Here it is, the end of October, and it's finally cooling down here in the desert. As I write this, the high temperature is only going to be 84°F/29°C, and I have to admit that, if I can't spend my days in the pool, the mid-eighties is the perfect temperature range for me. (Told you I don't like the cold!) Denis and I can get out and roam outdoors to our hearts' content without the fear of being fried on the hoof, although we do still need our hats and sunscreen.
The past couple of months, I've been treated to some excellent books that have made my Best Reads of 2022 list, and I'm definitely hoping that this trend continues. To that end, you know I'm keeping my eyes peeled for new crime fiction to read.
The following books are what I consider to be the crème de la crème. I've grouped them according to their release dates, and their covers and synopses are courtesy of my favorite showroom, Amazon. Let's see if I've chosen any that tickle your fancy, too.
=== November 1 ===
Title: Death on a Winter Stroll Series: #7 in the Merry Folger police procedural series set on Nantucket Island.
288 pages
Synopsis: "Nantucket Police Chief Meredith Folger is acutely conscious of the
stress COVID-19 has placed on the community she loves. Although the
island has proved a refuge for many during the pandemic, the cost to
Nantucket has been high. Merry hopes that the Christmas Stroll, one of
Nantucket’s favorite traditions, in which Main Street is transformed
into a winter wonderland, will lift the island’s spirits. But the
arrival of a large-scale TV production, and the Secretary of State and
her family, complicates matters significantly.
The TV shoot is
plagued with problems from within, as a shady, power-hungry producer
clashes with strong-willed actors. Across Nantucket, the Secretary’s
troubled stepson keeps shaking off his security detail to visit a
dilapidated house near conservation land, where an intriguing recluse
guards secrets of her own. With all parties overly conscious of spending
too much time in the public eye and secrets swirling around both camps,
it is difficult to parse what behavior is suspicious or not—until the
bodies turn up.
Now, it’s up to Merry and Detective Howie Seitz
to find a connection between two seemingly unconnected murders and catch
the killer. But when everyone has a motive, and half of the suspects
are politicians and actors, how can Merry and Howie tell fact from
fiction?
This latest installment in critically acclaimed author
Francine Mathews’s Merry Folger series is an immersive escape to festive
Nantucket, a poignant exploration of grief as a result of parental
absence, and a delicious new mystery to keep you guessing."
Series: #1 in the Detective Inaya Rahman police procedural series set in Colorado.
384 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "Girls from immigrant communities have been disappearing for months
in the Colorado town of Blackwater Falls, but the local sheriff is slow
to act and the fates of the missing girls largely ignored. At last, the
calls for justice become too loud to ignore when the body of a star
student and refugee--the Syrian teenager Razan Elkader--is positioned
deliberately in a mosque.
Detective Inaya Rahman and Lieutenant
Waqas Seif of the Denver Police are recruited to solve Razan’s murder,
and quickly uncover a link to other missing and murdered girls. But as
Inaya gets closer to the truth, Seif finds ways to obstruct the
investigation. Inaya may be drawn to him, but she is wary of his
motives: he may be covering up the crimes of their boss, whose
connections in Blackwater run deep.
Inaya turns to her female
colleagues, attorney Areesha Adams and Detective Catalina Hernandez, for
help in finding the truth. The three have bonded through their
experiences as members of vulnerable groups and now they must work
together to expose the conspiracy behind the murders before another girl
disappears.
Delving deep into racial tensions, and police corruption and violence, Blackwater Falls examines a series of crimes within the context of contemporary American politics with compassion and searing insight."
Title: It Came Upon a Midnight Shear Author: Allie Pleiter
Series: #3 in the Riverbank Knitting cozy series set in Maryland.
304 pages
Synopsis: "The holiday season looks merry and bright for Libby and her
friends at Y.A.R.N. The store is expanding for a holiday boom, and she’s
gathered Collinstown’s businesses to decorate a community Christmas
tree. Dashing “Gallant Herdsman” Vincenzo Marani arrives to showcase the
rare vicuña, whose coat produces the world’s most luxurious yarn. It’s a
perfect yuletide—until Libby’s ex-husband, Sterling, turns up in
town…and then turns up dead.
The murder unravels Libby’s life
faster than a hand-knit Christmas stocking. The luxe yarn goes missing,
Sterling’s domineering family comes to town, and the vicuña attempt an
escape. If Libby can’t stitch up a solution to the case, she may be
trading in her knitting needles for a set of handcuffs."
=== November 8 ===
Author: Patricia Wolf
Series: #1 in the DS Lucas Walker police procedural series set in Australia.
320 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "DS Lucas Walker is on leave in his hometown of Caloodie, taking
care of his dying grandmother. When two young German backpackers, Berndt
and Rita, vanish from the area, he finds himself unofficially on the
case. But why all the interest from the Federal Police when they have
probably just ditched the heat and dust of the outback for the coast?
As
the number of days since the couple's disappearance climbs, DS Walker
is joined by Rita's older sister. A detective herself with Berlin CID,
she has flown to Australia - desperate to find her sister before it's
too late.
Working in the organised crime unit has opened
Walker's eyes to the growing drug trade in Australia's remote interior,
and he remains convinced there is more at play.
As temperatures
soar, the search for Berndt and Rita becomes ever more urgent. Even if
Walker does find the young couple, will it be too late?"
Series: #5 in the Renée Ballard police procedural series set in California. (Also features Harry Bosch.)
400 pages
Synopsis: "A year has passed since LAPD detective Renée Ballard quit the
force in the face of misogyny, demoralization, and endless red tape. But
after the chief of police himself tells her she can write her own
ticket within the department, Ballard takes back her badge, leaving “the
Late Show” to rebuild and lead the cold case unit at the elite
Robbery-Homicide Division.
For years, Harry Bosch has been
working a case that haunts him—the murder of an entire family by a
psychopath who still walks free. Ballard makes Bosch an offer: come
volunteer as an investigator in her new Open-Unsolved Unit, and he can
pursue his “white whale” with the resources of the LAPD behind him.
First priority for Ballard is to clear the unsolved rape and murder of a
sixteen-year-old girl. The decades-old case is essential to the
councilman who supported re-forming the unit, and who could shutter it
again—the victim was his sister. When Ballard gets a “cold hit”
connecting the killing to a similar crime, proving that a serial
predator has been at work in the city for years, the political pressure
has never been higher. To keep momentum going, she has to pull Bosch off
his own investigation, the case that is the consummation of his
lifelong mission.
The two must put aside old resentments and new
tensions to run to ground not one but two dangerous killers who have
operated with brash impunity. "
Series: #16 in the Royal Spyness historical mystery series set in 1930s France.
304 pages
Synopsis: "What a delight it is to finally be able to enjoy a simple meal
again! I have been in the throes of morning sickness for the last few
months as Darcy and I prepare to welcome a brand-new addition to our
little family. Now that I am feeling better, I have realized I am
dreadfully bored! It seems that all my nearest and dearest are off
leading their own busy lives while I sit at home and attempt to train
our two adorably naughty puppies. Fun as it may be, it is hard not to
long for a little adventure, a change of pace, before my true
confinement begins when the baby comes.
Happily, it seems that
Darcy has read my mind. When I receive a letter from my glamorous best
friend, Belinda, Darcy suggests we take a trip to Paris to visit her. It
seems he also has a spot of business of which to take care, so I will
be staying in Belinda’s flat as she works feverishly on Coco Chanel’s
fall collection. I happen to know Coco from a disastrous encounter in
Nice years ago, and I am hoping this visit will go much more smoothly.
But I soon learn that nothing about my time in Paris is going to be
simple . . . or safe for that matter.
Darcy has asked me to take
on a small chore as a part of his latest assignment. I am to covertly
retrieve something from an attendee of Coco’s show. It seems easy
enough, but I discover that this little errand could have terrifying
consequences for a world on the brink of war. When things go horribly
wrong, I am left to find a killer all while trying to fend off a French
policeman who is certain that I am a criminal mastermind. But I have no
plans to deliver my darling little one in a prison cell, and so I will
muster every ounce of my courage to save the day . . . and, quite
possibly, the world!"
=== November 10 ===
Title: A Killer Christmas at Honeychurch Hall Series: #9 in the Kat Stanford/Honeychurch Hall cozy series set in England.
288 pages
Synopsis: "Following the butler's death and the cook's retirement, the
ever-gullible Lady Lavinia replaces them with a power couple who are
determined to thrust the crumbling estate into the 21st century. The
Dowager Countess reluctantly agrees to hold a big-ticket Christmas gala
and silent auction with a mystery celebrity flying in from Monaco as the
guest of honour.
Needless to say the newcomers' make a few
enemies in their quest to change the status quo and when one body is
discovered in the Victorian stumpery and a second, in the ha-ha, it
seems that their high-flying past is catching up with them.
Meanwhile,
Kat is dealing with the theft of a valuable doll that had been
earmarked for the auction. When it turns out that all the ticket money
has vanished and there never was a celebrity guest, it's up to Kat to
save the day and bring the cold-blooded killer to justice."
=== November 15 ===
Author: Barbara Nickless
Series: #2 in the Dr. Evan Wilding police procedural series set in Illinois.
367 pages
Synopsis: "What an exotic way to die in Chicago.When
esteemed historian Elizabeth Lawrence is found in her car, killed by a
cobra’s bite, only a brilliant professor of semiotics, Dr. Evan Wilding,
can see the signs around her strange death. As he helps homicide
detective Addie Bisset decipher the scene, the puzzles left behind offer
Evan chilling passage into the mind of a killer.
Evan’s
investigation merges with that of an Israeli agent, who claims
Elizabeth was close to acquiring an invaluable artifact. She was also
drawing the attention of unsavory treasure hunters, forgers, and
thieves. Was someone desperate to expose the truth of Elizabeth’s
astonishing discovery?
The deeper Evan and Addie
delve into the case, the darker it gets. A murderer’s archaic crimes are
just the beginning. In a race where there can be only one winner, the
final victim might be Evan."
Title: A Ghost of Caribou Series: #3 in the Alex Carter wildlife biologist series set in Washington state.
320 pages
Synopsis: "When a remote camera on a large, rugged expanse held by the
Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation picks up a blurry image of what
could be a mountain caribou, they contact Alex Carter to investigate.
After all, mountain caribou went extinct in the contiguous U.S. years
ago, and if one has wandered down from Canada, it’s monumental.But
when Alex arrives on scene in the Selkirk mountains of northeastern
Washington state, she quickly learns that her only challenge isn’t
finding an elusive caribou on a massive piece of land. The nearby
townspeople are agitated; loggers and activists clash over a swath of
old growth forest marked for clearcutting. The murdered body of a forest
ranger is found strung up in the town’s park, and Alex learns of a
backcountry hiker who went missing in the same area the year before.
As
she ventures into the forest in search of the endangered animal, she
quickly finds herself in a fight for her life, caught between factions
warring for the future of the forest and a murderer stalking the dense
groves of ancient trees."
Title: Bleeding Heart Yard Series: #3 in the Harbinder Kaur police procedural series set in England.
352 pages
Synopsis: "When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and
her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie
is a happily married mother who loves her job—as a police officer. She
closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.One
day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie
catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park
School—among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress.
But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the
school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an
eminent—and controversial—MP and the investigation is high profile, it’s
headed by Cassie’s new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and
newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can’t shake the feeling
that one of them has killed again.
Is Cassie right,
or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It’s in
Cassie’s interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like it has
nothing to do with Manor Park and she seems to be succeeding.
Until someone else from the reunion is found dead in Bleeding Heart Yard…"
Title: The Twist of a Knife Series: #4 in the Hawthorne & Horowitz series set in England.
384 pages
Synopsis: "“I’m sorry but the answer’s no.” Reluctant
author, Anthony Horowitz, has had enough. He tells ex-detective Daniel
Hawthorne that after three books he’s splitting and their deal is over.The truth is that Anthony has other things on his mind.
His new play, a thriller called Mindgame,
is about to open at the Vaudeville Theater in London’s West End. Not
surprisingly, Hawthorne declines a ticket to the opening night.
The play is panned by the critics. In particular, Sunday Times
critic Margaret Throsby gives it a savage review, focusing particularly
on the writing. The next day, Throsby is stabbed in the heart with an
ornamental dagger which turns out to belong to Anthony, and has his
fingerprints all over it.
Anthony is arrested by an
old enemy . . . Detective Inspector Cara Grunshaw. She still carries a
grudge from her failure to solve the case described in the second
Hawthorne adventure, The Sentence is Death, and blames Anthony. Now she’s out for revenge.
Thrown
into prison and fearing for both his personal future and his writing
career, Anthony is the prime suspect in Throsby’s murder and when a
second theatre critic is found to have died in mysterious circumstances,
the net closes in. Ever more desperate, he realizes that only one man
can help him.
But will Hawthorne take the call?"
=== November 29 ===
Title: An Act of Foul Play Series: #9 in the Lady Hardcastle historical mystery series set in turn-of-the-20th-century England.
303 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "November
1911. Lady Emily Hardcastle is celebrating her birthday by seeing a
play at the Duke’s Theatre in Bristol with her maid and confidante, the
inimitable Flo. Act One is a triumph. Then Act Two opens with a body on
stage―a real one. One of the cast has been brutally murdered during the
interval.When other matters get in the way of
Inspector Sunderland overseeing the case himself, he asks the
ever-resourceful Lady H to keep a watchful eye on the suspects―and his
police colleagues. Rustling up some cunning disguises of their own, she
and Flo are soon in deep cover among the cast and crew, pulling back the
curtain on some shocking secrets and rivalries…
The
problem is, everyone seems to have a motive, and everyone seems to have
an alibi…In this locked-room mystery in which nothing is as it seems,
the amateur sleuths need to put on the performances of their lives if
they’re to stand a chance of shining a spotlight on the truth…"
November is another month in which several of my favorite authors have new books being released. I think the publishers are hoping that we all blow our budgets on book buying, don't you?
Which new books tickle your fancy most? Inquiring minds would love to know!
