takes disadvantaged young men under his wing, gets them jobs, a place to live, and a chance at a different life. And they want a dog. Andy’s specialty. One of the young men, Nick Williams, instantly falls in love with one of the dogs, Daisy.

When there’s a mass shooting at Nick’s work, leaving six dead, all signs point to Nick. Marcus, who's never asked Andy for anything, asks Andy for help. Despite Nick's troubled background, Andy trusts his friend and takes the case." 

=== July 9 ===

Title: The Burning

Author: Linda Castillo

Series: #16 in the Kate Burkholder police procedural series set in the Amish country of Ohio.

320 pages

 

Synopsis: "Newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is awakened by an urgent midnight call summoning her to a suspicious fire in the woods. When she arrives at the scene, she discovers a charred body. According to the coroner, the deceased, an Amish man named Milan Swanz, was chained to a stake and burned alive. It is an appalling and eerily symbolic crime against an upstanding husband and father.

Kate knows all too well that the Amish prefer to handle their problems without interference from the outside world, and no one will speak about the murdered man. From what she’s able to piece together, Swanz led a deeply troubled life and had recently been excommunicated. But if that’s the case, why are the Amish so reluctant to talk about him? Are they protecting the memory of one of their own? Or are they afraid of something they dare not share?

When her own brother is implicated in the case, Kate finds herself not only at odds with the Amish, the world of which she was once a part, but also the English community and her counterparts in law enforcement. The investigation takes a violent turn when Kate’s life is threatened by a mysterious stranger.

To uncover the truth about the death of Milan Swanz, Kate must dive deep into the Anabaptist culture, peering into all the dark corners of its history, only to uncover a secret legacy that shatters everything she thought she knew about the Amish themselves―and her own roots." 

Title: A Refiner's Fire

Author: Donna Leon

Series: #33 in the Commissario Guido Brunetti police procedural series set in Italy.

288 pages

 

Synopsis: "Around one AM on an early spring morning, two teenage gangs are arrested after clashing violently in one of Venice’s squares. Commissario Claudia Griffoni, on duty that night, perhaps ill-advisedly walks the last of the boys home because his father, Dario Monforte, failed to pick him up at the Questura. Coincidentally, Guido Brunetti is asked by a wealthy friend of Vice-Questore Patta to vet Monforte for a job, triggering Brunetti’s memory that twenty years earlier Monforte had been publicly celebrated as the hero of a devastating bombing of the Italian military compound in Iraq. Yet Monforte had never been awarded a medal either by the Carabinieri, his service branch, or by the Italian government.

That seeming contradiction, and the brutal attack on one of Brunetti’s colleagues, Enzo Bocchese, by a possible gang member, concentrate Brunetti’s attentions. Surprisingly empowered by Patta, supported by Signorina Elettra’s extraordinary research abilities and by his wife, Paola’s, empathy, Brunetti, with Griffoni, gradually discovers the sordid hypocrisy surrounding Monforte’s past, culminating in a fiery meeting of two gangs and a final opportunity for redemption.

A Refiner’s Fire is Donna Leon at her very best: an elegant, sophisticated storyteller whose indelible characters become richer with each book, and who constantly explores the ambiguity between moral and legal justice." 

=== July 16 ===

Title: Pentimento Mori

Author: Valeria Corciolani

Series: #1 in the art historian Edna Silvera series set in Italy.

244 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Pentimento Mori is the first book in the Edna Silvera series. Renowned art historian Dr. Edna Silvera is not your typical detective. In fact, she's not a detective at all. But when she stumbles across an apparently-impossible medieval painting in the suddenly-deceased Nando Folli's junk shop, her curiosity lands her in trouble with the police and on the trail of a shadowy world no one wants to admit exists.

What transforms Pentimento Mori from a great mystery to a must-read is Corciolani's adept use of solidly-researched and uniformly-fascinating art history, ranging from the significance of colors and pigments in medieval art to why the Pope blesses people with three fingers. If you're interested in art history, you'll want to read this book. If you're not interested in art history, read this book and you will be.

Apart from being surreptitiously educational, Pentimento Mori is a fun read. Corciolani's style hits the sweet spot between cozy mysteries and more gritty fare. While there's a colorful and engaging cast of characters, lots of laughter, and limited violence, there's real tension and solid action that drives the plot. With something for everyone, Pentimento Mori has "book club choice" written all over it." 

=== July 30 ===

Title: Murder at the White Palace

Author: Allison Montclair

Series: #6 n the Sparks & Bainbridge historical series set in England.

320 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, if necessary, business venture―The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with a dangerous―and never discussed―past in British intelligence and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a genteel war widow with a young son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family. Looking to throw a New Year’s Eve soiree for their clients, Sparks and Bainbridge scout an empty building―only to find a body contained in the walls. What they initially assume is a victim of the recent Blitz is uncovered instead to be a murder victim―stabbed several times.

To make matters worse, the owner of the building is Sparks’ beau, Archie Spelling, who has ties to a variety of enterprises on the right and wrong sides of the law, and the main investigator for the police is her ex-fiancée. Gwen, too, is dealing with her own complicated love life, as she tentatively steps back into the dating pool for the first time since her husband’s death. Murder is not something they want to add to their plates, but the murderer may be closer to home than is comfortable, and they must do all they can to protect their clients, their business and themselves." 

Title: Havoc

Author: Deborah J. Ledford

Series: #2 in the Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran police procedural series set in New Mexico.

347 pages

 

Synopsis: "It’s been over a year since the case that almost broke her, but when Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran is called back to duty, she doesn’t hesitate to answer. A bank robbery has left an officer down and a suspect on the run. Law enforcement is in hot pursuit, and residents are on the lookout―but before anyone can catch the criminal, tragedy strikes.

A member of the Taos Pueblo tribe has been shot and killed. The culprit? An untraceable 3D printed gun. With the support of fellow tribal cops, Eva breaks the news to the victim’s family and swears to find justice.

More violence follows, feeding the rising racial tensions between the Taos Pueblo people and the Hispanic community. New evidence forces Eva to consider the possibility that the bank robbery and 3D guns are related, but until she figures out how, there’s no telling how deep this crime ring goes…or how far its evasive ringleader will go to protect it." 

 

 

There you go-- my picks for the best new crime fiction being released in July. I'm probably most excited for the books by Allison Montclair and Stig Abell. How about you? Are any of these books already on your lists? Did I tempt you to add any? Which ones? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Redemption by Deborah J. Ledford

 

First Lines: Ten Days Ago. She needed to start her plan of action, and where better to find a drug dealer or two than at the local high school.

 

When four women go missing from the Taos Pueblo reservation, it's personal for Deputy Eva Duran. One of the missing women is her best friend, Paloma, a heroin addict who left behind an eighteen-year-old son, Kai.

 

There seems to be a lack of interest in the case from local law enforcement, so Eva teams up with tribal police officer and longtime friend Cruz Romero to help her find the women-- an investigation that becomes even more important when the missing women begin turning up dead.

 

~

 

Having read previous books by the author, I looked forward to Redemption with anticipation, and I was not disappointed. I have visited the Taos, New Mexico area, and I appreciated learning more about Taos Pueblo, the reservation, and the traditions and beliefs of the people who live there. 

Redemption touches upon the plight of missing Indigenous women and the problem of drugs on the reservation and shows how the tribal, city, and county police forces work together to solve crimes. The four women Eva is searching for are all highly talented in arts that are important to the Pueblo people: drum making, basket making, jewelry making, and hoop dancing. When their bodies began to be found, I felt as though a part of these artistic traditions died with them. 

The cast is a strong one, with Eva at its heart. Her tribal name is Lightning Dance, but with her quiet demeanor and accurate marksmanship, she earned the nickname "Silent But Deadly" at the police academy. She often wants to go rogue to get the job done, but her intelligence keeps her in check. She knows being a loose cannon will not get the bad guys locked up in prison, and that such behavior will probably get her kicked off the police force-- and she loves her job. 

Readers see the points of view of several characters. For example, we hear Paloma's thoughts as she hopes Eva will be able to find her. We hear from Paloma's son, Kai, a mercurial eighteen-year-old whose emotions sometimes get the best of him, and we hear from Alice, the woman who's holding the women captive. Although Alice's heart is in the right place, she still reminded me a tiny bit of Annie Wilkes in Stephen King's Misery. But my favorite character has to be Nathan "Little Bear" Trujillo, a little boy who's living a nightmare and wants it to end. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him again.

Redemption is a fast-paced tale with a main character I want to hear more from. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Redemption by Deborah J. Ledford

eISBN: 9781662510465

Thomas & Mercer © 2023

eBook, 363 pages

Police Procedural/Native American mystery, #1 Eva Duran mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

September 2023 New Mystery Releases!

 

I find it hard to believe that I'm writing a post concerning September already. I don't have the faintest clue where summer went. (I guess time flies when a goodly portion of your time is spent with medical concerns.)

 

The water in our non-heated swimming pool is rapidly cooling, and the white-winged doves have disappeared, so I know that dove hunting season is about to start. Dumb animals? Bird brains? Yeah, right. Although I'd think the doves would stay well within the city limits where they can't be hunted. Who knows!

 

In between leg wraps and doctor visits, I've been keeping an eye peeled for reading material, and the following books are my picks for the best new crime fiction being released during the month of September. I've grouped my choices by their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon. 

 

Let's see how many "must-reads" from my list we have in common!

 

 

=== September 1 ===

 

 

Title: Redemption

Author: Deborah J. Ledford

Series: #1 in the police procedural series featuring Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran, a sheriff's deputy and member of the Tewa Pueblo tribe of Taos, New Mexico.

365 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "After four women disappear from the Taos Pueblo reservation, Deputy Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran dives into the case. For her, it’s personal. Among the missing is her best friend, Paloma, a heroin addict who left behind an eighteen-year-old son.

Eva senses a lack of interest from the department as she embarks on the investigation. But their reluctance only fuels her fire. Eva teams up with tribal police officer and longtime friend Cruz “Wolf Song” Romero to tackle a mystery that could both ruin her reputation and threaten her standing in the tribe.

And when the missing women start turning up dead, Eva uncovers clues that take her deeper into the reservation’s protected secrets. As Eva races to find Paloma before it’s too late, she will face several tests of loyalty―to her friend, her culture, and her tribe." 

=== September 5 ===

Title: The Longmire Defense

Author: Craig Johnson

Series: #19 in the Sheriff Walt Longmire series set in Wyoming

368 pages

 

Synopsis: "Deep in the heart of the Wyoming countryside, Sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire, is called to a crime scene like few others that he has seen. This crime brings up issues that go back to Walt’s grandfather’s time in Wyoming, as the revelations he learns about his grandfather come back to offer clues and motives for Walt’s investigation. Filled with back-country action, and with the great cast of characters that readers have come to love with the Longmire series, this new book will be sure to satisfy both long-time readers and those new to the series."

Title: The Raging Storm

Author: Ann Cleeves

Series: #3 in the Two Rivers police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Matthew Venn set in Devon, England.

400 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "When Jem Rosco―sailor, adventurer, and legend―blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.

This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he visited as a child, a community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Venn finds his judgment clouded.

As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe from Scully Cove’s storm of dark secrets." 

 

 

Title: Reykjavík

Author: Ragnar Jónasson & Katrín Jakobsdóttir

Standalone thriller set in Iceland.

384 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Iceland, 1956. Fourteen-year-old Lára decides to spend the summer working for a couple on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of Reykjavík. In early August, the girl disappears without a trace. Time passes, and the mystery becomes Iceland‘s most infamous unsolved case. What happened to the young girl? Is she still alive? Did she leave the island, or did something happen to her there?

Thirty years later, as the city of Reykjavík celebrates its 200th anniversary, journalist Valur Robertsson begins his own investigation into Lára's case. But as he draws closer to discovering the secret, and with the eyes of Reykjavík upon him, it soon becomes clear that Lára's disappearance is a mystery that someone will stop at nothing to keep unsolved . . ." 

Title: Holly

Author: Stephen King

Standalone thriller set in Maine.

464 pages

Synopsis: "Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King."

Title: A Fire at the Exhibition

Author: T.E. Kinsey

Series: #10 in the Lady Hardcastle historical series set in Edwardian England.

334 pages

Synopsis: "May 1912. After the previous year’s deadly heatwave, it’s been an uneventful spring in Littleton Cotterell. Though for Lady Hardcastle and her fiercely loyal lady’s maid Flo, at least there are the provincial delights of the village’s inaugural art exhibition―and bicycle race―to look forward to.

But at the exhibition opening, there’s a panicked shout of ‘Fire!’ In the confusion, the main attraction―an extremely expensive book―is stolen from under everyone’s nose, as is a valuable painting lent by Sir Hector Farley-Stroud. Then the race, which starts as a charming day out, ends in a shocking death. And to top it all off, the Farley-Strouds reveal they’re in debt and might lose their house.

The sleuthing duo soon find themselves torn between a murder investigation, an art theft mystery, and trying to help their pals. All with a suspicious figure from Flo’s past, a supercilious insurance investigator, and a pair of rather bizarre treasure hunters on the loose…"

 

 

Title: Reefs, Royals, Reckonings

Author: John Keyse-Walker

Series: #4 in the Constable Teddy Creque series set in the British Virgin Islands.

269 pages

 

Synopsis: "When Constable Teddy Creque is assigned to the security detail at a grand reception on the little island of Tortola for Princess Portia and her husband Lord Sutherland, he's prepared for a British royal night out. He's less prepared for an evening of dreary small talk about bond prices and tax havens. But at least the event is going smoothly, he tells himself . . . That is, until it's cut dramatically short by a shot ringing out from the direction of the garden.

Anxious that one of the royals is in danger, Teddy springs into action. He has to get the royal pair to safety, but first he has to find them. And they're not the only ones missing - where is his superior, Deputy Commissioner Howard Lane?

Soon, in the depths of the tropical darkness, Teddy has his answer - and is confronted by his worst nightmare. Plunged into his most high-profile investigation yet, Teddy knows he has to solve this case fast . . . or heads will roll." 

=== September 19 ===

 

 

Title: Blessing of the Lost Girls

Author: J.A. Jance

Series: #20 in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series set in Cochise County, Arizona.

352 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Driven by a compulsion that challenges his self-control, the man calling himself Charles Milton prowls the rodeo circuit, hunting young women. He chooses those he believes are the most vulnerable, wandering alone and distracted, before he strikes. For years, he has been meticulous in his methods, abducting, murdering, and disposing his victims while leaving no evidence of his crimes—or their identities—behind. Indigenous women have become his target of choice, knowing law enforcement’s history of ignoring their disappearances.

A cold case has just been assigned to Dan Pardee, a field officer with the newly formed Missing and Murdered Indigenous People’s Task Force. Rosa Rios, a young woman of Apache descent and one-time rodeo star, vanished three years ago. Human remains, a homicide victim burned beyond recognition, were discovered in Cochise County around the time she went missing. They have finally been confirmed to be Rosa. With Sheriff Joanna Brady’s help, Dan is determined to reopen the case and bring long-awaited justice to Rosa’s family. As the orphaned son of a murdered indigenous woman, he feels an even greater, personal obligation to capture this killer.

Joanna’s daughter Jennifer is also taking a personal interest in this case, having known Rosa from her own amateur rodeo days. Now a criminal justice major, she’s unofficially joining the investigation. And as it becomes clear that Rosa was just one victim of a serial killer, both Jennifer and Dan know they’re running out of time to catch an elusive predator who’s proven capable of getting away with murder." 

Title: Dark Ride

Author: Lou Berney

Standalone thriller

256 pages

 

Synopsis: "Twenty-one-year-old Hardy “Hardly” Reed—good-natured, easygoing, usually stoned—is drifting through life. A minimum-wage scare actor at an amusement park, he avoids unnecessary effort and unrealistic ambitions. 

Then one day he notices two children, around six or seven, sitting all alone on a bench. Hardly checks if they’re okay and sees injuries on both children. Someone is hurting these kids.

He reports the incident to Child Protective Service.

That should be the end of it. After all, Hardly's not even good at looking out for himself so the last thing he wants to do is look out for anyone else. But he's haunted by the two kids, his heart breaking for them. And the more research he does the less he trusts that Child Protective Services —understaffed and overworked—will do anything about it.

That leaves…Hardly. He is probably the last person you’d ever want to count on. But those two kids have nobody else but him. Hardly has to do what's right and help them.

For the first time in his life, Hardly decides to fight for something. This might be the one point in his entire life, he realizes, that is the entire point of his life. He will help those kids.

At first, trying to gather evidence that will force the proper authorities to intervene, Hardly is a total disaster. Gradually, with assistance from unexpected allies, he develops investigative skills and discovers he’s smarter and more capable than he ever imagined.

But Hardly also discovers that the situation is more dangerous than he ever expected. The abusive father who has been hurting these children isn’t just a lawyer—he also runs a violent drug-dealing operation. The mother claims she wants to escape with the kids—but Hardly isn't sure he can trust her.

Faced with a different version of himself than he has ever known, Hardly refuses to give up. But his commitment to saving these kids from further harm might end up getting the kids, and Hardly himself, killed." 

=== September 26 ===

Title: Murder in an Italian Village

Author: Michael Falco

Series: #1 in the Bria Bartolucci cozy series set in Positano, Italy.

384 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "On the surface, Bria’s Mediterranean life radiates beauty—the kind her late husband, Carlo, dreamed about when he concocted the romantic idea to start a bed and breakfast on the breathtaking Amalfi Coast. With the grand opening of Bella Bella approaching six months after Carlo’s tragic death, Bria and her eight-year-old son Marco brace for a bittersweet new beginning by the sea . . .

Before celebratory vino flows on opening day, a stranger appears in an otherwise pristine guest room, lifeless and covered in blood. Bria can’t understand why murder would check into Bella Bella. And police are just as puzzled. As suspicions fall on a B&B employee, what’s certain is that saving her reputation—and surviving—depend on catching the real killer before it’s too late.

Flanked by her feisty best friend, Rosalie, and well-traveled sister, Lorenza, Bria vows to prove to everyone in Positano that no one at Bella Bella was involved with the crime. But as the women expose a scandal that stretches across their dazzling tourist village, it will take everything they’ve got to name the murderer and avoid becoming the next target of someone’s deadly vendetta . . ."

 

 

Title: Murder by Invitation Only

Author: Colleen Cambridge

Series: #3 in the Phyllida Bright historical series set in England.

272 pages

 

Synopsis: "“A murder will occur tonight at Beecham House . . .” Who could resist such a compelling invitation? Of course, the murder in question purports to be a party game, and Phyllida looks forward to using some of the deductive skills she has acquired thanks to her employer, Mrs. Agatha, who is unable to attend in person.

The hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Wokesley, are new to the area, and Phyllida gladly offers their own overwhelmed housekeeper some guidance while events get underway. Family friends have been enlisted to play the suspects, and Mr. Wokesley excels in his role of dead body. Unfortunately, when the game’s solution is about to be unveiled, the participants discover that life has imitated art. Mr. Wokesley really is dead!

In the absence of Inspector Cork, Phyllida takes temporary charge of the investigation, guiding the local constable through interviews with the Murder Game actors. At first, there seems no motive to want Mr. Wokesley dead . . . but then Phyllida begins to connect each of the suspects with the roles they played and the motives assigned to them. It soon becomes clear that everyone had a reason to murder their host—both in the game and in real life. Before long, Phyllida is embroiled in a fiendishly puzzling case, with a killer who refuses to play by the rules . . ." 

 

 

Title: Double Illusion

Author: Barbara Nadel

Series: #25 in the Inspector Çetin Ikmen series set in Istanbul, Turkey.

352 pages

 

Synopsis: "When Ates Bocuk, son of a feared Istanbul gang leader, is arrested for the brutal murder of his Roma lover, feelings of vengeance are ignited among rival Turkish gangs and the Roma community. Forensic evidence is stacked against him, but Ates refuses to speak, and Inspector Suleyman suspects that there is more to the case than meets the eye. Then Cetin Ikmen discovers that Ates is psychotic and believes that everyone in his life is an imposter, which suggests that Ates might in fact be a victim of a far more sinister game . . .


As violence erupts, Suleyman and his team work tirelessly to expose a shocking tale of corruption, power and betrayal - but not before more blood is shed on these dark and dangerous streets." 

Wow! September is certainly an embarrassment of riches with a little something for everyone (in other words, a book budget buster month)! 

Which books are you looking forward to the most? Did I tempt you with any that you hadn't already heard of? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Snare by Deborah J. Ledford

Title: Snare
Author: Deborah J. Ledford
ISBN: 9781935171577
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing, 2010
Paperback, 338 pages
Genre: Thriller, #2 Deputy Hawk/Inola Walela
Rating: A-
Source: the author

First Line: Katina's eyes locked on the straight-back chair she had wedged under the doorknob.

Katina Salvo has come a long way from her abusive childhood. The reclusive Native American singer/songwriter's music sells very well, even though she's never made a personal appearance or given a concert. Her manager feels that it's time to change all that and have Katina move another step up the ladder, so a concert is booked in a small North Carolina theater where Deputy Steven Hawk will be put in charge of the singer's security.

Something goes terribly wrong at the concert, and Katina and Hawk are attacked. No one is quite sure of the assailant's identity, so the singer and the deputy regroup in familiar territory for Katina: the Taos Pueblo Indian Reservation in New Mexico. Hawk is determined to find this mysterious attacker before he can get close enough to kill the talented young woman.

Snare was so good that I'm going to have to get my hands on a copy of Ledford's first book in the series, Staccato. The pacing kept the story moving at a fast clip, and the plot-- after giving readers two viable suspects-- kept me trying to guess the right one. (I guessed wrong, by the way.)

Ledford has created a compelling story where the main characters are all members of minorities. (I love it when the Lone Ranger doesn't show up and the day is saved anyway.) She's also very adept at adding small details that can pack a big emotional punch-- as when the very young Katina is hiding in her bedroom and marking time on her Hello Kitty alarm clock.

The scenes revolving around the concert-- both doublechecking the security set-up, the concert itself, and the near-riot and attack-- moved lightning quick, were frightening, and felt almost as though I were watching a video. Everything was crystal clear in my mind's eye. Also much appreciated were the details of Taos Pueblo life and culture during the scenes taking place in New Mexico.

All in all, I found Snare to be a very good read, and I'm hoping Deputy Hawk has a good long run of many books to come.

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Celebrating Mysteries: Singers

I can't believe that an entire month has flown by and it's now time to start in on the second month of Celebrating Mysteries! I hope that you enjoyed celebrating Irish mysteries last month, but now I'm turning April's focus to the musically inclined.

In case you think that I'm some sort of brainiac when it comes to mysteries, I'm not-- but I do know where to get help. For mysteries with a musical theme, I asked one of my favorite crime fiction think tanks for assistance.

If you love mysteries and have never heard of the Yahoo group 4 Mystery Addicts, you should seriously think about joining. It's free, and all the tips about excellent crime fiction are worth their weight in platinum. I'd like to give all the folks there a shout out for all their invaluable help. They're the best!

Music plays a role in many of our lives, so for the month of April, I'm going to talk about crime solvers who have a talent for music-- either singing it, playing it, teaching it, filling the air waves with it, or writing it. This first week, I'd like to shine the spotlight on singers.

There are more singers in crime fiction than you may realize. Hopefully the four authors I'll be featuring are a good mix of the familiar and the new. Don't be shy-- let us know some of your personal favorites because bookaholics always need recommendations for that next great read!

Deborah J. Ledford

 Author Deborah J. Ledford's first book, Staccato, is highly recommended by my 4 Mystery Addicts think tank-- so much so that once I investigated, I added it to my own wish list, but it's her second book that features a singer.(It's now on my wish list, too.)

Deborah spent her summers growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains where her novels and many of her short stories are set. She's been a screenwriter and a professional scenic artist on films and live theatre.

Her two published books, which both feature sheriff's deputy Steven Hawk are Staccato (2009), which has a classical music theme, and Snare (2010) which features rock music.

Here's a short description of Snare:

Native American pop singer/songwriter, Katina Salvo's career is about to take off. There's one problem: someone wants to kill her. Katina and her bodyguard, Deputy Steven Hawk, are attacked during an altercation at her first live concert. Could the assailant be a mysterious, dangerous man from her youth? Or her estranged father recently released from prison for killing her mother?

Performed against the backdrop of the picturesque Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina , and the mysterious Taos Pueblo Indian reservation, Snare is a thriller fans of Tony Hillerman will appreciate.

Massimo Carlotto

Italian author Massimo Carlotto's life reads like crime fiction. In 1976 he was involved with a left-wing political group. When he stumbled across a dead body in his hometown, the police accused him of the murder. He fled to Mexico at the advice of his lawyer, and there he was betrayed, captured, and tortured before being sent back to Italy. He was sent to prison and received a pardon in 1993.

Carlotto's first book was an autobiography, but then he started to write a series of mysteries featuring Marco "Alligator" Buratti, a former blues singer and ex-con, who's working as a private investigator in Venice, Italy.

So far, the books in the series that have been translated into English are: The Colombian Mule (2003), The Master of Knots (2004), and Bandit Love (2010).

Here's a synopsis of The Colombian Mule:

When Colombian Arias Cuevas is caught trying to smuggle drugs through Venice airport, his fear isn't fuelled by the idea of prison. He's much more frightened of his aunt—it was her coke he took off with. The cops set up a sting to find out who was to be the recipient of the drugs, and art smuggler Nazzareno Corradi falls straight into the trap. But he's been set up. His lawyer hires "the Alligator," and his fixer, Max, to find out what's going on. Soon it becomes apparent why Cuevas was so afraid—the aunt, La Tia, has left a bloody trail in her wake, is now looking to do some business in Italy, and she's not about to let anybody get in her way.

Beverle Graves Myers

Beverle Graves Myers graduated from the University of Louisville with a BA in History and an MD. She worked at a public mental health clinic before making the switch from psychiatry to full-time writing.

Her historical mystery series is set in eighteenth- century Italy and features Tito Amato who was sold as a child to be a castrato opera singer.

This excellent series now numbers five books: Interrupted Aria (2004), Painted Veil (2006), Cruel Music (2006), The Iron Tongue of Midnight (2008), and Her Deadly Mischief (2009).

Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about Interrupted Aria:

Myers's absorbing first novel, a historical set in 18th-century Italy, introduces a most unusual hero, Tito Amato, who was sold as a child to be castrated and taught to be an opera singer. In late 1731, Tito and fellow castrato Felice Ravello leave Naples for Tito's native Venice to sing with an opera company owned by a wealthy and powerful family. Myers recreates the opera seria of the time in fascinating detail, from the special stage effects to the vocal pyrotechnics. All Venetians attended the opera and sang the principal arias as popular songs; the narrative was less important and came primarily in spoken recitatifs. 

During one performance, the prima donna is poisoned, and Felice, who's been working as an instrumentalist since his voice became unstable, is jailed as the chief suspect. Tito is determined to clear his friend and scours the Republic of Venice for evidence of his innocence. Readers familiar with Venice will delight in following Tito through the calli and campi where masked revelers celebrate the Carnivale. (One patrician lady uses a seduction technique that might be useful today.) The complicated plot has twists enough for a 19th-century opera, but Myers neatly ties all the pieces together by the end. 

Kinky Friedman

The fourth musically-inclined author is practically a law unto himself-- Kinky Friedman. Looking around his website is an adventure, and if you want to get in contact with this Texan, make sure you have an envelope, paper, pen, and a stamp-- he doesn't do email.

Back in 1984 he started writing a book about a character who was a country-western singer turned private investigator in New York City. The character's name? Kinky Friedman!

The series now has seventeen books that range all the way from 1986's Greenwich Killing Time to Ten Little New Yorkers in 2005. If you'd like information about the rest of the books in this series, check out Kinky's page on Stop, You're Killing Me!, which is one of the best resources on the internet for mystery lovers.

If you're curious about the first book in the series, Greenwich Killing Time (like I was), here's the description straight from Kinky's website:

The scene of the crime is Greenwich Village. The corpse is found holding eleven pink roses—and the suspects are as strange as the crime. A wild and witty journey into the dark heart of Manhattan, Greenwich Killing Time is the perfect introduction to America’s most outrageous singer-songwriter turned gumshoe detective.

Have I managed to whet your appetite for mysteries that sing to your powers of deduction? I hope so!  Next week, I'll be tempting you with heroes who might tickle the ivories, strum a guitar, or wield a bow. See you then!