Dia de los Muertos 2015 at the Desert Botanical Garden

Several of you folks who've been reading my blog for a long time know that Halloween really isn't my thing. Growing up, Halloween seemed more about tricks than treats, and playing any sort of dress-up left me cold. Well before the age of six, my mother and grandparents realized that taking me out trick or treating wasn't a good idea. (Although I honestly can't remember how I convinced them. It probably wasn't pretty.)

Moving here to Phoenix with its strong Hispanic influences taught me that there was another holiday that was much more my speed: Dia de los Muertos-- Day of the Dead-- which is celebrated throughout Mexico and acknowledged around the world. October 31 through November 2 are days for gatherings of family and friends to remember loved ones who have died. Cemeteries become party central, and altars are built and decorated. This altars-- ofrendas-- have the loved one's favorite food and drink, their photos and mementos. They can be works of art, and either be spiritual, political, or whimsical depending on the loved one and the artist. It is important that those who have died know that they are still remembered, still loved, still a part of their families.

The Desert Botanical Garden here in Phoenix celebrates Dia de los Muertos every year in many ways. One of them is an Ofrendas Exhibit at the Webster Center next to my favorite restaurant in Phoenix, the Patio Cafe. Denis and I went Thursday, accompanied by a very special friend who is new to the area. Like Denis before her, our friend at first found the art a bit weird and macabre, but one ofrenda helped her to understand, and she actually enjoyed the exhibit.

The following are photos that I took in the Webster Center, unaccompanied by a lot of talk. I found the altars to lack touches of the whimsy and humor that I prefer, but the entire exhibit made a profound impression. I hope you enjoy seeing another way to celebrate this time of year. Left click on any of the photos, and a new window will automatically open so you can view them all in their original sizes.

"Cuatlicue"-- the Earth Mother Goddess by Monica Gisel Crespo

Her cloak of corn husks was stunning, and I loved the peacock feathers in her headdress.

"No Justice No Peace" by Angel Diaz, dedicated to those who have lost their lives in border conflicts between the United States and Mexico.

"Book of Wisdom" by Marco Albarrán, containing images and illustrations which give people the opportunity to explore some of the more obscure stories of the Dia de los Muertos celebrations.

"The Life Process" by Oliverio Balcells, which uses classic ancient Mesoamerican colors to reflect the levels of transformation from the material to the spiritual.

"Raices Familiares" by Patricia Silva. With all its family photographs, this is the ofrenda that opened our friend's eyes to the beauty and meaning of the art of Dia de los Muertos.

Raices Familiares detail

Raices Familiares detail

Raices Familiares detail

Raices Familiares detail

"Tlaxochimaco"-- Great Feast for Small Dead Souls by Cristina Cardenas

"The Messenger" by Martin Moreno

"Olmecalaca" by Zarco Guerrero, which is a testament to the influence and diffusion of the Olmec heritage. Denis and I both liked this particular ofrenda the most.

"Olmecalaca" detail

"Olmecalaca" detail

"The Emergence of Mariposa" by Patrick Murillo

"The Death and Transformation of the Inner Child" by El Vaquero Muerto

A Social Calendar Weekly Link Round-Up

Although you won't see this post until Friday, I'm putting the finishing touches on it Monday night, and I'm looking forward to the week's activities. It all starts Tuesday. Tomorrow night I'll be heading to The Poisoned Pen for "Soho Night" with four of Soho Press's authors.  Any time Tim Hallinan is in town is a good day (and James Benn, Matt Bell, and Martin Limón just add icing to the cake) .

Thursday Denis and I will be meeting author Paige Shelton for lunch at the Desert Botanical Garden. She likes the sound of the Patio Cafe where you can sit outside and be visited by ground squirrels, roadrunners, cactus wrens, Gambel's quail, and any other critter that takes a mind to show up. Paige and I have only met at The Poisoned Pen, so I'm looking forward to the different venue.

There are some other things thrown in there, too, but those are the biggies. In the mean time, it's housecleaning, laundry, and knitting for me. I just finished my last Christmas gift, so it's time to start on next year's.

Needless to say, just like the cactus wren in the photo above, I've been rounding up...well... not nesting materials... plenty of links for you. Time to trot 'em out of the corral!
 

►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• A new Pew survey has discovered that kids are reading more than adults. Maybe there's hope for the future after all? (Did I just say that???)
• A pretty (?), impractical (!) way to organize your bookshelf. (Why do I think these people (a) don't read, and (b) have too much time on their hands?)
• A rare 17th-century Bible with a misprint amongst the Commandments is expected to fetch a tidy sum at auction.
• The definitive breakdown of famous books versus their movie adaptations. 
• These anatomy cross-sections are made entirely out of old books.
• The science of Little House on the Prairie.
• Qiu Xiaolong's Detective Chen novels give clues to unravel the mysteries of China.
• 27% of Americans have read an eBook in the past twelve months.
• YouTube Red is a $9.99 subscription that disables ads.
• Epic! is a subscription service targeted at children aged twelve and under, and those children have read over 10 million eBooks in one year.
• Modern literature is not Dead; it's Undead.
• Why author Susan Cheever is addicted to bookstores.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Facial reconstructions show how murdered sixth-century men and women (found in a grave in Edinburgh) might have looked.
• A secret tunnel has been found in an historical castle. 
• A marble Medusa head has been unearthed in ancient Roman ruins. More photos of the Medusa.
• I never have this kind of luck: a hiker has found a 1,200-year-old Viking sword in Norway.
• The plague spread 3,000 years earlier than the experts first thought.
• Lead poisoning ran rampant for wealthy medieval Europeans.
• A snake didn't kill Cleopatra. 
• The female Top Guns of World War II.
• The history of a Scottish castle which played a key role during the Wars of Independence may have to be rewritten.
• Inside Henry V's secret chapel at Westminster Abbey. 
• A 100-year-old box of negatives has been found frozen in a block of Antarctica's ice. 
• An ancient warrior's tomb complete with a huge treasure hoard has been found in Greece.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• When I think of America and nature, I don't tend to envision bald eagles. I don't know why, but one of the first animals I think of is a buffalo. A recent agreement between Arizona and federal officials will establish a protected buffalo herd in northern Arizona-- probably in the area of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
• Monarch butterflies may be saved by the California drought.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• The forgotten houseboat hotels of Kashmir. 
• Eight of the world's most stunning bridges. (I've been on two from this list.)
• Aveiro, the candy-colored "Venice of Portugal."
• Scotland's businesses have been charging customers a fee for single-use plastic bags for a year now. The results are amazing, and it's something this country should be doing, too! (I also like what the government is doing with the "fee money.")

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 20 wordplay jokes for grammar nerds.
• 20 of the creepiest haunted houses, castles, and mansions in literature. 
• 30 great opening lines in literature. (A snail mail penpal and I used to play this game of identifying the opening lines of books. It's much harder when there's no Google!) 
• 24 hilarious tweets every book lover will appreciate.
• 17 beautiful rooms for the book-loving soul.

That's it for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!

Hover by Anne A. Wilson

First Line: Frigid water fills the cockpit.

Helicopter pilot Lieutenant Sara Denning can be a mass of contradictions. She wants to be the absolute best that she can be as a U.S. Navy pilot, but she doesn't want to stand out in any way. She's a Naval Academy graduate who's deathly afraid of the water. She's a lonely hermit who's a total contrast to her very feminine and outgoing best friend and roommate, Emily Wyatt. Sara is buried under so many defensive layers that she's lost herself.

But that's all about to change. She's the pilot of choice for a Navy SEAL team led by Lieutenant Eric Marxen. This blatant favoritism causes Sara all sorts of problems with her fellow pilots, and although she wants those problems to disappear, she can't deny that Marxen is making all her defenses begin to crumble. Soon the training missions become the real thing, and Sara's life is on the line. Is she going to have what it takes to not only survive but to become the person she was meant to be?

If you want to know what it's like to be a woman in a male-dominated world like the U.S. Navy, read Anne Wilson's Hover. If you want to know about the technology and training that goes into being a Navy helicopter pilot, read Anne Wilson's Hover. If you want to feel as though you're participating in secret Navy SEAL missions, read Anne Wilson's Hover. And if that's not enough for you, throw in a toe-curling romance.

As I've already stated, Sara Denning is a mass of contradictions. The words she uses to describe the sea can make a person's skin crawl-- and I love the ocean. It definitely made me wonder why on earth she would deliberately choose to join the Navy. Readers aren't left to wonder for long: Sara is carrying a boatload of guilt over her brother's death. She's thrown up so many defensive walls to help her cope-- and even excel-- at something she's petrified of that it's a wonder she's still sane. Hover is a character study of Sara Denning, and it's a fascinating one even though it has more romance in it than I would prefer.  I do have to say that yes, I did find the romance annoying from time to time, but it is essential to the growth of Sara's character, so I just sat back and dealt with it.

Dealing with it wasn't all that difficult because there were so many other facets of the book that I enjoyed-- what some readers might call the Tom Clancy elements of military technology and training, those training missions, being part of a carrier strike force, and Sara's being groomed for a top secret mission. These elements shouldn't be too over-the-top for most female readers because of the focus on-- yes-- that romance, and on Sara's relationships with her best friend, her fellow pilots, and her superior officers. Throw in some shore leave in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, and Hover is a book that kept my attention from first page to last. If this is a first novel (and it is), I'm really looking forward to Anne Wilson's next book! 

Hover by Anne A. Wilson

ISBN: 9780765378491
Forge Books © 2015
Hardcover, 320 pages

Thriller, Standalone
Rating: A
Source: Amazon Vine 

Booked for Trouble by Eva Gates

First Line: I love my mother. Truly, I do.

Lucy has found her perfect home and her perfect job: resident and librarian of the Bodie Island Lighthouse. She loves bonding with the library cat, walking on the beach, and book club. Needless to say, having the attentions of two handsome men certainly doesn't hurt either. What she does not need is to have her mother show up in an attempt to drag her back to Boston, but that's exactly what socialite Suzanne Richardson does.

When she's not trying to bend Lucy to her will, she picks a public fight with a woman who turns up dead outside the library the very next day. Suzanne is Suspect Numero Uno-- which means that Lucy has to track down a killer.

I'm still enjoying both the popularity of this fictional lighthouse library and its setting, but I have to be honest and admit that I picked up Booked for Trouble with a bit of trepidation. It's a quirk of mine, but I do not care for high maintenance parents in the cozies that I read, and that's exactly what Lucy's mother is. I am happy to report that although Suzanne is not the type of person to ever become my BFF, that angle of the book was not as bad as I'd anticipated. Whew!

Lucy continues to be an interesting main character, but too many of the secondary characters are two-dimensional. Take Charlene for example. It would appear that her sole reason for existence is to annoy everyone with her passion for rap music-- and she's the only one who really stands out in my mind. The rest are a kind of blur, and I hope book three is the "breakout" book for them. Speaking of breaking out, Lucy's two love interests need to stop spinning their wheels and start making some moves. 

Although I enjoyed reading how Lucy finally found the killer, I knew the person's identity early on due to a certain peculiarity in the dialogue. I can be strange that way sometimes.  And have any of you noticed that the latest thing in cozies seems to be cross-marketing-- that is, mentioning books by other cozy writers? At least it fits in here because Lucy is a librarian, but I've been noticing it in several books lately. I realize that things like this place a book clearly within its timeframe, but I prefer my books without branding, marketing, or suggestive selling.

Booked for Trouble is a good solid mystery with a winning main character and a perfect setting; however, it needs some of its other components to be fleshed out more so this series can shine the way I know that it can.

Booked for Trouble by Eva Gates

ISBN: 9780451470942

NAL/Obsidian © 2015

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Lighthouse Library mystery

Rating: C+/B-

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen


 

November 2015 New Mystery Releases!

Hard to believe that the end of the year is staring us in the face, isn't it? Wow-- I've never had a year go by so fast!

November is the beginning of the busiest time of year for most of us. I was in retail for most of my working life, and may I just say that I'm glad I got out of it before retailers decided that they had to be open on Thanksgiving? For much too long we've all been treated like nothing but walking wallets. I escape most of this insult and insanity by creating a Christmas wonderland in my own home and sitting by the fire with some good books. 

Books have always been my drug of choice, and November certainly has a bumper crop of new crime fiction. My list is longer than usual because I didn't want to ignore new-to-me authors just so I could include all the tried-and-true. Besides, you and those you buy gifts for deserve plenty of New Mystery Goodness to choose from, don't you? Like always, my choices are grouped by release dates and have all the information you'll need to find them at your favorite book procurement locations. Synopses are courtesy of Amazon. Happy Reading! 

=== November 3 ===

Title: A Specter of Justice

Author: Mark de Castrique

Series: #5 in the Sam Blackman Private Investigator series set in Asheville, North Carolina

ISBN: 9781464204722

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Hardcover, 252 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "When private detective Sam Blackman agrees to help his partner and lover, Nakayla Robertson, conduct a fundraiser for orphaned twin boys, he does so to ease his conscience. The boys' parents were killed in a courtroom shootout where Sam was the key witness against the twins' father. The charity event, a nighttime ghost tour of the legendary haunted sites of Asheville, North Carolina, seems harmless enough. Sam only has to tell the story of a grief-stricken woman who hanged herself from an old, arched stone bridge. “Helen, come forth,” he cries. Sam and his tour-goers expect the actress playing Helen's ghost to walk toward them from the bridge's dark recesses. Instead, her body tumbles from overhead and dangles at the end of a noose. Someone has reenacted the legend with deadly authenticity. When a second murder mimics another old ghost tale, the police fear a macabre serial killer is on the prowl. But the case isn't Sam's to solve. Then, a tidal wave of evidence begins to point to one man --Sam's friend, defense attorney Hewitt Donaldson. Sam and Nakayla, firmly believing in Donaldson's innocence, must not only prove it, but halt a murderer seemingly bent on retribution. Does the killer's motivation rise from the present, or is Team Donaldson dealing with some specter from the past?" 

Title: The Puffin of Death

Author: Betty Webb

Series: #4 in the Gunn Zoo series set in Iceland

ISBN: 9781464204166

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Paperback, 258 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "California zookeeper Theodora Bentley travels to Iceland to pick up an orphaned polar bear cub destined for the Gunn Zoo’s newly installed Northern Climes exhibit. The trip is intended to be a combination of work and play. But on day two, while horseback riding near a picturesque seaside village, Teddy discovers a man lying atop a puffin burrow, shot through the head. The victim is identified as American bird-watcher Simon Parr, winner of the largest Powerball payout in history. Is Teddy a witness―or a suspect? Others include not only Parr’s wife, a famed suspense novelist, but fellow members of the birding club Parr had generously treated to their lavish Icelandic expedition. Hardly your average birders, several of them have had serious brushes with the law back in the States. Guessing that an American would best understand other Americans, police detective Thorvaald Haraldsson grudgingly concedes her innocence and allows Teddy to tag along with the group to volcanoes, glaciers, and deep continental rifts in quest of rare bird species. But once another member of the club is murdered and a rockfall barely misses Teddy’s head, Haraldsson forbids her to continue. She ignores him and, in a stunning, solitary face-off with the killer in Iceland’s wild interior, concludes an investigation at once exotic, thrilling, and rich in animal lore." 

Title: All Men Fear Me

Author: Donis Casey

Series: #8 in the Alafair Tucker historical series set in 1917 Oklahoma

ISBN: 9781464204708

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Paperback, 312 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "The U.S. has finally entered the First World War and scheduled the first draft lottery. No one in Boynton, Oklahoma, is unaffected by the clash between rabid pro-war, anti-immigrant "patriots" and anti-conscription socialists, who are threatening an uprising rather than submit to the draft. Alafair Tucker is caught in the middle when her brother, a union organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World, pays her a visit. Rob Gunn is fresh out of an internment camp for participants in an Arizona miners’ strike. He assures Alafair that he's only come to visit family, but she's not so sure. More unsettling, Alafair's eldest son enlists, and a group calling itself the “Knights of Liberty” vandalizes the farm of Alafair’s German-born son-in-law. Alafair’s younger son, 16-year-old Charlie, is wildly patriotic and horrified by his socialist uncle. With his father's permission Charlie takes a part-time war job at the Francis Vitric Brick Company. Soon several suspicious machine breakdowns delay production, and a couple of shift supervisors are murdered. Everyone in town suspects sabotage, some blaming German spies, others blaming the unionists and socialists. But Charlie Tucker is sure he knows who the culprit is and comes up with a plan to catch him red-handed. And then there is old Nick―a mysterious guy in a bowler hat who's been hanging around town." 

Title: Crowned and Moldering

Author: Kate Carlisle

Series: #3 in the Fixer-Upper cozy series set in northern California

ISBN: 9780451469212

Publisher: NAL

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Synopsis: "When Mac Sullivan—famous thriller writer and Shannon’s new beau—first moved to Lighthouse Cove, California, he bought the historic lighthouse mansion that the town is named after. Mac needs help cleaning up the place, and Shannon is more than happy to get her handywoman hands on the run-down Victorian.

But during demolition, a grisly discovery is made among the debris—the bones of a teenage girl who went missing fifteen years ago. Locals had always assumed Lily Brogan ran away from her difficult life, but it seems her troubles followed her to the grave. If Shannon has any chance of getting her renovation back on track, she’ll need to tackle the cold case. But with new suspects coming out of the woodwork every day, she’ll have to be careful to pry the right secrets and clues from the poor girl’s problematic past…" 

Title: A Likely Story

Author: Jenn McKinlay

Series: #6 in the Library Lover's cozy series set in Connecticut

ISBN: 9780425260746

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Hardcover, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Delivering books to the housebound residents of the Thumb Islands, just a short boat ride from the town of Briar Creek, library director Lindsey Norris has befriended two elderly brothers, Stewart and Peter Rosen. She enjoys visiting them in their treasure-filled, ramshackle Victorian on Star Island until she discovers that Peter has been killed and Stewart is missing. Now she's determined to solve a murder and find Stewart before he suffers his brother's fate." 

Title: The Crossing

Author: Michael Connelly

Series: #20 in the Harry Bosch series set in California. (Also includes Mickey Haller.)

ISBN: 9780316225885

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Hardcover, 400 pages

Synopsis: "Detective Harry Bosch has retired from the LAPD, but his half-brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, needs his help. A woman has been brutally murdered in her bed and all evidence points to Haller's client, a former gang member turned family man. Though the murder rap seems ironclad, Mickey is sure it's a setup.

Bosch doesn't want anything to do with crossing the aisle to work for the defense. He feels it will undo all the good he's done in his thirty years as a homicide cop. But Mickey promises to let the chips fall where they may. If Harry proves that his client did it, under the rules of discovery, they are obliged to turn over the evidence to the prosecution.

Though it goes against all his instincts, Bosch reluctantly takes the case. The prosecution's file just has too many holes and he has to find out for himself: if Haller's client didn't do it, then who did? With the secret help of his former LAPD partner Lucy Soto, Harry starts digging. Soon his investigation leads him inside the police department, where he realizes that the killer he's been tracking has also been tracking him." 

Title: Writing All Wrongs

Author: Ellery Adams

Series: #7 in the Books by the Bay cozy series set in North Carolina

ISBN: 9780425270844

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "After Olivia and Chief Rawlings enjoy a brief honeymoon on Palmetto Island, they’re joined by the rest of the Bayside Book Writers for the Coastal Carolina Crime Festival. The festival’s highlight is Silas Black, celebrity screenwriter and television producer, who is currently working on a popular television show in North Carolina.

As the festival gets under way, a trickster seems to be bringing famous local ghost stories to life. But when the body of a woman close to Black is found on the beach, Olivia and her friends must deduce who on the island could resort to murder—before the sands of time run out for someone else…" 

Title: Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything

Author: Nancy Martin

Series: #1 in the Sunny McKillip cozy series set in Texas

ISBN: 9780312573744

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 320 pages

Synopsis: "Rich and flamboyant Honeybelle Hensley, the most colorful character in Mule Stop, Texas, dies a suspicious death and enrages the whole town by leaving her worldly fortune to the most undeserving recipient-her dog. The incorrigible Miss Ruffles is a Texas Cattle Cur, not a cuddly lapdog, and when Honeybelle was alive, Miss Ruffles liked nothing better than digging up Honeybelle's famous rose garden after breakfast, chasing off the UPS man before lunch and terrorizing the many gentleman callers who came knocking at cocktail hour. 

But now Miss Ruffles is in danger, and it's up to Sunny McKillip, the unwilling dogsitter, to keep her safe. Sunny is new to Texas, and sometimes she feels as if she's fallen into an alien world. If it isn't the pistol-packing football fans and the sweet-talking, yet ruthless ladies of the garden club who confound her, it's the rowdy rodeo hounds and the tobacco-spitting curmudgeon at Critter Control who have her buffaloed. With a killer on the loose and a cowboy lawyer keeping a suspicious eye on her every move, Sunny needs all the help she can get understanding how Texans think. There's more to Honeybelle's death than meets this Yankee's eye, and Sunny has Miss Ruffles to protect, too. It's a bucking bull ride of an adventure for Sunny, and if she's not careful she might just get killed . . . or her heart lassoed." 

Title: Recipes for Love and Murder
Author: Sally Andrew
Series: #1 Tannie Maria mystery set in South Africa
ISBN: 9780062397669
Publisher: Ecco
Hardcover, 432 pages

Synopsis: "A bright new talent makes her fiction debut with this first entry in a delicious crime set in rural South Africa—a flavorful blend of The #1 Ladies Detective Agency and Goldie Schulz series, full of humor, romance, and recipes and featuring a charming cast of characters.

Tannie Maria (Tannie meaning Auntie, the respectful Afrikaans address for a woman older than you) is a middle-aged widow who likes to cook—and eat. She shares her culinary love as a recipe columnist for the local paper—until The Gazette decides its readers are hungrier for advice on matters of the heart rather than ideas for lunch and dinner.

Tannie Maria doesn’t like the change, but soon discovers she has a knack—and a passion—for helping people. Of course she shares her recipes and culinary advice whenever she can! Assisting other people with their problems, Tannie Maria is eventually forced to face her own issues, especially when the troubles of those she helps touch on the pain of her past, like a woman desperate to escape her abusive husband.

When the woman is murdered, Tannie Maria becomes dangerously entwined in the investigation, despite the best efforts of one striking detective determined to keep her safe. Suddenly, this practical, down-to-earth woman is involved in something much more sinister than perfecting her chocolate cake recipe . . ."

Title: Death Takes Priority
Author: Jean Flowers
Series: #1 in the Post Office cozy series set in Massachusetts
ISBN: 9780425279106
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "After caring for her dying aunt and being dumped by her fiancé, Cassie Miller decides to return to her small hometown in the Berkshires to lick her wounds and live in the house where she was raised. Leaving behind her managerial position in the Boston main postal office, Cassie trades in her tailored suits and high heels for the comfortable blue shirt and red, white, and blue striped scarf of the Postmaster for North Ashcot, Massachusetts.

Everything is business as usual until Cassie arrives at work one day to find that someone has broken into the post office building. The only items stolen: stacks of telephone books. Who steals phone books? Two days later, the body of an unidentified man is found in the woods. And when the handsome antiques dealer she just had lunch with is taken into custody, Cassie is suddenly drawn into the case. With a crime enveloped in mystery, she needs to track the killer—before another victim’s fate is sealed in the dead letter office…" 

=== November 5 ===

Title: Smoke and Mirrors
Author: Elly Griffiths
Series: #2 in the Stephens and Mephisto historical series set in 1950s England
ISBN: 9781784290269
Publisher: Quercus
Hardcover, 352 pages

*UK Release

Synopsis: "Brighton, winter 1951.

Pantomime season is in full swing on the pier with Max Mephisto starring in Aladdin, but Max's headlines have been stolen by the disappearance ­­of two local children. When they are found dead in the snow, surrounded by sweets, it's not long before the press nickname them 'Hansel and Gretel'.

DI Edgar Stephens has plenty of leads to investigate. The girl, Annie, used to write gruesome plays based on the Grimms' fairy tales. Does the clue lie in Annie's unfinished - and rather disturbing - last script? Or might it lie with the eccentric theatricals who have assembled for the pantomime?

Once again Edgar enlists Max's help in penetrating the shadowy theatrical world that seems to hold the key. But is this all just classic misdirection?" 

=== November 8 ===

Title: A Body to Spare

Author: Sue Ann Jaffarian

Series: #10 in the Odelia Grey cozy series set in California

ISBN: 9780738718866

Publisher: Midnight Ink

Paperback, 336 pages

Synopsis: "Odelia Grey’s relaxing day of errands is ruined when she finds a body folded like an origami crane in the trunk of her car. And it’s not just any dead body—it’s the corpse of Zach Finch, a young man who had been kidnapped eight years earlier. But why was he put in Odelia’s car? Where has Zach been all these years?

With her name at the top of the suspect list, Odelia and her husband, Greg, are determined to find answers. They’ll do whatever it takes to uncover the truth, even if they have to give the slip to an arrogant FBI agent and delve into the dangerous world of contract killers." 

=== November 10 ===

Title: The Promise

Author: Robert Crais

Series: #16 in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series set in California. Also features LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his German Shepherd, Maggie.

ISBN: 9780399161490

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Hardcover, 416 pages

Synopsis: "When Elvis Cole is secretly hired to find a grief-stricken mother, he's led to an ordinary house on a rainy night in Echo Park.  Only the house isn't ordinary, and the people hiding inside are a desperate fugitive and a murderous criminal with his own dangerous secrets.

As helicopters swirl overhead, Scott and Maggie track the fugitive to this same house, coming face-to-face with Mr. Rollins, a killer who leaves behind a brutally murdered body and enough explosives to destroy the neighborhood.  Scott is now the only person who can identify him, but Mr. Rollins has a rule:  Never leave a witness alive.

For all of them, the night is only beginning.

Sworn to secrecy by his client, Elvis finds himself targeted by the police even as Mr. Rollins targets Maggie and Scott.  As Mr. Rollins closes in for the kill, Elvis and Joe join forces with Scott and Maggie to follow a trail of lies where no one is who they claim -- and the very woman they promised to save might get them all killed." 

=== November 11 ===

Title: Scalp Dance

Author: Lu Clifton

Series: #1 in the Sam Chitto police procedural series set in Oklahoma

ISBN: 9781432831295

Publisher: Five Star

Hardcover

Synopsis: "This mystery mingles Choctaw culture, science, and murder and features Lieutenant Sam Chitto of the Oklahoma Choctaw Tribal Police. A series of seemingly unrelated incidents come together to help solve a mysterious case involving beheaded men, but he is forced to make a decision that could not only challenge his personal code of ethics but also cost a man his life."  

=== November 24 ===

Title: Yarned and Dangerous

Author: Sadie Hartwell

Series: #1 in the Tangled Web cozy series set in Connecticut

ISBN: 9781617737176

Publisher: Kensington

Paperback, 288 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Josie Blair left Dorset Falls twelve years ago in hopes of making it big in New York City. But after earning an overpriced master’s degree and getting fired by a temperamental designer, she finds herself heading back to her hometown. Her great-uncle was injured in a car accident, and newly unemployed Josie is the only person available to take care of him. Uncle Eb’s wife didn’t survive the crash, so Josie is also tasked with selling the contents of her Aunt Cora’s yarn shop. But the needling ladies of the Charity Knitters Association pose a far bigger challenge than a shop full of scattered skeins…

Miss Marple Knits is one of the few businesses still open in the dreary downtown. Josie can’t imagine how it stayed open for so long, yet something about the cozy, resilient little shop appeals to her. But when one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere yarn, Josie realizes there’s something truly twisted lurking beneath the town’s decaying façade…" 

What a loaded month for new crime fiction! I'm just about to dive into Sadie Hartwell's Yarned and Dangerous, and I have to admit that I absolutely love the name of the yarn shop: Miss Marple Knits. Isn't it perfect?

Which titles in this particular line-up caught your eye? Inquiring minds would love to know!

New Christmas-Themed Mysteries for 2015!

Once I started doing some research, it didn't take me long to realize that November has a bumper crop of excellent new crime fiction. Whether buying for yourself or other book lovers, here are my picks for the top Christmas-themed mysteries. There's a good range for almost any taste from vintage to present day. Just so you know, following this post will be my regular one with more New Mystery Goodness!

All the books are grouped by release date and have the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite book procurement locations. Synopses are courtesy of Amazon.  Happy Reading!

=== Available Now ===

Title: The Santa Klaus Murder

Author: Mavis Hay

Standalone, originally published in the 1930s, set in England

ISBN: 9781464204951

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Paperback, 252 pages

Synopsis: "Aunt Mildred declared that no good could come of the Melbury family Christmas gatherings at their country residence Flaxmere. So when Sir Osmond Melbury, the family patriarch, is discovered – by a guest dressed as Santa Klaus – with a bullet in his head on Christmas Day, the festivities are plunged into chaos. Nearly every member of the party stands to reap some sort of benefit from Sir Osmond’s death, but Santa Klaus, the one person who seems to have every opportunity to fire the shot, has no apparent motive. Various members of the family have their private suspicions about the identity of the murderer, and the Chief Constable of Haulmshire, who begins his investigations by saying that he knows the family too well and that is his difficulty, wishes before long that he understood them better. In the midst of mistrust, suspicion, and hatred, it emerges that there was not one Santa Klaus, but two. The Santa Klaus Murder is a classic country-house mystery that was rediscovered by the British Library and became one of the first novels in the Crime Classics series." 

Title: Jingle Bones

Author: Carolyn Haines

Digital Short Story, part of the Sarah Booth Delaney cozy series set in Mississippi

eISBN: 9781250089069

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

eBook, 53 pages

Synopsis: "Jingle Bones, an e-original Christmas story featuring Mississippi PI Sarah Booth Delaney, offers all the Southern charm and zany adventure Carolyn Haines's fans have come to expect--and more.

Sarah Booth just wants the perfect Christmas holiday. Even with the dissolution of her engagement, she refuses to lose her Christmas spirit. But when Theodora Prince--an ex classmate and current Pastor's wife--comes calling with a year-old case and cash upfront, Sarah Booth must find the truth about the boys who ruined last year's Christmas pageant in time to stop them from doing it again."  

Title: A Christmas Howl

Author: Laurien Berenson

Digital Short Story, prequel to the Melanie Travis cozy series set in Connecticut

eISBN: 9781496703507

Publisher: Kensington

eBook, 75 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Ever wonder what Melanie and Aunt Peg were up to before solving murders? Let’s step back in time, when college-aged Melanie and her indomitable Aunt Peg were little more than strangers…

It’s Christmas in Connecticut, and Peg Turnbull can’t wait to spend her favorite holiday cozying up to husband Max and their clan of pedigree Poodles in Greenwich. But Peg’s spirits drop when the family of Max’s estranged brother Michael invites the pair over for Christmas dinner. Could her in-laws want to settle the long-standing feud over Nana’s will? Peg isn’t expecting any miracles, but it’s been ages since Peg last saw her niece and nephew. Little Melanie must be out of pigtails by now…

When they arrive at the Turnbull’s, Peg is not just surprised by how much Melanie has grown up. The family has spared no expense in preparing for the festivities—unusual, considering Michael blew his inheritance after years of financial troubles. Peg suspects there’s an awful secret tucked beneath her brother-in-law’s ostentatious good cheer, and she’s determined to get to the bottom of it. Once she does, someone’s ending up in the doghouse…" 

Title: The Bark Before Christmas

Author: Laurien Berenson

Series: #18 in the Melanie Travis cozy series set in Connecticut

ISBN: 9780758284587

Publisher: Kensington

Hardcover, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Melanie Travis has her hands full with her two young sons, a part-time job, and a half dozen Poodles to her name. But even with the busy holiday season approaching, she still has time to sniff out a Christmastime killer…

There’s nothing lovelier than Christmas in Connecticut, but Melanie can scarcely find a moment to enjoy the festivities. With her youngest son approaching toddlerhood, she’s decided to return to her old job at Howard Academy, a posh private school attended by the children of Greenwich’s well-heeled gentry. Balancing work, motherhood, and the hectic dog show circuit takes some fancy footwork, especially when the headmaster taps her to be the chairman of the school’s Christmas Bazaar.

The Christmas Bazaar is Howard Academy’s biggest and most important fundraiser, so Melanie feels the pressure to make it a huge success. She even enlists her longsuffering sister-in-law Bertie to help with the Santa Claus and Pets Photo Booth. But everything goes awry when a prize show dog goes missing and Santa turns up dead. The dog’s owner is one of the school’s most perfectly pedigreed alums, and she enlists Melanie to help find the purloined pooch. But just as Melanie starts pawing at the truth, she digs up a sleighful of sinister secrets that leaves everyone feeling less than merry…" 

=== November 3 ===

Title: White Colander Crime

Author: Victoria Hamilton

Series: #5 in the Vintage Kitchen cozy series set in Michigan

ISBN: 9780425271407

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Queensville has great expectations for their Dickens Days festival. A tourist-trade boon boom means a big turnout for the opening of Queensville Historic Manor and for Jaymie Leighton, food columnist and vintage cookware collector, a chance to promote the manor and give away homemade goodies.  At the end of a long day of festival fun, Jaymie discovers the battered body of local woman Shelby Fretter.

Shelby predicted her own murder in journal entries—and all clues point to Cody Wainwright, the troubled son of Jaymie’s beleaguered newspaper editor. But considering the entire Fretter family had its share of dirty secrets, Jaymie’s not convinced  by the case against Cody. With twists all over, she’s going to have to work like the Dickens to wrap up this investigation before Christmas—especially with the real killer ready to kill again." 

Title: The Candy Cane Cupcake Killer

Author: Livia J. Washburn

Series: #10 in the Fresh-Baked cozy series set in Texas

ISBN: 9780451416711

Publisher: NAL

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "‘Tis the season in Weatherford, Texas, and everyone in town is gearing up for the annual holiday parade and tree-lighting ceremony in the town square, where Phyllis Newsom will be serving her much-anticipated candy cane cupcakes. Local rancher Barney McCrory manages to charm one away from her before the ceremony begins. But unfortunately, when the minty confection is finished, so is he.

This isn’t the first time someone has dropped dead after eating one of Phyllis’s treats. But when the paramedics determine the rancher was shot, suspicion swiftly falls on McCrory’s daughter and her husband—who both stand to reap some sweet rewards from his death. Though Phyllis doesn’t want to get mixed up in another murder investigation, something about this case doesn’t sit right with her. With a little help from a tabloid TV news crew, Phyllis must unwrap the truth and restore good cheer to Weatherford before it’s too late…" 

Title: Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen

Author: Vicki Delany

Series: #1 in the Year Round Christmas cozy series set in New York state

ISBN: 9780425280805

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "As the owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, Merry Wilkinson knows how to decorate homes for the holidays. That’s why she thinks her float in the semi-annual Santa Claus parade is a shoe-in for best in show. But when the tractor pulling Merry’s float is sabotaged, she has to face facts: there’s a Scrooge in Christmas Town.

Merry isn’t ready to point fingers, especially with a journalist in town writing a puff piece about Rudolph’s Christmas spirit. But when she stumbles upon the reporter’s body on a late night dog walk—and police suspect he was poisoned by a gingerbread cookie crafted by her best friend, Vicky—Merry will have to put down the jingle bells and figure out who’s really been grinching about town, before Vicky ends up on Santa’s naughty list…" 

Title: Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries

Edited by Martin Edwards

Standalone Short Story Collection, Vintage British mysteries

ISBN: 9781464204999

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Paperback, 298 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Christmas is a mysterious, as well as magical, time of year. Strange things can happen, and this helps to explain the hallowed tradition of telling ghost stories around the fireside as the year draws to a close. Christmas tales of crime and detection have a similar appeal. When television becomes tiresome, and party games pall, the prospect of curling up in the warm with a good mystery is enticing – and much better for the digestion than yet another helping of plum pudding.

Crime writers are just as susceptible as readers to the countless attractions of Christmas. Over the years, many distinguished practitioners of the genre have given one or more of their stories a Yuletide setting. The most memorable Christmas mysteries blend a lively storyline with an atmospheric evocation of the season. Getting the mixture right is much harder than it looks.

This book introduces of readers to some of the finest Christmas detective stories of the past. Martin Edwards’ selection blends festive pieces from much-loved authors with one or two stories which are likely to be unfamiliar even to diehard mystery fans. The result is a collection of crime fiction to savor, whatever the season." 

=== November 10 ===

Title: A Christmas Escape

Author: Anne Perry

Series: #13 in the historical Christmas Mysteries series

ISBN: 9780553391411

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Hardcover, 176 pages

Synopsis: "Lonely Charles Latterly arrives at his small hotel hoping that the island’s blue skies and gentle breezes will brighten his spirits. Unfortunately, there’s no holiday cheer to be found among his fellow guests, who include a pompous novelist, a stuffy colonel, a dangerously ill-matched married couple, and an ailing old man. The one charming exception is orphaned teenager Candace Finbar, who takes Charles under her wing and introduces him to the island’s beauty. But the tranquility of the holiday is swiftly disrupted by a violent quarrel, an unpleasant gentleman’s shocking claims of being stalked, and the ominous stirrings of the local volcano. Then events take an even darker turn: A body is found, and Charles quickly realizes that the killer must be among the group of guests." 

=== November 24 ===

Title: Santa 365, A Chet and Bernie Mystery eShort Story

Author: Spencer Quinn

Digital Short Story, an addition to the Chet and Bernie Private Investigator series set in Arizona

eISBN: 9781476703671

Publisher: Atria Books

eBook, 64 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Santa doesn’t just deliver gifts—he takes them too!—in this delightful holiday e-short featuring New York Times bestselling sleuths Chet and Bernie.

He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. This year, jolly old St. Nick knows Bernie has been sleeping on preparations for a special Christmas celebration with his son Charlie. Enter Plumpy Napoleon, fresh from a short stint in prison, to save Bernie from the naughty list. Plumpy calls his latest business plan “Santa 365.” For a small fee (that only gets bigger), he’ll fill your life with holiday cheer, including elves, a festive party, gifts, and even a Christmas tree delivered right to your front door. Bernie signs on for the full yuletide experience. But after the blowout holiday bash, Bernie and Chet the dog discover one of Santa’s helpers helped himself to more than Christmas candy. The intrepid duo sets out to find the sticky-fingered perp and reclaim the stolen goods. Add in a surprise visit from Bernie’s mom, two elderly sisters seeking their own brand of justice, and an elf with a stocking full of secrets, and you have a Christmas mystery that only Chet and Bernie could possibly unwrap." 

=== December 1 ===

Title: Ornaments of Death

Author: Jane K. Cleland

Series: #10 in the Josie Prescott Antiques cozy series set in New Hampshire

ISBN: 9781250074539

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Christmas lights twinkle throughout the cozy coastal town of Rocky Point, New Hampshire, and Prescott's Antiques auction venue has been transformed into a winter wonderland for Josie Prescott's annual holiday party. Josie is especially excited this year-Ian Bennington, a recently discovered distant relative, will be joining the fun. Both Ian and Josie are, it seems, descended from Arabella Churchill, a 17th century royal mistress. The party is a success and Ian is a hit. It gives Josie an unexpected thrill to have family-and unexpected dread when he vanishes.

Ian doesn't keep his dinner date with Josie's good friend, Lavinia, or his lunch date with her. Surely, he would have done so-if he could. Ian has given his daughter two priceless 17th century watercolor miniature portraits, one of Arabella and one of her lover, King James II, and they've gone missing, too. Knowing that after her nasty divorce, Lavinia is facing financial ruin, Josie can't help wondering if her friend is behind the theft-and Ian's disappearance.

Determined to find Ian, Josie uses her knowledge of antiques to track the miniatures. In doing so, she learns the true meaning of Christmas-and the true meaning of family."

Title: Murder at Whitehall

Author: Amanda Carmack

Series: #4 in the Kate Haywood historical series set in mid-sixteenth century England

ISBN: 9780451475695

Publisher: NAL

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages 

Synopsis: "1559. The Twelve Days of Christmas at Whitehall Palace will be celebrated as a grand affair. But there are those who wish to usher in the New Year by ending Queen Elizabeth’s reign....

Despite evenings of banquets and dancing, the European delegates attending Her Majesty’s holiday festivities are less interested in peace on earth than they are in fostering mistrust. Kate, the queen’s personal musician, hopes she can keep the royal guests entertained.

But then Queen Elizabeth receives a most unwanted gift—an anonymous letter that threatens to reveal untoward advances from her beloved Queen Catherine’s last husband, Thomas Seymour. Tasked with finding the extortionist, Kate has barely begun investigating when one of Spain’s visiting lords is found murdered. With two mysteries to unravel and an unsettling number of suspects to consider, Kate finds herself caught between an unscrupulous blackmailer and a cold-blooded killer...."

Title: The Iced Princess

Author: Christine Husom

Series: #2 in the Snow Globe Shop cozy series set in Minnesota

ISBN: 9780425270813

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "It’s that time of the year again—the Christmas rush is about to begin, and curio shop owner Camryn Brooks and her BFF, coffee shop owner Alice “Pinky” Nelson, need to hire additional help. Their former high-school classmate, Molly Dalton, is not exactly who they had in mind. Has the rich socialite worked a day in her life? But Molly practically begs for the job.

On her first day, Molly seems to be in her own little world, and Cami worries that her new employee may flake out. The problem turns out to be far worse than that when Cami discovers Molly dead in the back of the shop, after drinking a poisoned cup of coffee. Soon there is an avalanche of suspects as Cami starts shoveling through the clues—including a shattered snow globe of Marilyn Monroe. Now Cami will have to venture out of her safety zone before the pathological poisoner stirs up more trouble..." 


Well, these should satisfy your cravings for holiday murder and mayhem. I know I'm looking forward to reading a few of them myself! Did any of them get added to your wish lists? Which ones? You know inquiring minds would love to know!