New Mystery Releases for July 2010!

As anyone who's visited here a time or two knows, I can and do read other genres, but my primary focus of interest is crime fiction-- what we used to call mysteries in the good old days.

I do like to keep current on what new mysteries are on the horizon. That way I can get them added to my Paperback Swap wish list or plan a trip to The Poisoned Pen.

I know several of my loyal readers (thank you!) enjoy reading mysteries, too, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to let you know monthly the new goodies for which I'm keeping my eyes peeled.

Without further ado, here are ten new mysteries being released in July that I'd love to read-- and I hope you will, too! I've included the information you'll need to find it at your favorite book spot, and if you'd like to know more about the plot, etc., click on the book cover.



===July 1 Release===


Title: Mama Gets HitchedAuthor: Deborah SharpSeries: #3 in the Mace Bauer series set in Florida
ISBN: 9780738719221
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Paperback, 336 pages





===July 6 Release===


Title: Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder
Author: Shamini Flint
Series: #2 in the Inspector Singh series based in Singapore
ISBN: 9780312596972
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 304 pages






Title: Last Writes
Author: Sheila Lowe
Series: #4 in the Claudia Rose forensic handwriting series set in Los Angeles, California
ISBN: 9780451231109
Publisher: Signet
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages





Title: Closet Confidential
Author: Mary Jane Maffini
Series: #4 in the Charlotte Adams professional organizer series set in upstate New York
ISBN: 9780425235645
Publisher: Berkley
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages





Title: The Drowning River, A Mystery in Florence
Author: Christobel Kent
Series: #1 in the Sandro Cellini P.I. series set in Florence, Italy
ISBN: 9780312621018
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 320 pages







===July 13 Release===



Title: The Glass Rainbow
Author: James Lee Burke
Series: #18 in the Dave Robicheaux series set in New Iberia, Louisiana
ISBN: 9781439128299
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hardcover, 448 pages






===July 15 Release===



Title: A Pig of Cold Poison
Author: Pat McIntosh
Series: #7 in the Gil Cunningham series set in 15th century Glasgow, Scotland
ISBN: 9781569476505
Publisher: Soho Constable
Hardcover, 288 pages






Title: The Taken
Author: Inger Ash Wolfe
Series: #2 in the Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef series set in Ontario, Canada
ISBN: 9780151013531
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Hardcover, 432 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.





===July 19 Release===


Title: The Messenger of Athens
Author: Anne Zouroudi
Series: #1 in the Greek Detective series set in... wait for it... Greece
ISBN: 9780316075428
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Hardcover, 336 pages






===July 27 Release===



Title: Queen of the Night
Author: J.A. Jance
Series: #4 in the Walker family series set in Tucson, Arizona
ISBN: 9780061239243
Publisher: William Morrow
Hardcover, 368 pages






There you have it: my Top Ten for July! Do any of these titles intrigue you? Which ones?

Mama Does Time by Deborah Sharp

Title: Mama Does Time
Author: Deborah Sharp
ISBN: 9780738713298, Midnight Ink, 2008
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #1 Mace Bauer mystery
Rating: B

First Line: Mama just wanted to look pretty for high-stakes bingo night at the Seminole casino.

Mama is a lady. A Southern lady. She prefers to wear sherbet-colored pantsuits with matching accessories. She drives a vintage turquoise convertible...and she has three daughters. The oldest, Maddie, is the principal of the middle school in Himmarshee, Florida, and she can be a bit...tense and assertive. Marty, the youngest daughter is a librarian, and after growing up with Maddie and Mace, she normally doesn't say much of anything. Mace, the middle daughter in Mama's tribe, works with wildlife in Himmarshee Park and much prefers critters to people. One of Mace's aims in life seems to be doing the exact opposite of whatever Mama and Maddie want.

When a dead body is found in the trunk of Mama's convertible, the new lawman in town, humorless Detective Martinez, sets out to prove that Mama's the killer, and he throws her in jail. Naturally all three daughters swarm to her defense.

Although the author certainly has a wonderful turn of phrase, as I read the first part of the book, I was afraid that I'd gotten trapped in a routine cozy mystery. I was wrong. Detective Martinez-- at first the run-of-the-mill book 'em regardless of the facts lawman-- has real depth, as do Mace and her sisters. The Florida setting came through loud and clear because not only did my consumption of iced tea spike during the reading of the book, I had to turn the ceiling fan to a higher speed. Sharp kept the ball rolling at a good clip, and I quite happily climbed into the backseat of Mama's turquoise convertible for an entertaining ride.

More than anything, I enjoyed Mama Does Time for the characters and the humor. Want examples of what I'm talking about? Here are a few:

"...what happened to your hair, honey? It looks like a possum crawled in there and dug a nest."

After I polished off the chicken, I ate some tortilla chips with a bowl of my homemade salsa. It's strong enough to blow the back of your head all the way to Guadalajara.

And my personal favorite...

He poked her gently in the arm with his fork. "Chill out, Maddie. If you wind yourself up any tighter, only dogs will be able to hear you fart."

Now some of you may be thinking that Mama Does Time is going to be just too Southern for your taste buds. That would be a legitimate concern; however, I have a testimonial from my Yankee book buddy in Minneapolis. Cheryl and I are both on Paperback Swap, we both love mysteries, and we tend to mail each other books on a regular basis. Here's what Cheryl wrote on the packing slip when she sent me this book: "Enjoy! I liked it, even with the 'y'all', sweet tea and yappy little dog! LOL"

Mama Does Time is an entertaining mystery with a wonderful cast of characters that is appealing regardless upon which side of the Mason-Dixon you reside. I, for one, am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.