Prepub Mystery

Barron, Stephanie. A Flaw in the Blood. Bantam. Mar. 2008. 320p. ISBN 978-0-553-80524-6. $24.

Summoned by Queen Victoria to 1861 Windsor Castle, clever Irish barrister Patrick Fitzgerald gets caught in a courtly web of intrigue in this historical suspense standalone by the author of the Jane Austen mysteries. Barron lives in Colorado.

Bruen, Ken. Cross. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Mar. 2008. 288p. ISBN 978-0-312-34142-8. $23.95.

While his son is in a coma, Jack Taylor investigates the crucifixion and death by burning of a brother and sister in Galway, Ireland, in his sixth dark case. Shamus and Macavity Award winner Bruen lives in Galway.

Childs, Laura. The Silver Needle Murder: A Tea Shop Mystery. Berkley Prime Crime. Mar. 2008. 288p. ISBN 978-0-425-21946-1. $23.95.

The Charleston Film Festival brings business—and death—to Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning in her ninth brew-haha. Childs lives in Plymouth, MN. Five-city tour.

Coleman, Reed Farrel. Empty Ever After: A Moe Prager Mystery. Bleak House: Big Earth. Mar. 2008. 300p. ISBN 978-1-932557-64-0. $24.95; pap. ISBN 978-1-932557-65-7. $14.95.

Twenty-two years later, the backlash from Moe's first case hits him hard in the fifth of the award-winning series by Coleman, who is based in Brooklyn, NY. Five-city tour.

Conant, Susan & Jessica Conant-Park. Turn Up the Heat: A Gourmet Girl Mystery. Berkley Prime Crime. Mar. 2008. 272p. ISBN 978-0-425-21947-8. $23.95.

An unlikable waitress bites the biscuit; it's up to Chloe Carter to sniff out the murderer in her chef boyfriend's restaurant in this third concoction by the mother-daughter team. They live in Newton, MA.

Corwin, C.R. The Unraveling of Violeta Bell. Poisoned Pen. Mar. 2008. 230p. ISBN 978-1-59058-501-6. $24.95.

Newspaper librarian Maddy "Morgue Mama" Sprowls is dragged into another murder in Hannawa, OH, in her third adventure. Corwin lives in Akron.

Dahl, K.O. The Fourth Man. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Mar. 2008. 288p. ISBN 978-0-312-37569-0. $22.95.

An affair with a shady lady has Detective Inspector Frank Frølich of the Oslo police caught in events "cryptic, erotic, and complex" in this Minotaur First Edition Selection and Norwegian import by award winner Dahl.

Hughes, Declan. The Price of Blood: An Irish Novel of Suspense. Morrow. Mar. 2008. 304p. ISBN 978-0-06-082551-5. $24.95.

A racehorse trainer gone kaput has PI Ed Loy searching for answers amid a four-day racecourse Christmas festival in his third case set in Dublin, where Hughes lives.

Martin, Nancy. Murder Melts in Your Mouth: A Blackbird Sisters Mystery. Obsidian Mysteries: NAL. Mar. 2008. 288p. ISBN 978-0-451-22311-1. $22.95.

The Blackbird sisters deal with a seductive stranger, a dead philanthropist, and a friend accused of murder, but it's their parents' visit that's got them in a panic! This is the seventh series entry by Martin, who lives in Pittsburgh. With tour.

Myers, Beverle Graves. The Iron Tongue of Midnight: A Tito Amato Mystery. Poisoned Pen. Mar. 2008. 303p. ISBN 978-1-59058-232-9. $24.95.

Eighteenth-century singer Amato must face his past when a "midnight killer" stalks a secretive opera rehearsal in this fourth of the historical series. Myers lives in Louisville, KY.

Penny, Louise. The Cruelest Month: A Three Pines Mystery. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Mar. 2008. 320p. ISBN 978-0-312-35257-8. $23.95.

An impromptu séance at a haunted house turns deadly, and Chief Inspector Armand Gamache finds himself hampered by an unlikely killer and his own investigative team in this third case by Arthur Ellis Award winner Penny, who lives in Montreal. Five-city tour.

Short, Sharon. Tie Dyed and Dead: A Stain Busting Mystery. Avon. Mar. 2008. 240p. ISBN 978-0-06-079328-9. pap. $6.99.

Laundromat owner Josie Toadfern tries to destain antique costumes for an auction, but the corpse of a potential (obnoxious) buyer ends up sullying her business in her sixth cozy. Short lives in Centerville, OH.