Time's just ticking away like a bomb this year, isn't it? The water is cooling down in my unheated pool. I've sat out there and read so many wonderful books this summer, but during the past three weeks, I've also watched the angle of the sunlight change. As long as I can spend time out in the pool, I will refuse to admit that it's fall. Even though the signs are all around me. Even though I'm already compiling my annual Christmas mysteries list. (Didn't want to hear that one, did you?)
As usual, I've narrowed down my choice of October's new mystery releases to a baker's dozen (my lucky number)-- and that's not easy. The books are grouped by release date, and I've included all the information you need to find them at all your favorite book procurement locations. All book synopses are courtesy of Amazon. Happy reading!
Series: #19 in the Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee series set on the Navajo Nation in the southwestern US
Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette Manualito
witnesses the cold-blooded shooting of someone very close to her. With
the victim fighting for his life, the entire squad and the local FBI
office are hell-bent on catching the gunman. Bernie, too, wants in on
the investigation, despite regulations forbidding eyewitness
involvement. But that doesn't mean she's going to sit idly by,
especially when her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee, is in charge of finding
the shooter.
Bernie and Chee discover that a cold case involving
his former boss and partner, retired Inspector Joe Leaphorn, may hold
the key. Digging into the old investigation, husband and wife find
themselves inching closer to the truth...and closer to a killer
determined to prevent justice from taking its course."
Title:
Poisoned Prose
Author:
Ellery Adams
Series: #5 in the Books by the Bay series set in Oyster Bay, North Carolina
ISBN: 9780425262955
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "
Olivia thought gathering some of the most renowned storytellers in one
place would be a nice, simple way for herself and the Bayside Book
Writers to appreciate their talents. But things take a dark turn when
the most famous storyteller in the nation—the captivating performer
Violetta Devereaux—announces onstage that she will meet her end in
Oyster Bay.
When Violetta is discovered murdered after the show,
everyone involved with the retreat becomes a suspect. There are rumors
that Violetta, who grew up in extreme poverty in the Appalachian
Mountains, possessed an invaluable treasure. Now Chief Rawlings and the
Bayside Book Writers must work at a frenzied pace to solve the crime
before someone closes the book on them."
Title:
A Finder's Fee
Author:
Joyce and Jim Lavene
Series: #5 in the Missing Pieces series set in Duck, North Carolina
ISBN: 9780425252314
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "
Two weeks before the mayoral election, Dae gets sidetracked from her
political aspirations by a spirit in need of rescuing. An antique amber
necklace allows Dae to connect with Maggie Madison, a witch who wants
Dae to rebury her bones so she can rest in peace. But digging leads Dae
to an even bigger mystery, a forty-year-old murder with ties to Randal
“Mad Dog” Wilson, her mayoral opponent.
Dae wants to run a
clean race, but town sentiment is mixed about whether she’s using her
abilities to get the election to go her way. And when she learns that
her own grandfather—the former sheriff of Dare County—might be mixed up
in the long-buried tragedy, Dae will have to uncover the real killer and
put Maggie to rest, before her political career ends up six feet under…"
Title:
Buried in Bargains
Author:
Josie Belle (AKA Jenn McKinlay)
Series: #3 in the Good Buy Girls series set in Virginia
ISBN: 9780425252307
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 272 pages
Synopsis: "
Maggie Gerber and those discount divas, the Good Buy Girls, are gearing
up for their first big holiday thrift shop sale. But one of the
Girls—Joanne Claramotta, pregnant with her first child—is acting less
than festive. It could be hormones. Or it could be Diane Jenkins, the
young knockout her husband, Michael, hired as his new deli assistant.
Calming Joanne’s nerves proves impossible when Maggie finds Michael
unconscious on his deli floor—and with Diane next to him, strangled to
death with her apron strings. Then Maggie discovers something even more
disturbing.
There’s no record of Diane having been hired. In
fact, she has no history at all. It’s as if she never even existed. Now
Maggie fears that unwrapping Michael’s secrets could really kill her
holiday spirit."
Title:
Afoot on St. Croix
Author:
Rebecca M. Hale
Series: #2 in the Mystery in the Islands series set on St. Croix in the Caribbean
ISBN: 9780425251959
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Synopsis: "
For tourists, the idyllic island of St. Croix is a perfect escape from
the world. For Charlie Baker, it’s a trap. He hasn’t set foot on the
island since his life fell apart there ten years ago. But now his
ex-wife is luring him back with the promise of a family reunion—a
promise she keeps breaking.
He always knew Mira was a
little crazy, but returning one last time—determined to see his children
no matter what—he’s about to discover just how crazy she is. And with a
mysterious figure lurking in the shadows who could be the source of the
terrifying Goat Foot Woman legend, he will also learn what dark fate
the island has in store for him."
=== October 8 ===
Title: The Back Road
Standalone
ISBN: 9781477807750
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Paperback, 478 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "
When a young girl, Abbie Campbell, is knocked over and left for dead
on the back road of the village of Little Melham, waves of shock ripple
through the small community and a chain of events, which threatens to
expose long-kept secrets, is triggered.
For Ellie Saunders, the
truth about that night puts both her marriage and the safety of her
children in jeopardy–she has to protect her family, no matter what the
cost. And Ellie isn’t the only one with something to hide. She and her
sister Leo believe they have put their troubled childhood behind them,
but Leo’s quest for the truth reveals a terrible secret that has lain
hidden for years.
Ellie’s neighbour, former detective Tom
Douglas, has escaped to Little Melham in search of a quiet life, but
finds himself drawn into the web of deceit as his every instinct tells
him that what happened to young Abbie was far more than a tragic
accident.
In this gripping novel, the peaceful English
countryside belies the horrible truths that lurk beneath the trimmed
hedgerows, behind the closed doors of smart sitting rooms and within
unspoken conversations."
Title:
Night Zone
Author: Steven F. Havill
Series: #19 in the Posadas County mystery series set in New Mexico
ISBN: 9781464200700
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Paperback, 250 pages
Synopsis: "
What do you do when you inherit $330 million after taxes? If you're New Mexico rancher Miles Waddell, you build a dream.
A flat-topped mesa and a third of a billion dollars equals NIGHTZONE,
an astronomy-based theme park, complete with giant radio telescope, a
bank of smaller scopes linked to a theater, five-star dining in a
restaurant with retracting dome ceiling, a hotel/resort, tram car
access, and a narrow gauge steam locomotive to carry tourists to the
mesa top. Glorious. And too ambitious for many residents of Posadas
County.
Waddell's dream begins to sour as one night two
eco-terrorists make an opening statement by chain-sawing down power
lines that feed the development. One of the terrorists is killed by a
bucking power pole. From 20 miles away, former Posadas Sheriff William
K. Gastner spots a pair of headlights as the dead man’s companion speeds
from the scene.
Charges quickly include murder when the fleeing
conspirator is stopped by a cop and guns the lawman down. Hours later a
second shooting occurs when Gastner stops to assist Sgt. Jackie Taber
during an unrelated traffic stop. Always the last to pull a trigger, the
now 74-year old Gastner becomes the focus of a second investigation by
the over-stressed District Attorney and Sheriff’s Department. Meanwhile,
Waddell's troubles with rumor-mongers and anti-government thugs
continue. A tired Gastner is unwilling to work security for NIGHTZONE,
but security has become essential.
There is a bright spot:
Gastner’s godson, 13 year-old Francisco Guzman. The musical prodigy’s
conservatory has scheduled a double concert in Posadas, part of a
national tour. Yet the timing of this stellar event could not be worse
with the retired Gastner and the whole community tangling with lethal
avengers and agendas."
=== October 10 ===
Title: The Case of the Love Commandos
Series: #4 in the Vish Puri series set in India
ISBN: 9781451613261
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Hardcover, 320 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "When Ram and Tulsi fall in love, the young woman’s parents are dead set
against the union. She’s from a high-caste family; he’s an Untouchable,
from the lowest stratum of Indian society. Young Tulsi’s father locks
her up and promises to hunt down the “loverboy dog.” Fortunately,
India’s Love Commandos, a real-life group of volunteers dedicated to
helping mixed-caste couples, come to the rescue. Just after they
liberate Tulsi, Ram is mysteriously snatched from his hiding place.
It
falls to Vish Puri to track down Ram and reunite the star-crossed
lovers. Unfortunately, Puri’s having a bad month. Not only did he fail
to recover a stolen cache of jewels, but his wallet was filched and he
has to rely on his Mummy-ji to get it back. To top it all off, his
archrival, suave investigator Hari Kumar, is also trying to locate Ram.
In the daring race to find Ram, Puri and his team must infiltrate Ram’s
village and navigate the caste politics shaped by millennia-old
prejudices.
With wildly entertaining prose, outsize characters,
and a perfect sense of place, this modern tale of star-crossed lovers
transports us deep into Indian history and culture. And as ever, Tarquin
Hall’s gormandizing Punjabi detective is never short of a good curry."
=== October 15 ===
Title: Just One Evil Act
Series: #18 in the Inspector Lynley series set in England
ISBN: 9780525952961
Publisher: Dutton
Hardcover, 736 pages
Synopsis: "Barbara is at a loss: The daughter of her friend Taymullah Azhar has
been taken by her mother, and Barbara can’t really help—Azhar had never
married Angelina, and his name isn’t on Hadiyyah’s, their daughter’s,
birth certificate. He has no legal claim. Azhar and Barbara hire a
private detective, but the trail goes cold.
Azhar is just
beginning to accept his soul-crushing loss when Angelina reappears with
shocking news: Hadiyyah is missing, kidnapped from an Italian
marketplace. The Italian police are investigating, and the Yard won’t
get involved, until Barbara takes matters into her own hands — at the
risk of her own career.
As both Barbara and her partner,
Inspector Thomas Lynley, soon discover, the case is far more complex
than a typical kidnapping, revealing secrets that could have
far-reaching effects outside of the investigation. With both her job
and the life of a little girl on the line, Barbara must decide what
matters most, and how far she’s willing to go to protect it."
Title: Dead Man's Time
Series: #9 in the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series set in England
ISBN: 9781250030184
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 416 pages
Synopsis: "New York, 1922. Five-year-old Gavin Daly and his seven-year-old
sister, Aileen, are boarding the SS Mauretania to Dublin—and safety.
Their mother has been shot and their Irish mobster father abducted.
Suddenly, a messenger hands Gavin a piece of paper on which are written
four names and eleven numbers, a cryptic message that will haunt him all
his life, and his father's pocket watch. As the ship sails, Gavin
watches Manhattan fade into the dusk and makes a promise, that one day
he will return and find his father.
Brighton, 2012.
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace investigates a savage burglary in
Brighton, in which an old lady is murdered and £10m of antiques have
been taken, including a rare vintage watch. To Grace’s surprise, the
antiques are unimportant to her family—it is the watch they want back.
As his investigation probes deeper, he realizes he has kicked over a
hornets nest of new and ancient hatreds. At its heart is one man, Gavin
Daly, the dead woman’s ninety-five-year-old brother. He has a score to
settle and a promise to keep—both of which lead to a murderous trail
linking the antiques world of Brighton, the crime fraternity of Spain’s
Marbella, and New York.
Roy Grace, in a race against the clock to stop another killing, has met his most dangerous adversary yet."
=== October 17 ===
Title: Spirit of Steamboat
Series: Christmas novella featuring Walt Longmire set in Wyoming and Colorado
ISBN: 9780670015788
Publisher: Viking
Hardcover, 160 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "Sheriff Walt Longmire is reading A Christmas Carol in his office
on December 24th when he’s interrupted by the ghost of Christmas past: a
young woman with a hairline scar across her forehead and more than a
few questions about Walt’s predecessor, Lucian Connally. Walt doesn’t
recognize the mystery woman, but she seems to know him and claims to
have something she must return to Connally. With his daughter, Cady, and
his undersheriff Vic Moretti in Philadelphia for the holidays, Walt is
at loose ends, and despite the woman’s reticence to reveal her identity,
he agrees to help her.
At the Durant Home for Assisted Living
Lucian Connally is several tumblers into his Pappy Van Winkle’s and
swears he’s never clapped eyes on the woman before. Disappointed, she
whispers “Steamboat” and begins a story that takes them all back to
Christmas Eve 1988, when three people died in a terrible crash and a
young girl had the slimmest chance of survival . . . back to a record–
breaking blizzard, to Walt’s first year as sheriff, with a young
daughter at home and a wife praying for his safety . . . back to a
whiskey-soaked World War II vet ready to fly a decommissioned plane and
risk it all to save a life."
=== October 22 ===
Title: Critical Mass
Series: #16 in the V.I. Warshawski series set in Chicago and Vienna
ISBN: 9780399160561
Publisher: Putnam
Hardcover, 480 pages
Synopsis: "V.I. Warshawski’s closest friend in Chicago is the Viennese-born doctor
Lotty Herschel, who lost most of her family in the Holocaust. Lotty
escaped to London in 1939 on the Kindertransport with a childhood
playmate, Kitty Saginor Binder. When Kitty’s daughter finds her life is
in danger, she calls Lotty, who, in turn, summons V.I. to help. The
daughter’s troubles turn out to be just the tip of an iceberg of lies,
secrets, and silence, whose origins go back to the mad competition among
America, Germany, Japan and England to develop the first atomic bomb.
The secrets are old, but the people who continue to guard them today
will not let go of them without a fight."
=== October 29 ===
Title: Thoreau at Devil's Perch
Series: #1 in the Henry Davis Thoreau historical series set in Massachusetts
ISBN: 9780758290236
Publisher: Kensington
Paperback, 352 pages
Synopsis: "The lush, overgrown banks of Massachusetts' Assabet River are the ideal
place for Dr. Adam Walker to find coveted medicinal plants for his
remedies. But on one balmy August morning he finds something very
different. A stranger, identifying himself as Henry David Thoreau of
nearby Walden Pond, approaches and entreats Adam to accompany him
upriver. He has discovered the body of a young black man at the base of
the cliff known as Devil's Perch. As they examine the broken corpse and
the surrounding scene, both men become convinced that the unfortunate
victim was dead long before he fell. Yet the coroner's jury insists
otherwise, dismissing the matter as an accident. Angered by the
injustice, Adam and his lovely cousin Julia Bell agree to assist Thoreau
in investigating. Adam notes in his new friend all the makings of a
great detective an encyclopaedic knowledge of the natural world, uncanny
observational skills, a sharp instinct for detecting human foibles. As
the case progresses, the mysteries only deepen and there is no mistaking
the brutal slaying of a womanizing army captain as anything other than
the coldest murder. Journeying from their tranquil village to Boston's
most disreputable district, they gradually uncover the monstrous truth
even while a vicious killer prepares to end their inquiry for good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my baker's dozen choices for new mysteries being published in October. How many titles made it onto your own personal wish lists? Inquiring minds would love to know!
