Mystery

From a small ski resort town in Vermont (Wendy Clinch's Double Black) to the down-to-earth side of New York's glittering Hamptons (Chris Knopf's Short Squeeze), mystery writers are not so much shying away from the usual big city settings as turning to small towns and rural areas to highlight a sense of community as they tackle hard issues that add depth and relevance to their crime stories.

Leaving her cheating fiancé and grad school, twentysomething Stacey Curtis moves to a small Vermont resort where she can ski to her heart's content—until she finds a murdered man in the condo where she has been squatting. The suspense ratchets up, and it is a downhill race to the finish line. VERDICT Debut novelist Clinch, who runs the skiing web site for women TheSkiDiva.com, tells an action-packed story with interesting characters. However, the savvy reader will most likely have figured out who did it before Stacey. Fans of chick-lit mysteries may enjoy. [Library marketing.]

In Edwards's fourth "Lake District" procedural (after The Coffin Trail, The Cipher Garden, and The Arsenic Labyrinth), DI Hannah Scarlett works a cold case involving the mysterious drowning of a young woman. Was it suicide or murder? Meanwhile, the rest of the Cumbria CID is investigating the gruesome death of a book collector incinerated along with his books. VERDICT The juxtaposition of human relationships past and present, the interweaving of the writings and life of Thomas de Quincey with the contemporary plot, and the backdrop of England's Lake District, famous for its literary connections, make this an excellent choice for discerning readers who want an unusual and challenging puzzle mystery that will keep them guessing until the final pages. Wow! [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/09; large-print ed. ISBN 978-1-59058-594-8.]

In the medieval city of Toulouse, the fragile order secretly maintained by the Fools' Guild is threatened when a man arrives from Paris claiming to be the brother of the ruling count. Soon the man is found in bed with a dead prostitute, killed with his own sword. In his eighth outing (after A Death in the Venetian Quarter and The Lark's Lament), Theophilos, fool and spy, investigates. VERDICT Gordon lights up his series with humor, history, and one of the most original spy organizations in crime fiction; fans of medieval mysteries will appreciate the insight into 13th-century France. Why hasn't this lively and entertaining series received more recognition?

After two wealthy sisters are murdered, a true-crime writer arrives in Eastport, ME, to interview someone who claims to have inside knowledge of the killings. The writer disappears and so does Jacobia Tiptree's son. Hold on to your hats when Jacobia and her housekeeper, now her mother-in-law, swing into action. VERDICT In her 13th series title (after A Face at the Window), Graves transcends the boundaries of the conventional mystery by allowing her protagonists to indulge in heroics that land them in the shark-infested waters of the thriller. Readers who enjoy Joy Fielding, Iris Johansen, and Mary Higgins Clark might want to try Graves. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 9/1/09; library marketing; ebook ISBN 978-0-553-90727-8.]

In his third outing (after The Night of the Dance and Scared Money), retired Texas Ranger Jeremiah Spur and friends go about sorting out the disappearance of a small Texas town's most disliked restaurateur. Did Sylvester Bradshaw vanish because of the E. coli poisoning that resulted from his famous catfish dish, or did it have something do with an invention that interested several venture capitalists? Readers will have fun watching Spur work it all out. VERDICT Like Bill Crider, Edgar Award finalist Hime demonstrates the same knack for telling a good story while peopling his mysteries with endearing characters. [Library marketing.]

Inspector Rostnikov (People Who Walk in Darkness) and his team are looking for a serial killer who has murdered 40 people in Moscow. They also must navigate the dangerous political fallout when it becomes clear that the serial killer may have ties to some higher-ups in the Russian government. Then there is the matter of the British journalist who is digging into the dirty business of Russian organized crime. VERDICT With its outstanding depiction of police work, Kaminsky's long-running series is the closest we have come to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct procedurals. Sadly, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Kaminsky died October 9.

When a friend discovers he has a previously unknown daughter, he asks Willis Gidney, a PI in Washington, DC, to find her. But someone is making sure that the people talking to Willis never talk again. VERDICT This winner of the PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Competition exposes the ugly side of our nation's capital. Kaufman, an award-winning director and cinematographer, ties together DC's jazz scene, cut-throat big business, and the destructiveness of reckless ambition. This series debut is worth a look. [Library marketing.]

Southampton attorney Jackie Swaitkowski, a supporting character in Knopf's Sam Acquillo series (Head Wound, Two Time), takes center stage in this series debut as she is hired to help a man resolve an unpleasant domestic situation. His sister-in-law has moved into and taken over his house, convinced she's the owner because she loaned her late sister money. But the case is not as simple as it appears. Jackie's client is fatally run down, and when she's hired to settle his estate, things turn really ugly as it becomes clear to the killer that Jackie is no pushover. VERDICT Readers, fasten your seatbelts for a roller-coaster ride as Knopf's intelligent, savvy protagonist works her wiles solving whodunit and why. [Library marketing.]

When the owners of the local newspaper in Mason County, VA, are murdered, Deputy Sheriff Tom Bridger is put in the awkward position of having to tell his ex-girlfriend her parents are dead. The Taylors had arrived in the 1960s as volunteers in the War on Poverty and stayed on, making friends—and enemies. Veterinarian Rachel Goddard, the sheriff's current lady love, gets involved when a childhood friend is targeted as the prime suspect. VERDICT This third Rachel Goddard mystery (after The Heat of the Moon and Disturbing the Dead) grips readers from the opening page with a suspenseful plot that will leave them breathless. The tension between Tom and Rachel adds to the thrill of the hunt for a clever murderer who has covered all the bases. Fans of Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott mysteries will enjoy. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/09; large-print ed. ISBN 978-1-59058-654-9.]

When a fellow officer—and ex-lover—kills a motorist from New Jersey and illegal guns are found in his car, it is ruled a righteous kill. However, Hopedale, FL, Deputy Sheriff Sara Cross sees a number of inconsistencies in the deputy's story, and soon she is conducting a covert investigation that leads to an unpleasant and dangerous end. VERDICT Stroby (Heartbreak Lounge, The Barbed-Wire Kiss) begins his gritty new series with a bang. Sure to appeal to fans of Edna Buchanan and John Sandford.

When called to a newspaper office to investigate the murder of a reporter, the NYPD homicide team of Jack Reeves and Ryan Parks (Night Moves, Dead of Night) find they have lots to do: it seems a great number of people wanted to kill the journalist. VERDICT For fans of police procedurals.

A serial killer stalks Singmass Close, a somewhat sinister area in Eborby, Yorkshire. DI Joe Plantagenet and DCI Emily Thwaite find themselves looking at some cold cases that might be the model for the current ones. VERDICT Ellis rates right up there with Peter Turnbull and Sally Spencer. For fans of British procedurals.

In 1972, several cast members of The Bagley Bunch (yes, loosely based on TV's The Brady Bunch) were murdered. Years later, one of the surviving stars, now terminally ill, wants to tell what really happened, especially since a fellow ex-actor is running for President. VERDICT Ranting against the religious right and painting a cozy picture of a fringe group of liberal computer geeks, Handler (The Bright Blue Star) loses focus with his jaded, one-sided view of American politics. Too bad, because he had a terrific plot.

Plus-sized PI Savannah Reid (A Body To Die For) "helps" her homicide detective friend solve the murder of the wife of a diet guru. VERDICT Despite the implausibility of an amateur detective investigating an official police crime scene, McKevett's engaging mystery will appeal to food cozy fans who want something hip and fun to read with bite but little gore. McKevett is the pseudonym of mystery author Sonja Massie.

Someone is killing the Marilyn Monroe impersonators working in a London club owned by a ruthless crime boss. VERDICT Good action, a professional investigation, and a heartbreaking ending make this UK procedural series (Passion Killers) worth a look.

Mike Bowditch, 24, is a rookie game warden for the state of Maine. He's also the son of Jack Bowditch, legendary woodsman, brawler, womanizer, and poacher whom Mike has not seen in over two years. One hot summer night while Mike is out answering a call about a bear stealing a pig, Jack leaves Mike a cryptic message on his answering machine. The next morning, Mike learns that his father is wanted in the murders of a paper company representative and a sheriff's deputy. Through a long few days, Mike jeopardizes his dream job to help the father whose attention he could never get. VERDICT A richly imagined portrait of the vanishing wilderness in New England's farthest reaches, Doiron's (editor in chief, Down East: The Magazine of Maine) well-written debut is also a taut thriller and a thoughtful examination of the complicated relationship between father and son. Of a piece with Castle Freeman Jr.'s All That I Have about a Vermont sheriff, this will also appeal to fans of C.J. Box's Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett. [A Minotaur First Edition Selection; 100,000-copy first printing; library marketing.]—Nancy Fontaine, Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, NH

Buckle up and prepare for a wild ride as Charlie McNally and Boston's Channel 3 News investigate a nefarious car theft/forgery operation and race to get their story on the air before their lives are endangered. In the meantime, Charlie becomes consumed with secret sleuthing as blackmail and suspicious deaths threaten the private, prestigious Bexter Academy where her fiancé teaches. Amid late-night stakeouts and dangerous car chases, Charlie finds time for romance, wedding planning, and bonding with her future stepdaughter. In her fourth series entry (after Prime Time, Face Time, and Air Time), Ryan once again channels her Emmy-winning investigative reporting expertise to craft a realistic and compelling mystery, full of hairpin turns and dangerous intersections at breakneck speed. VERDICT Placing Ryan in the same league as Lisa Scottoline and Julie Kramer, her latest book catapults the reader into the fast lane and doesn't relent until the story careens to a stop. New readers will speed to get her earlier books, and diehard fans will hope for another installment.—Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Warning: skeletons in the family closet can be deadly. In Todd's 12th Inspector Rutledge mystery (after A Matter of Justice), set in post-World War I London, Rutledge struggles to find inner peace in a disillusioned world. His current assignment starts as a straightforward missing-person case of one Walter Teller but quickly blends into a murder investigation when a woman is killed in Lancashire. Village accounts suggest she was married to army officer Peter Teller, presumed dead. Is it just a coincidence that one of Walter's brothers is named Peter, who happens to be very much alive, living in London, and married to another woman? The Teller family emphatically denies that the dead woman is a relation, but Rutledge must uncover their secret before the killer strikes again. After introducing new sleuth Bess Crawford in A Duty to the Dead, the mother-and-son writing team returns to their popular series sleuth, the tortured but very human Ian Rutledge, with this engaging and atmospheric mystery. VERDICT Recommended for Anglophiles who love cozy, historical mysteries with a detective who is bent but never completely broken. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/09.]—Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L.s, MD