Amateur Sleuth Suspense

Award-winning author Alan Bradley returns with another beguiling novel starring the insidiously clever and unflappable 11-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. The precocious chemist with a passion for poisons uncovers a fresh slew of misdeeds in the hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey - mysteries involving a missing tot, a fortune-teller, and a corpse in Flavia’s own backyard. Flavia had asked the old Gypsy woman to tell her fortune, but never expected to stumble across the poor soul, bludgeoned in the wee hours in her own caravan.

Iris Woodmore is a journalist with a hot new story. For the first time in history, two women compete in a by-election to become the third woman elected to Parliament. Iris accompanies one of the candidates to a debate in the House of Commons. But it's a place that holds painful memories. In 1914, Iris' mother died there when she fell into the River Thames during a daring suffragette protest. In the shadow of Big Ben, a waterman tells Iris her mother didn't fall - she jumped.

Newly retired Sarah Vane is completely settled in Merstairs, enjoying the quirky, quaint feel of her new home. With some time on her hands, she decides to surprise her friend Daphne by cleaning her dusty, cluttered seafront shop. But when she arrives there early one morning, Sarah is shocked to find a dying woman on the doorstep, who utters one word before she takes her last breath: ‘Wits…’ The victim is Abi Moffat—a much loved schoolteacher. Who could want her dead, and what could ‘wits’ possibly mean? Could the answer to Abi’s death be in Whitstable—the posher town along the coast?

In the seaside town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows the best man for the job is actually a woman - contractor Shannon Hammer. But while Shannon can do wonders with a power drill and a little elbow grease, her love life needs work. On a blind date with real estate agent Jerry Saxton, she has to whip out a pair of pliers to keep Jerry from getting too hands on.Shannon is happy to put her rotten date behind her, but when Jerry's found dead in a run-down Victorian home that she's been hired to restore, the town's attractive new police chief suspects that her threats may have laid the foundation for murder.

The trees in Arborville, New Jersey, have started sporting sweaters. Part of the trend of public knitting art? Not exactly. An anonymous activist has been wrapping trunks in yarn to cover red X's that mark certain trees for removal by the town so they don't interfere with power lines. When the town's mayor - who supports cutting down the trees - is murdered, Pamela wonders if the tree hugger committed homicide to prevent arborcide.

Society's eligible women are in mourning. Lord Peter Wimsey has married at last, having finally succeeded in his ardent pursuit of the lovely mystery novelist Harriet Vane. The two depart for a tranquil honeymoon in a country farmhouse but find, instead of a well-prepared love nest, the place left in a shambles by the previous owner. His sudden appearance, dead from a broken skull in the cellar, only prompts more questions. The honeymoon is over, as Lord Peter and Harriet Vane start their investigations.

Fans of Charlaine Harris’ best-selling Sookie Stackhouse novels will find much to enjoy in this companion to the immensely popular series. Included are a never-before-published novella and an exclusive interview with Alan Ball, creator of HBO’s True Blood. Sookie herself guides listeners on a tour of Bon Temps, gives them a peek at the werewolf and werepanther communities, provides a glimpse of her best friend Tara’s dress shop, and offers a look at Merlotte’s - the bar where Sookie earns her living.

Mr. Thipps wakes up to the worst day ever. A dead body in his bathtub wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez. So many questions. Luckily, Lord Peter Wimsey catches wind of this – for he has a keen mind for solving crimes, although he is the pampered aristocratic amateur. With the connections that privilege offers, he has returned somewhat battered from the war with a penchant for crime solving. This case of near-sighted nudity, taking place during the plague of 1918, takes on twists and turns both unforeseen and unwelcome.

Best-selling author C.S. Harris has received numerous awards for her historical fiction. Set in Regency England, this seventh series installment finds aristocratic investigator St. Cyr and his reluctant bride, Hero Jarvis, entangled in a dangerous mystery involving the myth of King Arthur and Camelot.

June 1920, Ireland: The streets of Dublin seethe with revolution as the Irish Republican Army clashes with British authorities. Roving assassination squads mean nowhere is truly safe, particularly for Verity Kent and her war hero husband, Sidney. Given their celebrity as society darlings and intrepid sleuths, they must tread carefully to go unnoticed—nearly impossible when they are called upon to search for Verity’s fellow spy and friend . . .

Ellie Christie is thrilled to begin a new chapter, having recently returned to her tiny Colorado hometown to run her family’s historic bookshop with her elder sister, Meg, and their friendly bookshop cat, Agatha. Perched in a Swiss-style hamlet accessible primarily by ski gondola, the Book Chalet is a famed bibliophile destination known for its maze of shelves and relaxing reading lounge with cozy fireside seats and panoramic views. At least, until trouble blows in with a wintery whiteout, and a man is found dead on the gondola.

Things are looking up for the owner of Coffee, Books, and More—Jill's finally getting her MBA, and though her wedding to police detective Greg is postponed a few months, she still has plenty to celebrate. A girls' weekend in Santa Barbara is just the ticket. But back in South Cove, someone else's big day has become a big problem. Antiques dealer Josh Thomas and Mandy Jensen were planning a small private ceremony under an olive tree on the historic Jensen farm—until Mandy went missing.

Miss Marple meets Oscar Wilde in this new series of cosy mysteries set in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Bunburry. Life is looking up for amateur sleuth Alfie McAlister. He has found relatives he never knew he had, and at long last, he has replaced the avocado suite in his bathroom. But he is shocked to get a plea for help from his niece Ruby, a young law graduate in Oxford. There is no support from his fellow amateur sleuths: Liz and Marge are having problems of their own, and Constable Emma Hollis isn't answering her phone.

Known for enchanting architectural features like sliding bookshelves and secret passageways, Secret Staircase Construction is finally getting the recognition it deserves, and is now taking on a dream project: transforming a home into a public library that celebrates history's greatest fictional detectives. Though the work is far from done, Gray House Library’s new owner is eager to host a murder mystery dinner and literary themed escape room. But when a rehearsal ends with an actor murdered and the body vanishes, Tempest Raj is witness to a seemingly impossible crime.

Paul Delamare has been roped into accompanying his old friend on a luxury cruise aboard the magnificent super-yacht Mal de Mer. It’s all plain sailing until his friend’s priceless necklace is stolen and everyone falls under suspicion. As Paul races to catch the thief, the ship begins to drift off-course, veering into the storm-lashed mid-Atlantic. Then one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious circumstances, in a pool of coffee and surrounded by cake crumbs.

Electra McDonnell has always known that the way she and her family earn their living is slightly outside of the law. Breaking into the homes of the rich and picking the locks on their safes may not be condoned by British law enforcement, but World War II is in full swing, Ellie's cousins, Colm and Toby, are off fighting against Hitler, and Uncle Mick's more honorable business as a locksmith can't pay the bills anymore. So when Uncle Mick receives a tip about a safe full of jewels in the empty house of a wealthy family, he and Ellie can’t resist.

Retired teachers Pat, Liz and Thelma are happiest whiling away their hours over coffee, cake and chat at the Thirsk Garden Centre café. But when their good friend tells them about unsettling experience she had in a sinister-feeling charity shop, they simply can’t resist investigating. Because the entire shop has vanished into thin air. Before long, our trio of unlikely sleuths find themselves embroiled in a race against the clock to get to the bottom of this mystery – but who has a secret to hide and how far will they go to keep it concealed?

Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's premier lady detective, is a little short on help. The codirector of the agency, Grace Makutsi, is busy with her own case, her client none other than their erstwhile assistant, Mr. Polopetsi, who has unwittingly involved himself in a pyramid scheme. The agency's other assistant, Charlie, may also need more help than he can offer, as he is newly embroiled in a romance with a glamorous woman about whom the others have their doubts.

At the annual Victorian Home and Garden Tour, Lighthouse Cove, California's premier contractor, Shannon Hammer, realizes that the competition is about to turn deadly.... Shannon is in high demand among rival homeowners who will do anything to win Best in Show. One-upmanship and even espionage break out among neighbors, construction crews, decorators, and landscapers. Thanks to several new hires, Shannon is sure she can handle the extra load - until murder throws a wrench in the works.

Ginny Cole doesn’t want to be a widow. She’d rather not be forcibly adopted by an opinionated black cat. And she’d give anything not to have just found the murdered body of her rude and dislikeable new boss… So she’s as surprised as anyone to realise that she doesn’t hate being on the wrong side of the law, searching a graveyard for evidence in the company of three fellow widows, and doing a whole host of un-Ginny-like things in order to solve a fiendish mystery.