Prepub Mystery

Barbieri, Maggie. Final Exam. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Dec. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-312-37677-2. $24.99.

Alison Bergeron finds drugs in a missing student's dorm and gets her detective boyfriend on the case. The fourth in New York-based Barbieri's "Murder 101" cozy series, which has been optioned for TV by Kristin Davis. Library marketing campaign.

Bruen, Ken. London Boulevard. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Dec. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-312-56168-0. $24.99.

Recently released from jail, Mitchell finds work in an erstwhile movie star's home, but violence catches up with him in this stand-alone from the multiaward-winning, Ireland-based author of the Jack Taylor series. Movie rights sold to Departed screenwriter William Monahan and Quentin Curtis. Library marketing campaign.

Burcell, Robin. The Bone Chamber. Harper: HarperCollins. Jan. 2010. 384p. ISBN 978-0-06-112229-3. pap. $7.99.

Forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick, last seen in the LJ-starred Face of a Killer, becomes entangled in a Templar treasure map conspiracy. A series to watch.

Gage, Leighton. Dying Gasp: A Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigation. Soho Crime. Jan. 2010. 336p. ISBN 978-1-56947-613-0. $24.

This third series entry (after Blood of the Wicked and Buried Strangers) might not be for everyone, what with a woman in the Amazon jungle making snuff films. But fans of the chief inspector will certainly be anticipating it.

Grafton, Sue. U Is for Undertow. Marian Wood: Putnam. Dec. 2009. 400p. ISBN 978-0-399-15597-0. $27.95.

A Is for Alibi, and 20 books later, Grafton is still going strong. Her latest moves between the 1960s and 1980s as a man asks Kinsey Millhone to revisit a young girl's disappearance based on his childhood memory.

Graves, Sarah. Crawlspace: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery. Bantam. Jan. 2010. 288p. ISBN 978-0-553-80680-9. $25.

Murderer Randy Dodd drowned—or so it seems. Up to book 13 in the series, Jake Tiptree shows no signs of fading. Library marketing.

Hall, James W. Silencer. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Jan. 2010. 304p. ISBN 978-0-312-35959-1. $24.99.

In this 11th series entry, Edgar and Shamus Award winner Hall again explores preservation of the Florida wilderness, as Thorn is kidnapped by contract killers. With tour.

Hamilton, Steve. The Lock Artist. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Jan. 2010. 320p. ISBN 978-0-312-38042-7. $24.99.

Orphaned and mute after a horrific accident, Michael discovers he can open locks and falls into the criminal world. The Edgar and Shamus Award-winning author of the Alex McKnight series lives in Cottekill, NY. With tour and library marketing campaign.

Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia. Fell Purpose. Severn House. Jan. 2010. 256p. ISBN 978-0-7278-6842-8. $28.95.

A straight-A schoolgirl is found dead, but Bill Slider is determined to keep her secrets from being buried with her in this 12th series crime novel.

James, Bill. Full of Money. Severn House. Dec. 2009. 192p. ISBN 978-0-7278-6813-8. $27.95.

High-class criminals pepper this prequel to Tip Top, which James wrote as David Craig. The author of the long-running Harpur and Iles police procedural series lives in South Wales.

McCullough, Colleen. Too Many Murders: A Carmine Delmonico Novel. S. & S. Dec. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-1-4391-7747-1. $26.

In the midst of the Cold War, chief of detectives Delmonico (On, Off) deals with 12 seemingly unrelated murders. This is anything but The Thorn Birds.

May, Peter. Virtually Dead. Poisoned Pen. Jan. 2010. 250p. ISBN 978-1-59058-670-9. $24.95.

May, known for his China-set mysteries (see Chinese Whispers, reviewed on p. 93), weaves a story of a $1-million financial scam tied to murders in Second Life and reality. With tour.

Morris, Bob. Baja Florida. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Jan. 2010. 288p. ISBN 978-0-312-37726-7. $24.99.

In Zack Chasteen's fifth outing, his dying friend tasks him to find his estranged daughter after the detective he originally hired goes missing in the Bahamas. Regional tour.

Murphy, Shirley Rousseau. Cat Striking Back. Morrow. Dec. 2009. 336p. ISBN 978-0-06-112399-3. $19.99.

Cat PI Joe Grey and friends are back for their 15th adventure. A feral cat joins them to help solve a bodiless crime.

Stuckart, Diane A.S. A Bolt from the Blue: A Leonardo da Vinci Mystery. Berkley Prime Crime. Jan. 2010. 336p. ISBN 978-0-425-23217-0. pap. $14.

In his third mystery, da Vinci is hired to invent a deadly flying machine, but the murder of one of his apprentices proves distracting. Stuckart, a pseudonymous author of historical romances, lives in Florida.

Thompson, James. Snow Angels: An Inspector Vaara Novel. Putnam. Jan. 2010. 320p. ISBN 978-0-399-15617-5. $24.95.

The Scandinavian crime wave continues with this series debut introducing Finnish inspector Kari Vaara, who probes the mutilation murder of a Somali immigrant in Lapland. Thompson has lived in Finland for the past decade.

Todd, Charles. The Red Door. Morrow. Jan. 2010. 352p. ISBN 978-0-06-172616-3. $24.99.

In 1920s England, Ian Rutledge works two seemingly unrelated cases. The best-selling, pseudonymous mother-and-son authors, who've written 11 other series titles, live in Delaware and North Carolina.

Turnbull, Peter. Improving the Silence. Severn House. Jan. 2010. 192p. ISBN 978-0-7278-6841-1. $27.95.

The body of a young cop who died 30 years earlier points to unparalleled police corruption and cover-ups in this stand-alone from the author of the Hennessey and Yellich series.

Owing to advance information from the publisher that did not give sufficient detail, the LJ 7/09 Prepub Mystery annotation of Andrew Vachss's Haiku inadvertently made the book sound similar to a Burke novel and misrepresented the plot.