My usual view out the window is of the pool. With this flare-up of cellulitis, I've had to construct an alternate blogging station here in the family room, and I have to admit that, although this set-up isn't ideal, I do enjoy sitting here with the patio door open so I can smell and see my huge Tombstone rose bushes blooming.
Keeping my legs elevated for such long periods would be excruciatingly boring if not for knitting, British crime dramas on the telly, and BOOKS. There would have to be something desperately wrong for me not to keep an eye peeled for new books.
The following are my picks of the best new crime fiction being released during the month of April. I've grouped them by their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon.
Let's see how many of these are on your own Need-to-Read lists!
=== April 1 ===
Title:
Lies We Bury Author:
Elle MarrStandalone thriller set in Portland, Oregon.
303 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.Synopsis: "
Two decades ago Marissa Mo escaped a basement prison―the only home
she’d ever known. At twenty-seven, Marissa’s moved beyond the trauma and
is working under a new name as a freelance photographer. But when she
accepts a job covering a string of macabre murders in Portland, it’s
impossible for Marissa not to remember.Everything is eerily
familiar. The same underground lairs. Sad trinkets and toys left behind,
identical to those Marissa had as a child. And then there is the note
meant just for her that freezes Marissa’s blood: See you soon, Missy.
To
determine the killer’s next move, Marissa must retrieve her
long-forgotten memories and return to a past she’s hidden away. But she
won’t be facing her fears alone. Someone is waiting for her in the dark."
=== April 6 ===
Series: #6 in the Scottish Bookshop cozy series set in Edinburgh, Scotland.
304 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "It’s a quiet, snowy morning at The Cracked Spine bookshop, when
bookseller Delaney Nichols receives a mysterious visitor, a messenger.
He presents her with a perplexing note: an invitation to a meeting with
eccentric socialite Shelagh O'Conner, who requests Delaney’s
participation in an exclusive treasure hunt. Delaney is intrigued, but
also cautious: Shelagh, while charming in person, has a reputation for
her hijinks as a wealthy young woman in the '70s. She was even once
suspected for the murder of a former boyfriend, though ultimately
cleared of all charges.
But Delaney is enticed by the grand prize at the end of the treasure hunt: a highly valuable first edition copy of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
by Robert Louis Stevenson. The winner is also to receive the contents
of Shelagh's vast library, and all participants will earn a large sum of
cash.
The night after the first meeting of the treasure hunters,
however, several homes in Edinburgh are robbed in a manner reminiscent
of Shelagh's old tricks. And when a man connected to Shelagh is killed,
suspicion builds. Except Shelagh herself has disappeared from her home,
seemingly kidnapped by the villain.
Terror mounts throughout the
city as Delaney attempts to solve the mystery, while trying to evade the
killer's clutches. But it’s hard to know who to trust when around every
corner, a new monster could be lurking."
Title:
The French ParadoxAuthor:
Ellen CrosbySeries: #11 in the Wine Country mysteries set in Virginia.
256 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "
In 1949, during her junior year abroad in Paris, Jacqueline Kennedy
Onassis bought several inexpensive paintings of Marie-Antoinette by a
little-known 18th century female artist. She also had a romantic
relationship with Virginia vineyard owner Lucie Montgomery's French
grandfather - until recently, a well-kept secret.
Seventy years
later, Cricket Delacroix, Lucie's neighbor and Jackie's schoolfriend, is
donating the now priceless paintings to a Washington, DC museum. And
Lucie's grandfather is flying to Virginia for Cricket's 90th birthday
party, hosted by her daughter Harriet. A washed-up journalist, Harriet
is rewriting a manuscript Jackie left behind about Marie-Antoinette and
her portraitist. She's also adding tell-all details about Jackie, sure
to make the book a bestseller.
Then on the eve of the party a
world-famous landscape designer who also knew Jackie is found dead in
Lucie's vineyard. Did someone make good on the death threats he'd
received because of his controversial book on climate change? Or was his
murder tied to Jackie, the paintings, and Lucie's beloved grandfather?"
Title:
A Deadly TwistAuthor:
Jeffrey SigerSeries: #11 in the Andreas Kaldis police procedural series set in Greece.
320 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.Synopsis: "
When Athens journalist Nikoletta Elia disappears while on assignment
on the island of Naxos, her editor calls on Chief Inspector Andreas
Kaldis to investigate. Sent to report on the conflict between
preservationists and advocates for expanded tourism, Nikoletta is
approached by a fan who takes credit for several suspicious deaths she'd
reported on in the past. The assassin claims to have abandoned that
life, and convinces the reporter to write about him and his murderous
exploits for hire."
=== April 13 ===
Series: #12 in the Barker & Llewelyn historical mystery series set in Victorian England.
320 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.
Synopsis: "In June of 1893, the future Nicholas II travels to London for a royal
wedding, bringing with him his private security force and his ballerina
mistress, Mathilde Kchessinska. Rumored to be the target of a
professional assassin known only as La Sylphide, and the subject of
conspiracies against his life by his own family who covet his future
throne, Nicholas is protected by not only private security, but the
professional forces of both England and Russia.
All of these
measures prove inadequate when Prince George of England is attacked by
an armed anarchist who mistakes him for Nicholas. As a result, Barker
and Llewelyn are brought in to help track down the assassin and others
who might conspire against the life of the tsarevich . The
investigations lead them down several paths, including Llewelyn's old
nemesis, the assassin Sofia Ilyanova. With Barker and Llewelyn both
surviving separate attempts on their lives, the race is on to find both
the culprit and the assassin they hired. Taking them through high
society (including a masked ball at Kensington Palace) and low, chasing
down motives both personal and political, Barker and Llewelyn must solve
the case of their life before the crime of the century is committed."
Title:
The Unkindness of RavensAuthor:
M.E. HilliardSeries: #1 in the Greer Hogan amateur sleuth series.
336 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.Synopsis: "
Greer Hogan is a librarian and an avid reader of murder mysteries. She
also has a habit of stumbling upon murdered bodies. The first was her
husband's, and the tragic loss led Greer to leave New York behind for a
new start in the Village of Raven Hill. But her new home becomes less
idyllic when she discovers her best friend sprawled dead on the floor of
the library.
Was her friend's demise related to two other deaths
that the police deemed accidental? Do the residents of this insular
village hold dark secrets about another murder, decades ago? Does a
serial killer haunt Raven Hill?
As the body count rises, Greer's
anxious musings take a darker turn when she uncovers unexpected and
distressing information about her own husband's death...and the man who
went to prison for his murder . She is racked with guilt at the
possibility that her testimony may have helped to convict an innocent
man.
Though Greer admires the masters of deduction she reads
about in books, she never expected to have to solve a mystery herself.
Fortunately, she possesses a quick wit and a librarian's natural
resourcefulness. But will that be enough to protect her from a
brilliant, diabolical murderer?
And even if Greer manages to catch the Raven Hill killer, will living with her conscience prove a fate worse than death?"
Title:
One Got AwayAuthor:
S.A. LelchukSeries: #2 in the Nikki Griffin private investigator series set in California.
304 pages
Synopsis: "
Nikki Griffin, a private-investigator when she isn’t running her small
bookstore, is on a case. The matriarch of one of the wealthiest San
Francisco families has been defrauded by a con-man, and her furious son
enlists Nikki to find the money. And find the con-man.
Nikki
isn’t a fan of men who hurt women. Her secret mission, born of revenge
and trauma, is to do everything she can to remove women from dangerous
situations―and to punish the men responsible.
As Nikki follows
the trail toward the con-man, she realizes that no one involved is
telling her the whole truth. When the case overlaps with her attempt to
protect a woman in trouble, and Nikki’s own life is put in danger, Nikki
has to make terrible choices about who to save―and how to keep herself
alive."
=== April 20 ===
Title:
In Her TracksAuthor:
Robert DugoniSeries: #8 in the Tracy Crosswhite police procedural series set in Washington.
383 pages
Synopsis: "
Returning from an extended leave in her hometown of Cedar Grove,
Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself reassigned to the Seattle PD’s
cold case unit. As the protective mother of an infant daughter, Tracy is
immediately drawn to her first file: the abduction of a five-year-old
girl whose parents, embattled in a poisonous divorce, were once prime
suspects.While reconstructing the days leading up to the girl’s
disappearance, Tracy is brought into an active investigation with former
partner Kinsington Rowe. A young woman has vanished on an isolated
jogging trail in North Seattle. Divided between two critical cases,
Tracy has little to go on except the treacherous deceptions behind a
broken marriage―and now, the secrets hiding behind the closed doors of a
deceptively quiet middle-class neighborhood.
To find two missing
persons, Tracy will have to follow more than clues, which are both long
cold and unsettlingly fresh. Given her own traumatic past, Tracy must
also follow her instincts―to whatever dark and dangerous places they may
lead."
=== April 27 ===
Series: #6 in the Gideon & Sirius police procedural series set in California.
320 pages
Synopsis: "LAPD detective Michael Gideon and his K-9 partners investigate the
disappearance of a retired US Marshal and her bomb-sniffing dog after a
suspicious encounter."
One thing's certain: there's going to be some good reading available in April. Sounds to me like we should all pick a couple to take outside so we can enjoy both the stories and the burgeoning spring.
Did any titles in particular strike your fancy? Which ones? You know that inquiring minds would love to know!
First Line: Growing up, I remember liking Trixie Belden better than Nancy Drew because she got into more trouble.
