June 2019 New Mystery Releases!

We've been enjoying a very unusual cool (and rather damp) May here in the Sonoran Desert. Our normal high temperature for May 22 is 97° but instead, we suffered through a 77° day and got some rain at about 3 AM.  Don't get me wrong-- I am enjoying this, but the overcast skies and lower temperatures do have consequences. What consequences, you ask? It's taking my pool water longer to warm up. I have three damaged joints that mean I just can't do a polar bear read in the pool.

Ah well. I'll read on dry land and look for new books to add to my list. Here are my picks for the best new crime fiction being released throughout the month of June. I've grouped them according to release date, and covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon. I hope I've included a title or two that tickles your fancy. Let's take a look!

=== June 1 ===

Title: One Small Sacrifice

Author: Hilary Davidson

#1 in the Shadows of New York police procedural series.

366 pages

Synopsis: "NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling has had her eye on Alex Traynor ever since his friend Cori fell to her death under suspicious circumstances a year ago. Cori’s death was ruled a suicide, but Sheryn thinks Alex—a wartime photojournalist suffering from PTSD—got away with murder.

When Alex’s fiancée, Emily, a talented and beloved local doctor, suddenly goes missing, Sheryn suspects that Alex is again at the center of a sticky case. Sheryn dislikes loose ends, and Cori’s death had way too many of them.

But as Sheryn starts pulling at the threads in this web, her whole theory unravels. Everyone involved remembers the night Cori died differently—and the truth about her death could be the key to solving Emily’s disappearance." 

=== June 2 ===

Title: The Elizabeth Tudor Conspiracy

Author: Alexandra Walsh

#2 in the Marquess House trilogy

399 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Nonsuch Palace, England, 1586

Elizabeth I has been queen for 28 years. She has survived hundreds of plots against her but now she faces the revelation of a secret she thought would remain hidden forever…

Elizabeth is not the last of the Tudor line — there are two more legitimate heirs to her crown.

Her sworn enemy, Philip II, King of Spain, has discovered the secret and thinks he can control the missing princess as his puppet queen.

Can Elizabeth maintain control over her throne? And what happened to the lost Tudor heirs?

Castle Jerusalem, Andorra, 2018

Dr. Perdita Rivers and her twin sister Piper are safely hidden in Andorra.

Despite their narrow escape from those pursuing them, Perdita is determined to continue her grandmother’s legacy by uncovering her ground-breaking research into the English royal bloodline.

But she soon realizes that nothing about the Tudor era was as it seemed. And now the national identity of Great Britain must be called into question.

With their enemies still tracking them and the lives of those they love in deadly risk, Perdita and Piper must succeed in exposing the secrets of history or there is no hope of them escaping alive...

THE ELIZABETH TUDOR CONSPIRACY is the second book in the Marquess House trilogy, a dual timeline conspiracy thriller with an ingenious twist on a well-known period of Tudor history."

=== June 4 ===

Title: The Right Sort of Man

Author: Allison Montclair

#1 in the Right Sort Marriage Bureau historical series set in post-World War II London, England.

325 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "In a London slowly recovering from World War II, two very different women join forces to launch a business venture in the heart of Mayfair—The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Miss Iris Sparks, quick-witted and impulsive, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, practical and widowed with a young son, are determined to achieve some independence and do some good in a rapidly changing world.

But the promising start to their marriage bureau is threatened when their newest client, Tillie La Salle, is found murdered and the man arrested for the crime is the prospective husband they matched her with. While the police are convinced they have their man, Miss Sparks and Mrs. Bainbridge are not. To clear his name—and to rescue their fledgling operation’s reputation—Sparks and Bainbridge decide to investigate on their own, using the skills and contacts they’ve each acquired through life and their individual adventures during the recent war.

Little do they know that this will put their very lives at risk."

Title: The Book Supremacy

Author: Kate Carlisle

#13 in the Bibliophile cozy series set in Paris and San Francisco

332 pages

Synopsis: "Newlyweds Brooklyn and Derek are enjoying the final days of their honeymoon in Paris. As they're browsing the book stalls along the Seine, Brooklyn finds the perfect gift for Derek, a first edition James Bond novel, The Spy Who Loved Me. When they bump into Ned, an old friend from Derek’s spy days, Brooklyn shows him her latest treasure.

Once they're back home in San Francisco, they visit a spy shop Ned mentioned. The owner begs them to let him display the book Brooklyn found in Paris as part of the shop's first-anniversary celebration. Before they agree, Derek makes sure the security is up to snuff—turns out, the unassuming book is worth a great deal more than sentimental value.

Soon after, Derek is dismayed when he receives a mysterious letter from Paris announcing Ned’s death. Then late one night, someone is killed inside the spy shop. Are the murders connected to Brooklyn's rare, pricey book? Is there something even more sinister afoot? Brooklyn and the spy who loves her will have to delve into the darkest parts of Derek's past to unmask an enemy who's been waiting for the chance to destroy everything they hold dear."

Title: We Were Killers Once

Author: Becky Masterman

#4 in the Brigid Quinn law thriller series set in Arizona.

312 pages

Synopsis: "In 1959, a family of four were brutally murdered in Holcomb, Kansas. Perry Smith and Dick Hickok were convicted and executed for the crime, and the murders and their investigation and solution became the subject of Truman Capote's masterpiece, In Cold Blood. But what if there was a third killer, who remained unknown? What if there was another family, also murdered, who crossed paths with this band of killers, though their murder remains unsolved? And what if Dick Hickok left a written confession, explaining everything?

Retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn and her husband Carlo, a former priest and university professor, are trying to enjoy each other in this new stage in their lives. But a memento from Carlo's days as a prison chaplain--a handwritten document hidden away undetected in a box of Carlo's old things--has become a target for a man on the run from his past. Jerry Beaufort has just been released from prison after decades behind bars, and though he'd like to get on with living the rest of his life, he knows that somewhere there is a written record of the time he spent with two killers in 1959. Following the path of this letter will bring Jerry into contact with the last person he'll see as a threat: Brigid Quinn.

Becky Masterman's unputdownable thrillers featuring unique heroine Brigid Quinn continue with this fascinating alternative look at one of America's most famous crimes."

Title: The Body in the Castle Well

Author: Martin Walker

#12 in the Bruno, Chief of Police procedural series set in France.

337 pages

Synopsis: "When Claudia, a young American, turns up dead in the courtyard of an ancient castle in Bruno's jurisdiction, her death is assumed to be an accident related to opioid use. But her doctor persuades Bruno that things may not be so simple. Thus begins an investigation that leads Bruno to Monsieur de Bourdeille, the scholar with whom the girl had been studying, and then through that man's past. He is a renowned art historian who became extraordinarily wealthy through the sale of paintings that may have been falsely attributed--or so Claudia suggested shortly before her death. In his younger days, Bourdeille had aided the Resistance and been arrested by a Vichy policeman whose own life story also becomes inexorably entangled with the case. Also in the mix is a young falconer who works at the Château des Milandes, the former home of fabled jazz singer Josephine Baker. In the end, of course, Bruno will tie all the loose threads together and see that justice is served--along with a generous helping of his signature Périgordian cuisine."

Title: Beyond All Reasonable Doubt

Author: Malin Persson Giolito

Legal Thriller set in Sweden.

480 pages

Synopsis: "I'm giving you a chance to achieve every lawyer's dream, said Sophia Weber's old professor. Freeing an innocent man.

Thirteen years ago, a fifteen-year-old girl was murdered. Doctor Stig Ahlin was sentenced to life in prison. But no one has forgotten the brutal crime. Ahlin is known as one of the most ruthless criminals.

When Sophia Weber discovers critical flaws in the murder investigation, she decides to help Ahlin. But Sophia doing her utmost to get her client exonerated arouses many people's disgust. And the more she learns, the more difficult her job becomes. What kind of man is her client really? What has he done? And will she ever know the truth?"

=== June 10 ===

Title: Deep Waters: Mysteries on the Waves

Edited by Martin Edwards

Anthology of crime fiction short stories with various settings that involve water.

368 pages

Synopsis: "The stories in this collection will dredge up delight in crime fiction fans, as watery graves claim unsuspecting victims on the sands of an estuary and disembodied whispers penetrate the sleeping quarters of a ship's captain. How might a thief plot their escape from a floating crime scene? And what is to follow when murder victims, lost to the ocean floor, inevitably resurface?

This British Library anthology collects the best mysteries set on choppy seas, along snaking rivers and even in the supposed safety of a swimming pool, including stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, C. S. Forester, Phyllis Bentley, and R. Austin Freeman."

=== June 11 ===

Title: The Darwin Affair

Author: Tim Mason

Standalone historical thriller set in England.

382 pages

Synopsis: "London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later—and only a block away—Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Was Victoria really the assassin’s target? Are those closest to the Crown hiding something? And who is the shadowy figure witnesses describe as having lifeless, coal-black eyes?

Soon, Field’s investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin’s controversial On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a madman named the Chorister. As the investigation takes Field from the dangerous alleyways of London to the hallowed halls of Oxford, the list of possible conspirators grows, and the body count escalates. And as he edges closer to the Chorister, he uncovers dark secrets that were meant to remain forever hidden.

Tim Mason has created a rousing page-turner that both Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would relish and envy."

=== June 18 ===

Title: Died in the Wool

Author: Melinda Mullet

#4 in the Whisky Business cozy series set in Scotland.

300 pages

Synopsis: "Photojournalist Abi Logan is finally ready to put her hectic career on hold and set down roots in the heart of the Scottish countryside. Studying the business and art of distilling whisky at Abbey Glen and volunteering at the Shepherd’s Rest women’s shelter in her spare time seems a surefire way to find the peace and stability she craves. It’s also the logical way to take her mind off her personal life. Abi’s business partner, Grant MacEwan, is facing a career-threatening disability, and as much as Abi longs to be there for him, he seems to prefer the company of a rival.

But as Abi becomes more involved with Shepherd’s Rest, she discovers that their refuge is elusive. When the shelter is rocked by a murder/suicide, Abi is outraged by the police’s lack of attention to these already marginalized women. Increasingly confident in her own skills as an investigator, Abi steps in to find out what the police will not: who left one young woman dead and another missing. But when more deadly deeds come to light, Abi must race to unravel the connections between the shelter’s benefactors and the women they have pledged to protect—and expose the killer before he strikes again." 

Title: Conviction

Author: Denise Mina

Standalone thriller set in Scotland.

384 pages

Synopsis: "The day Anna McDonald's quiet, respectable life explodes starts off like all the days before: Packing up the kids for school, making breakfast, listening to yet another true crime podcast. Then her husband comes downstairs with an announcement, and Anna is suddenly, shockingly alone.

Reeling, desperate for distraction, Anna returns to the podcast. Other people's problems are much better than one's own -- a sunken yacht, a murdered family, a hint of an international conspiracy. But this case actually is Anna's problem. She knows one of the victims from an earlier life, a life she's taken great pains to leave behind. And she is convinced that she knows what really happened.

Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened -- and in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, she goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide."

=== June 25 ===

Title: Clause & Effect

Author: Kaitlyn Dunnett

#2 in the Deadly Edits cozy series set in upper New York state.

288 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Nestled in the picturesque Catskills, the village of Lenape Hollow prepares to celebrate the 225th anniversary of its founding. Freelance book editor Mikki Lincoln has been drafted to update and correct the script, left over from the town's bicentennial, which is housed at the historical society.

The building is being renovated for the first time since that last celebration. But when construction reveals a shocking discovery—human remains walled up in a fireplace—Mikki shifts focus from cold-reading to solving a cold case.

Just as her investigation seems to have hit a brick wall, a new murder rattles the townspeople. Clearly, someone is hiding a few skeletons in the closet. Now Mikki will need to go off script to make a connection between the bicentennial bones and the current homicide. But if this book editor isn't careful, she may be the next one sentenced to death . . ."

Title: Big Sky

Author: Kate Atkinson

#5 in the Jackson Brodie P.I. series set in Scotland.

400 pages

Synopsis: "Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son and an aging Labrador, both at the discretion of his ex-partner Julia. It's picturesque, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes.

Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, is fairly standard-issue, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network-and back across the path of his old friend Reggie. Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking novel by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today."

There you go-- my picks for the best new crime fiction in June! How many did you add to your own wishlists? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Death Distilled by Melinda Mullet

First Line: It wasn't easy, but I was doing my level best to restrain fifty pounds of exuberant wheaten terrier dead set on dashing headlong into the trench at my feet to retrieve the tantalizing collection of bones protruding from the newly turned earth.

Immediately after the action in the first book in this series (Single Malt Murder), Abi Logan went off on a photojournalism assignment. Three months later, she's back in Scotland at Abbey Glen, the whisky distillery she inherited. She's wanting rest and relaxation, but it's just not meant to be. Liam, her wheaten terrier, shows too much interest in human bones that have been unearthed during a planned extension on a local business, and she and her distillery have been "volunteered" to host a group of Japanese whisky enthusiasts. Becoming the owner of a flock of sheep is barely a blip on her radar at the end of that particular twenty-four hours.

But when she meets her childhood crush-- Rory Hendricks, former hard-rocking lead man of the Rebels-- Abi finds she can't say no to anything the handsome celebrity asks... like photographing his upcoming show or finding out who's trying to kill him. After former band mates have died one right after the other, Rory is convinced that his turn is next, but trying to find a killer amongst such a huge pool of suspects is proving to be a Herculean task for Abi.

This second installment of Melinda Mullet's Whisky Business series is every bit as engaging as the first, mainly because Abi Logan is such an interesting main character. It helps that she doesn't always react the way readers will expect her to. Faced with a growing relationship with Grant, her right-hand man at the distillery, Abi proves to be very gun shy, which is why she took off for parts unknown at the end of the last book. How long is she going to do this? Only the author knows, but me being the anti-romance reader that I am, I like keeping the two apart. At least for a while. (See? I'm not completely heartless.)

If I were Abi, I wouldn't put up with her friend, Patrick Cooke, who thinks nothing of promising her time and place of business to others without even asking her permission first. Since this isn't the first time Patrick has done this to Abi, I think the man needs to have a strong learning experience. Could make for a very interesting (and entertaining) segment in a future book....

As you can tell, I've gotten wrapped up with Mullet's characters. I also love the setting, and she is very adept at creating good mysteries. In Death Distilled, readers not only get to try their little grey cells at solving a rock-and-roll mystery, there's also a very good one concerning the village of Balfour and its history.

This is a good series that I hope you'll give a try. I know I'm certainly looking forward to book number three!
  

Death Distilled by Melinda Mullet

eISBN: 9780399179068

Alibi © 2017

eBook, 240 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #2 Whisky Business mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Net Galley

September 2017 New Mystery Releases!

I've already been bemoaning the fact that summer is almost over, so I'll do one of the best things I can do to take my mind off that unwelcome fact: talk books.

Those of you who've been following me for a while know that I've had a largely unsuccessful time reading Agatha Christie (or any Golden Age mystery writer), but it's not for lack of trying. Well, I think I've finally cracked Agatha Christie. I just can't get into her full-length novels, but I've been enjoying a selection of her Miss Marple short stories. I knew I'd find a way in!

Now it's time to stop patting myself on the back and begin sharing my picks of the new crime fiction being released throughout the month of September. I've listed them according to release date, and book synopses are courtesy of Amazon. Let's get started!

=== September 5 ===

Title: The Countess of Prague

Author: Stephen Weeks

Series: #1 in the Countess of Prague historical series set in Europe during the years leading up to World War I.

293 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "The Countess of Prague is the wonderfully exciting introduction to Beatrice von Falklenburg, known to her intimates as Trixie, who will lead us from Prague through Europe and occasionally beyond on a ten-book set of investigations that begins in 1904 and finishes in 1914. The assassination of the Archduke in Sarajevo that summer effectively ended the Old Europe into which she was born to a noble Czech father and an English mother. Through the lens of Trixie, whose own journey from pampered aristocrat (albeit in a polite and impoverished marriage) to a degree of emancipation has an exciting yet humorous and sympathetic dynamic, we witness stirring events and societal shifts.

Trixie begins her new career at 28. She's leading a society life and growing apart from her husband although she is as yet too conventional to take a lover. When the brutalized body of an old man once under the command of her military uncle is fished from the Vltava, she takes to the role of a detective and finds solace in it, mixing with ease with kings and princes, but never losing touch with ordinary men and women with whom her new role often puts her in contact. Investigating alters the formality of her relations with her servants and with public officials as we see when she encounters her butler in an unexpected role (and place) and then goes undercover (as a young man) on a train journey to Paris and London. Eventually, liaising with various officials, she arrives at Marienbad, the famous Czech spa, where Edward VII of England and his nephew Kaiser Wilhelm have staged a surprising May meeting....and it is here that the mystery unfolds." 

Title: Death Distilled

Author: Melinda Mullet

Series: #2 in the Whisky Business amateur sleuth series set near Stirling, Scotland.

240 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books. 

Synopsis: "It’s been three months since Abi Logan last checked in on Abbey Glen, the celebrated whisky distillery she inherited. With her oversize wheaten terrier, Liam, by her side, Abi returns to the quaint Scottish village of Balfour. But her relaxing Highland homecoming takes a stressful turn when she unearths an unseemly bit of village history, welcomes a group of Japanese whisky enthusiasts, and becomes shepherdess to an unexpected flock of sheep—all within the first twenty-four hours. Still, nothing’s more stressful than murder. . . .

Local celebrity Rory Hendricks is the hotheaded, hard-rocking former frontman of the Rebels—and Abi’s girlhood crush. After meeting him in person, Abi can’t say no to anything he asks, like photographing his upcoming show . . . or figuring out who’s trying to kill him. Turns out someone’s been bumping off his old bandmates, with the drummer dead under mysterious circumstances and the keyboardist in a coma following a hit-and-run. Now a series of threatening messages leads Rory to think he’s next on the chopping block. And the band has a devil’s share of broken hearts and bitter disputes in their past, leaving Abi a huge batch of suspects to sift through—all before the killer takes another shot."

Title: A Conspiracy in Belgravia

Author: Sherry Thomas

Series: #2 in the Lady Sherlock historical series set in Victorian London.

336 pages

Synopsis: "Being shunned by Society gives Charlotte Holmes the time and freedom to put her extraordinary powers of deduction to good use. As “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective,” aided by the capable Mrs. Watson, she’s had great success helping with all manner of inquiries, but she’s not prepared for the new client who arrives at her Upper Baker Street office.

Lady Ingram, wife of Charlotte’s dear friend and benefactor, wants Sherlock Holmes to find her first love, who failed to show up at their annual rendezvous. Matters of loyalty and discretion aside, the case becomes even more personal for Charlotte as the missing man is none other than Myron Finch, her illegitimate half brother.

In the meanwhile, Charlotte wrestles with a surprising proposal of marriage, a mysterious stranger woos her sister Livia, and an unidentified body surfaces where least expected. Charlotte’s investigative prowess is challenged as never before: Can she find her brother in time—or will he, too, end up as a nameless corpse somewhere in the belly of London?" 

Title: The Blood Card

Author: Elly Griffiths

Series: #3 in the Magic Men historical series set in 1950s England and America.

384 pages

Synopsis: "Elizabeth II’s coronation is looming, but DI Edgar Stephens is busy investigating the death of a local fortune teller. Meanwhile, his old pal, the magician Max Mephisto, is rehearsing for his television debut, a Coronation Day variety show. But upon hearing that their wartime commander, Colonel Cartwright, has been found dead in his flat, the two men join forces to find out what happened.

While Max is stuck in rehearsals, Edgar finds himself heading to New York, hot on the trail of a mesmerist he’s sure has valuable information for them—and his trusty sergeant, Emma, investigates some important leads at home. As the clock ticks down to Coronation Day, the team must scramble to keep Max’s small-screen debut from ending in a dangerously explosive finale." 

Title: The Seagull

Author: Ann Cleeves

Series: #8 in the Vera Stanhope police procedural series set in northern England.

416 pages

Synopsis: "A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper – and Vera played a key part in his downfall.

Now, Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer who disappeared in the mid-nineties, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, and that his body is buried close to St Mary’s Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two.

This cold case takes Vera back in time, and very close to home, as Brace and Marshall, along with a mysterious stranger known only as ‘the Prof’, were close friends of Hector, her father. Together, they were the 'Gang of Four’, regulars at a glamorous nightclub called The Seagull. Hector had been one of the last people to see Marshall alive. As the past begins to collide dangerously with the present, Vera confronts her prejudices and unwanted memories to dig out the truth . . ."

Title: The Western Star

Author: Craig Johnson

Series: #13 in the Sheriff Walt Longmire police procedural series set in Wyoming.

304 pages

Synopsis: "Sheriff Walt Longmire is enjoying a celebratory beer after a weapons certification at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy when a younger sheriff confronts him with a photograph of twenty-five armed men standing in front of a Challenger steam locomotive. It takes him back to when, fresh from the battlefields of Vietnam, then-deputy Walt accompanied his mentor Lucian to the annual Wyoming Sheriff's Association junket held on the excursion train known as the Western Star, which ran the length of Wyoming from Cheyenne to Evanston and back. Armed with his trusty Colt .45 and a paperback of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, the young Walt was ill-prepared for the machinations of twenty-four veteran sheriffs, let alone the cavalcade of curious characters that accompanied them.

The photograph—along with an upcoming parole hearing for one of the most dangerous men Walt has encountered in a lifetime of law enforcement—hurtles the sheriff into a head-on collision of past and present, placing him and everyone he cares about squarely on the tracks of runaway revenge."

=== September 12 ===

Title: Body on Baker Street

Author: Vicki Delany

Series: #2 in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop cozy series set on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 

304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Gemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson are busy managing the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium on Baker Street and adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room in anticipation of the store’s upcoming book signing with the illustrious Renalta Van Markoff, author of the controversial Hudson and Holmes mystery series. But during the author Q&A session, dedicated Sherlockian Donald Morris verbally attacks Renalta and her series for disgracing Sherlock’s legacy, only to be publicly humiliated when the author triumphantly lashes back and gains the upper hand. That is until Renalta collapses on the table―dead.

Donald insists he didn’t do it and pleads to his friends to clear his name. Fortunately, Gemma and Jayne have no shortage of suspects between author’s bullied personal assistant, her frustrated publicist, the hapless publisher, a handsome rare book dealer, an obsessively rabid fan, and a world of other Sherlock enthusiasts with strong objections to Renalta’s depiction of the Great Detective. It’s up to the shrewd sleuthing duo to eliminate the impossible and deduce the truth before the West London police arrest an innocent man in Body on Baker Street, the second Sherlock Homes Bookshop mystery perfect for fans of Miranda James and Kate Carlisle."

Title: Beach, Breeze, Bloodshed

Author: John Keyse-Walker

Series: #2 in the Teddy Creque police procedural series set in the British Virgin Islands.

304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "After barely surviving the first criminal investigation in living memory on the sun-drenched British Virgin island of Anegada, Constable Teddy Creque has spent the past six months trying to weather the aftermath, and move on with his life. Now, with a promotion and a medal of honor, he’s newly committed to the job. So when a young woman dies in a shark attack off the coast of a neighboring island, Virgin Gorda, Teddy is happy to help when Deputy Commissioner Howard Lane orders him to capture the man-eater. But when Teddy arrives on Virgin Gorda, he begins to suspect there was human foul play involved, too.

After all, the sharks around the idyllic island aren’t known for attacking humans, and there are some oddities at the scene. Unfortunately, while Teddy is convinced that the woman’s death wasn’t accidental, not everyone on the island takes kindly to his meddling, and he’s forced to be creative in his pursuit of justice. In unfamiliar territory, and with his sole witness a silent child who communicates in unorthodox ways, Teddy must earn the trust of the reserved residents of the touristy island, tangle with a loquacious parrot, and follow the clues which might lead him directly into the path of a killer."

=== September 19 ===

Title: Murderous Mistral

Author: Cay Rademacher

Series: #1 in the Roger Blanc police procedural series set in Provence, France.

288 pages

Synopsis: "Capitaine Roger Blanc, an investigator with the anti-corruption-unit of the French Gendarmerie, was a bit too successful in his investigations. He finds himself removed from Paris to the south of France, far away from political power. Or so it would seem.

The stress is too much for his marriage, and he attempts to manage the break up while trying to settle into his new life in Provence in a 200-year-old, half-ruined house. At the same time, Blanc is tasked with his first murder case: A man with no friends and a lot of enemies, an outsider, was found shot and burned. When a second man dies under suspicious circumstances in the quaint French countryside, the Capitaine from Paris has to dig deep into the hidden, dark undersides of the Provence he never expected to see."

=== September 26 ===

Title: This Side of Murder

Author: Anna Lee Huber

Series: #1 in the Verity Kent historical series set in post-World War I England.

304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "England, 1919. Verity Kent’s grief over the loss of her husband pierces anew when she receives a cryptic letter, suggesting her beloved Sidney may have committed treason before his untimely death. Determined to dull her pain with revelry, Verity’s first impulse is to dismiss the derogatory claim. But the mystery sender knows too much—including the fact that during the war, Verity worked for the Secret Service, something not even Sidney knew.

Lured to Umbersea Island to attend the engagement party of one of Sidney’s fellow officers, Verity mingles among the men her husband once fought beside and discovers dark secrets—along with a murder clearly meant to conceal them. Relying on little more than a coded letter, the help of a dashing stranger, and her own sharp instincts, Verity is forced down a path she never imagined—and comes face to face with the shattering possibility that her husband may not have been the man she thought he was. It’s a truth that could set her free—or draw her ever deeper into his deception . . ."

Title: A Casualty of War

Author: Charles Todd

Series: #9 in the Bess Crawford historical series set in World War I England.

384 pages

Synopsis: "From New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd comes a haunting tale that explores the impact of World War I on all who witnessed it—officers, soldiers, doctors, and battlefield nurses like Bess Crawford.

Though the Great War is nearing its end, the fighting rages on. While waiting for transport back to her post, Bess Crawford meets Captain Alan Travis from the island of Barbados. Later, when he’s brought into her forward aid station disoriented from a head wound, Bess is alarmed that he believes his distant English cousin, Lieutenant James Travis, shot him. Then the Captain is brought back to the aid station with a more severe wound, once more angrily denouncing the Lieutenant as a killer. But when it appears that James Travis couldn’t have shot him, the Captain’s sanity is questioned. Still, Bess wonders how such an experienced officer could be so wrong.

On leave in England, Bess finds the Captain strapped to his bed in a clinic for brain injuries. Horrified by his condition, Bess and Sergeant Major Simon Brandon travel to James Travis’s home in Suffolk, to learn more about the baffling relationship between these two cousins.

Her search will lead this smart, capable, and compassionate young woman into unexpected danger, and bring her face to face with the visible and invisible wounds of war that not even the much-longed for peace can heal."

This month's selection is certainly stellar. I've been waiting impatiently to get my hands on Craig Johnson's The Western Star ever since I heard him talk about it during one of his Poisoned Pen appearances. 

Before I go, I'd like to talk covers for a minute or two. Which covers stand out the most to you? For me, it's Death Distilled and Murderous Mistral, with A Casualty of War coming in as the saddest.

Now I only have one more question: Which books did you add to your own Need-to-Read lists? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Single Malt Murder by Melinda Mullet

First Line: "Are you going to tell me why you're sitting there looking like something the cat dragged in on an off night, or should I order another bottle of wine and start guessing?"

When photojournalist Abigail Logan inherits her uncle's highly regarded single malt whisky distillery, she leaves her London home base for the Highlands of Scotland in order to settle his affairs and get back to her work. When she gets there, she is immediately immersed in a highly competitive, emotionally charged business-- and someone definitely wants her out of the picture. Acts of sabotage and personal threats begin to escalate until one of Abi's new employees is found dead in a vat of whisky. When that happens, Abi is determined to put her skills as an investigative journalist to use in order to find a killer.

When I requested this book from NetGalley, for some reason I thought I was getting a traditional cozy mystery. I thought wrong. Single Malt Murder has a few more layers to it than the usual cozy, and it was a very enjoyable read. 

First, let me get one thing straight: I am not a drinker. I'm lucky if I drink one margarita per decade. Be that as it may, I found all the information about the whisky (it's not "whiskey" if you're in Scotland) business fascinating-- and it made me wish I'd gone along with my husband on his tours of some of the distilleries in the Highlands.

Abi Logan, the main character, is supposedly good at reading people, but there was really little evidence of it, especially when her heart was involved. She's a bit self-involved but extremely likable, and I loved Liam, her wheaten terrier. There's a bit of romance between her and her dour head distiller-- just enough for those who like that sort of thing and not too much for those who don't.

Good setting, good characters, good information about whisky, and that's not all there is to like about Single Malt Murder. Mullet has created an excellent mystery that really kept me guessing. There's some exciting skullduggery at the end; there's some lovely wit and humor throughout the book, and-- like the romance-- this isn't overdone either. I really enjoyed this first in the Whisky Business series, and I'm certainly looking forward to the second installment.
    

Single Malt Murder by Melinda Mullet

eISBN: 9780399179051

Alibi © 2017

eBook, 300 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Whisky Business mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley