Prepub Mystery

ALBERT, SUSAN WITTIG. The Tale of Holly How. Berkley Prime Crime. Jun. 2005. 320p. ISBN 0-425-20274-7. $23.95. In the second "Cottage Tales" mystery, Beatrix Potter and her four-legged cohorts sniff out the murderer of a local shepherd in Sawrey, England. Albert lives in Austin, TX.

BARCLAY, LINWOOD. Bad Guys. Bantam. Jun. 2005. 352p. ISBN 0-553-80386-7. $22. Following his debut in Bad Move, newspaper writer Zach Walker continues to uncover the murderous edge of suburban life. Humorist Barclay lives near Toronto.

BLUNT, GILES. Blackfly Season. Marian Wood: Putnam. Jun. 2005. 352p. ISBN 0-399-15255-5. $25.95. An amnesiac with a bullet in her brain is the only key to a Cuban cult for homicide detectives John Cardinal and Lisa Delorme. Award-winning Blunt (Forty Words for Sorrow) lives in Toronto.

BUCHANAN, EDNA. Shadows. S. & S. Jun. 2005. 272p. ISBN 0-7432-5055-9. $24. The story of a mysterious house and a 45-year-old murder goes "hot" in this second in a series about the Miami Police Department's Cold Case Squad. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Buchanan lives in Miami. Six-city author tour.

CONANT, SUSAN. Scratch the Surface. Berkley Prime Crime. Jun. 2005. 288p. ISBN 0-425-20259-3. $22.95. Meow—a cat and a corpse shows up on mystery author Felicity Pride's doorstep in a series debut! The six-time winner of the Dog Writer's Association of America's Maxwell Award and author of the "Dog Lovers" mysteries lives near Boston.

COOK, MARSHALL. Murder at Midnight. Bleak House, dist. by National Bk. Network. Jun. 2005. 240p. ISBN 1-932557-06-7. pap. $14.95. The murder of a controversial priest has newspaper editor Monona Quinn on the prowl in her second case in the cozy series. Cook lives in Madison, WI. Fifteen-city author tour.

COOK, THOMAS. Red Leaves. Otto Penzler: Harcourt. Jun. 2005. 272p. ISBN 0-15-101250-4. $23. This new imprint from Harcourt launches with a disappearance and a happy life gone awry. Edgar Award-winner Cook (The Chatham School Affair) lives in New York City and Cape Cod. Regional author appearances.

COUSINS, CAROLINE. Marsh Madness. John F. Blair. Jun. 2005. 239p. ISBN 0-89587-315-X. $22.95; pap. ISBN 0-89587-309-5. $16.95. A wedding in the South Carolina Low Country and a body in the Gatortorium has detectives Lindsey, Margaret Ann, and Bonnie (Fiddle Dee Death) sleuthing in another tale of Southern mystery and manners. Cousins is a pseudonym for a trio of authors.

GORDON, NADIA. Murder Alfresco: A Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley Mystery. Chronicle. Jun. 2005. N/Ap. ISBN 0-8118-4630-X. $23.95. When chef McCoskey finds a woman fettucine al dead-o, she and her colorful friends romp through the vineyards and restaurants of wine country to find the killer in the third of the series. Gordon lives in San Francisco.

KANDEL, SUSAN. Not a Girl Detective: A Cece Caruso Mystery. Morrow. Jun. 2005. 304p. ISBN 0-06-058107-7. $23.95. Mystery biographer Caruso does some sleuthing of her own during a Nancy Drew convention. Los Angeles Times best-selling Kandel (I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason) lives in West Hollywood, CA. Southern California regional author appearances.

PARETSKY, SARA. Fire Sale: A V.I. Warshawski Novel. Putnam. Jun. 2005. 432p. ISBN 0-399-15279-2. $25.95. Cassette/CD: Brilliance Audio.V.I. may be teaching girls' basketball at her old high school, but corporate skullduggery is ever at work and so is V.I. The 12th in the series by the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award-winner, Paretsky lives in Chicago.

PENZLER, OTTO, ED. Murder Is My Racquet. Mysterious. Jun. 2005. 384p. ISBN 0-89296-015-9. $24.95; pap. ISBN 0-446-69588-2. $13.95. Fourteen original tales of "love, death, and tennis" from Lawrence Block, Kinky Friedman, John Harvey, and more!

STEINHAUER, OLEN. 36 Yalta Boulevard. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Jun. 2005. 320p. ISBN 0-312-33201-7. $23.95. The next installment of this multi-award-nominated Eastern European series (The Bridge of Sighs) has State Security Officer Brano Sev finding that his part in a larger plan includes exile…and death? Steinhauer lives in Budapest, Hungary. National author tour.

URE, LOUISE. Forcing Amaryllis. Mysterious. Jun. 2005. 240p. ISBN 0-89296-009-4. $23.95. The rape and near-murder of trial consultant Calla Gentry's cousin rocks Tucson, AZ, in this debut. Mysterious touts Ure as a "sensational talent" providing a new slant on courtroom mysteries. Ure lives in San Francisco. Four-city author tour.

WHITE, ANNE. Beneath the Surface: A Lake George Mystery. Hilliard & Harris. Jun. 2005. 264p. ISBN 1-59133-123-4. $28.95; pap. ISBN 1-59133-124-2. $16.95. All in the family! The mother of Cosmopolitan editor and author Kate White has penned her second crime novel, following the Malice Domestic Best First Mystery Novel-nominated Affinity for Murder.