Prepub Mystery

By Ann Kim -- Library Journal, 11/1/2006

Abrahams, Peter. Nerve Damage. Morrow. Mar. 2007. 288p. ISBN 0-06-113797-9 [ISBN 978-0-06-113797-6]. $24.95. When sculptor Roy Valois is diagnosed with a respiratory disease and given four months to live, he discovers that his wife, dead for 15 years, was not what she seemed. Abrahams lives in Massachusetts.

Baantjer, A.C. DeKok and Murder by Installment. Speck. Mar. 2007. 228p. ISBN 1-933108-07-X [ISBN 978-1-933108-07-0]. pap. $14. Murder, drugs, and child prostitution face Amsterdam inspectors DeKok and partner in the fifth U.S. release by the most widely read author in the Netherlands.

Black, Cara. Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis: An Aimée Leduc Investigation. Soho, dist. by Consortium. Mar. 2007. 304p. ISBN 1-56947-440-3 [ISBN 978-1-56947-444-0]. $23. An abandoned infant leads Leduc to dodge death and deception in the streets (and sewers) of Paris in her seventh caper. Black lives in San Francisco. (See review, p. 57.)

Brown, Rita Mae & Sneaky Pie Brown. Puss ’n Cahoots: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery. Bantam. Mar. 2007. 272p. ISBN 0-553-80364-6 [ISBN 978-0-553-80364-8]. $25. Horsing around gets deadly when Mary “Harry” Harsteen and her furry posse visit a horse show in Kentucky in the latest by the author–cat team. Brown and Sneaky Pie live in Afton, VA.

Bruen, Ken. Priest. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Mar. 2007. 288p. ISBN 0-312-34140-7 [ISBN 978-0-312-34140-4]. $23.95. The decapitation of a priest has investigator Jack Taylor delving into crimes of the past in Galway, Ireland, in his fourth case. The award-winning Bruen lives in Galway.

Churchill, Jill. The Accidental Florist. Morrow. Mar. 2007. 240p. ISBN 0-06-052845-1 [ISBN 978-0-06-052845-4]. $23.95. In the midst of wedding planning, a writing project, and a battle between mothers-in-law, Jane Jeffry still manages to solve a murder in her 16th cozy. The best-selling Churchill lives in the Midwest.

Daniels, Casey. The Chick and the Dead: A Pepper Martin Mystery. Avon. Mar. 2007. 336p. ISBN 0-06-082147-7 [ISBN 978-0-06-082147-0]. pap. $6.99. In Daniels’s follow-up to her paranormal debut, Don of the Dead, cemetery tour guide Pepper Martin—who happens to “see dead people”—helps the late sibling of a famous novelist get revenge for her untimely demise. Daniels lives in Northeast Ohio.

Gorman, Ed. Fools Rush In. Pegasus. Mar. 2007. 336p. ISBN 1-933648-32-5. [ISBN 978-1-933648-32-3]. $24. Sam McCain seeks justice for a race killing in America’s heartland during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in his seventh case. Shamus Award winner Gorman lives in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Jakubowski, Maxim, ed. The Best British Mysteries IV. Allison & Busby, dist. by International Pubs. Marketing. Mar. 2007. 304p. ISBN 0-7490-8117-1. $25.95; pap. ISBN 0-7490-8122-8. $14.95. The Brits are back, this time with first-time appearances from Alexander McCall Smith, John Harvey, Lee Child, and Robert Goddard.

Lecard, Marc. Vinnie’s Head. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Mar. 2007. 416p. ISBN 0-312-36021-6 [ISBN 978-0-312-36021-4]. $23.95. When the head of his partner in crime ends up on the end of his fishing line, small-time Long Island criminal Johnnie LoDuco goes on the run...with Vinnie’s head. A highly touted debut drawing comparisons to Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard. Lecard lives in California.

Murphy, Shirley Rousseau. Cat Pay the Devil: A Joe Grey Mystery. Morrow. Mar. 2007. 352p. ISBN 0-06-057810-6 [ISBN 978-0-06-057810-7]. $24.95. The feline trio, led by tomcat Joe Grey, go hunting to capture an escaped thief in tranquil Molena Point, CA, in their 12th prowl. Cat Writers’ Association Award winner Murphy lives in Carmel, CA.

Nesser, Håkan. The Return: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery. Pantheon. Mar. 2007. 288p. ISBN 0-375-421971-1 [ISBN 978-0-375-42197-6]. $22.95. In the second U.S. release by the Scandinavian Crime Society’s Glass Key Award winner, the Swedish chief inspector unravels a perfect murder when an ex-con is killed 24 years after the crime. Six-city tour.

Parshall, Sandra. Disturbing the Dead. Poisoned Pen. Mar. 2007. 332p. ISBN 1-59058-378-7 [ISBN 978-1-59058-378-4]. $24.95. County sheriff’s deputy Tom Bridger, who is half-Melungeon (mixed-ancestry peoples in the southern Appalachians), unearths family secrets and faces a case-turned-personal in this follow-up to the debut The Heat of the Moon. Parshall lives in Washington, DC.

Richard, T. Dawn. A Wrinkle in Crime: A May List Mystery. Five Star: Gale. Mar. 2007. 310p. ISBN 1-59414-534-2. $25.95. Precocious senior citizen May Bell tries to improve her sleuthing skills as she sniffs out an unsolved murder in her third outing. Richard lives in Spokane, WA.

Ripley, Mike. Angel’s Share. Allison & Busby, dist. by International Pubs. Marketing. Mar. 2007. 288p. ISBN 0-7490-8157-0. $25.95. Comedy and mayhem follows the eccentric Brit P.I. Fitzroy Maclean Angel in his 15th romp by the two-time Crime Writers’ Last Laugh Award winner, who lives in East Anglia, England.

Shefchik, Rick. Amen Corner. Poisoned Pen. Mar. 2007. 364p. ISBN 1-59058-411-2 [ISBN 978-1-59058-411-8]. $24.95. Minneapolis police detective Sam Skarda finds foul play and controversy during a Masters tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in this debut by Shefchick, who lives in Stillwater, MN.

Walsh, Jill Paton. The Bad Quarto: An Imogen Quy Mystery. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Mar. 2007. 240p. ISBN 0-312-35409-6 [ISBN 978-0-312-35409-1]. $23.95. When a research fellow plummets to his death and an undergraduate confronts the suspected murderer, college nurse Imogen Quy can’t help but sleuth around in her third academic mystery set in Cambridge University. Walsh lives in Cambridge, England.