Mystery

Honorable Mentions

On April 30, the Mystery Writers of America will announce the 2009 winners of the most prestigious prizes in crime fiction, the Edgar Awards. But there are other awards that recognize promising newcomers and veteran pros. The most recent winner of the Minotaur Books/Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) Best First Private Eye Novel contest is Keith Gilman's Father's Day, while Elizabeth J. Duncan's The Cold Light of Mourning took the title of Best First Traditional Mystery Novel in Minotaur/Malice Domestic's annual competition. Also presenting new mysteries are Macavity winner Tim Maleeny (Jump), the Agatha-nominated Jane K. Cleland (Killer Keepsakes), and another Malice Domestic winner, G.M. Malliet (Death and the Lit Chick).

On her wedding day, Meg Wynne Thompson disappears between having a manicure and getting her hair done. The quiet Welsh town of Llanelen is stunned by a full police investigation, the arrest of Meg's fiancé, and the death of his father. But manicurist Penny Brannigan, an expatriate Canadian, realizes the woman who came to her salon was an imposter and seeks to find the truth. Duncan, the first Canadian winner of the Minotaur/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel competition, lulls readers with her soothing prose and depiction of small-town life in Wales and then startles them with a shocker of a denouement. Readers who enjoy Louise Penny, another Canadian mystery author of note, and Charlaine Harris's Aurora Teagarden mysteries will love this one. [Library marketing.]

While opening the Harbor Terrace Country Club, assistant golf pro Jenny Chase finds the body of the groundskeeper hanging in the cart barn. The police write his death off as a suicide, but his wife believes he would never have left her or their autistic son, and she asks Jenny for help. This series debut by a winner of the Washington Irving Book Award for Fiction gives readers plenty of insider information on golfing and parenting a teenager who gets himself in trouble with the law. Sure to appeal to fans of such golfing mysteries as John R. Corrigan's Jack Austin series.

Eighteen-year-old Laura Starr was beaten to death the night of July 4, 1977. Her killer was believed to be a transient who got away. Thirty years later, Jonathan Stride (Immoral; Stripped; Stalked), the head of the Major Crimes department in Duluth, MN, finds that everything he thinks he knows about the case is not quite true when a friend of his late wife comes home to write a book about the murder. As alternating chapters excerpt the proposed book and follow the current-day story, Freeman builds a suspenseful tale of terror and secrets kept too long. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 12/08.]

Lou Klein, an ex-Philadelphia cop-turned-PI, returns to his old neighborhood and moves into his deceased mother's house. He has been asked to find the missing daughter of one of his oldest friends. Complications arise when Lou's own daughter comes to stay and bodies begin springing up all over Philadelphia with possible connections to his case. Narrated in a wise-old-guy tone that is matched by Lou's knack for getting under people's skin, this debut takes us on a roller-coaster ride of surprises. This winner of the Minotaur Books/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel competition is essential for fans of the genre. [Library marketing.]

Cheyenne would-be shaman Mad Dog arrives in Tucson, AZ, to attend the Yaqui tribe's Easter ceremonies but is accused of witchcraft and the stabbing death of a policeman. But Mad Dog knows who the real killer is, having spotted him in an online computer game. Meanwhile back in Kansas, Mad Dog's house is blown up and his brother, Sheriff English, investigates. Readers of this series (Broken Heartland; Prairie Gothic) know that when the English family is involved, nothing is what it appears to be and the outcome is never what anyone expects. Full of outrageous humor and a plot that will leave even the most jaded readers demanding more, Hayes's latest gives Janet Evanovich a run for the wackiest characters and most bizarre plots in crime fiction. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 1/09.]

In his third outing (after Goodbye Sister Disco and The Betrayers), Lieutenant George Hastings of the St. Louis PD is called out when the strangled corpse of a co-ed high-priced escort is discovered dumped on the banks of the Mississippi. When another woman is found strangled to death, Hastings suspects there might be a serial killer on the loose, but the city's powers-that-be want a quick end to the case. While the serial killer plot is not particularly fresh, Hunt's nail-biting storytelling keeps readers in its grip until the end. For those who like John Sandford and remember David L. Lindsey's Houston homicide detective Stuart Haydon.

In his fourth outing (after Head Wounds), corporate dropout-turned-carpenter/PI Sam Acquillo is forced to look for the missing girlfriend of his former boss, George Donovan. As Sam traces the successful young businesswoman to a house on Long Island shared with a bunch of Gen-Xers from Manhattan, he uncovers what looks like dirty business dealings. Knopf is very much a contemporary crime writer, revealing the dangers of the world of big deals, commercial espionage, and the barracudas hanging out for all they can get. For readers who enjoy hard-boiled mysteries in the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Robert Parker. [Knopf has contracted a two-book spinoff series with St. Martin's based on Acquillo's friend Jackie Swaitkowski.—Ed.]

Cop Sam McGowan has been retired for one day when his landlord takes a dive off the roof of his building. The San Francisco police want to call it a suicide, but all signs point to murder. Sam talks to his neighbors on the top floor and finds that every one of them hated the dead man. Fast-paced, rollicking humor and characters right out of a—well, a 1930s Agatha Christie country house mystery—make this one of the best from the award-wining author of the Cape Weathers series (Stealing the Dragon). [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 2/1/09.]

In his second outing after the Malice Domestic Award-winning Death of a Cozy Writer, DCI St. Just is sent to a mystery writers' convention in a Scottish castle to give a talk on his most interesting cases. The gathering is also going to present an award to best-selling author Kimberlee Kalder, who shows herself to be self-absorbed, rude, and a flirt. Of course, the drawbridge is up when the murderer strikes, and we are treated to an old-fashioned Agatha Christie-style mystery in which all the suspects are gathered under one roof. Lots of humor and a bit of "guess who this writer is" make this one a good choice for readers who enjoy intelligent cozies and traditional mysteries.

When two guests at the remote Jackalberry bush camp in northern Botswana are murdered, police discover that one of the dead men, Zimbabwean teacher Goodluck Tinubu, was already dead. Assistant Superintendent Kubu Bengu is sent to oversee the investigation, which gets more complicated when Joy, Bengu's beloved wife, is attacked in their home and he receives threatening phone calls. Following his spectacular debut, A Carrion Death, Stanley comes roaring back with an even better tale. Bringing a love of Africa similar to Alexander McCall Smith's popular "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series, the author has created an excellent new venue for those who love to read about other cultures while enjoying a good mystery. Highly recommended. [Stanley is actually the writing team of South Africans Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip.—Ed.]

Hired to find the company responsible for a 1995 chemical spill that poisoned the land and water of Ashland City, TN, PI Sid Chance discovers delving into the past dredges up old enemies and danger. By the author of the Greg McKenzie series (The Marathon Murders).

When Gretchen, Josie's cheerful shop assistant, fails to return from vacation, the antiques dealer (Antiques To Die For) sets out to find her. Then a dead body is found in Gretchen's home, and the police take her disappearance as a sign of guilt. Fans of intelligent traditional mysteries who also also enjoy Antiques Roadshow will appreciate.

Ex-cop Mario Condo supports himself as a bookseller in Havana. When he finds a treasure trove of old valuable volumes in the mansion of a wealthy Cuban who had fled after the fall of Batista, an old newspaper clipping about a missing singer captures his fancy. Things turn ugly when the books' owner is murdered. Padura portrays the dark underbelly of today's Havana with insight and a deep sadness.

PI Micky Knight (Lost Daughters) is hired to find the child of a wealthy New Orleans businessman dying from HIV and hepatitis C. Complicating her case is Hurricane Katrina and an almost deadly dose of cocaine.Lambda Award winner Redmann devotes too many pages to Micky's sex life, which takes the focus away from Redmann's vivid depiction of a devastated New Orleans. For gay and lesbian mystery collections.

Leaving her job at a large security firm, successful PI Carly Paladino is hired by a wealthy San Francisco family to find their missing daughter. Noah Lang, a far cry from her former employer, offers her space to set up shop, and they form a partnership that has all of the makings for a superior series. Tierney, author of the Deets Shanahan series, has a winner here.

Home in Portland, OR, for Christmas, 17-year-old Senate page Katie Converse disappears while walking the family dog. The case attracts three women—FBI agent Nicole Hedge, federal prosecutor Allison Pierce, and TV reporter Allison Shaw—who are determined to find Katie and bring her kidnapper to justice. This joint effort by Fox News correspondent Wiehl and mystery author Henry is a good choice for readers of Lisa Gardner's The Survivors Club and James Patterson's "Women's Murder Club" series.

While celebrating her 50th birthday, Elsie MacBean (Howling Murder) gets involved in investigating the disappearance of Ivy Diggs, a young woman whose husband is murdered that same night. The mystery is so-so, but the interaction between Beanie and her basset hound, Cruiser, will keep readers coming back for more.

Even spies age, but fortunately Marcus Didius Falco—"informer" for the Roman emperor in the first century C.E.—is aging with grace. What makes Davis's long-standing series so indelible is the expert blend of Falco's wisecracking observations and crazy family life with some masterly suspense. In this latest, Falco has taken his pregnant wife, two daughters, and brother-in-law to Alexandria on what is ostensibly a vacation. (They're staying at the house of his wayward uncle and the uncle's partner.) In fact, Falco is charged with keeping his eye on things, and indeed trouble brews right away—the Librarian of Alexandria's great library is found dead in his sealed office. There's been plenty of controversy surrounding the Librarian already, and the controversy over who will succeed him turns bloody. Who knew that the race for a top library spot could be so intriguing? The mystery is intricately plotted, the characters are well drawn, and Falco is as engaging a protagonist as ever, still tough but wiser and more reflective, too. Another winner for historical mystery fans. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 1/09.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Back in Sussex after nearly a year of globe-trotting adventures (The Game), Mary Russell and husband Sherlock Holmes are immediately catapulted into two different mysteries: the disappearance of Yolanda Adler and her young daughter, and the sudden extinction of one of Holmes's beehives. Sherlock takes on the Adler case, while Mary, never one to mope at home, delves into the intricacies of the apiary. She then heads to London to consult with Mycroft Holmes and insinuates herself into Sherlock's case. And thank goodness, because he clearly needs her help. King's latest is not as much of a travelog as previous series novels, although Russell does charter an airplane. Seeing more of Mycroft is a definite treat, but Russell and her husband spend most of the novel apart, which is never a good thing. King wastes no time dropping bombshells that shake up the canon she's so carefully created. She's a consistently good writer who continues to delight her many fans. A required purchase for all public libraries and fiction collections. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 1/09.]—Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib., CA

With her 18th stellar entry in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series, Leon (Suffer the Little Children) continues to live up to the increasingly high standards set by each novel. Her latest brings the Venetian policeman into intertwining cases involving dangerous environmental hazards: mounting trash heaps and air and water pollution. As usual, the urbane, overeducated, laconic detective circumvents his self-indulgent, self-centered boss and other department dullards to solve a thorny murder case. Leon not only offers superb plotting and engaging dialog, but also captures the atmosphere of Venetian daily life. Thus, Brunetti enjoys frequent, leisurely meals with his wife and children. Leon's evocation of these meals is so delectable that readers feel as though they are participating in the repasts. For readers of literary mysteries, such as those by Deborah Crombie and Elizabeth George. Highly recommended for all public and university libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/08.]—Lynne F. Maxwell, Villanova Univ. Sch. of Law Lib., PA