Wednesday, August 29, 2018

September 2018 New Mystery Releases!


While autumn is looming in the headlights for most of the rest of you, September is still the province of summer here in the Sonoran Desert. I like it like that-- it means I'm still out in the pool with my books and cold drinks.

But when I'm not in the pool, I'm inside checking on new books to add to my list. Here are my picks of the best new crime fiction being released during the month of September. Hopefully, I've chosen a title or two that you'll add to your own lists.

I've grouped them according to their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon. Let's take a look at all the lovely new books!




=== September 4 ===


Title: Gold Dust
Series: #7 in the Red River historical series set in Texas in the late 1960s.
300 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books. 

Synopsis: "As the 1960s draw to a close, the rural northeast Texas community of Center Springs is visited by two nondescript government men in dark suits and shades. They say their assignment is to test weather currents and patterns, but that's a lie. Their delivery of a mysterious microscopic payload called Gold Dust from a hired crop duster coincides with fourteen-year-old Pepper Parker's discovery of an ancient gold coin in her dad's possession. Her adolescent trick played on a greedy adult results in the only gold rush in North Texas history. Add in modern-day cattle-rustlers and murderers, and Center Springs is once again the bulls-eye in a deadly target.

The biological agent deemed benign by the CIA has unexpected repercussions, putting Pepper's near-twin cousin, Top, at death's door. The boy's crisis sends their grandfather, Constable Ned Parker, to Washington D.C. to exact personal justice, joined by a man Ned left behind in Mexico and had presumed dead. The CIA agents who operate on the dark side of the U.S. government find they're no match for men who know they're right and won't stop. Especially two old country boys raised on shotguns.

But there's more. Lots more. Top Parker thought only he had what had become known as a Poisoned Gift, but Ned suffers his own form of a family curse he must deploy. Plus, there are many trails to follow as the lawmen desperately work to put an end to murder and government experimentation that extends from their tiny Texas town to Austin and, ultimately, to Washington, D.C. Traitors, cattle-rustlers, murderers, rural crime families, grave robbers, CIA turncoats, and gold-hungry prospectors pursue agendas that all, in a sense, revolve around the center of this small vortex called Center Springs.

Gold Dust seems to be fiction, but the truth is, it has already happened."


Title: Death at Sea
Author: Andrea Camilleri
Series: a collection of short stories about the early career of Inspector Salvo Montalbano set in Sicily.
288 pages

Synopsis: "Set on the Sicilian coast, a collection of eight short stories featuring the young Inspector Montalbano.

In 1980s Vigàta, a restless Inspector Montalbano brings his bold investigative style to eight enthralling cases. From jilted lovers and deadly family affairs to assassination attempts and murders in unexpected places, Death at Sea is the perfect collection to escape into Andrea Camilleri's unforgettable slice of Sicily.





Title: Depth of Winter
Author: Craig Johnson
Series: #14 in the Sheriff Walt Longmire series set in northern Mexico.
304 pages

Synopsis: "Welcome to Walt Longmire's worst nightmare. In Craig Johnson's latest mystery, Depth of Winter, an international hit man and the head of one of the most vicious drug cartels in Mexico has kidnapped Walt's beloved daughter, Cady, to auction her off to his worst enemies, of which there are many. The American government is of limited help and the Mexican one even less. Walt heads into the one-hundred-and-ten-degree heat of the Northern Mexican desert alone, one man against an army."






Title: Field of Bones
Author: J.A. Jance
Series: #18 in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series set in Cochise County, Arizona.
400 pages

Synopsis: "Sheriff Joanna Brady’s best intentions to stay on maternity leave take a hit when a serial homicide case rocks Cochise County, dragging her into a far-reaching investigation to bring down a relentless killer in this chilling tale of suspense from New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance.

This time Sheriff Joanna Brady may expect to see her maternity leave through to completion, but the world has other plans when a serial homicide case surfaces in her beloved Cochise County. Rather than staying home with her newborn and losing herself in the cold cases to be found in her father’s long unread diaries, Joanna instead finds herself overseeing a complex investigation involving multiple jurisdictions.

Filled with the beloved characters, small-town charm, vivid history, intriguing mystery, and the scenic Arizona desert backdrop that have made the Joanna Brady series perennial bestsellers, this latest entry featuring the popular sheriff is sure to please J. A. Jance’s legion of fans."


Title: Secret Undertaking
Series: #7 in the Buryin' Barry series about an ex-cop back home in Gainesboro, North Carolina to run the family funeral home.
300 pages

Synopsis: "Towns like Gainesboro, North Carolina, may be small but go big on local traditions. When funeral director and part-time deputy sheriff Barry Clayton and his childhood nemesis, Archie Donovan, Jr., unite to create a fundraising float in Gainesboro's annual Apple Festival Parade, what could go wrong? With Archie involved - anything!

First, the Grand Marshal, NC Secretary of Agriculture Graham James, is attacked by a gunman and Barry's Uncle Wayne is critically wounded in the melee. The assailant is killed. Then, when the body of a convenience store owner is discovered less than an hour later with the gunman's food stamp card in his wallet, the case escalates. Two men dead. What is the connection?

Barry and Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins swiftly learn their small town offers no protection against big-time crime. The body count rises as the scope of their homicide investigation crosses into the realm of the U.S. Marshals and their secretive Witness Protection Program. To penetrate its walls, Barry and Tommy Lee resort to a most unlikely ally: Archie. Is the insurance agent, generally a victim of his own hare-brained schemes, capable of breaking the case, or will Archie find a way to become another of its casualties?

The trio's secret undertaking into a convoluted conspiracy becomes a fight for survival in a world filled with betrayals where it's impossible to know which people to trust.


Title: Wild Fire
Author: Ann Cleeves
Series: #8 in the Shetland Island police procedural series set on the Shetland Islands of Scotland.
416 pages

Synopsis: "Wild Fire is the much-anticipated final entry in Ann Cleeves's beloved Shetland series, which is now a hit television show starring Douglas Henshall.

The betrayal of those closest burns most of all . . .

Hoping for a fresh start, an English family moves to the remote Shetland islands, eager to give their autistic son a better life.
But when a young nanny's body is found hanging in the barn beside their home, rumors of her affair with the husband spread like wildfire. As suspicion and resentment of the family blazes in the community, Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez is called in to investigate. He knows it will mean his boss, Willow Reeves, returning to run the investigation, and confronting their complex relationship.

With families fracturing and long-hidden lies emerging, Jimmy faces the most disturbing case of his career.


=== September 11 ===


Title: Burning Ridge
Author: Margaret Mizushima
Series: #4 in the Timber Creek K-9 series set in Colorado.
279 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Colorado’s Redstone Ridge is a place of extraordinary beauty, but this rugged mountain wilderness harbors a horrifying secret. When a charred body is discovered in a shallow grave on the ridge, officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo are called in to spearhead the investigation. But this is no ordinary crime—and it soon becomes clear that Mattie has a close personal connection to the dead man.

Joined by local veterinarian Cole Walker, the pair scours the mountaintop for evidence and makes another gruesome discovery: the skeletonized remains of two adults and a child. And then, the unthinkable happens. Could Mattie become the next victim in the murderer’s deadly game?

A deranged killer torments Mattie with a litany of dark secrets that call into question her very identity. As a towering blaze races across the ridge, Cole and Robo search desperately for her—but time is running out in Margaret Mizushima’s fourth spine-tingling Timber Creek K-9 mystery, Burning Ridge
."


Title: A Borrowing of Bones
Author: Paula Munier
Series: #1 in the Mercy & Elvis series set in Vermont.
352 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "After their last deployment, when she got shot, her fiancé Martinez got killed and his bomb-sniffing dog Elvis got depressed, soldier Mercy Carr and Elvis were both sent home, her late lover’s last words ringing in her ears: “Take care of my partner.”

Together the two former military police—one twenty-nine-year-old two-legged female with wounds deeper than skin and one handsome five-year-old four-legged Malinois with canine PTSD—march off their grief mile after mile in the beautiful remote Vermont wilderness.

Even on the Fourth of July weekend, when all of Northshire celebrates with fun and frolic and fireworks, it’s just another walk in the woods for Mercy and Elvis—until the dog alerts to explosives and they find a squalling baby abandoned near a shallow grave filled with what appear to be human bones. 

U.S. Game Warden Troy Warner and his search and rescue Newfoundland Susie Bear respond to Mercy’s 911 call, and the four must work together to track down a missing mother, solve a cold-case murder, and keep the citizens of Northshire safe on potentially the most incendiary Independence Day since the American Revolution.

It’s a call to action Mercy and Elvis cannot ignore, no matter what the cost."


Title: Hitting the Books
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Series: #9 in the Library Lovers cozy series set in Connecticut.
304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "When a stack of library materials is found at the scene of a hit and run, library director Lindsey Norris finds herself dragged into the investigation as the police try to link the driver of the stolen car to the person who borrowed the books. Before Lindsey can delve into the library's records, the victim of the hit and run, Theresa Houston, suffers another "accident" and the investigation shifts from driver negligence to attempted homicide.

A clue surfaces in the confiscated library materials that could crack open the case and it is up to Lindsey to piece it all together. But things are not as they seem in the sleepy town of Briar Creek and when the driver of the stolen car turns up dead, Lindsey, her staff, and her library friends have to hit the books before the murderer gets the last word...
"


=== September 18 ===


Title: A Forgotten Place
Author: Charles Todd
Series: #10 in the Bess Crawford historical series set in Wales.
368 pages

Synopsis: "The fighting has ended, the Armistice signed, but the war has left wounds that are still agonizingly raw. Battlefield Nurse Bess Crawford has been assigned to a clinic for amputees, and the Welsh patients worry her. She does her best to help them, but it’s clear that they have nothing to go home to, in a valley where only the fit can work in the coal pits. When they are released, she fears that peace will do what war couldn’t—take their lives.

Their officer, Captain Williams, writes to describe their despair and his own at trying to save his men. Bess feels compelled to look into their situation, but the Army and the clinic can do nothing. Requesting leave, she quietly travels to Wales, and that bleak coal mining village, but she is too late.

Captain Williams’ sister tells Bess he has left the valley. Bess is afraid he intends to kill himself. She follows him to an isolated, storm-battered peninsula—a harsh and forgotten place where secrets and death go hand in hand. Deserted by her frightened driver, Bess is stranded among strangers suspicious of outsiders. She quickly discovers these villagers are hiding something, and she’s learned too much to be allowed to leave. What’s more, no one in England knows where she is.

Why is there no Constable out here? And who is the mysterious Ellen? Captain Williams and his brother’s widow are her only allies, and Bess must take care not to put them at risk as she tries to find answers. But there is a murderer here who is driven to kill again and again. And the next person in his sights is Simon Brandon, searching for Bess and unaware of his danger. . . ."


Title: Lethal White
Series: #4 in the Cormoran Strike private investigator series set in England.
656 pages

Synopsis: "When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike's office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story. But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic.

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy's story, Strike and Robin Ellacott-once his assistant, now a partner in the agency-set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.

And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike's own life is far from straightforward: his newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been-Robin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much trickier than that."


=== September 25 ===
 
 
Title: Assault and Beadery
Series: #4 in the Cora Crafts cozy series set in North Carolina.
320 pages
 
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
 
Synopsis: "All of Cora Chevalier’s dreams are coming true. Since moving to Indigo Gap, North Carolina, the busy crafting maven has been blessed with a great boyfriend, a lovely home, and a booming craft retreat business. But on the eve of her first Crafty Mom’s Escape Weekend, tragedy strikes again in Indigo Gap. This time, it’s curtains for Stan Herald, the disagreeable director of the local theater group, who’s murdered on the opening night of their new production. Worse, Cora’s friend Zee is accused of the crime.

Cora is determined to prove her friend’s innocence, but Zee’s mysterious past is making that difficult. And with a list of suspects longer than a double spool of satin cording, getting a bead on the real culprit won’t be easy. With her friends Jane and Ruby at her side, Cora must string together the clues and solve Stan’s murder before the killer gives an encore performance.



Wow-- Can you believe how many marvelous books are being released during September?!? Ann Cleeves' last Shetland Island mystery. Craig Johnson is bringing Walt down to my neck of the woods, and I'm always in the mood for a new Joanna Brady mystery. There are so many of my favorite authors here, but I have to admit that I am looking forward to a brand-new one, Paula Munier. Her book, A Borrowing of Bones, sounds really good, and I can't wait to read it.

How about you? Will September put a strain on your book-buying budget? Which books are the ones you simply cannot resist? Inquiring minds would love to know!


4 comments:

  1. Wow, such temptations! Camilleri, Johnson, Cleeves...Lots to love here - my poor credit card! Hope your eyes are recovering well, Cathy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At least I'm off the No Read restriction list!

      Delete
  2. Oh, good, that you're off the No Read restriction list. Good to know. I assume you can knit and watch TV mysteries! Is that true?

    I got the Camilleri and Galbraith on the list, too afraid of the TBR exploding if I add more. Come to think of it, that happened a long time ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to be very careful about how long I sit at the computer since the doctor worked on my dominant eye first, and it's still healing. I'm almost at the stage where I want to pick up my knitting, but it was reading that I missed the most, so I was thrilled when I could pick up a book again. For some reason, reading bothers my eyes the least.

      By the way, I think you're right-- your TBR toppled over/ exploded a very long time ago. I know mine did, too.

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!