Have the winter doldrums got you down? Why not check out the titles being published this month in your favorite mystery series.
Jenn McKinlay has book
number three of the Hat Shop mystery series, entitled At the Drop of a Hat coming out this month, and it follows Death of a Mad Hatter. Cousins Scarlett Parker and
Vivian Tremont’s fashionable London hat
shop, Mim’s Whims, is visited by a new customer bearing an old hat box.
Ariana Jackson is getting married and wants to restore her mother’s
bridal hat and veil for the occasion. The elegant item was made by
Scarlett and Vivian’s grandmother over thirty years ago, so Viv is
delighted to take the job. When Scarlett goes to Ariana's
office to consult about the restoration cost, she finds her outside,
standing over her boss’s dead body. Though Ariana claims to know nothing
about his demise, the investigation unveils a motive for murder. Now,
with the bride-to-be in custody and the wedding on hold, Scarlett and
Viv must find the real killer.
Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King is the thirteenth title in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mystery series following Garment of Shadows. After a lengthy case that had the couple traipsing all over India, Mary
Russell and Sherlock Holmes are on their way to California to deal with
some family business that Russell has been neglecting for far too long.
Along the way, they plan to break up the long voyage with a sojourn in
southern Japan. The cruising steamer Thomas Carlyle is leaving
Bombay, bound for Kobe. Though they’re not the vacationing types,
Russell is looking forward to a change of focus—not to mention a chance
to travel to a location Holmes has not visited before. The idea of the
pair being on equal footing is enticing to a woman who often must race
to catch up with her older, highly skilled husband. Aboard the
ship, intrigue stirs almost immediately. Holmes recognizes the famous
clubman the Earl of Darley, whom he suspects of being an occasional
blackmailer: not an unlikely career choice for a man richer in social
connections than in pounds sterling. And then there’s the lithe,
surprisingly fluent young Japanese woman who befriends Russell and
quotes haiku. She agrees to tutor the couple in Japanese language and
customs, but Russell can’t shake the feeling that Haruki Sato is not who
she claims to be. Once in Japan, Russell’s suspicions are
confirmed in a most surprising way. From the glorious city of Tokyo to
the cavernous library at Oxford, Russell and Holmes race to solve a
mystery involving international extortion, espionage, and the shocking
secrets that, if revealed, could spark revolution—and topple an empire.
On of my favorite authors, M.C. Beaton is publishing Death of a Liar this month. It is the thirtieth titles in the Hamish Macbeth series and follows Death of a Policeman. Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is alarmed to receive a report from a woman in
the small village of Cronish in the Scottish Highlands. She has been
brutally attacked and the criminal is on the loose. But upon further
investigation, Hamish discovers that she was lying about the crime. So
when the same woman calls him back about an intruder, he simply marvels
at her compulsion to lie. This time, though, she is telling the truth.
Her body is found in her home and Hamish must sort through all of her
lies to solve the crime.
The third title in the County Cork mystery series is An Early Wake by Sheila Connolly. It follows Scandal in Skibbereen. Summer is ending in County Cork, Ireland, and with it the tourist
season. Expat Maura Donovan is determined to keep Sullivan's Pub in the
black as the days grow shorter—but how? When she hears that the place
was once a hot spot for Irish musicians who'd come play in the back
room, she wonders if bringing back live music might be Sullivan's
salvation. As word gets out, legendary musicians begin to
appear at the pub, and the first impromptu jam session brings in scores
of music lovers. But things hit a sour note when Maura finds a dead
musician in the back room the next morning. With a slew of potential
suspects, it's going to take more than a pint and a good think to force a
murderer to face the music.
Town in a Sweet Pickle by B.B. Haywood is the sixth title in the Candy Holliday mystery series. It follows Town in a Strawberry Swirl.
When Candy Holiday, a local farmer in the quiet coastal community of Cape Willington, Maine, organizes a cooking event for her local newspaper, the town's
most prominent citizens turn out to witness the popular cookbook author
Julia von Fleming serve as a guest judge. But when Julia comes close to
consuming a poisoned pickle, she begins to suspect someone in Cape
Willington is trying to kill her—and Candy is completely jarred to be
among the suspects. But the first taste was just a sample, and
soon more jars of poisoned pickles begin to pop up around town. In the
face of a pickled poisoning spree, Candy will have to track down the
culprit to clear her own name.
The sixteenth title in Kate Collins' Flower Shop Mystery series is A Root Awakening. It follows Throw in the Trowel.
Now that they’ve tied the knot, flower shop owner Abby Knight and her
husband, Marco, want to put down roots. When it comes to picking a
house, Marco can’t wait to get his hands dirty, while Abby isn’t ready
for a fixer-upper. But conflict really sprouts when they’re checking out
a dilapidated Victorian and watch a construction worker take a
life-threatening tumble. Since witnesses claim the man shouted
for help, suggesting that the fall was no accident, the victim’s
flamboyant wife hires Marco to find the person responsible. Meanwhile,
Abby keeps secret from Marco her own investigation into the home’s
inhabitants, a family whose off-kilter behavior has aroused her
suspicions. If only Abby’s very pregnant cousin, Jillian, will stop
distracting Abby with false labor pains, she can conclude her own
inquiries before Marco finds out…and her case blossoms into a disaster.
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