But you all know that, no matter how busy I get, I'm always going to find the time to keep an eye peeled for new crime fiction, and that's what I'm going to share with you now.
The following are my picks of the new crime fiction titles being released in March. They are grouped by release date, and you'll find all the information you'll need to find them at your favorite book procurement sites. Book synopses are courtesy of Amazon.
Let's see what's in store for us in March!
=== March 1 ===
1932. On a windy March 1 night, Charles Lindbergh, America’s hero, discovers that his twenty-month-old son has been snatched from his crib. A ransom is arranged. Yet two months later, Little Lindy is found in a ditch near his Hopewell home, several weeks dead from a blow to the head.
It takes over two years to arrest a suspect. Bruno Richard Hauptmann is caught passing one of the marked ransom bills. Press from across the world swarm to his trial. Bestselling novelist Edna Ferber and raconteur Aleck Woollcott, both hired by the New York Times to cover it, are part of the media frenzy, bickering like the literary lions they are. Did this immigrant carpenter really commit the crime? Alone? Observant sometime-sleuth Edna is not so sure.
Local citizens, whipped into a frenzy by the yellow press, march through the streets demanding Hauptmann burn. Walter Winchell takes the lynch mob sentiment national. A British waitress at Edna’s hotel, who’d hinted she had priceless information that could blow the trial wide open, is murdered. Edna begins to suspect a miscarriage of justice is underway, fueled in part by anti-German sentiment, in part by class privilege.
Edna doesn’t find Colonel Lindbergh the golden boy of legend. But there he is, entering the courthouse flanked by a quartet of New Jersey troopers. There’s Hauptmann, handsome and calm despite his date with the electric chair―unless Edna can alter the course of justice."
Title: A Bed of Scorpions
Author: Judith Flanders
Series: #2 in the Samantha Clair series set in London
ISBN: 9781250056467
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 320 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "Summer in London-the sun is finally shining,
the flowers are in bloom, and life is humming merrily along for book
editor Samantha Clair, off to lunch with her old friend, art-dealer
Aidan Merriam. Humming merrily until she learns that his partner has
just been found dead in their gallery, slumped over his desk with a gun
in his hand. Could anything be worse? Oh yes, the police
investigation is being led by Inspector Jake Field, who just happens to
be Sam's new boyfriend. And Aidan, who just happens to be Sam's
ex-boyfriend, wants Sam's help. Finding herself drawn into another
investigation, Sam does the only sensible thing and calls her mother.
Before long, Sam finds her loyalties stretched to the limit as she
herself is threatened.
.
Armed with nothing more than her trusty
weapons of satire, cynicism and a stock of irrelevant information
culled from novels, Sam races to find a killer who is determined to
find her first in the newest fast-paced, uproarious novel in the
critically acclaimed series from New York Times bestselling author
Judith Flanders."
Title: The Madwoman Upstairs
Author: Catherine Lowell
Standalone literary mystery set in Oxford, England
ISBN: 9781501124211
Publisher: Touchstone
Hardcover, 352 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "In Catherine Lowell’s smart and original debut novel, the only remaining
descendant of the Brontë family embarks on a modern-day literary
scavenger hunt to find the family’s long-rumored secret estate, using
only the clues her eccentric father left behind, and the Brontës’ own
novels.
Samantha Whipple is used to stirring up speculation wherever she goes. Since her father’s untimely death, she is the presumed heir to a long-rumored trove of diaries, paintings, letters, and early novel drafts passed down from the Brontë family—a hidden fortune never revealed to anyone outside of the family, but endlessly speculated about by Brontë scholars and fanatics. Samantha, however, has never seen this alleged estate and for all she knows, it’s just as fictional as Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights.
Yet everything changes when Samantha enrolls at Oxford University and long lost objects from the past begin rematerializing in her life. Her father’s distinctive copy of Jane Eyre, which should have perished in the fire that claimed his life, mysteriously appears on Samantha’s bed. Annotated in her father’s handwriting, the book is the first of many clues in an elaborate scavenger hunt derived from the world’s greatest literature. With the help of a handsome but inscrutable professor, Samantha must plunge into a vast literary mystery and an untold family legacy, one that can only be solved by decoding the clues hidden within the Brontës’ own writing."
Samantha Whipple is used to stirring up speculation wherever she goes. Since her father’s untimely death, she is the presumed heir to a long-rumored trove of diaries, paintings, letters, and early novel drafts passed down from the Brontë family—a hidden fortune never revealed to anyone outside of the family, but endlessly speculated about by Brontë scholars and fanatics. Samantha, however, has never seen this alleged estate and for all she knows, it’s just as fictional as Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights.
Yet everything changes when Samantha enrolls at Oxford University and long lost objects from the past begin rematerializing in her life. Her father’s distinctive copy of Jane Eyre, which should have perished in the fire that claimed his life, mysteriously appears on Samantha’s bed. Annotated in her father’s handwriting, the book is the first of many clues in an elaborate scavenger hunt derived from the world’s greatest literature. With the help of a handsome but inscrutable professor, Samantha must plunge into a vast literary mystery and an untold family legacy, one that can only be solved by decoding the clues hidden within the Brontës’ own writing."
Title: The Considerate Killer
Authors: Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis
Series: #4 in the Nina Borg series set in Copenhagen, Denmark
ISBN: 9781616955281
Publisher: Soho Crime
Hardcover, 320 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: " In an attempt to save their marriage, Nina Borg and her husband
traveled to a beach resort in the Philippines for a dream vacation. Only
now, six months later, does Nina begin to understand the devastating
repercussions of that trip—repercussions that have followed her home
across the globe to Denmark. On an icy winter day, she is attacked
outside the grocery store. The last thing she hears before losing
consciousness is her assailant asking her forgiveness. Only later does
she understand that this isn’t for what he’s just done, but for what he
plans to do to.
As Nina tries to trace the origin of sinister messages she’s received, she realizes the attempt on her life must be linked to events in Manila, and to three young men whose dangerous friendship started in medical school. Time and circumstance have forced them to make impossible choices that have cost human lives.
It’s a long way from Viborg to Manila, and yet Nina and her pursuer face the same dilemma: How far will they go to save themselves?"
As Nina tries to trace the origin of sinister messages she’s received, she realizes the attempt on her life must be linked to events in Manila, and to three young men whose dangerous friendship started in medical school. Time and circumstance have forced them to make impossible choices that have cost human lives.
It’s a long way from Viborg to Manila, and yet Nina and her pursuer face the same dilemma: How far will they go to save themselves?"
Title: Time of Fog and Fire
Author: Rhys Bowen
Series: #16 in the Molly Murphy historical series set in New York City and San Francisco
ISBN: 9781250052049
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 288 pages
Synopsis: "Molly Murphy Sullivan's husband Daniel, a police captain in
turn-of-the-century New York City, is in a precarious position. The new
police commissioner wants him off the force altogether. So when Daniel’s
offered an assignment from John Wilkie, head of the secret service,
he’s eager to accept. Molly can’t draw any details of the assignment out
of him, even where he’ll be working. But when she spots him in San
Francisco during a movie news segment, she starts to wonder if he’s in
even more danger than she had first believed. And then she receives a
strange and cryptic letter from him, leading her to conclude that he
wants her to join him in San Francisco. Molly knows that if Daniel’s
turning to her rather than John Wilkie or his contacts in the police
force, something must have gone terribly wrong. What can she do for him
that the police can’t? Especially when she doesn’t even know what his
assignment is? Embarking on a cross-country journey with her young son,
Molly can’t fathom what’s in store for her, but she knows it might be
dangerous―in fact, it might put all of their lives at risk."
Title: Cold Morning
Author: Ed Ifkovic
Series: #7 in the Edna Ferber historical series set in New Jersey
ISBN: 9781464205439
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Paperback, 288 pages
Synopsis: "January 3, 1935. The trial opens in Flemington, New Jersey, for the man
accused of “the crime of the century.” And Edna Ferber is there to cover
it.
1932. On a windy March 1 night, Charles Lindbergh, America’s hero, discovers that his twenty-month-old son has been snatched from his crib. A ransom is arranged. Yet two months later, Little Lindy is found in a ditch near his Hopewell home, several weeks dead from a blow to the head.
It takes over two years to arrest a suspect. Bruno Richard Hauptmann is caught passing one of the marked ransom bills. Press from across the world swarm to his trial. Bestselling novelist Edna Ferber and raconteur Aleck Woollcott, both hired by the New York Times to cover it, are part of the media frenzy, bickering like the literary lions they are. Did this immigrant carpenter really commit the crime? Alone? Observant sometime-sleuth Edna is not so sure.
Local citizens, whipped into a frenzy by the yellow press, march through the streets demanding Hauptmann burn. Walter Winchell takes the lynch mob sentiment national. A British waitress at Edna’s hotel, who’d hinted she had priceless information that could blow the trial wide open, is murdered. Edna begins to suspect a miscarriage of justice is underway, fueled in part by anti-German sentiment, in part by class privilege.
Edna doesn’t find Colonel Lindbergh the golden boy of legend. But there he is, entering the courthouse flanked by a quartet of New Jersey troopers. There’s Hauptmann, handsome and calm despite his date with the electric chair―unless Edna can alter the course of justice."
=== March 8 ===
Title: On the Bone
Author: Barbara Nadel
Series: #18 in the Inspector Çetin Ikmen police procedural series set in Istanbul, Turkey
ISBN: 9781472213792
Publisher: Headline
Hardcover, 384 pages
Synopsis: "A young man drops dead in a fashionable Istanbul street. The autopsy
proves it was a natural death - a heart attack - but what is in Emre
Alphan's stomach is not. His last meal was of human flesh. Ikmen must
trace Alphan's final movements, and discover who the victim was. Food itself has become contentious, with traces of pork discovered in tinned beans, accusations flying about whether this was a deliberately provocative act in a Muslim country,
and suspicions about what is really being served up. Ikmen soon finds
himself in the world of the now beleaguered secular elite, people who feel their Western way of life is under threat of extinction, some of whom are joining a very dark new cult..."
=== March 22 ===
Title: Terror in Taffeta
Author: Marla Cooper
Series: #1 in the Kelsey McKenna Destination Wedding cozy series set in Mexico
ISBN: 9781250072566
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 288 pages
Synopsis: "Wedding planner Kelsey McKenna is just a few hours away from wrapping up
her latest job: a destination wedding in the charming, colonial Mexican
town of San Miguel de Allende. The reception is all set up, the tequila
donkey is waiting outside, and the bride and groom are standing on the
altar, pledging their eternal love. But just as the priest is about to
pronounce them husband and wife, one of the bridesmaids upstages the
couple by collapsing into a floral arrangement, a definite wedding
"don't." Kelsey soon discovers that the girl hasn't just fainted--she's
dead.
Losing a bridesmaid is bad enough, but when the bride's sister is arrested for murder, the demanding mother of the bride insists that Kelsey fix the matter at once. And although Kelsey is pretty sure investigating a murder isn't in her contract, crossing the well-connected Mrs. Abernathy could be a career-killer. Before she can leave Mexico and get back to planning weddings, Kelsey must deal with stubborn detectives, a rekindled romance, and late-night death threats in this smart, funny cozy mystery debut."
Losing a bridesmaid is bad enough, but when the bride's sister is arrested for murder, the demanding mother of the bride insists that Kelsey fix the matter at once. And although Kelsey is pretty sure investigating a murder isn't in her contract, crossing the well-connected Mrs. Abernathy could be a career-killer. Before she can leave Mexico and get back to planning weddings, Kelsey must deal with stubborn detectives, a rekindled romance, and late-night death threats in this smart, funny cozy mystery debut."
=== March 29 ===
Title: The Cracked Spine
Author: Paige Shelton
Series: #1 in the Scottish Bookshop cozy series set in Edinburgh
ISBN: 9781250057488
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 304 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "Wanted: A bold adventurer who wants
to travel the world from a comfortable and safe spot behind a desk that
has seen the likes of kings and queens, paupers and princes. A humble
book and rare manuscript shop seeks a keenly intelligent investigator to
assist us in our search for things thought lost, and in our quest to
return lost items to their rightful owners.
Never an adventurer, no one was more surprised than Delaney Nichols when she packed her bags and moved halfway across the world to Edinburgh, Scotland to start a job at The Cracked Spine, a bookshop located in the heart of the city. Her new boss, Edwin MacAlister, has given her the opportunity of a lifetime, albeit a cryptic one, and Delaney can’t wait to take her spot behind the desk.
Never an adventurer, no one was more surprised than Delaney Nichols when she packed her bags and moved halfway across the world to Edinburgh, Scotland to start a job at The Cracked Spine, a bookshop located in the heart of the city. Her new boss, Edwin MacAlister, has given her the opportunity of a lifetime, albeit a cryptic one, and Delaney can’t wait to take her spot behind the desk.
The Cracked Spine is filled
with everything a book lover could want, each item as eclectic as the
people who work there; the spirited and lovable Rosie, who always has
tiny dog Hector in tow; Hamlet, a nineteen-year-old thespian with a
colored past and bright future; and Edwin, who is just as enigmatic and
mysterious as Delaney expected. An extra bonus is Tom the bartender from
across the street, with his cobalt eyes, and a gentle brogue―and it
doesn’t hurt that he looks awfully good in a kilt.
Synopsis: "Working with the British Secret Service on an
undercover mission, Maisie Dobbs is sent to Hitler’s Germany in this
thrilling tale of danger and intrigue—the twelfth novel in Jacqueline
Winspear’s New York Times bestselling “series that seems to get better with each entry” (Wall Street Journal).
But before she
can settle into her new life, a precious artifact goes missing, and
Edwin’s sister is brutally murdered. Never did Delaney think that
searching for things lost could mean a killer, but if she’s to keep her
job, and protect her new friends, she’ll need to learn the truth behind
this Scottish tragedy."
Title: The Infidel Stain
Author: M.J. Carter
Series: #2 in the Blake and Avery historical series set in London
ISBN: 9780399171680
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Hardcover, 432 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "London, 1841. Returned from their adventures in India, Jeremiah Blake
and William Avery have both had their difficulties adapting to life in
Victorian England. Moreover, time and distance have weakened the close
bond between them, forged in the jungles of India. Then a shocking
series of murders in the world of London’s gutter press forces them back
together.
The police seem mysteriously unwilling to investigate, then connections emerge between the murdered men and the growing and unpredictable movement demanding the right to vote for all. In the back streets of Drury Lane, among criminals, whores, pornographers, and missionaries, Blake and Avery must race against time to find the culprit before he kills again.
But what if the murderer is being protected by some of the highest powers in the land?"
The police seem mysteriously unwilling to investigate, then connections emerge between the murdered men and the growing and unpredictable movement demanding the right to vote for all. In the back streets of Drury Lane, among criminals, whores, pornographers, and missionaries, Blake and Avery must race against time to find the culprit before he kills again.
But what if the murderer is being protected by some of the highest powers in the land?"
Title: Journey to Munich
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Series: #12 in the Maisie Dobbs historical series set in Germany
ISBN: 9780062220608
Publisher: Harper
Hardcover, 304 pages
It’s
early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly
morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square—a place of many
memories—she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of
the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a
British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family
member. Because the man’s wife is bedridden and his daughter has been
killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie—who bears a
striking resemblance to the daughter—to retrieve the man from Dachau, on
the outskirts of Munich.
The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis—the man she holds responsible for her husband’s death—has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help.
Synopsis: "Intrepid writer and amateur sleuth Josephine
Tey returns in this sixth installment of Nicola Upson’s popular
series—perfect for fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and
Jaqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs—that unfolds in 1930s London as
England prepares to crown a new king.
The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis—the man she holds responsible for her husband’s death—has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help.
Traveling into the heart of Nazi
Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers—and finds herself
questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the
Secret Service may have other ideas. . . ."
Title: London Rain
Author: Nicola Upson
Series: #6 in the Josephine Tey historical series set in London
ISBN: 9780062418159
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Paperback, 336 pages
London, 1937. Following the
gloomy days of the abdication of King Edward VIII, the entire city is
elated to welcome King George. Just one of the many planned festivities
for the historic coronation is a BBC radio adaptation of Queen of Scots, and the original playwright, Josephine Tey, has been invited to sit in on rehearsals.
Soon, however, Josephine gets wrapped up in another sort of drama. The lead actress has been sleeping with Britain’s most venerable newsman, Anthony Beresford—and his humiliated wife happens to work in the building. The sordid affair seems to reach its bloody climax when Beresford is shot to death in his broadcasting booth at the deafening height of the coronation ceremony.
Josephine’s dear friend, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose, has the case wrapped up before long. But when a second, seemingly related murder throws Penrose for a loop, it falls to Josephine to unravel a web of betrayal, jealousy, and long-held secrets… caught all the while in a love triangle of her own making.
Soon, however, Josephine gets wrapped up in another sort of drama. The lead actress has been sleeping with Britain’s most venerable newsman, Anthony Beresford—and his humiliated wife happens to work in the building. The sordid affair seems to reach its bloody climax when Beresford is shot to death in his broadcasting booth at the deafening height of the coronation ceremony.
Josephine’s dear friend, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose, has the case wrapped up before long. But when a second, seemingly related murder throws Penrose for a loop, it falls to Josephine to unravel a web of betrayal, jealousy, and long-held secrets… caught all the while in a love triangle of her own making.
Charming and provocative, thick with the atmosphere of prewar England, London Rain is a captivating portrait of a city on the edge—and an unforgettable woman always one step ahead of her time."
Title: Silenced in the Surf
Author: Kate Dyer-Seeley
Series: #3 in the Pacific Northwest cozy series set in Oregon
ISBN: 9781617730023
Publisher: Kensington
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages
Synopsis: "Covering a windsurfing competition should have been a breeze for
reporter Meg Reed, but with a killer in the curl, she's headed for rough
waters…
Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge is the windsurfing capital of the world, and Meg is stoked to cover the King of the Hook event for Portland's Northwest Extreme magazine. Before the competition gets under way, Meg has a chance to try some windsurfing on her own. But when the current sweeps her downriver, she spots a body snagged on the rocks. The dead man is Justin Cruise, aka Cruise Control, a celebrity windsurfer and not exactly a nice guy. It's soon clear his death was no accident, and Cruise had no shortage of enemies. As Meg dives right in to discover who wiped out the windsurfer, she'll need to keep her balance--or she too may get blown away. "
Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge is the windsurfing capital of the world, and Meg is stoked to cover the King of the Hook event for Portland's Northwest Extreme magazine. Before the competition gets under way, Meg has a chance to try some windsurfing on her own. But when the current sweeps her downriver, she spots a body snagged on the rocks. The dead man is Justin Cruise, aka Cruise Control, a celebrity windsurfer and not exactly a nice guy. It's soon clear his death was no accident, and Cruise had no shortage of enemies. As Meg dives right in to discover who wiped out the windsurfer, she'll need to keep her balance--or she too may get blown away. "
As usual, there's a little something for everyone this month. You've seen all the titles marked "Upcoming review on Kittling: Books," and I can tell you that so far (I'm still reading some of them), one has made it on my Best Reads of 2016 list.
A little side note on covers since I notice these things more than I used to: every time I see the cover of Ed Ifkovic's Cold Morning, I just stare at it. That thing is speaking to me! (And you'll notice that the back of a woman's head is nowhere in sight.)
Which titles made it on your wish lists? Inquiring minds would love to know!
