December 2013/January 2014

New and Forthcoming in Hardcover

Allende, Isabel. Ripper (HC, 28.99) Jan. A San Francisco teenager who is a natural-born sleuth discovers that a series of murders in the Bay Area are connected, but things become very personal when her free-spirited mother disappears.

Axelrod, Stephen. Nantucket Sawbuck (PP, 24.95 hc, 14.95 tp) Jan. In this debut mystery, the murder of a corrupt and thoroughly unlikable man leads the Nantucket police chief to investigate the killing as well as numerous other crimes on the island.

Baker, Tiffany. Mercy Snow (GC, 25.00) Jan. A tragic bus crash in a small New England town has dire consequences for two families when dark secrets—and a skeleton—are uncovered.

Balzo, Sandra. Murder on the Orient Expresso (SH, 27.95) Dec. Wisconsin coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen has a job serving special coffees to a group of writers and their fans during a train excursion in Florida, but a series of antagonisms results in a stolen manuscript and murder.

Barbieri, Maggie. Once Upon a Lie (STM, 24.99) Dec. In a standalone mystery a divorcée with two daughters and a father succumbing to Alzheimer’s investigates when her cousin is found murdered and her father is the chief suspect.

Beaufort, Simon. The Murder House (SH, 28.95) Jan. A psychological thriller about a police constable who commits a minor procedural indiscretion that leads to her being blackmailed by a crooked defense barrister, leading her into more and more serious acts.

Benison, C.C. Ten Lords A-Leaping (Dela, 25.00) Dec. When Father Tom Christmas finds the body of an aristocrat on the grounds of the Devon estate of his brother-in-law, he investigates the many suspects, including family, who had reason to kill the man.

Billingham, Mark. From the Dead (AtMon, 26.00) Jan. When a man thought to be dead for years—killed by his long-suffering wife—turns up alive, Thorn has a case where more people begin to turn up dead.

Cavender, Chris. The Missing Dough (Kens, 24.00) Dec. Maddy’s ex-husband shows up unexpectedly after his mother has left Maddy a small inheritance in her will, and when he is found dead after a quarrel, she must find the killer before she gets burned.

Chapman, Drew. The Ascendent (SS, 25.00) Jan. A debut thriller about a brilliant bond analyst who discovers a strange trading pattern in bonds, and finds himself involved in a fight to save the U.S. from a deadly financial conspiracy by the Chinese.

Childs, Laura. Eggs in a Casket (Brk, 25.95) Jan. The ladies of the Cackleberry Club come across the body of a former prison warden lying in an open grave while preparing for the centenary celebration for the local cemetery, and it’s up to them to crack open the case.

Christer, Sam. The Rome Prophecy (Png, 26.95) Jan. A woman covered in blood is found wandering the streets of Rome claiming to be an ancient prophetess looking for a mystical amulet hidden in the city, and when ex-priest Tom Shaman agrees to help her, he discovers that they are in a world of danger.

Clark, Mary Jane. That Old Black Magic (HC, 25.99) Jan. Piper Donovan is in New Orleans studying at a famous boulangerie when a murder takes place, and after a second murder occurs, she believes that by following the macabre clues related to voodoo, she can find the killer.

Clemans, Judy. Leave Tomorrow Behind (PP, 24.95 hc, 14.95 tp) Dec. Dairy farmer Stella Crowne discovers the body of a local musician under a manure pile at the county fair, and her investigation indicates all kinds of cheating going on in the competitions.

Connelly, Michael. The Gods of Guilt (LB, 28.00) Dec. Mickey Haller takes the case of a techno-pimp accused of murdering a prostitute, not realizing that the victim was a former client that he thought he had rescued from the life. This is excellent.

Conrad, Hy. Mr. Monk Gets on Board (NAL, 23.95) Jan. Monk reluctantly agrees to accompany Natalie for a business seminar on a cruise ship, but when the social director is swept overboard, he has a murder to solve.

Coyle, Cleo. Billionaire Blend (Brk, 25.95) Dec. Greenwich Village coffee house owner Claire Cosi is intrigued by a customer who asks for obscure coffee drinks, but when he is injured by a car bomb, she discovers that he is an Internet billionaire who has business plans for the coffee house and a romantic plan for her.

Cutter, Nick. The Troop (SS, 26.00) Jan. A troop of boy scouts on a camp-out on an isolated island encounters a mysterious man who has escaped from a military facility and who is carrying a deadly contagion, so when the military quarantines the island, they must use their limited skills to survive.

Dams, Jeanne. Shadows of Death (SH, 28.95) Jan. While on holiday in the Orkney Islands, Dorothy and her husband investigate the murder of a wealthy American who is funding an archaeological dig on the islands.

Dolan, Harry. The Last Dead Girl (Put, 26.95) Jan. David Loogan becomes involved with a mysterious law student, and when she is found murdered he is the chief suspect in a prequel to Bad Things Happen. Dolan is a master of noir.

Dorsey, Tim. Tiger Shrimp Tango (HC, 25.99) Jan. Serge and Coleman decide to rescue a damsel in distress who’s been ripped off by an Internet scam artist based in the Sunshine State.

Doughty, Louise. Apple Tree Yard (FSG, 26.00) Jan. A married geneticist, the mother of two children, is accused of murder, and her alleged accomplice is a man with whom she had an affair knowing little or nothing of his background in a brilliant novel of psychological suspense.

Dugdale, Ruth. The Sacrificial Man (Skyhorse, 22.95) Jan. Investigating a case of assisted suicide, UK probation officer must decide if the woman who admits to helping her friend die is a mentally-ill product of a broken childhood or a psychopathic manipulator.

Elo, Elizabeth. North of Boston (Vik, 27.95) Jan. A woman of Russian descent who survives after the lobster boat she was on was rammed by a freighter in the North Atlantic believes that it was no accident, so she teams up with an investigative reporter to find out what really happened in an intelligent and suspenseful debut.

Fowler, Christopher. The Invisible Code (BDD, 26.00) Dec. Bryant and May of the Peculiar Crimes unit are asked by their superior to unofficially look into the strange behavior of his much-younger wife, who insists that devils are out to get her.

Gardner, Lisa. Fear Nothing (Dut, 27.95) Jan. A detective is injured walking into a crime scene containing the murdered body of a woman, a bottle of champagne, and a red rose, so she must fight against her injuries while tracking a serial killer.

Gregson, J.M. City of the Children (SH, 28.95) Jan. When a young girl is kidnapped and found strangled at a fair near Hereford, DCS Lambert and DS Hook must find a killer, a search made more urgent when a little boy is snatched off the street. A solid British police procedural series.

Grimes, Martha. The Way of All Fish (SS, 26.99) Jan. A funny satire on the New York publishing world with a pair of hit men who read Publisher’s Weekly and who agree to help an author being sued by her unscrupulous former agent. Highly recommended.

Hall, James W. Going Dark (STM, 25.99) Dec. A tense thriller featuring the reclusive Thorn, who must extricate his son from an eco-terrorist group planning to shut down a nuclear power plant, but an FBI agent, a Homeland Security agent, and a psycho all have their sights on the nuclear plant as well.

Hall, Parnell. NYPD Puzzle (STM, 24.99) Jan. The Puzzle Lady goes to NYC accompanying a young attorney friend to meet a client, but the client turns up dead with a crossword puzzle on his chest, and Cora becomes the chief suspect.

Hannah, Sophie. The Orphan Choir (STM, 25.00) Jan. When a woman whose son is in a prestigious choir at school moves to the country to escape a neighbor who blasts choral late at night discovers that she hears the music even in the country, she decides that the music is a spectral warning, of what she doesn’t know.

Hess, Joan. Murder as a Second Language (STM, 25.99) Dec. Newly-married and with spare time, Claire Malloy volunteers for an ESL program, but when an unpleasant Russian student is found murdered, she begins sleuthing at the behest of her police detective husband.

Higgins, Jack. The Death Trade (Put, 26.95) Jan. Charged with extricating a nuclear scientist and his family from Iran, Sean Dillon and his team think they have the perfect plan, but things fall apart.

James, Bill. Noose (SH, 28.95) Dec. In a novel of psychological suspense, a journalist covers the suicide attempt of a young actress who may be his half-sister in 1956, leading him to reflect on the ways that his father’s act of heroism in rescuing a young woman in 1934 have shaped his life, not necessarily for the good.

Jardine, Quintin. Pray for the Dying (IPG, 26.95) Dec. When four people are shot at a Glasgow charity concert, Edinburgh police detective Bob Skinner is appointed acting chief constable in a case that appears to have political overtones.

Katzenbach, John. Red 1-2-3 (Grove, 26.00) Jan. When a frustrated novelist decides to make his mark by planning the murder of three titian-haired women, he doesn’t plan on the women joining forces to turn the tables on him.

Kelly, Jim. The Funeral Owl (SH, 28.95) Dec. Newspaper editor Philip Dryden discovers a body hanging from a crucifix when he goes to a Fen country church that has been the victim of a theft in another in this excellent series.

Kramer, Julie. Delivering Death (SS, 24.95) Jan. Minneapolis TV reporter Riley Sparks gets a gruesome package in the mail—filled with human teeth—in a case involving identity fraud and a convicted white-collar criminal in the latest in this intelligent and funny series. Signing.

Lawson, M.A. Rosarito Beach (Png, 26.95) Jan. The first of a new series featuring San Diego DEA agent Kay Hamilton, who manages to apprehend the brother of the leader of a Mexican drug cartel, only to lose him as he’s being transferred to court after the cartel stages a military-style strike.

Levine, Laura. Killing Cupid (Kens, 24.00) Jan. When the unethical and very unpleasant owner of a dating service for which Jaine is hired to write ad copy is murdered, she finds herself on the cop’s suspect list.

Logue, Mary. Lake of Tears (Tyrus, 24.99 hc, 16.99 tp) Jan. Claire Watkins is faced with a suspect in a murder who is not only working as a deputy, but also is her daughter’s boyfriend, a suspect who is a soldier recently returned from Afghanistan.

McCafferty, Keith. Dead Man’s Fancy (Vik, 26.95) Jan. When a riderless horse returns to a dude ranch, Sheriff Martha Ettinger goes in search of the missing rider, a beautiful and seductive woman, but what she finds on the trail is a dead man impaled on an elk’s antlers, and clues that implicate an animal rights group. For fans of C.J. Box and Craig Johnson.

Miller, Carol. Murder and Moonshine (STM, 24.99) Dec. A young woman working in a diner in small-town Virginia, is shocked when one of her customers drops dead, but when she investigates she runs afoul of a ATF agent and a sweet-talking bootlegger in a charming cozy debut.

Moody, Susan. A Final Reckoning (SH, 28.95) Nov. When an American art expert working in London visits the lodge in the Cotswolds where her elder sister worked—and was murdered—years before, she discovers that her enquiries into the murder are putting her in jeopardy.

Mosby, Steve. The Murder Code (Peg, 25.95) Dec. DI Hicks is faced with a murderer who kills at random, seemingly without motive, but then he starts sending taunting letters….

Oates, Joyce Carol. Carthage (HC, 26.99) Jan. The disappearance of a young girl in a small Adirondacks town causes horror, made worse when it becomes clear that the main suspect is a decorated Iraq War veteran.

Oust, Gail. Rosemary and Crime (STM, 24.99) Dec. In the first of a Southern cozy series, a woman invests her divorce settlement in a specialty food shop in a small Georgia town, but when the celebrity chef who is the guest of honor at the opening is found dead, she and her BFF must find a killer.

Pastan, Rachel. Alena (Riv, 27.95) Jan. A naïve young curator is offered the job of a lifetime at a small museum on Cape Cod, but she soon discovers that the previous curator disappeared mysteriously two years before in a suspenseful mystery set in the contemporary art scene.

Patterson, James and Mark Sullivan. Private LA (LB, 28.00) Jan. When two mega-stars known for their philanthropy disappear, Private Investigator Jack Morgan investigates the Hollywood world of deception and desperation.

Purser, Ann. Scandal at Six (Brk, 25.95) Dec. Lois Meade investigates when the village of Long Farden is overrun with creepy, crawling, and slithering things, which may have something to do with a seemingly unhinged zookeeper.

Rankin, Ian. Saints of the Shadow Bible (GC, 26.00) Jan. Malcolm Fox from Internal Affairs is assigned to investigate a thirty-year-old case involving Rebus who’s suspected of helping a murderer escape justice.

Reich, Christopher. The Prince of Risk (DD, 25.95) Dec. When the chairman of the SEC and the Federal Reserve chairman are murdered on the White House lawn, a hedge-fund manager must team up with his ex-wife, an FBI agent, to stop a terrorist conspiracy aimed at the US financial system.

Robertson, Michael. Moriarty Returns a Letter (STM, 24.99) Jan. Someone reappears from Nigel and Reggie’s past during an exhibition of vintage Sherlock Holmes letters, and the game is afoot.

Rollins, James and Rebecca Cantrell. Innocent Blood (HC, 27.99) Dec. In the second in the series that unites science and religion, an attack outside of Stanford thrusts archaeologist Erin Granger back in the fold of the Sanguines, and she must fight to stop Armageddon.

Simms, Chris. A Price to Pay (SH, 27.95) Jan. A half-Pakistani, half-Scottish DC assigned to the UK Counter Terrorism Unit based in Manchester investigates the disappearance of several teenaged girls who had bought used laptops from a computer store whose owner was found dead.

Stancliffe, Cath. Dead to Me (STM, 25.99) Jan. Two female detectives in Manchester are partnered—one older and diplomatic, the other ambitious and impulsive—on a murder case involving a teenaged girl found murdered in a squalid flat.

Sternbergh, Adam. Shovel Ready (Crown, 24.00) Jan. A genre-bending blend of sci-fi and noir, featuring a hit-man in post-apocalyptic NYC, who is hired to kill the daughter of a powerful evangelist, but the victim has a shocking secret and the client has a hidden agenda, making for a very dangerous job.

Stroby, Wallace. Shoot the Woman First (STM, 24.99) Dec. After a heist goes bad, killing her two partners, criminal Crissa Stone goes to Florida with half the loot to look for the family of one of her partners, but she is followed by an ex-cop who leaves a trail of bodies in his wake.

Thurlo, Aimée and David. The Pawnbroker (STM, 25.99) Jan. In the first of a new series, a Navajo special ops agent recently returned from Iraq buys an Albuquerque pawn shop with an army buddy, but when a friend is shot by someone looking for information from the previous owner, they both get involved in the investigation of the shooting.

Unger, Lisa. In the Blood (SS, 25.99) Jan. A recent college graduate who has spent her life concealing her past becomes the babysitter for an evil, manipulative child in a novel of psychological suspense. Highly recommended.

Whitehouse, Lucie. Before We Met (STM, 25.00) Jan. A woman’s fairytale marriage turns into a nightmare when her husband fails to return to London from a trip to New York and no one knows where he is or the identity of the woman who has been calling him.

Wolf, Dick. The Execution (HC, 27.99) Jan. An NYPD detective must stop an assassin from a shadowy cartel in another suspense novel combining suspense, politics, intrigue, and action.

Woods, Stuart. Standup Guy (Put, 26.95) Jan. Stone Barrington’s newest client appears a mild-mannered gentleman, but people on both sides of the law are interested in him and a crime that happened years before. New and Forthcoming in Paperback Reprint

Abbott, Jeff. Trust Me (GC, 6.00) Dec.

Berry, Steve. The King’s Deception (Ball, 9.99) Jan.

Burcell, Robin. The Kill Order (HC, 7.99) Jan.

Clark, Mary Higgins. Moonlight Becomes You (Pkt, 7.99) Dec. Reissue.

Connolly, John. The Wrath of Angels (Pkt, 7.99) Dec.

Conrad, Hy. Mr. Monk Helps Himself (NAL, 7.99) Dec.

Crais, Robert. Suspect (Brk, 9.99) Jan.

Cumming, Charles. The Trinity Six (STM, 9.99) Dec.

Elkins, Aaron. Dying on the Vine (Brk, 7.99) Dec.

Ferris, Monica. And Then You Dye (Brk, 7.99) Dec.

Finder, Joseph. Extraordinary Powers (STM, 9.99) Jan. Reissue.

Fowler, Earlene. The Road to Cardinal Valley (Brk, 7.99) Jan.

Gerritsen, Tess. Body Double (Ball, 9.99) Jan.

Grafton, Sue. Kinsey and Me (Brk, 9.99) Dec.

Grippando, James. Blood Money (HC, 9.99) Dec.

Haynes, Dana. Ice Cold Kill (STM, 9.99) Dec.

Johansen, Iris. Hunting Eve (STM, 7.99) Dec.

Jones, Darynda. Fifth Grave Past the Light (STM, 7.99) Jan.

Kellerman, Jonathan. Guilt (Ball, 9.99) Jan.

Kramer, Julie. Shunning Sarah (Pkt, 7.99) Jan.

Laukkanen, Owen. Criminal Enterprise (Brk, 9.99) Dec.

Levine, Laura. Death by Pantyhose (Kens, 7.99) Dec.

Margolin, Phillip. Sleight of Hand (HC, 9.99) Jan.

McLean, Margaret. Under Oath (STM, 7.99) Dec.

Meier, Leslie. Bake Sale Murder (Kens, 7.99) Dec. Reissue.

Meltzer, Brad. The Fifth Assassin (GC, 10.00) Dec.

Mitzner, Adam. A Case of Redemption (Pkt, 7.99) Jan.

Purser, Ann. Found Guilty at Five (Brk, 7.99) Dec.

Wallace, Joseph. Invasive Species (Brk, 9.99) Dec.

Williams, Amanda Kyle. The Stranger in the Room (Ban, 7.99) Dec.

Woods, Stuart. Unintended Consequences (NAL, 9.99) Dec.

New and Forthcoming in Paperback Original

Abbott, Victoria. The Sayers Swindle (Brk, 7.99) Dec. When an elderly man offers her a swap for a valuable set of Dorothy Sayers first editions, Jordan agrees—but then he and his entire family disappear.

Adams, Ellery. Pecan Pies and Homicides (Brk, 7.99) Jan. Baker Ella Mae LeFaye has a harder nut to crack with a deadly arsonist on the loose.

Armstrong, Kelley. Wild Justice (Png, 9.99) Dec. A female contract killer discovers that the man who killed her cousin is alive and working as a cop, but she also discovers that she must dig into ugly truths from her past.

Becker, James. The Lost Testament (NAL, 9.99) Dec. DI Bronson and historian Angela Lewis join forces to recover a mysterious parchment that has turned up in the stall of a murdered Cairo market trader, only to find themselves the target of assassins.

Bentley, Jennie. Home for the Homicide (Brk, 7.99) Dec. Renovating a house in Maine, Avery and her husband discover an old steamer trunk filled with a clue to a decades old missing-persons case.

Blackwell, Juliet. Home for the Haunting (NAL, 7.99) Dec. A San Francisco contractor is volunteering on a project, but she cannot ignore the haunted house next door—especially after a body turns up in a paranormal cozy.

Cass, Laurie. Lending a Paw (NAL, 7.99) Dec. The first in a furry new series featuring a bookmobile librarian and her feline partner who know when justice is overdue.

Charbonneau, Joelle. A Chorus Lineup (Brk, 7.99) Jan. Singing coach Paige Marshall needs to discover who is sabotaging groups in a National Choir competition.

Cook, J.J. Playing with Fire (Brk, 7.99) Jan. Fire Chief Stella Griffin investigates the death of her predecessor in the small Tennessee town—with help from the chief’s ghost.

Craig, Elizabeth. Quilt Trip (NAL, 7.99) Dec. A group of quilters gathered in a remote Victorian mansion are stranded by an ice storm, and then someone is murdered.

Davis, Krista. Murder, She Barked (Brk, 7.99) Dec. When murder goes on the prowl at a Virginia resort catering to pet owners and their furry friends, everyone smells trouble in the first of a new series.

Fifield, Christy. Murder Sends a Postcard (Brk, 7.99) Jan. Souvenir shop owner Glory Martine and her haunted parrot must catch a killer when an auditor who came to assess shady dealings at the bank is found murdered in the third in this paranormal series set in Florida.

Hackman, Gene. Pursuit (Pkt, 7.99) Dec. A Missouri corrections officer is assigned to a cold case unit, and she discovers a pattern in the disappearances of a number of pretty young women, but when her own daughter is abducted, the case turns red hot.

Hart, Carolyn. Cry in the Night (Brk, 7.99) Dec. In a suspenseful stand-alone, a woman returning an ancient manuscript to its owners in Mexico encounters treachery and murder.

Herbert, James. Ash (STM, 8.99) Dec. Ghost hunter David Ash is investigating a stately house in the countryside said to be haunted by the locals, but even the skeptical investigator is shocked by the evil he finds there.

Hollis, Lee. Death of a Chocoholic (Kens, 7.99) Jan. When food-and-wine columnist Hayley Powell discovers her favorite chocolatier dead, she finds an assortment of suspicious characters who could have dipped into murder.

Hyzy, Julie. The Home of the Braised (Brk, 7.99) Jan. White House executive chef Olivia Paras discovers an assassination plot against the president at a state dinner, and must rush to save him.

James, David. Not So Model Home (Kens, 7.99) Dec. When Palm Springs realtor Amanda Thorne agrees to list the home of a reality television producer, she finds herself hunting for a killer after two contestants on his latest show are murdered.

Johnston, Linda O. Teacup Turbulence (Brk, 7.99) Jan. Lauren flies to a Midwest animal shelter to pick up some teacup-sized pups, but the rescue worker who flies back to L.A. with them is murdered.

Knox, Annie. Paws for Murder (NAL, 7.99) Jan. In the first of a new series, the owner of a pet boutique in a small town in Minnesota stumbles across a dead body during her grand opening—and must save her best friend from a murder charge.

Laurie, Victoria. The Ghoul next Door (NAL, 7.99) Jan. Back home in Boston on break from their television show, M.J. and her crew must deal with a case of possession by a sinister spirit.

Logan, Kylie. Buttoned Up (Brk, 7.99) Dec. Button expert Josie Giancola searches for a crafty killer when an eccentric artist is found dead in the arms of a button-encrusted stature.

Marks, Mary. Forget Me Knot (Kens, 7.99) Jan. In the first of a new cozy quilting series, a group of Southern California quilters arrive at the home of a new member of the group to find the woman dead and her collection of prize-winning quilts missing.

Martin, Carol Ann. Tapestry of Lies (NAL, 7.99) Jan. After a woman redecorating the mansion of a local politician walks into Della Wright’s weaving studio to place a large order, it is placed in jeopardy by murder, and it’s up to Della to unravel the clues.

Robbins, Harold and Junius Podrug. The Curse (STM, 7.99) Jan. Art investigator Madison Dupre is searching for a lost scarab stolen from the tomb of King Tut, when she is framed for a murder and must go on the run.

Rowland, M.L. Zero-Degree Murder (Brk, 7.99) Jan. The first in a new series featuring Gracie Kinkaid, a Search and Rescue expert, who must rescue an injured hiker during a blizzard in the southern California Mountains.

Shelton, Paige. Merry Market Murder (Brk, 7.99) Dec. When a Christmas tree farmer is murdered, preserve maker Becca Robbins begins receiving mysterious Christmas ornaments in her stall, and realizes that she must pursue a sinister scrooge.

Smith, Karen Rose. Staged to Death (Kens, 7.99) Dec. When an interior decorator who stages houses for sale is asked to spruce up an aging mansion, she must find a killer when her client’s husband is found skewered by an antique sword in a debut mystery.

Watterson, Kate. Buried (STM, 7.99) Jan. Milwaukee detective Ellie MacIntosh is juggling a series of cop killings when an old, hidden grave is found on her grandfather’s property.

New and Forthcoming in Quality Paperback

Albani, Chris. The Secret History of Las Vegas (Png, 16.00) Jan. A detective on the verge of retirement wants to solve a final case of a serial killer with the help of a South African expert on psychopaths.

Aldyne, Nathan. Cobalt (F&M, 14.95) Nov. Daniel and Clarisse are summering in Provincetown when they discover a body on the beach in a light funny mystery.

_____. Vermillion (F&M, 14.95) Nov. In a reissue of a series set in 1980s Boston with a gay bartender and his straight friend who investigate the murder of a young, gay male hustler.

Bailey, Robert. The Professor (RH, 14.99) Jan. In a debut legal thriller, a bitter elderly law professor asks a former student for help when a friend is killed in a tragic collision with a semi, and together they uncover a tangled web of arson, bribery, and greed—and then a witness is murdered on the eve of trial.

Bateman, Colin. Cycle of Violence (Arcade, 14.95) Jan. A reissue of a funny crime novel set in Belfast, featuring a disgraced journalist who is sent to Crossmaheart, a particularly depressed and depressing area, to replace a reporter who has disappeared.

Beukes, Lauren. The Shining Girls (Mull, 16.00) Jan. A time-travelling serial killer hunts bright young women, but when one manages to escape, she starts hunting him with the help of a former homicide reporter.

Brown, Sandra. Deadline (GC, 15.00) Jan. A suspenseful thriller about two domestic terrorists, and a war correspondent newly returned from Afghanistan who becomes involved in hunting them down.

Burton, Jeffrey B. The Chessman (Per, 14.95) Dec. An FBI agent comes out of retirement when it appears that a serial killer known as the Chessman has returned, but a new killer is using the Chessman’s MO, and the real Chessman is not at all pleased.

Canadeo, Anne. A Dark and Stormy Knit (SS, 15.00) Jan. the Black Sheep knitting group must unravel the clues when one of their group is implicated in a murder.

Castleman, Michael. Killer Weed (Per, 14.95) Dec. A San Francisco journalist whose wife is working on the mayoral campaign of a former drug dealer becomes involved in a murder investigation when the candidate is killed, and he finds himself immersed in the old days of Haight-Ashbury and a group of aging hippies, all of whom have a motive.

Chiaverini, Jennifer. The Master Quilter (SS, 16.00) Jan. The Elm Creek Quilters get together to make a wedding quilt for the matriarch of their group, even as the group itself is threatened by outside forces.

Childs, Laura. Tea for Three (Brk, 17.00) Dec. The first three tea-shop mysteries in a single volume. A perfect holiday gift.

Clark, Mary Jane. Footprints in the Sand (HC, 13.99) Jan. In Florida for a cousin’s wedding, Piper must turn from cake decorating to sleuthing when a body is found on the stretch of beach where the wedding will take place.

Collins, Max Allan. Wrong Quarry (HC, 9.95) Jan. Quarry is a hit-man who kills other hit-men, but when he’s hired to target the grieving family of a missing cheerleader, he thinks he may have the wrong victim.

Condit, Sonja. Starter House (HC, 14.99) Dec. When a pregnant woman and her husband move in to their new house, she realizes that a darkness lives in the house and she’ll have to solve a decades-old mystery to save her family.

Coulter, Catherine. Second Shot (Brk, 16.00) Jan. Two suspense novels featuring FBI agents Savich and Sherlock.

Crais, Robert. Suspect (Brk, 15.00) Jan. A policeman suffering from PTSD after the death of his partner and a dog that used to sniff explosives in Afghanistan and lost her handler join forces to investigate the man who killed his partner.

Crawford, Dean. Immortal (SS, 16.00) Jan. A creepy thriller that begins when a Santa Fe coroner makes the discovery that the corpse she is examining appears to be more than a century old.

Darling, Miranda. The Troika Dolls (IPG, 19.95) Jan. A woman who works for a London-based risk assessment service is sent to Moscow when the daughter of the head of the Russian Central Bank is kidnapped in a suspenseful debut.

Davies, David Stuart. Brothers in Blood (IPG, 14.95) Dec. Two disaffected teens in a dreary West Yorkshire town begin their crime spree by targeting a teacher’s beloved dog and soon move on to random murders, but years later a police detective picks up their trail.

Deaver, Jeffery. The Bone Collector (NAL, 15.00) Jan. A reissue of the first Lincoln Rhyme mystery.

Dobyns, Stephen. The Burn Palace (Plume, 17.00) Jan. The police chief of a small town must deal with a missing baby and series of inexplicably violent acts in a genre-bending novel of suspense. Highly recommended.

Ellis, Warren. Gun Machine (Mull, 16.00) Jan. A genre-bending thriller about a homicide detective who discovers a cache of weapons, each leading to an unsolved murder.

Ephron, Hallie. There Was an Old Woman (HC, 14.99) Dec. When a woman goes to visit her mother after hearing from her neighbor that she needs help, she discovers signs that something bad is going on in her mother’s house and the only one who can help is an elderly neighbor with memory problems.

Harvey, John. Good Bait (Peg, 15.95) Jan. The discovery of the body of a Moldavan boy on Hampstead Heath is the start of a case that is tied to a much larger web of gang warfare in London, and a major headache for DCI Karen Shields.

Heiter, Elizabeth. Hunted (Mira, 14.95) Jan. An FBI special agent is assigned to the case of two kidnapping victims found on a farm buried up to their necks, but she herself barely escapes being kidnapped herself in a debut.

Jaffarian, Sue Ann. Secondhand Stiff (MidInk, 14.99) Dec. A family Thanksgiving sends plus-sized sleuth Odelia Grey on the hunt for a killer close to home when her cousin’s two-timing husband is found dead in a storage locker.

Joel, Maggie. The Past and Other Lies (F&M, 14.95) Dec. A meditation on family, past lies and betrayals, featuring two sets of sisters generations apart who delight in not-so-amusing misunderstandings.

Katzenbach, John. The Traveler (Mys, 16.00) Dec. A Miami police detective still recovering from a traumatic shooting must join forces with the psychiatrist brother of a horrific serial killer when her niece is abducted by him in this reissue of a classic crime novel.

King, Laurie R. A Grave Talent (STM, 15.00) Jan. A reissue of the first Kate Martinelli mystery set in an art colony outside of San Francisco. Highly recommended.

Klaven, Andrew. Killer in the Wind (Mys, 15.00) Jan. An NYPD detective, who was psychologically traumatized by a case involving a sex-trafficking ring, is working in a small town, but when he comes across the body of a woman he thought was a hallucination, he is haunted again by his past.

Lambert, Charles. The View from the Tower (RH, 14.95) Dec. While she is in a hotel room with her lover, a woman’s politician husband is murdered, and she becomes a suspect in a novel of psychological suspense.

Lourey, Jess. January Thaw (MidInk, 14.99) Jan. Mira James, a PI-in-training, is tracking down the family that built the house that is home to the town’s new museum, but when she finds a letter dating back over 150 years she discovers a cold case of treachery.

MacKenzie, David Shaw. The Interpretations (Duf, 16.95) Dec. The death of a man who jumped off a bridge during a nighttime race is ruled a suicide by the police in a small Scottish town, but his friend is convinced otherwise in a chilling debut mystery.

Malloy, Mary. The Wonder Chamber (Con, 15.95) Jan. Professor Lizzie Manning goes to Bologna to catalogue Renaissance artifacts belonging to the family of a principal benefactor, but the discovery of some letters from WWII suggest sinister doings by the family.

McCafferty, Keith. The Gray Ghost Murders (Png, 15.00) Dec. While Sheriff Martha Ettinger looks into a possible murder of two elderly men, fly-fisherman and sometimes-PI Sean Stranahan is hired to track down a valuable stolen Gray Ghost fly, and it looks like the cases could be connected.

McGilloway, Brian. The Nameless Dead (IPG, 12.95) Dec. While looking for the remains of a man killed for being a snitch, a commission for locating remains of those killed during the political upheaval in Ireland finds the bodies of a number of infants, one of whom did not die of natural causes.

Milchman, Jenny. Cover of Snow (Ball, 15.00) Dec. When her husband commits suicide, a young wife in a remote Adirondacks town must uncover the decades of secrets that led to his act, a task made more difficult by the threatening silence of the townspeople, including his family. Highly recommended.

Miller, Emma. Plain Murder (Kens, 15.00) Jan. An Old Order Amish woman returns to her hometown in Pennsylvania to set up a bed-and-breakfast and discovers that she must help her uncle when the body of a non-Amish man is found murdered in his cow pasture in a cozy debut mystery.

Neresian, Arthur. Gladyss of the Hunt (Per, 14.95) Jan. With a serial killer targeting women in the area of Times Square and a rookie partner who thinks that her mystical yoga gives her supernatural insight, an NYPD cop has his hands full—and that’s not counting his rocky personal life.

Oates, Joyce Carol. Daddy Love (Mys, 15.00) Jan. A creepy thriller about a young boy who is abducted and held by a psychopathic preacher. The ending will give you nightmares.

O’Connor, TJ. Dying to Know (MidInk, 14.99) Jan. A murdered man returns to have his wife, an archaeologist, help him discover who killed him and why in the first of a new paranormal series.

Patterson, James and Maxine Paetro. The Twelfth of Never (GC, 16.00) Jan. Lindsay is home with her baby, but she still has two high-profile cases—a football player accused of murder and a professor whose nightmares of murder are prophetic.

Portes, Andrea. Bury This (Counter, 15.95) Jan. When a documentary reopens interest in an unsolved twenty-five-year-old murder, the detective who handled the case as a rookie resolves to finally find the killer.

Rhodes, Kate. Crossbones Yard (STM, 14.99) Jan. A London psychologist stumbles across the body of a murdered woman during her evening run, and the police ask her to help their investigation by creating a psychological profile of the murderer.

Sayers, Dorothy L. Clouds of Witness (HC, 14.99) Jan. A reissue of an early Peter Wimsey mystery. Other early titles are also being reissued.

Shames, Terry. The Last Death of Jack Harbin (Seventh St, 15.95) Jan. When a young man who has recently returned from Iraq badly damaged is found dead, it’s up to ex-chief Samuel Craddock to investigate the secrets in the small Texas town.

Shannon, John. Chinese Beverly Hills (Per, 14.95) Dec. Jack Liffey agrees to help his former mistress find her missing niece, plunging him into racial tension in Monterrey Park. Shannon is great.

Sharp, Zoe. Die Easy (Peg, 15.95) Dec. Charlie Fox and Sean Duffy are sent to New Orleans to guard a celebrity fundraiser, but an ambitious robbery explodes into a hostage situation and the motive has something to do with Sean, and because of his memory loss he can’t remember why.

Smith, Helen. Beyond Belief (T&M, 14.95) Jan. Amateur sleuth Emily Castles is hired to investigate when a psychic predicts a murder at a paranormal conference in Torquay in a contemporary mystery that hearkens back to the Golden Age.

Smith, Mark Haskell. Raw (Per, 15.00) Dec. An overly-muscular reality star who has penned a well-received novel runs into a critic who can’t believe he could have written anything more intellectual than a grocery list, so she goes hunting for his ghost writer in a funny satire of the publishing world.

Thompson, Richard A. Lowertown (40Press, 16.95) Dec. When a public defender disappears after her latest client—a sex offender who may also be a serial killer—makes bail, a St. Paul bail bondsman goes to the gritty industrial part of the city to find her.

Vachss, Andrew. Urban Renewal (Vin, 14.95) Jan. Cross is a hit-man, part of a group of killers who do not kill discriminately, living in a fortified part of a ruined Chicago, in the latest in this gritty series.

Washburn, Livia. The Fatal Funnel Cake (NAL, 14.00) Nov. When her entry in the Texas State Fair is chosen as one of the best of category, Phyllis is invited to give a cooking demonstration, but when the judge dies from an allergic reaction to the cake, she must trade her chef’s toque for a deerstalker to find a killer.

Webb, Wendy. The Vanishing (Hyp, 15.99) Jan. When a woman is hired to be a caretaker for an elderly woman who had been a famous horror novelist, she discovers that the family secrets that led the woman to stop writing are related to her own family as well in a ghostly psychological mystery.

Weber, Tracy. Murder Strikes a Pose (MidInk, 14.99) Jan. The owner of a struggling yoga studio decides to investigate when a homeless man is killed on the street, leaving her with his large dog.

White, Karen. Return to Tradd Street (NAL, 15.00) Jan. Having refused Jack’s marriage proposal, Melanie is working to renovate the house before the baby arrives, but the discovery of the remains of a newborn dressed in a christening gown in the foundations are the beginning of more and more dangerous hauntings in this wonderful paranormal cozy series.

Williams, Charlotte. The House on the Cliff (HC, 14.99) Jan. A Welsh psychotherapist finds herself drawn to an anxiety-ridden actor, and when she discovers that his former au pair died in a drowning accident, she decides to investigate in the first of a new series.

Wolfe, Inger Ash. A Door in the River (Peg, 15.95) Dec. Detective Hazel Micallef investigates what appears to be a stinging death on the nearby Reservation, but she soon discovers that a teenaged girl with a diabolical weapon is behind the attack.

New and Forthcoming in International Mysteries

Adler-Olsen, Jussi. A Conspiracy of Faith (Png, 15.00) Jan. Investigating a note allegedly from two boys held captive in a boathouse, Inspector Mørck is led to a woman trapped by her husband’s deadly secret.

_____. The Purity of Vengeance (Dut, 26.95) Dec. When new information surfaces about a brothel owner who disappeared in the 1980s, DI Carl Mørck and his partners in Department Q realize that the case has its roots in a movement in the 1950s to sterilize wayward girls.

Alain-Fournier. The Lost Domain (OUP, 19.95) Jan. A new translation of a classic French novel of the 1890s, about two schoolboys whose wanderings take them to a manor house where a party is going on, a visit that will change their lives forever. This is one of my favorite novels of all time.

Aspe, Pieter. The Midas Murders (Peg, 25.95) Dec. Inspector Van In investigates when a man is found dead in the center of Bruges and his friend is later found dead in a house fire.

Bates, Quentin. Chilled to the Bone (Soho, 26.95) Dec. When a ship owner is found dead in one of Reykjavik’s finest hotels, DS Gunnhildur Gisladottir suspects foul play, and her investigation uncovers a bondage society whose members are being systematically exploited and blackmailed.

Bernal, Rafael. The Mongolian Conspiracy (New Directions, 14.95) Nov. A Mexico City noir first published in 1969, featuring a grizzled hired gun who tries to help foil a suspected Communist Chinese plot to assassinate the presidents of Mexico and the U.S. during a meeting in Mexico City.

Bilal, Parker. Dogstar Rising (STM, 17.00) Jan. A Sudanese-born PI in Cairo investigates threats against a hapless travel agent, but when he witnesses a brutal killing he finds himself in the crosshairs of both a dangerous gang and the state security services.

Carlotto, Massimo. The Master of Knots (Europa, 15.00) Jan. Too ashamed to go to the police when his wife goes missing, a man who was part of a ring organizing sado-masochistic orgies asks the Alligator for help in a Mediterranean noir.

Christer, Sam. The Venice Conspiracy (Png, 15.95) Dec. A former priest goes to Venice on holiday, but a series of brutal murders plunges him into an investigation that takes him deep into the city and an ancient secret.

Cotterill, Colin. The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die (Soho, 15.95) Jan. Dr. Siri investigates when a woman who was shot and killed reappears in her house alive and well with clairvoyant gifts is hired by a Lao general to find his brother’s remains.

Gage, Leighton. Perfect Hatred (Soho, 14.95) Dec. Brazil’s Chief Inspector Mario Silva has two cases to investigate: a suicide bombing and the assassination of a gubernatorial--cases that may be related.

_____. The Ways of Evil Men (Soho, 26.95) Jan. Mario Silva investigates the mysterious deaths of thirty-nine natives deep in the jungle of Pará, a case that becomes more complicated when one of the remaining natives is found with a bloody machete standing over the body of a village official.

Haas, Wolf. Resurrection (Mel, 14.95) Jan. In his first case as a PI Brenner is hired to investigate when the corpses of two Americans are found frozen in a ski-lift in an alpine village, but when he discovers that the Americans have relatives in the village, he thinks the murders could be a family affair.

Halter, Paul. The Crimson Fog (Lockedroom International, 19.99) Dec. First published in France in 1988, this fair-play puzzle mystery takes up the Jack the Ripper murders, beginning with a seemingly impossible murder of a magician in 1887 in Blackfield, and culminating in the series of murders in Whitechapel in 1888.

Hamilton, Ian. The Red Pole of Macau (Picador, 15.00) Jan. Financial expert/ninja Ava Lee returns to help her brother extricate himself from a Macau shopping center project that seems to be a scam.

Hayder, Mo. The Devil of Nanking (Grove, 14.00) Jan. A reissue of a brilliant crime story set in Tokyo, about a woman who is looking for some lost film footage taken during the massacre in Nanking in 1937. Highly recommended.

Heivoll, Gaute. Before I Burn (Graywolf, 26.00) Jan. In a novel based on a real-life serial arsonist in southern Norway interspersed with autobiographical entries by the narrator, the author creates a crime novel about identity and the blurred line between art and reality.

Holmberg, John-Henri. A Darker Shade of Sweden (Mys, 26.00) Jan. An anthology of dark Swedish crime stories including an unpublished story by Stieg Larsson.

Jansson, Anna. Killer’s Island (Stockholm Text, 14.95) Jan. A police detective on the Swedish island of Gotland is faced with a horrific murder when a decapitated corpse is found dressed as a bride with its head in its lap.

Johnston, Paul. The Black Life (SH, 28.95) Dec. Athens PI Alex Mavros has a case that probes Greek anti-Semitism, both before and after WWII, when he is hired to find a man who supposedly died in Auschwitz, but has been seen alive.

Jungersen, Christian. You Disappear (DD, 27.95) Jan. An exceptional novel of psychological suspense about a Danish schoolteacher who is diagnosed with a brain tumor that is changing his personality, and it is later discovered that he has stolen millions of crowns from the school system, leaving his wife to struggle with both the personal problems of living with a man she no longer knows, and of investigating the legal ramifications of his actions.

Kallentoft, Mons. Midsummer Death (SS, 16.00) Jan. Swedish police superintendent Malin Fors investigates the brutal assault on a teenager and the discovery of the body of another girl during a sweltering hot summer.

Morgan Jones, Christopher. The Jackal’s Share (Png, 16.00) Jan. In a brilliant novel of international corporate espionage, a London-based investigator is hired by an Iranian philanthropist to clear his good name, but further investigation reveals that the philanthropist has a very murky past indeed.

Motte, Anders de la. Game (SS, 16.00) Dec. In the first of a best-selling Swedish trilogy, a young slacker becomes involved in a deadly virtual-reality game that blurs the distinction between fiction and reality and ends up putting his sister, a bodyguard with the Swedish Security Police, at risk. In the second, Buzz (SS, 16.00) January, he goes on the run to Dubai, trying to escape the game, but the disappearance of a young woman who worked for a Swedish IT company, sends him back to Sweden and the Game Master.

Neuhaus, Nele. Bad Wolf (STM, 25.99) Jan. After the body of a murdered teenaged girl washes up outside of Frankfurt, a local television reporter is attacked and raped while working on a story involving child prostitution in the upper echelons of society, and the police working the cases find they are connected.

Ohlsson, Kristina. Silenced (SS, 15.00) Dec. Swedish investigative analyst Fredrika Bergman is assigned to the case of the murder of a minister and his wife, a case that has its roots in a case of assault that occurred years before.

Pryor, Mark. The Blood Promise (Prom, 15.95) Jan. Hugo Marston is assigned to bodyguard a U.S. presidential hopeful at a chateau outside of Paris, but an attack on the candidate and a subsequent murder lead him to investigate the family that owns the chateau and a centuries-old secret locked in a chest.

Scerbanenco, Giorgio. Betrayal (Duf, 14.95) Dec. An American woman plans a perfect double murder, and a doctor becomes involved in the investigation into six murders in this crime novel written in 1966.

Simenon, Georges. Pietr the Latvian (Png, 10.00) Jan. The very first in the series featuring Inspector Maigret, newly translated. The Late Monsieur Gallet (Png, 10.00) will also be reissued in January.

Thomas, Paul. Death on Demand (Bitter lemon, 14.95) Nov. A twisty mystery set in New Zealand, featuring Maori DS Tito Ihaka, who must solve a series of murders going back fourteen years when a group of friends spends a vacation weekend together.

Tursten, Helen. The Fire Dance (Soho, 26.95) Jan. The murder of a young ballerina sets off alarm bells for Swedish DI Irene Huss who remembers that the ballerina’s stepfather was killed in a similar manner fifteen years before.

_____. The Golden Calf (Soho, 14.95) Dec. DI Huss and her partner investigate the death of wealthy restaurant owner, but the discovery of two more bodies of former business partners of the man causes them to suspect the bereaved widow.

Zouroudi, Anne. The Doctor of Thessaly (LB, 15.00) Dec. Hermes Diaktoros investigates a series of crimes in the backwater Greek village of Morfi before the arrival of a high-ranking government official.

New and Forthcoming in Historical Mysteries

Appignanesi, Lisa. Paris Requiem (Duf, 24.95) Jan. In 1899, a widowed professor leaves Boston for Paris where his younger brother is entangled with an actress, who soon turns up dead with the brother as the chief suspect, in a well-researched look at a tumultuous time.

Atkinson, Kate. Life after Life (Hach, 18.00) Jan. An historical novel that begins with the birth and death of an English baby, who gets numerous chances for do-overs until she gets her life right in a span of time from 1910 to post-WWII.

Bailey, Catherine. The Secret Rooms (Png, 16.00) Dec. The true story of the ninth Duke of Rutland who died in 1940 in a cramped room in the servants quarters of Belvoir Castle and whose papers, sealed for sixty years, provide insight into the aristocracy in the years before WWI as well as answering the mystery of the Duke’s death.

Barker, Pat. Regeneration (Png, 16.00) Jan. The novels in the Regeneration Trilogy are being reissued as part of the centennial of WWI. I can’t recommend these highly enough.

Bradley, Alan. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Dela, 24.00) Jan. At the funeral for her mother, whose body has been found after she disappeared in a mountaineering accident years ago, Flavia is surprised to see Winston Churchill in attendance, but she is horrified when a man who leaves her a cryptic message for her father is pushed under the funeral train.

Brett, Simon. Blotto, Twinks, and the Bootlegger’s Moll (F&M, 14.95) Jan. In hopes of marrying Blotto off to a wealthy heiress, Twinks and Blotto travel to Chicago, but Twinks discovers that the heiress’s father is an associate of the Chicago mob in the latest in this comic series.

Brody, Frances. A Medal for Murder (STM, 14.99) Jan. In the second in this series set in 1920s London, PI Kate Shackleton stumbles across the body outside the door of a theater, and a note asking for a ransom of ₤1000.00 to return the kidnapped leading actress.

Buckland, Raymond. Cursed in the Act (Brk, 15.00) Jan. In the first in a series set in Victorian London, theatre manager Abraham Stoker—better known today as the author of Dracula—must discover who poisoned actor Henry Irving, the star of the production’s Hamlet.

Cantrell, Rebecca. A City of Broken Glass (STM, 14.99) Jan. Hannah Vogel is in Poland with her son Anton in 1938 when she hears that 12,000 Polish Jews have been deported from Germany, and while investigating the story, she is captured by the Gestapo. Highly recommended.

Dunn, Carola. Heirs of the Body (STM, 24.99) Dec. Daisy goes to her childhood home in Worcestershire to help her titled cousin choose the legitimate heir to his estate, but as the claimants come from all over the globe, a series of strange accidents occurs suggesting that someone will resort to murder to stake his claim.

Eccles, Marjorie. A Dangerous Deceit (SH, 27.95) Dec. In this mystery set in rural Worcestershire in 1927, a secret from the Boer War is at the heart of the investigation into the death of an unidentified man.

Ferris, Gordon. Pilgrim Soul (IPG, 12.95) Jan. Glasgow policeman Douglas Brodie is assigned the case of a series of jewel thefts targeting the city’s Jews, a case that takes him to post-WWII Hamburg, where he discovers a plot to smuggle high-ranking Nazis into Scotland.

Greenwood, Kerry. Electra (PP, 24.95 hc, 14.95 tp) Dec. The death of Agamemnon, the supreme commander of the Greek forces during the siege of Troy is viewed through the eyes of his daughter, Electra, and her vengeance against her mother and her mother’s lover is given a plausibly different motive in this historical based on Greek myth.

Harris, Robert. An Officer and a Spy (Knopf, 27.95) Jan. A brilliant espionage thriller based on the Dreyfus Affair, with a French army officer assigned to the espionage unit, who discovers another spy working for the Germans, and an examination of the evidence indicates that Dreyfus was innocent, putting the officer himself at risk.

Harris, Tessa. The Devil’s Breath (Kens, 15.00) Jan. Eighteenth-century anatomist Dr. Joseph Silkstone travels to the Oxfordshire countryside to solve the mysterious murder of the son and daughter of a man thought to be possessed by the devil.

Hicks, Jonathan. Demons Walk Among Us (Dufour, 16.95) Dec. Captain Thomas Oscendale of the British Military Police is faced with two cases in 1917, beginning with a gruesome murder case while on leave in Wales, and later an investigation into a Major who received a commendation for valor in Gallipoli, but who may in fact be responsible for the deaths of fellow soldiers.

Knott, Robert. Robert B. Parker’s Bull River (Put, 26.95) Jan. Territorial Marshall Virgil Cole and his partner Everett Hitch investigate a bank robbery, but the chief suspect is using stolen identity and the trail leads to the daughter of a St. Louis millionaire.

_____. Robert B. Parker’s Ironhorse (Brk, 9.99) Dec. Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are escorting some Mexican prisoners to the border, but when the Governor of Texas decides to join the train with his family, a dangerous trip becomes more so.

Krejewski, Marek. The End of the World in Breslau (Mel, 15.95) Dec. When two bodies are found in 1927 Breslau with calendar pages attached to their bodies, Criminal councilor Mock must investigate the grisly killings as well as the strange behavior of his own wife. An excellent noir series.

_____. Phantoms of Breslau (Mel, 25.95) Jan. Mock must comb the drinking dens and brothels of Breslau when the bodies of four sailors are discovered dead in with overtones of the supernatural, but it appears that everyone he talks to ends up dead.

Lepore, James and Carlos Davis. No Dawn for Men (Per, 14.95) Dec. J.R.R. Tolkien and Ian Fleming must stop the Nazis in 1938, so Tolkien is sent to Berlin to find a new secret weapon and neutralize it.

Lloyd, Catherine. Death Comes to the Village (Kens, 15.00) Dec. In a debut historical mystery set during the Regency period, an officer recovering from his wounds sees a mysterious man carrying a heavy load in the night and joins forces with the parish rector’s daughter to investigate the disappearance of two servant girls.

Lorimer, Claire. Obsession (SH, 28.95) Dec. When a woman who despairs of having children is left with an abandoned baby, she decides to pass it off as her own, deceiving even her husband, but years later a murder plot is tied to her deception in a Victorian mystery.

Macinnis, Helen. Horizon (Titan, 9.95) Dec. In a reissue of a classic of espionage, a British prisoner in an Italian POW camp in 1943 is liberated, but sent to liaise with a desperate band of resistance fighters in the South Tyrol.

Margolin, Phillip. Worthy Brown’s Daughter (HC, 26.99) Jan. In an historical mystery set in nineteenth-century Oregon, an attorney agrees to help a former slave rescue his teenaged daughter, still held by his former master, but when a murder occurs, both the freed slave and the attorney are in danger.

McAllister, John. The Station Sergeant (Duf, 16.95) Dec. Set in a small Ulster village in 1960, this mystery features a detective who must solve the murder of a farmer, and when the chief suspect is released for procedural reasons, a series of murders occur.

McGee, James. Rebellion (Peg, 25.95) Jan. Bow Street Runner Matthew Hawkwood is sent to France to meet with a man to assess the feasibility of his plan, which is, as it turns out, a plot to overthrow Bonaparte in a suspenseful and plausible historical mystery.

_____. Resurrectionist (Peg, 15.95) Jan. Hawkwood investigates the murder of a “resurrectionist,” a body snatcher who provides bodies for anatomy lessons, and his search takes him to Bedlam, the notorious asylum for the insane.

Muller, Marcia and Bill Pronzini. The Spook Lights Affair (STM, 24.99) Dec. In the second in this series set in late nineteenth-century San Francisco, PI Sabina Carpenter is hired to shadow a wealthy debutante, who slips away at a ball and later jumps to her death. Or does she?

Myers, Beverle Graves. Whispers of Vivaldi (PP, 24.95 hc, 14.95 tp) Jan. In the latest in this series set in eighteen-century Venice, castrato Tito Amato must find the killer of his friend and mentor, and everyone involved with Teatro San Marco is a suspect.

Nickson, Chris. Fair and Tender Ladies (SH, 28.95) Jan. In eighteenth-century Leeds, the constable must protect his daughter from vandals who are attacking a school for the poor she started , even as he is investigating a series of murders.

Parker, Kate. The Vanishing Thief (Brk, 15.00) Dec. In the first in a new Victorian series, an antiquarian bookseller works for a secret association of private investigators, and when she is asked to find a man who has been abducted, further investigation shows him to be a blackmailer and thief.

Perry, Anne. A Christmas Hope (Ball, 18.00) Nov. When a poet and his prostitute companion crash a Christmas party and he later turns up dead, Hester Monk’s colleague in the women’s clinic must turn sleuth.

Pinborough, Sarah. Mayhem (Quercus, 24.95) Jan. The author focuses on the so-called Thames Torso murders in late-1880s London, featuring a doctor who actually helped the police in the investigation, who must team up with some unusual allies to find the truth.

Putnam, Cara C. Shadowed by Grace (B&H, 14.99) Jan. A photographer is assigned to a group of Monuments men, who crossed Europe seeking to preserve art and architecture after WWII, in a suspenseful novel of love and history set in Italy.

Rowe, Rosemary. Dark Omens (SH, 28.95) Dec. Mosaicist Libertus is hired by the magistrate in Glevum to replace a mosaic in the home of his betrothed, but when the magistrate disappears, he must piece together a mystery in the latest in this series set in Roman Britain.

Royal, Priscilla. Covenant with Hell (PP, 24.95 hc, 14.95 tp) Dec. During a pilgrimage to the shrine at Walsingham Priory in East Anglia in 1277, Brother Thomas and prioress Eleanor discover the body of a nun at the base of a bell tower and signs of foul play. PW calls Royal a “worthy successor to Ellis Peters.”

Rubenhold, Hallie. Mistress of my Fate (GC, 15.00) Jan. A series debut set in London in the eighteenth century, featuring a young woman raised in an aristocratic household who finds herself adrift in London after a suspicious death with only her wits to help.

Samson, C. J. Dominion (LB, 27.00) Jan. An alternate history set in 1952 with Britain under the sway of the Germans, with a senior official who is tapped to aid the resistance in a plan to free a scientist with a potentially world-changing secret.

Selby, Scott Andrew. A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin (Brk, 26.95) Dec. The true story of a man who terrorized the women of Berlin in 1940, raping, murdering, and throwing the bodies off moving trains, until he was finally stopped by Berlin policeman Wilhelm Lüdtke

Shaber, Sarah R. Louise’s Dilemma (SH, 27.95) Dec. Widow Louise Pearlie leaves her desk job with the OSS in Washington to interview a man who receives a mysterious postcard mailed from occupied France in 1943, but her inquiry turns into a murder investigation in the third in this richly-detailed WWII series.

Shepherd, Lloyd. The Poisoned Island (SS, 16.00) Jan. A young policeman must solve the mysterious deaths of the crew members of a ship bringing exotic specimens from Tahiti to London in 1812, despite the silence of the surviving sailors.

Stashower, Daniel. The Hour of Peril (STM, 16.99) Jan. The story of the Baltimore Plot to assassinate the newly-elected President Lincoln as he traveled from Illinois to Washington for the inauguration, thwarted by Alan Pinkerton.

Stout, David. Carolina Skeletons (Png, 13.95) Jan. The reissue of a powerful mystery set in the 1940s south where a young black boy follows two white girls into the woods, only to find both of them dead, and him the natural suspect.

Thomas, Samuel. The Harlot’s Tale (STM, 24.99) Jan. In the second in this series set in seventeenth-century York, midwife Bridget Hodgson and her friend investigate when someone begins killing adulterers and prostitutes.

_____. The Midwife’s Tale (STM, 14.99) Dec. In a debut mystery set during the English Civil War in the seventeenth century, a young midwife in York agrees to help her friend who has been convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to be hanged.

Todd, Charles. Hunting Shadows (HC, 25.99) Jan. When Scotland Yard is called in to investigate two murders with seemingly no connection between the victims, Ian Rutledge must turn back to his experience in WWI to solve the mystery.

Zackheim, Michelle. The Last Train to Paris (Europa, 17.00) Jan. A young American woman is sent to Paris as a foreign correspondent in 1935, and must deal with an unsolved murder, but things become more fraught for her when she is sent to Berlin on the eve of WWII.

Zeltserman, Dave. Monster (Png, 14.95) Dec. A young man who is executed unjustly for the murder of his lover awakes to find that a scientist named Victor Frankenstein has turned him into a monster in this horror novel set in nineteenth-century Germany.

Zimler, Richard. The Seventh Gate (Png, 16.95) Jan. A powerful novel set in the Warsaw Ghetto before the uprising against the Nazis. Highly recommended.

Of Special Interest

There have been some wonderful mysteries released in 2013—here are some of my favorites:

Blake, James Carlos. Rules of Wolfe (Mys, 24.00). A great border noir written by a Tucson writer.

Masterman, Becky. Rage against the Dying (STM, 24.99). A kick-ass heroine in a thriller written by a Tucson writer.

Milchman, Jenny. Cover of Snow (RH, 15.00). A powerful debut mystery that leaves you thinking.

Neville, Stuart. Ratlines (Soho, 15.95). A fascinating look at post-WWII Ireland and a great espionage thriller.

Poverman, C. E. Love by Drowning (El Leon, 24.95). A thoughtful thriller with a truly scary female protagonist.

Rowlands, J.K. Cuckoo’s Calling (LB, 26.00). If I’d known who wrote it, I might not have read it, which would have been a shame. It’s really good.

It’s time once again to renew your newsletter subscription. For only $15.00, you’re getting the best deal around, if I do say so myself.

Our hours have changed for the winter—we’ll be open 9-4, Tuesday through Saturday. Clues will be closing early on Thursday 5 December and will be closed both Friday and Saturday, opening again on Sunday for book club, 8 December. Then we will be closed 29 December until 2 January. We’ll see you on Thursday next year.

We’re hoping that your holidays are wonderful.

Chris and Bosco