Series-ously Good New Mysteries - March 2015

Here are just some of the new series offerings for this month:

A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear is the next title in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series. It is the eleventh title in the series following Leaving Everything Most Loved. Spring 1937. In the four years since she left England, Maisie Dobbs has experienced love, contentment, stability—and the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now, all she wants is the peace she believes she might find by returning to India. But her sojourn in the hills of Darjeeling is cut short when her stepmother summons her home to England; her aging father Frankie Dobbs is not getting any younger. But on a ship bound for England, Maisie realizes she isn’t ready to return. Against the wishes of the captain who warns her, “You will be alone in a most dangerous place,” she disembarks in Gibraltar. Though she is on her own, Maisie is far from alone: the British garrison town is teeming with refugees fleeing a brutal civil war across the border in Spain.Yet the danger is very real. Days after Maisie’s arrival, a photographer and member of Gibraltar’s Sephardic Jewish community, Sebastian Babayoff, is murdered, and Maisie becomes entangled in the case, drawing the attention of the British Secret Service. Under the suspicious eye of a British agent, Maisie is pulled deeper into political intrigue on “the Rock”—arguably Britain’s most important strategic territory—and renews an uneasy acquaintance in the process. At a crossroads between her past and her future, Maisie must choose a direction, knowing that England is, for her, an equally dangerous place, but in quite a different way.

Following To Die Fur, Dixie Lyle is publishing the third title in the Whiskey, Tango and Foxtrot mystery series, Marked Fur Murder. When zillionairess Zelda Zoransky decides to throw one of her famous parties—with a guest list as colorful and diverse as her private zoo—it’s up to Deirdre "Foxtrot" Lancaster, assistant extraordinaire, to pull the whole thing off. But even with the help of her telepathic cat Tango and ectoplasmic pooch Whiskey, it’s one killer assignment. Especially when she finds a corpse in the pool. The victim is the sister of Deirdre’s boyfriend, Ben. The cause of death appears to be a plugged-in hair dryer that fell in the water. Ben, however, insists that a few volts couldn’t have killed Ann. Like him, she’s a descendent of the Cowichan tribe who, according to legend, has a way with lightning. But when the suspects include a Russian pet psychic, a schizophrenic writer, and a random rock star, it’s more than puzzling to Whiskey, Tango, and Foxtrot.


Ladle to the Grave by Connie Archer is the fourth title in the Soup Lover's mystery series, following A Roux of Revenge. Vermont's most popular soup shop, By the Spoonful, is owned by Lucky Jamieson. It's almost May, and some of the local ladies have organized a pagan celebration in the woods to welcome spring. But the evening goes terribly wrong when one of the attendees winds up dead, apparently poisoned by an herbal concoction prepared by Lucky's grandfather, Jack. Lucky's sure her grandfather could not have made such a tragic mistake. But before she can clear him of suspicion, her best friend, Sophie, is diverted from planning her wedding to By the Spoonful chef Sage DuBois when she finds a dead man floating in the creek on her property. Now it's up to Lucky to get both Sophie and Jack out of hot water.

Laura Morrigan is publishing the third title in her Call of the Wilde mystery series this month. It is Horse of a Different Killer and it follows A Tiger's Tale. Animal behaviorist Grace Wilde's psychic ability gives her insight into the minds of all kinds of animals. Dead men may tell no tales, but they can screw up your life with a few phone calls. Grace's abusive ex-brother-in-law, Anthony Ortega, needs her help - at least that's what he said on the messages he left before his sudden death. Grace is inclined to let the matter rest in peace, but when her sister is named a suspect, Grace decides to get to the bottom of the cryptic calls. Her only lead is Ortega's fiancée, who believes that he had arranged to surprise her with the purchase of a Frisian gelding named Heart. The horse was being stabled at the R-n-R Ranch - but was taken in the middle of the night. Now, with her sister in trouble and a missing horse on her hands, Grace hopes the information harnessed from her psychic skills will be enough.

The Edge of Dreams by Rhys Bowen is the fourteenth title in the Molly Murphy mystery series, following City of Darkness and Light. Molly Murphy Sullivan’s husband Daniel, a captain in the New York City police force, is stumped. He’s chasing a murderer whose victims have nothing in common—nothing except for the taunting notes that are delivered to Daniel after each murder. And when Daniel receives a note immediately after Molly and her young son Liam are in a terrible train crash, Daniel and Molly both begin to fear that maybe Molly herself was the target. Molly’s detective instincts are humming, but finding the time to dig deeper into this case is a challenge. She’s healing from injuries sustained in the crash and also sidetracked by her friends Sid and Gus’s most recent hobby, dream analysis. And when Molly herself starts suffering from strange dreams, she wonders if they just might hold the key to solving Daniel’s murder case.

Christy Fifield is publishing the four title in her Haunted Souvenir Shop mystery series this month. It is Murder Ties the Knot and it follows Murder Sends a Postcard. It's winter in Keyhole Bay, Florida, and while the tourist trade is slow, souvenir shop owner Glory Martine is busy with her best friend's wedding. As her friends Karen and Riley approach their wedding day, Glory could use a break from the nuptial madness. She takes a peaceful drive to Alabama's piney woods to pick up the wedding quilt she ordered from a supplier. But the supplier, Beth, has disappeared along with the quilt and her husband, Everett. Glory learns that two men were found murdered near Beth and Everett's home and that the couple is wanted for questioning. Believing they are innocent, Glory convinces them to cooperate with authorities. But when they're thrown in jail, Glory vows to catch the real killer.

The second title in the Witch City mystery series, Tails, You Lose is coming this month. This title is by Carol J. Perry and  follows Caught Dead Handed. After losing her job as a TV psychic, Lee Barrett has decided to volunteer her talents as an instructor at the Tabitha Trumbull Academy of the Arts--known as "The Tabby"--in her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. But when the school's handyman turns up dead under seemingly inexplicable circumstances on Christmas night, Lee's clairvoyant capabilities begin bubbling to the surface once again. The Tabby is housed in the long-vacant Trumbull's Department Store. As Lee and her intrepid students begin work on a documentary charting the store's history, they unravel a century of family secrets, deathbed whispers--and a mysterious labyrinth of tunnels hidden right below the streets of Salem. Even the witches in town are spooked, and when Lee begins seeing visions in the large black patent leather pump in her classroom, she's certain something evil is afoot.