Wednesday, March 31, 2021

April 2021 New Mystery Releases!

 
My usual view out the window is of the pool. With this flare-up of cellulitis, I've had to construct an alternate blogging station here in the family room, and I have to admit that, although this set-up isn't ideal, I do enjoy sitting here with the patio door open so I can smell and see my huge Tombstone rose bushes blooming.

Keeping my legs elevated for such long periods would be excruciatingly boring if not for knitting, British crime dramas on the telly, and BOOKS. There would have to be something desperately wrong for me not to keep an eye peeled for new books.

The following are my picks of the best new crime fiction being released during the month of April. I've grouped them by their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon.

Let's see how many of these are on your own Need-to-Read lists!


=== April 1 ===


Title: Lies We Bury
Author: Elle Marr
Standalone thriller set in Portland, Oregon.
303 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Two decades ago Marissa Mo escaped a basement prison―the only home she’d ever known. At twenty-seven, Marissa’s moved beyond the trauma and is working under a new name as a freelance photographer. But when she accepts a job covering a string of macabre murders in Portland, it’s impossible for Marissa not to remember.

Everything is eerily familiar. The same underground lairs. Sad trinkets and toys left behind, identical to those Marissa had as a child. And then there is the note meant just for her that freezes Marissa’s blood: See you soon, Missy.

To determine the killer’s next move, Marissa must retrieve her long-forgotten memories and return to a past she’s hidden away. But she won’t be facing her fears alone. Someone is waiting for her in the dark."
 
 
=== April 6 ===
 
 
Title: Deadly Editions
Series: #6 in the Scottish Bookshop cozy series set in Edinburgh, Scotland.
304 pages
 
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
 
Synopsis: "It’s a quiet, snowy morning at The Cracked Spine bookshop, when bookseller Delaney Nichols receives a mysterious visitor, a messenger. He presents her with a perplexing note: an invitation to a meeting with eccentric socialite Shelagh O'Conner, who requests Delaney’s participation in an exclusive treasure hunt. Delaney is intrigued, but also cautious: Shelagh, while charming in person, has a reputation for her hijinks as a wealthy young woman in the '70s. She was even once suspected for the murder of a former boyfriend, though ultimately cleared of all charges.

But Delaney is enticed by the grand prize at the end of the treasure hunt: a highly valuable first edition copy of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The winner is also to receive the contents of Shelagh's vast library, and all participants will earn a large sum of cash.

The night after the first meeting of the treasure hunters, however, several homes in Edinburgh are robbed in a manner reminiscent of Shelagh's old tricks. And when a man connected to Shelagh is killed, suspicion builds. Except Shelagh herself has disappeared from her home, seemingly kidnapped by the villain.

Terror mounts throughout the city as Delaney attempts to solve the mystery, while trying to evade the killer's clutches. But it’s hard to know who to trust when around every corner, a new monster could be lurking.


Title: The French Paradox
Author: Ellen Crosby
Series: #11 in the Wine Country mysteries set in Virginia.
256 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "In 1949, during her junior year abroad in Paris, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis bought several inexpensive paintings of Marie-Antoinette by a little-known 18th century female artist. She also had a romantic relationship with Virginia vineyard owner Lucie Montgomery's French grandfather - until recently, a well-kept secret.

Seventy years later, Cricket Delacroix, Lucie's neighbor and Jackie's schoolfriend, is donating the now priceless paintings to a Washington, DC museum. And Lucie's grandfather is flying to Virginia for Cricket's 90th birthday party, hosted by her daughter Harriet. A washed-up journalist, Harriet is rewriting a manuscript Jackie left behind about Marie-Antoinette and her portraitist. She's also adding tell-all details about Jackie, sure to make the book a bestseller.

Then on the eve of the party a world-famous landscape designer who also knew Jackie is found dead in Lucie's vineyard. Did someone make good on the death threats he'd received because of his controversial book on climate change? Or was his murder tied to Jackie, the paintings, and Lucie's beloved grandfather?
 
 
Title: A Deadly Twist
Author: Jeffrey Siger
Series: #11 in the Andreas Kaldis police procedural series set in Greece.
320 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "When Athens journalist Nikoletta Elia disappears while on assignment on the island of Naxos, her editor calls on Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis to investigate. Sent to report on the conflict between preservationists and advocates for expanded tourism, Nikoletta is approached by a fan who takes credit for several suspicious deaths she'd reported on in the past. The assassin claims to have abandoned that life, and convinces the reporter to write about him and his murderous exploits for hire.

Kaldis sends his deputy, Yianni, to look into her disappearance when an unidentified body is found at the base of a cliff. Who is the mysterious corpse, and where is Nikoletta? Leads turn into more dead bodies in this twisting tale of greed, corruption, and murder that puts Kaldis, his family, and members of his team in the path of a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to keep dark secrets buried―forever."
 
 
=== April 13 ===
 
 
Title: Dance With Death
Author: Will Thomas
Series: #12 in the Barker & Llewelyn historical mystery series set in Victorian England.
320 pages
 
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
 
Synopsis: "In June of 1893, the future Nicholas II travels to London for a royal wedding, bringing with him his private security force and his ballerina mistress, Mathilde Kchessinska. Rumored to be the target of a professional assassin known only as La Sylphide, and the subject of conspiracies against his life by his own family who covet his future throne, Nicholas is protected by not only private security, but the professional forces of both England and Russia.

All of these measures prove inadequate when Prince George of England is attacked by an armed anarchist who mistakes him for Nicholas. As a result, Barker and Llewelyn are brought in to help track down the assassin and others who might conspire against the life of the tsarevich . The investigations lead them down several paths, including Llewelyn's old nemesis, the assassin Sofia Ilyanova. With Barker and Llewelyn both surviving separate attempts on their lives, the race is on to find both the culprit and the assassin they hired. Taking them through high society (including a masked ball at Kensington Palace) and low, chasing down motives both personal and political, Barker and Llewelyn must solve the case of their life before the crime of the century is committed.


Title: The Unkindness of Ravens
Author: M.E. Hilliard
Series: #1 in the Greer Hogan amateur sleuth series.
336 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Greer Hogan is a librarian and an avid reader of murder mysteries. She also has a habit of stumbling upon murdered bodies. The first was her husband's, and the tragic loss led Greer to leave New York behind for a new start in the Village of Raven Hill. But her new home becomes less idyllic when she discovers her best friend sprawled dead on the floor of the library.

Was her friend's demise related to two other deaths that the police deemed accidental? Do the residents of this insular village hold dark secrets about another murder, decades ago? Does a serial killer haunt Raven Hill?

As the body count rises, Greer's anxious musings take a darker turn when she uncovers unexpected and distressing information about her own husband's death...and the man who went to prison for his murder . She is racked with guilt at the possibility that her testimony may have helped to convict an innocent man.

Though Greer admires the masters of deduction she reads about in books, she never expected to have to solve a mystery herself. Fortunately, she possesses a quick wit and a librarian's natural resourcefulness. But will that be enough to protect her from a brilliant, diabolical murderer?

And even if Greer manages to catch the Raven Hill killer, will living with her conscience prove a fate worse than death?
"
 
 
Title: One Got Away
Author: S.A. Lelchuk
Series: #2 in the Nikki Griffin private investigator series set in California.
304 pages

Synopsis: "Nikki Griffin, a private-investigator when she isn’t running her small bookstore, is on a case. The matriarch of one of the wealthiest San Francisco families has been defrauded by a con-man, and her furious son enlists Nikki to find the money. And find the con-man.

Nikki isn’t a fan of men who hurt women. Her secret mission, born of revenge and trauma, is to do everything she can to remove women from dangerous situations―and to punish the men responsible.

As Nikki follows the trail toward the con-man, she realizes that no one involved is telling her the whole truth. When the case overlaps with her attempt to protect a woman in trouble, and Nikki’s own life is put in danger, Nikki has to make terrible choices about who to save―and how to keep herself alive.
"
 
 
=== April 20 ===
 
 
Title: In Her Tracks
Author: Robert Dugoni
Series: #8 in the Tracy Crosswhite police procedural series set in Washington.
383 pages

Synopsis: "Returning from an extended leave in her hometown of Cedar Grove, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself reassigned to the Seattle PD’s cold case unit. As the protective mother of an infant daughter, Tracy is immediately drawn to her first file: the abduction of a five-year-old girl whose parents, embattled in a poisonous divorce, were once prime suspects.

While reconstructing the days leading up to the girl’s disappearance, Tracy is brought into an active investigation with former partner Kinsington Rowe. A young woman has vanished on an isolated jogging trail in North Seattle. Divided between two critical cases, Tracy has little to go on except the treacherous deceptions behind a broken marriage―and now, the secrets hiding behind the closed doors of a deceptively quiet middle-class neighborhood.

To find two missing persons, Tracy will have to follow more than clues, which are both long cold and unsettlingly fresh. Given her own traumatic past, Tracy must also follow her instincts―to whatever dark and dangerous places they may lead."
 
 
=== April 27 ===
 
 
Title: The Last Good Dog
Author: Alan Russell
Series: #6 in the Gideon & Sirius police procedural series set in California.
320 pages
 
Synopsis: "LAPD detective Michael Gideon and his K-9 partners investigate the disappearance of a retired US Marshal and her bomb-sniffing dog after a suspicious encounter."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
One thing's certain: there's going to be some good reading available in April. Sounds to me like we should all pick a couple to take outside so we can enjoy both the stories and the burgeoning spring. 
 
Did any titles in particular strike your fancy? Which ones? You know that inquiring minds would love to know!

16 comments:

  1. I'm glad that you can still be connected with your rosebushes, Cathy. I hope you'll heal up quickly and be able to get around more easily soon. In the meantime, it's so good that you can at least have windows open and so on. And yes, where would we be without books! As for the new ones coming out, it's good to see the new Thomas there. I like his Barker & LLewellyn series, and I don't think it gets the notice that it might.

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    1. No. Will Thomas is definitely one of the authors I think should garner more attention.

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  2. Having the windows open and enjoying the rosebushes sounds lovely, Cathy. The Paige Shelton book is already on my TBR and I am not familiar with the Wine Country Mysteries, but they look intriguing.

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    1. I have to admit that I haven't read all of the Wine Country series, but I've always enjoyed each book that I have read. Crosby has a way of combining mystery with interesting bits of history that really grabs my attention.

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  3. Absolutely very good thought about reading outdoors before long.
    Think I've read 3 Barker & Llewellyn - hope to continue this series, and definitely interested in the new one.
    M.E. Hillard I'm not familiar with will check that out.

    Recently ran across this Romania set series that looks interesting -Roberta Seret - https://transylvaniantrilogy.com/ Author has quite an interesting background.

    Wish you continued good healing Cathy. Enjoy the nice weather.
    Ev

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    1. You know I had to scurry over to check out Seret. This trilogy does sound very interesting, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I find myself reading the first book. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  4. I did a bit of a double-take on that The Unkindness of Ravens title when I first spotted it. Way back in 1985 Ruth Rendell had an Inspector Wexford novel she called AN Unkindness of Ravens. I remember that one well because of its brilliant cover.

    The Dugoni novel you include is a good one. I can vouch for that one, having fairly recently read it. I woke up to Dugoni's books only after stumbling upon his "Sam Hell" standalone as a Kindle book. I've read four of his now, and not a bad book among them...nothing even close.

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    1. I really enjoy Dugoni, too. I've been reading his Tracy Crosswhite series and have Sam Hell waiting for me on my Kindle. He's another author I've had the pleasure to meet. The Poisoned Pen is such a blessing for readers!

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  5. The books certainly add beauty to a page. Plus, the plots are swell.

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  6. There is a new Sulari Gentill book out, Shanghai Secrets. It looks interesting. I like Shanghai as a location.
    I saw her and Emma Viskic on the PP Facebook page in a very recent interview. Very interesting. Then I looked at Gentill's Instagraam page and saw a beautiful farm with dogs and horses and a few humans, too. She lives in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. She was quite interesting, and Viskic described a lot about the difficulties of people who are deaf and how they communicate.

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    1. I saw that event, too. I've read books by both authors.

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  7. Yes, you have. I just ordered Shanghai Secrets from a friend's bookstore. I'm going to have to alternate between that one and PP.
    I don't know if you read The Vanishing Half, which is not a mystery, but an excellent novel.
    I watched David Rosenfelt and laughed at the PP interview.

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    1. Thanks for the recommendation of The Vanishing Half. I remember you saying something about Barbara bringing her dog in to camera range at the end of Rosenfelt's event. It was probably their rescue dog, which was so abused previously that they've had problems with her ever since, the poor thing. They did have an elderly wire-haired fox terrier called Odin that Barbara would bring to events. Odin was beautifully mannered, and he loved to come over so I could give him a good scratching. Barbara would watch me with Odin, smile, and shake her head.

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  8. Barbara did bring in her dog, a mixed breed, and picked him up and hugged him. And he is cute. He hunts for rabbits all of the time, but as Barbara and her spouse feel, thankfully, he has never caught one. (There is a thread at Rosenfelt's Facebook page about people's dogs bringin in all types of animals to their owners.)
    Oh, why do people abuse animals? I sometimes watch rescue pet videos and am so happy when the animals are taken care of and thrive. The backstories are awful sometimes. I do not get it.
    But I am so happy when the stories have happy endings and I can enjoy the dogs or cats having fun.
    And that book about Sherman, the donkey, starts with him being rescued from abuse and negligence and then we read about the first moment the writer sees joy in Sherman's eyes, when he and two other donkeys are trotting through a maze together. Needless to say, there were tears in my eyes.

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