My mind has been gallivanting all over the place-- trying to keep track of all the appointments now that Casa Kittling seems to have a revolving door, making sure the deliveries of antibiotics have all the peripherals I need to give Denis his meds in a timely fashion, coming up with organizational solutions to all the STUFF Denis has to have by his recliner, moving furniture around to maximize flight paths for two mobility scooters, creating a list of things Justin can help me with on his weekly visits. And on and on and on.
But one thing will never change, and that's the fact that I'll always keep my eye peeled for the best new crime fiction being released each month.
The following are my picks for the month of May. I've grouped them according to their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of one of my favorite showrooms, Amazon. Let's see if I've chosen any books that are on your own wish lists... or will I be adding titles to those lists?
=== May 3 ===
Title: Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride
Author: Lorenzo Carcaterra
Standalone mystery set on an Italian island
272 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "Nonna Maria has lived on Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples,
her entire life. Recognizable by the widow’s black she’s worn every day
for decades, she always has pasta on the stove and espresso in the pot
for the neighbors who stop by to ask her advice on life and love.
Everyone knows her, and she knows everyone’s business. So if something
goes wrong, islanders look to her, not the local carabinieri, to find
the solution.
When a recently engaged woman confesses that she’s
afraid her fiancé, a stranger to Ischia with a murky past, might not be
who he seems, Nonna Maria helps her disappear so she can investigate the
true nature of her betrothed. The stranger has also raised the
suspicions of Captain Murino of the carabinieri, but he’s occupied
investigating the death of a tour boat captain who drowned in the wee
hours of the morning. Captain Murino believes it was an accident, but
Nonna Maria knows the man was a born sailor and too good a swimmer to
drown, no matter how much wine he might have drunk. While Captain Murino
has his hands full, she pours herself a glass of white wine and gets to
work, even though getting involved will expose her to the dangers
lurking just beneath the surface of her idyllic home."
Title: Waterbury Winter
Standalone mystery set in New England
264 pages
Synopsis: "
Barnaby Brown has had enough of freezing winters,
insurmountable debt, a dead-end job, and his solitary life as a young
widower with no one but his beloved parrot Popsicle. He yearns to move
to California and reawaken his long-lost early life as an artist. But
new troubles come in threes. His ancient car crashes into a snowbank.
Popsicle escapes through a window carelessly left open.A
New York gallery owner offers to represent Barnaby’s paintings—but is
he on the up-and-up? All of it serves to shock Barnaby into confronting
how low he has sunk, and he vows—again and again—to change. He has a few
obstacles, starting with his heavy drinking and long-term neglect of
his ancestral home. As he takes steps toward a better life, he
re-discovers the value of old friendships and latent talents seen in new
light, and finds the courage to consider a second chance at love.
Rejoining the mainstream of life presents several startling mysteries he
must unravel, with a few mortifying but enlightening stumbles."
Title:
The Marlow Murder Club Author: Robert Thorogood
Series: #1 in a cozy series set in England
353 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "
Meet Judith: a seventy-seven-year-old whiskey drinking,
crossword puzzle author living her best life in a dilapidated mansion on
the outskirts of Marlow.Nothing ever happens in
Marlow. That is, until Judith hears her neighbor shot while
skinny-dipping in the Thames. The local police don't believe her story.
It's an open and shut case, of course. Ha! Stefan can't be left for dead
like that.
Judith investigates and picks up a crew
of sidekicks: Suzie the dogwalker and Becks the vicar's wife. Together,
they are the Marlow Murder Club.
When another body
turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their
hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which
they might never escape...
Robert Thorogood, has
turned the Christie-mystery on its head with this ever-so-sly cozy
perfect for readers who love Richard Osmond's Thursday Murder Club and An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good."
Title:
Strawberried Alive Series: #14 in the Cpcake Bakery cozy series set in Arizona.
288 pages
Synopsis: "Life is smooth as buttercream at the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery,
and newlyweds Mel and Joe are stopping to smell the flours. But things
start to crumble one night when an unknown gunman takes a shot at Mel.
Though the bullets miss their mark, the cupcake crew goes on high alert
to figure out who would want to kill a small-town baker, and why.
When more business owners are attacked, things turn fatal, and locals
begin to wonder if the killer could be one of their own. Every shop
owner in town starts to fear it’s only a matter of time before they too
become victims of the mystery murderer. Despite the cupcake crew's
superb baking skills, it will be anything but a piece of cake to catch
the killer, as they try to prevent anyone else from being berried."
=== May 10 ===
Series: #1 in the Alaska Untamed cozy series set in Alaska
320 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "No nine-to-five cubicle career will suit Stacie Calder—the
naturalist much prefers working in the great outdoors. Specifically, the
spacious and spectacular Alaskan wilderness, whose rugged charms she
shares with sightseers on the top deck of the tour boat where she works.
But one May afternoon, Stacie’s passengers see more than glittering
glaciers, frolicking harbor seals, climbing bears and soaring
seabirds…they also witness a man lying dead in the frigid Alaskan
waters. And it seems likely that someone gave him a fatal push.
Stacie
didn’t know the unfortunate victim, but he sure wanted to know a lot
about her. He spent most of his final afternoon bombarding her with
questions quite awkward to answer. And when he wasn’t in her hair, he
was arguing incessantly with the boat’s beleaguered crew. Which makes
for a suspect list about as long as the passenger manifest. Furthermore,
as police helicopters relentlessly circle her boat in search of any
clues, Stacie is shaken to find herself on that suspect list.
Before
the tour boat reaches shore Stacie—accompanied by her beautiful
blue-eyed husky, Sasha—must deduce just who sent the testy tourist
tumbling into the turgid waters and have the authorities take custody.
Because if she can’t, then the killer might aim a fatal ice-cold stare
at Stacie."
Series: #22 in the V.I. Warshawski private detective series set in Chicago
400 pages
Synopsis: "On her way home from an all-night surveillance job, V.I.
Warshawski is led by her dogs on a mad chase that ends when they
discover a badly injured teen hiding in the rocks along Lake Michigan.
The girl only regains consciousness long enough to utter one enigmatic
word. V.I. helps bring her to a hospital, but not long after, she
vanishes before anyone can discover her identity. As V.I. attempts to
find her, the detective uncovers an ugly consortium of Chicago
powerbrokers and mobsters who are prepared to kill the girl. And now
V.I.’s own life is in jeopardy as well.
Told against the backdrop of a city emerging from its pandemic lockdown, Overboard lays bare the dark secrets and corruption buried in Chicago’s neighborhoods in masterly fashion."
=== May 17 ===
Author: Brian Klingborg
Series: #2 in the Inspector Lu Fei police procedural series set in Myanmar
304 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "Police Inspector Lu Fei has an unfortunate talent for getting
himself into hot water with powerful and well-connected people. Which is
why he’s been assigned to a backwater town in a rural area of Northern
China and quietly warned to keep his head down. But while running a
sting operation on the sale and consumption of rare and endangered
animals, Lu comes across the curious case of a waitress who has gone
missing. Her last known whereabouts: a restaurant frequented by local
elites, owned by smooth-talking gangster, and known for its exotic --
and highly illegal -- delicacies.
As usual, Lu's investigation
ruffles some feathers, resulting in his suspension from the police
force. Lu figures he's reached a dead-end. Then he's contacted by a
mysterious government official in Beijing who wants him to go undercover
to track down the mastermind behind an illegal animal trafficking
network -- and hopefully, the answer to the fate of the missing
waitress. The mission will require Lu to travel deep into the lawless
wilds of Myanmar, where he will risk his life to infiltrate the hidden
compound of a mysterious and ruthless female warlord in a bloody and
nearly hopeless quest for justice."
=== May 24 ===
Title:
What Can't Be Seen Series: #2 in the Dr. Gretchen White psychologist series set in Massachusetts
367 pages
Synopsis: "
Psychologist and criminologist Dr. Gretchen White, top
consultant for the Boston PD, has solved countless cases―but never her
own. Since the age of eight, she has lived her life thinking she killed
her aunt. After all, she was found standing over the body, clutching a
bloody knife. Most people, including Detective Patrick Shaughnessy,
believe the little sociopath got away with murder. Thirty years later,
Detective Lauren Marconi wants to prove them wrong.When
plucking at the threads of the past unravels a decades-old case tied to
the White family, both Lauren and Gretchen grapple with the question,
What if Gretchen really is guilty? As old secrets come to light and
Gretchen’s lifelong grip on her darkest impulses threatens to erode,
Shaughnessy is there watching, waiting for her to lose control one more
time.
Everyone thinks they know what happened that night. But the truth is beyond what anyone imagines―even Gretchen herself."
There's a good mix of books this month from cozy to hard-edged, from just around the corner to exotic Myanmar. Which books tickled your fancy? Inquiring minds would love to know!
