Prepub Mystery

By Ann Kim -- Library Journal, 3/1/2007

Adam, Paul. Oracle Lake. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Jul. 2007. 416p. ISBN 0-312-37025-3 [ISBN 978-0-312-37025-1]. $24.95.
A Dalai Lama death and rebirth put photojournalist Maggie Walsh in mortal danger in the high Himalayas of Tibet. Adam (The Rainaldi Quartet) lives in Nottingham, England.

Aleas, Richard. Songs of Innocence. Hard Case Crime: Dorchester. Jul. 2007. 256p. ISBN 0-8439-5773-5 [ISBN 978-0-8439-5773-0]. pap. $6.99.
A beautiful, and dead, college student draws Detective John Blake into New York City's sex trade in this sequel to Edgar and Shamus Award nominee Little Girl Lost. Aleas is the pen name of Hard Case Crime creator and editor Charles Ardai.

Baantjer, A.C. DeKok and Murder on Blood Mountain. Speck Pr. Jul. 2007. 208p. ISBN 1-933108-13-4 [ISBN 978-1-933108-13-1]. pap. $14.
When a man is fished from the Scheldt River, Inspector DeKok is off to Bloedberg ("Blood Mountain"), Belgium, in the latest by the most widely read author in the Netherlands.

Baron, Aileen G. The Gold of Thrace. Poisoned Pen. Jul. 2007. 200p. ISBN 978-1-59058-430-9. $24.95.
The shady world of the antiquities trade kills two colleagues, and archaeologist Tamar Saticoy may be next in this third of the series. Baron lives in Switzerland.

Bowen, Rhys. Her Royal Spyness. Berkley Prime Crime. Jul. 2007. 320p. ISBN 978-0-425-21567-8. $23.95.
Making her series debut, penniless Lady Victoria ends up defending her royal name when a dead Frenchman winds up in her bathtub in 1930s London. Agatha Award winner Bowen lives in San Rafael, CA.

Disher, Garry. Chain of Evidence: An Inspector Hal Challis Investigation. Soho Crime. Jul. 2007. 360p. ISBN 978-1-56947-461-7. $23.
A kidnapped girl, a ring of pedophiles, and a dead husband spell trouble for Challis and Sgt. Ellen Destry in the fourth of the series set in Australia.

Ellis, David. Eye of the Beholder. Putnam. Jul. 2007. 384p. ISBN 0-399-15433-7 [ISBN 978-0-399-15433-1]. $24.95.
A 15-year-old case gets personal for attorney Paul Riley in the fourth work by Edgar Award winner Ellis (Line of Vision). Author tour.

Finch, Charles. A Beautiful Blue Death. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Jul. 2007. 320p. ISBN 0-312-35977-2 [ISBN 978-0-312-35977-5]. $24.95.
Gentleman Charles Lenox aids a lady friend to discover the secrets behind her former servant's death in this debut set in Victorian England. A Minotaur First Edition Selection.

Fossum, Karin. The Indian Bride: An Inspector Sejer Mystery. Harcourt. Jul. 2007. 288p. tr. from Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund. ISBN 0-15-101182-6 [ISBN 978-0-15-101182-7]. $23.
In this fifth U.S. release, an Indian bride may have ended up dead in the town of Elvestad, and the Inspector knows that no one is innocent. Fossum lives in Norway.

Goldberg, Lee. Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants. NAL: Penguin Group (USA). Jul. 2007. 288p. ISBN 978-0-451-22097-4. $19.95.
Monk must mediate between his former and current assistants as well as trail a killer in the fourth spin-off of the TV show and the first published in hardcover. Goldberg, the Edgar Award-nominated Monk screenwriter, lives in Los Angeles.

Greenwood, Kerry. Blood and Circuses: A Phyrne Fisher Mystery. Poisoned Pen. Jul. 2007. 212p. ISBN 978-1-59058-235-0. $24.95.
The feisty flapper goes undercover in a sabotaged circus in her 11th Australian caper. Greenwood lives Down Under.

Hall, Parnell. Hitman: A Stanley Hastings Mystery. Pegasus. Jul. 2007. 320p. ISBN 978-1-933648-53-8. $24.
The hapless P.I. botches the job to protect a contract killer in this 16th case by the author of the Puzzle Lady and Steve Winslow series. Hall lives in New York City.

Hallinan, Timothy. A Nail Through the Heart. Morrow. Jul. 2007. 336p. ISBN 0-06-125580-7 [ISBN 978-0-06-125580-9]. $24.95.
Travel writer Poke Rafferty settles in Bangkok and finds an exotic mess of trouble in this debut by a principal of a top television PR firm.

Koryta, Michael. A Welcome Grave. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Jul. 2007. 304p. ISBN 978-0-312-34011-7. $23.95.
A routine "locate" to find the estranged son of a murdered Cleveland attorney gets P.I. Lincoln Perry behind bars in the third series title. Koryta lives in Bloomington, IN. With a regional tour.

Magnan, Pierre. Death in the Truffle Wood. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Jul. 2007. 208p. ISBN 0-312-36666-3 [ISBN 978-0-312-36666-7]. $23.95.
Commissaire Laviolette uncovers crimes and bodies in a small Provençal truffle village in this U.S. import.

Martin, Andrew. The Blackpool Highflyer: A Jim Stringer Mystery. Harvest: Harcourt. Jul. 2007. 352p. ISBN 0-15-603069-1 [ISBN 978-0-15-603069-4]. pap. $14.
When an excursion to the English coast goes awry, train conductor Stringer and wife go detecting full speed ahead in the second of this Edwardian series. Martin lives in London.

Masters, Priscilla. Slip Knot. Allison & Busby, dist. by International Pubs. Marketing. Jul. 2007. 288p. ISBN 978-0-7490-8174-4. $25.95.
Coroner Martha Gunn investigates thejail suicide of a teenaged killer. Masters lives in England.

Perry, Thomas. Silence. Otto Penzler: Harcourt. Jul. 2007. 448p. ISBN 0-15-101289-X [ISBN 978-0-15-101289-3]. $25.
Jack Till must now find the woman he helped disappear six years ago before a tango-dancing assassin couple do. Edgar and Gumshoe Award winner Perry livesin Southern California. Six-city authorappearances.

Smiley, Patricia. Short Change. NAL: Penguin Group (USA). Jul. 2007. 304p. ISBN 978-0-451-22144-5. $23.95.
Tucker Sinclair (Cover Your Assets) tries to save a P.I. firm from insolvency and gets enmeshed in city government corruption, family secrets, and a sexy homicide detective. The third series title by the Los Angeles-based Smiley, who makes her NAL debut.

Zeltserman, Dave. Bad Thoughts. Five Star: Gale. Jul. 2007. 279p. ISBN 978-1-59414-540-7. $25.95.
Is it Cambridge, MA, cop Billy Shannon who's offing women à la his murdered mother...or a killer back from the dead in this second novel "reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs and Darkly Dreaming Dexter"? Zeltserman lives in Boston.