It's the Monday before Thanksgiving, and since I've got the big Thursday feed all sorted, it gives me plenty of time to do one of the things I like best: talk about new books.
Of my many blessings-- you faithful readers being an important one-- I can't imagine where my life would be without books. They have been a constant since before my birth. (Hey, my mother was a librarian!)
The following list contains my picks for the best new crime fiction being released throughout the month of December. This list tends to be more on the cozy side of the mystery spectrum, probably due to the time of year.
I've listed my picks by their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of my favorite showroom, Amazon. Take a look to see if I've chosen some of your wishlisted books, or if I've managed to add a title or two that you hadn't heard of.
=== December 6 ===
Series: #21 in the Peter Diamond police procedural series set in Bath, England.
336 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "In the six years since the start of the hit British TV show Swift,
its cast and crew have been plagued by misfortune, beginning with the
star actress’s pulling out of the show before it began. By now there
have been multiple injuries by fall, fire, or drowning; two deaths; and
two missing persons cases.
The media quickly decides it’s a
curse, but who’s to say there isn’t a criminal conspiracy afoot? Now
that the filming has moved to Bath, Peter Diamond, Chief of the Avon and
Somerset Murder Squad, is on the case. While the investigation into one
fatal accident is underway, a cameraman goes missing, challenging even
the most credulous to wonder if he might have been the victim of foul
play rather than a jinx. How can so many things go wrong on one set in
such a short time?
Complicating already complex matters is the
fact that Diamond’s boss is trying her best to get him out of her hair;
he may be forced to retire if he can’t solve the case. Will this be the
end for Peter Diamond?"
Series: #4 in the Alaska Wild series featuring an o-the-run thriller writer, Beth Rivers.
272 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "It’s springtime in Benedict, Alaska, and with the warmer weather
comes an unseasonably somber local tradition...the annual Death Walk. At
the end of each brutal winter, citizens gather downtown and then break
into groups to search the community for those who might have somehow
gotten stuck at home. Beth Rivers sets off with her friend Orin and dog
Gus, toward the cabin of an elderly resident, intending to check on him.
When
they reach the cabin, the old man is alive, but not in the best shape.
Beth stays with him while Orin hurries to town for help, but it’s not
Orin who returns. Gril comes back with shocking news, and it soon
becomes clear that Orin has also vanished. When they discover that their
friend has been doing some top-secret research, they start to worry
he’s been exposed, or worse.
Meanwhile, Beth continues on her own
search, for her father, who allegedly is alive in Mexico, but won't
return her calls. Still, she's making progress in healing from her own
trauma, though can't quite shake the feeling she's being followed..."
Title: Knits, Knots & Knives Series: #3 in the Craft Fair Knitters cozy series set in Pennsylvania.
288 pages
Synopsis: "For once things seem to be running smoothly for knitting
enthusiast Lia Geiger. Her daughter is living on her own and happy with
her new job on the alpaca farm. Plus, Lia and her Ninth Street Knitters
have been knitting for the Civil War reenactment being held on the
grounds next to the Crandalsburg Craft Fair. It’s all fun and battle
games until one of the “injured soldiers” turns out to be the very real
victim of a murder, and Lia’s friend and neighbor falls under deep
suspicion.
Suddenly, the good folks of Crandalsburg are
spinning all kinds of yarns and pointing fingers at one another. Lucky
for Lia, she has the combined wits of the Ninth Street Knitters to help
her ply the truth from this crafty killer."
Title: A Dangerous Business Author: Jane Smiley
Standalone historical mystery set in Gold Rush Era California.
224 pages
Synopsis: "From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author of A Thousand Acres:
a mystery set in 1850s Gold Rush California, as two young
prostitutes—best friends Eliza and Jean—follow a trail of missing girls.
Monterey,
1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple
has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at
first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well
behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security.
But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of
town, a darkness descends that she can't resist confronting. Side by
side with her friend Jean, and inspired by her reading, especially by
Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin, Eliza pieces together an array of
clues to try to catch the killer, all the while juggling clients who
begin to seem more and more suspicious.
Eliza and Jean are
determined not just to survive, but to find their way in a lawless
town on the fringes of the Wild West—a bewitching combination of beauty
and danger—as what will become the Civil War looms on the horizon. As
Mrs. Parks says, "Everyone knows that this is a dangerous business, but
between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business, and don’t let
anyone tell you otherwise ..."
Title: The Widowmaker Series: #2 in the Black Harbor police procedural series set in Wisconsin.
304 pages
Synopsis: "Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years
ago, the name "Reynolds" has become synonymous with "murder" and
"mystery." And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck
photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web
of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs
the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide
of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.
This
could finally be the thing to crack open the chilling cold case, and
Investigator Ryan Hudson has a chance to prove himself as lead
detective. If only he could stop letting his need to solve his partner's
recent murder distract him. But as Morgan exposes her own dark demons,
could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery?"
Series: #9 in the Yarn Retreat cozy series set in coastal California.
234 pages
Synopsis: "At the urging of Vista Del Mar's owner, Casey Feldstein takes on
the job of combining a murder mystery game with her next weekend yarn
retreat. Enlisting the help of the hotel's staff to play the roles of
victim and suspects, she lays out a plot and plants some red herrings.
And as her intrigued guests watch the murder play out and the clues
unfold, Casey is certain she's pulled off the perfect make-believe
murder-until a real murder intrudes and everyone at the hotel is named
as a suspect. As her retreat guests turn away from the fake murder to
solve the real one, Casey has her hands full trying to keep them from
meddling in police business. But even as they're dead-set on unraveling
the mystery in their midst, Casey has her eye on a few of them, some of
whom don't seem to be who or what they claim. With time ticking down on
her weekend and her guests more interested in nabbing a killer than
knitting, Casey will have to stitch together her own solution before the
killer can stop her and declare game over . . ."
=== December 8 ===
Title: Graves on the Fens Author: Joy Ellis
Series: #14 in the DI Nikki Galena police procedural series set in the Lincolnshire Fens of England.
404 pages
Synopsis: "It arrives in the morning. An old-fashioned airmail envelope
addressed to Detective Nikki Galena. Inside, on a single sheet of blue
airmail paper, are three words:
You failed me.
The second airmail envelope arrives at Nikki’s home address. The same message. Only this time, it’s followed by four names: Alexandra Cornfield, Ruth Baker, Bethany Lyons, Leanne Delaney.
Four missing women. Four local women whose bodies were never found.
The contents of the third letter, delivered by motorcycle courier, are even more disturbing.
The
letter leads directly to the discovery of a body buried in a shallow
grave out on the Fens. And Nikki and her partner Detective Joseph Easter
are plunged into a baffling murder investigation.
Someone
appears to be pursuing a personal vendetta against Nikki— and she has no
idea who, or why. But one thing she does know: whoever it is is playing
a very twisted game — and if Nikki and her team don’t stop them, more
deaths will follow."
=== December 13 ===
Title: Secrets Typed in Blood Series: #3 in the Pentecost & Parker P.I. historical series set in New York City.
384 pages
Synopsis: "New York City, 1947: For years, Holly Quick has made a good living
off of murder, filling up the pages of pulp detective magazines with
gruesome tales of revenge. Now someone is bringing her stories to life
and leaving a trail of blood-soaked bodies behind. With the threat of
another murder looming, and reluctant to go to the police, Holly turns
to the best crime-solving duo in or out of the pulps, Willowjean “Will”
Parker and her boss, famed detective Lillian Pentecost.
The pair
are handed the seemingly-impossible task of investigating three murders
at once without tipping off the cops or the press that the crimes are
connected. A tall order made even more difficult by the fact that Will
is already signed up to spend her daylight hours undercover as a
guileless secretary in the hopes of digging up a lead on an old
adversary, Dr. Olivia Waterhouse.
But even if Will is stuck in
pencil skirts and sensible shoes, she’s not about to let her boss have
all the fun. Soon she’s diving into an underground world of people
obsessed with murder and the men and women who commit them. Can the
killer be found in the Black Museum Club, run by a philanthropist whose
collection of grim murder memorabilia may not be enough to satisfy his
lust for the homicidal? Or is it Holly Quick’s pair of editors, who read
about murder all day, but clearly aren’t telling the full story?
With
victims seemingly chosen at random and a murderer who thrives on
spectacle, the case has the great Lillian Pentecost questioning her
methods. But whatever she does, she’d better do it fast. Holly Quick has
a secret, too and it’s about to bring death right to Pentecost and
Parker’s doorstep."
Title: The Charity Shop Detective Agency Author: Peter Boland
Series: #1 in the Charity Shop Detective Agency cozy series set in southern England.
250 pages
Synopsis: "A serial killer is stalking the elderly of Southbourne. The only
clue left behind is a domino in the hand of each victim — with a name
scratched on the back.
Eighty-six-year-old Sarah Brown is found dead in her hallway one morning by her delivery man. She was stabbed in the back.
Fiona, Sue and Daisy, volunteers at the local charity shop, Dogs Need Nice Homes, can’t believe their favourite customer is dead. The ladies vow to bring the killer to justice.
With plenty of tea and cake along the way, and despite squabbles with their rivals, the Cats Alliance across the street, the Charity Shop Detective Agency is born."
=== December 27 ===
Title: Death by Arts and Crafts Series: #6 in the Abby McCree cozy series set in Washington State.
336 pages
Synopsis: "As the newest member of the Snowberry Creek City Council,
perpetually overextended Abby McCree is picked to liaise between the
council and the new planning committee for the town’s first ever arts
and crafts fair. As far as gigs go, it’s a fun one—Abby’s spending the
weekend tooling around Washington State, checking out similar fairs with
her two besties, coffee shop owner Bridey Roker, and ceramic artisan
Dayna Fisk.
As Abby spreads the word about Snowberry Creek’s
fair, recruiting the industry’s biggest movers and makers, the trip
feels like a glittering success. But then, someone is found murdered at
one of the events and vendors begin disappearing amid suspicious
circumstances. Abby’s determined to keep her hands clean, until Dayna
finds herself stuck at the top of the suspect list. Now, Abby must weave
the clues together and clear her friend’s name before the killer claims
another victim—maybe even Abby herself . . ."
Are any of these mysteries on your own wish lists? Which ones? Did I manage to add any to these lists of yours? Inquiring minds would love to know!
