Tag: book series

Start a New Mystery Series

- Beth Leave a comment

While most mystery series do not have to be read in order, many mystery readers prefer to start at the beginning and follow the main characters through the growth of their mystery solving skills. Below you will find a few newer titles that are number one in a forthcoming mystery series, owned by the Davenport Public Library at the time of this writing. Descriptions are provided by the publisher.

Knife Skills by Wendy Church, The Shadows of Chicago series. Sagarine Pfister is a great cook but has been blacklisted by almost every restaurant in Chicago. When she finds the head chef of a below-average restaurant dead in a walk-in freezer, the owner, Russian gang boss Anatoly Morzov, offers her the head chef job. While the Chicago PD searches for a killer, the FBI pressures Sagarine to inform on the gang. As Sagarine becomes more deeply involved with the gang and one of Morzov’s lieutenants, the FBI’s demands put her at increased risk of discovery. She has to make a decision about where her loyalties lie as she finds herself running for her life.

Murder by cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom-Courage, A Golden Girls cozy mystery. When Dorothy’s obnoxious date is found dead in a hotel freezer, it not only ruins a gorgeous cheesecake but threatens the elaborate St. Olaf-themed wedding Rose is hosting.

 

 

 

 

Midnight Streets by Phil Lecomber, A Piccadilly noir novel. When Cockney private detective George Harley saves a young girl’s life on a dark London night in 1929, he doesn’t realize it marks the beginning of an investigation which will change his life forever. The incendiary novel which inspired the girl’s abduction also seems to be linked to a series of grisly murders that are taking place on Harley’s patch. Set during the Golden Age of Crime Fiction, Harley’s world is a far cry from the country house of an Agatha Christie whodunnit.

 

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd, Nora Breen investigates. The first in a cozy mystery series about a former nun who searches for answers in a small seaside town after her pen pal mysteriously disappears. Haunted by a line in her friend’s letter, Nora Breen asks to be released from her vows and arrives at Gulls Nest, a charming hotel in Gore-on-Sea in Kent. A seaside town, a place of fresh air and relaxed constraints, is the perfect place for a new start. Nora hides her identity and pries into the lives of her fellow guests. But when a series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest it’s time to ask if a dark past can ever really be left behind.

The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes, Expectant detectives. The Expectant Detectives is first in a delightful new mystery series following a group of pregnant women who meet at a prenatal class and team up to solve the murder of someone in their village.

 

 

 

 

I Only Read Murder by Ian Ferguson & Will Ferguson, Miranda Abbott mystery. Miranda Abbott, once known for the crime-solving, karate-chopping church pastor she played on network television, has hit hard times. She’s facing ruin when a mysterious postcard arrives, summoning her to Happy Rock, a small town in the Pacific Northwest. In dire straits, she signs up for an amateur production at the Happy Rock Little Theater. On opening night, one of the actors is murdered, live, in front of the audience. Now everyone is under a cloud of suspicion, including the town doctor, the high school drama teacher, an oil-stained car mechanic, an elderly gentleman who may have been in the CIA — and Miranda herself. Clearly, the only way to solve this mystery is for Miranda to summon her skills as television’s Pastor Fran.

Every Time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack, The vacation mysteries. All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series — is that too much to ask? Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case. Contending with literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker, and even her ex, Oliver, theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed.

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“Sometimes, a book can change your life. It’s hard to explain that to someone who doesn’t read, or who has never felt their heart bend so strongly toward a story that it might just snap in two. Some books are a comfort, some a reprieve, others a vacation, a lesson, a heartbreak.”
― Ashley Poston, A Novel Love Story

Eileen Merriweather loves romance. As a professor of literature at a local college, she spends the school year teaching courses on history’s greatest romance writers. When her own relationship falls apart and her best friend suggests they both join a book club, Eileen is skeptical at first. She doesn’t want to be reminded of what she’s lost. However after their first meeting, Eileen is smitten. The Super Smutty Book Club members quickly become her friends. One week every year, the club members book a cabin in the Hudson Valley in New York where they read smutty books and celebrate the romance series that they all initially bounded over – the Quixotic Falls series. This year, Eileen is beyond ready for a break. When the club members start dropping out of the trip, she gets worried. When her best friend Pru is the last to drop out, Eileen decides she is going to take the trip alone.

Her trip to the Hudson Valley starts easily, but quickly devolves. Her car starts making weird noises shortly after she starts the trip and eventually completely breaks down in the middle of a thunderstorm in a small town. Eileen takes refuge in a bookstore much to the chagrin of the grumpy, yet sexy, owner. This quaint town seems very familiar to her. As it turns out, Eileen has landed in Eloraton, the town of her favorite book series, Quixotic Falls. It is everything she ever imagined, from the sweet honey taffy, the burnt burgers at the local bar, and the grumpy possum that lives in the cafe.

The longer Eileen stays, the more the town seems off. Nothing has changed in years, nothing has moved on, and the town is trapped. Ever since the author died suddenly in a tragic car accident before finishing the fifth and final book, Eloraton and its residents have been left in a limbo. Eileen quickly decides that she was brought to Eloraton to help it move on, to help the town and its residents find the endings that the author was never able to finish. She’ll do anything to give these characters the endings they deserve.

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston is a standalone novel, but there are characters from some of her other standalone titles that make appearances in this book. While the romance between the two main characters happened a little too quickly for me (complete strangers to falling in love in less than five days!), the plot was intriguing enough and was something that I hadn’t read before, so I kept with it! This cozy warm read had me rooting for all of the characters to get their happy ending.

This title is also available in large print.

New and upcoming mystery titles!

- Michelle Leave a comment

An exciting fall of new mystery releases is almost upon us!  There are some additions to some series favorites and some debuts as well.  Visit our website for a full list of reading recommendations, including the newest titles on our shelves.

 

What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley  Bradley’s young crime solving heroine, Flavia de Luce, is back after a five year hiatus!  Flavia still resides in the cozy British village of Bishop’s Lacey and now eight years after the end of World War II, the village still feels the effects and is trying to return to normalcy.  In this 11th book in the series, Flavia has inheirited Buckshaw, the family estate, after the death of her father.  She is also responsible for her younger sidekick and cousin, Ondine, who returns from an earlier book.  In this installment, the two investigate the death of fellow villager Major Greyleigh, while trying to defend one of their own. Buckshaw’s longtime staff is family to Flavia and have worked for the de Luce family for decades, including beloved chef, Mrs. Mullet who is accused of poisoning Major Greyleigh.  With Flavia’s aptitude for chemistry and her clever insight into the characters in her village, it is good to have Flavia back solving the crimes of the English Countryside!

 

The More the Terrier by David Rosenfelt  Book 30 in the Andy Carpenter series, finds the lawyer back at home in New Jersey after a restful week of vacation.   On his return (alongside his three pups), Andy finds a dog waiting patiently at his door.  He recognizes his former foster dog, Murphy, and can’t understand how Murphy made it back to his door after being adopted by BJ and his mother.  Upon returning Murphy to his rightful owner, he finds the new adoptee family in shambles, with BJ’s mother telling the tale that her son has been arrested for murder and Murphy ran out the door during the arrest.  Andy takes on the case and hopes to prove BJ innocent and reunite him and his dog.

 

 

The Grey Wolf  by Louise Penny In Louise Penny’s 19th book in the Armand Gamache series, The Grey Wolf opens with Chief Inspector Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie relaxing at home in their quaint village of Three Pines.  Their quiet morning is quickly shattered by a phone call that changes everything.  Strange events occur, including a cryptic note that contains a list.  This note, along with other curiosities, point Gamache and his team toward a frightening realization.  They chase the threat across the country and know if they fail it will have catastrophic consequences.

 

 

Killing Time by M. C. Beaton Clever and quirky Agatha Raisin is back in Killing Time, the 35th book of the series.  This time Agatha’s detective agency takes on a string of burglaries in the serene English Cotswolds.  Things take a sinister turn when the burglars violently kill someone during their heists.  Now, finding the culprits is more important than ever.  At exactly the same time, Agatha’s sometimes paramour, Sir Charles Fraith has asked her to help with an extravagant soiree on his estate.  Whe Agatha and her fellow private eyes are targeted and she barely escapes a kidnapping attempt, heading for a tropical vacation seems like the perfect solution.  Freshly reinvigorated, Agatha heads back to the Cotswolds to find a killer!

 

 

A Messy Murder by Simon Brett Ellen Curtis has seen it all as a professional declutterer.  Throughout her career, she has helped hundreds clear out their messes and, at times, found more than she has bargained for – including finding clients who have met suspicious deaths!  In this book, the fourth in the Decluttering Mystery series, Ellen’s latest job is assisting an aging former British TV star, Humphrey Carter, and his years of memorabilia and other rubbish that has accumulated in his home.  On the day Ellen is set to begin, she arrives to find Humphrey deceased!  His wife insists that he would not take his own life and it must be murder.  Unsure, Ellen investigates and finds many enemies of Humphrey.  Was one suspect angry enough to kill or did he take his own life?

 

 

Brew Unto Others by Sandra Balzo Uncommon Grounds owner Maggy gets involved with family drama in the latest Maggy Thorsen mystery, Brew Unto Others.  Maggy’s business partner Sarah has just lost her mother and right after the funeral, Sarah’s sister, Ruth, is found unconscious in her mother’s home.  Signs point to Ruth being  poisoned by carbon monoxide are crystal clear. Was this an accident or did someone intentionally tamper inside the home?    Ruth seemed adamant about burying their mother quickly.  Was there more to this than meets the eye?  Maggy is called upon to help and she has just scratched the surface of the family’s secrets.