Chirping about new releases from one of our authors or relevant mystery/thriller authors.
APRIL 2021 NEW RELEASES
Laurie Buchanan’s debut novel Indelible launches a new mystery series sure to win her loyal fans, with a fast-paced plot, a luscious setting, and a series of memorable characters all woven together into a seamless narrative that will keep you guessing.
When a sniper killed his partner, Sean McPherson was injured in the ambush. Now an ex-cop, he takes a job at a writing retreat in the Pacific Northwest. At Pines & Quill, he hopes to heal and put his life back together in the Zen-like capacity of groundskeeper and all-around handyman.
Sniper, Jason Hughes, blames McPherson for the loss of more than ten million dollars’ worth of heroin―and he wants revenge.
In the guise of a New York City limo driver working on a sizzling tell-all memoir, Hughes arrives at Pines & Quill along with three other writers in residence: a bohemian psychic taking a break from grueling work as a forensic intuitive, a bitter divorcée who wants to open herself to a new life, and a vibrant and resilient potter navigating life from a wheelchair.
With conflicting agendas, uncertain loyalties, and romantic entanglements at play, Hughes finds it difficult to get McPherson in his sights. Gradually, he forms a different plan, one that threatens the lives of everyone at the retreat.
Indelible is a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.
MARCH 2021 NEW RELEASES
Elly Griffith’s The Postscript Murders is a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.
The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing.
But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station: while clearing out Peggy’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.
And then things escalate: from an Aberdeen literary festival to the streets of Edinburgh, writers are being targeted. DS Kaur embarks on a road trip across Europe and reckons with how exactly authors can think up such realistic crimes .
FEBRUARY 2021 NEW RELEASES
Abigail Dean’s Girl A is a propulsive tale of escape and survival.
Lex Gracie doesn’t want to think about her family. She doesn’t want to think about growing up in her parents’ House of Horrors. And she doesn’t want to think about her identity as Girl A: the girl who escaped, the eldest sister who freed her older brother and four younger siblings. It’s been easy enough to avoid her parents–her father never made it out of the House of Horrors he created, and her mother spent the rest of her life behind bars. But when her mother dies in prison and leaves Lex and her siblings the family home, she can’t run from her past any longer. Together with her sister, Evie, Lex intends to turn the home into a force for good. But first she must come to terms with her siblings–and with the childhood they shared.
This begins a gripping psychological family story about the shifting alliances and betrayals of sibling relationships–about the secrets our siblings keep, from themselves and each other. Who have each of these siblings become? How do their memories defy or galvanize Lex’s own? As Lex pins each sibling down to agree to her family’s final act, she discovers how potent the spell of their shared family mythology is, and who among them remains in its thrall and who has truly broken free.
For readers of Room and Sharp Objects, an absorbing and psychologically immersive novel about a young girl who escapes captivity–but not the secrets that shadow the rest of her life.
JANUARY 2021 NEW RELEASES
Saralyn Richard’s new standalone mystery, A MURDER OF PRINCIPAL, starts when a maverick principal comes in with a student-centered agenda, and there’s no more business as usual at Lincoln High School. Killing the principal is just the beginning…
Someone sets fire to Lincoln High and kills its new principal. Chaos threatens to overtake the urban school. Assistant Principal Sally Pearce, hired by the deceased principal to help him revamp and change the culture, vows to carry on the mission. In doing so, she locks horns with fellow assistant principal, Wally Welburton, and gets caught up in gang threats, racial tensions, grievances, sexual harassment complaints, and the murder investigation, as well.
Sally never dreamed, when she stepped up to lead this culturally diverse school, that she would be faced with solving a mystery and returning the school to order. The odds are against her—she is a woman in a man’s job, a minority in this community. Her strong moral compass and her commitment to the school community bolster her as she fights one challenge after another. When a second murder happens on school grounds, Sally realizes she is trapped in a cycle of violence that must be stopped.
A MURDER OF PRINCIPAL captures the behind-the-scenes drama of an American high school, with all the passions and tensions of society-at-large, but the heart of this book is pure mystery.
DECEMBER 2020 NEW RELEASES
In Donna Rewolinski’s latest novel, MEXICO, Dan Novice’s former partner Armando invites Dan and his wife Eva to stay with him in Mexico where he is Chief of Police. Dan, an American detective, and his social worker wife, Karen, now both retired, had planned to be resident tourists. But when a prominent businessman is murdered, Dan renews his partnership with Armando and heads off to help solve the crime. Meanwhile, Karen becomes involved with Eva’s restoration of a Spanish hacienda and the investigation of a second murder that occurs at the work site.
Buy now at Orange Hat Publishing
Also available on Amazon
Or buy both books in Donna’s series!
Find more about Donna Rewolinski.
NOVEMBER NEW RELEASES
CARNE DIEM, a short story by Sharon Lynn
From the Anthony Award winning anthology of short stories comes Sharon Lynn’s Carne Diem. Lucy Davidovich has taken to the live-aboard marina lifestyle like a fish to water. Despite dire warnings, she can’t wait to plunge into her first-ever Welcome to Summer marina party with its world-famous cuisine. But when one of the guests finds out what “at your own peril” means, she needs to solve the mystery before she becomes the next victim. Carne Diem has something for every palate, from acclaimed Hawaiian barbecue ribs to muffins made with tiny-kitchen ingenuity.
Available Now for free!
EUCALYPTUS STREET: GREEN CURSE, by Sherrill Joseph
Second in the Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries Series
Sherrill Joseph’s latest middle grade book, EUCALYPTUS STREET.
In 1945, Isabela de Cordoba’s great-grandfather, the famous silent movie actor Lorenzo de Cordoba, hid a legendary multi-million-dollar emerald somewhere on the family’s sprawling Eucalyptus Street estate. Seventy years later, the gem remains concealed. Nicknamed the “Green Curse,” the emerald is blamed for the Southern California familia’s numerous, untimely deaths. On her 21st birthday, Isabela receives a secret letter with a cryptic poem from the long-deceased Lorenzo, inviting her to hunt for the gemstone. But first, she must decipher the poem’s six stanzas for clues.
To assist, Isabela hires her 13-year-old neighbors, the four Botanic Hill Detectives—twins Lanny and Lexi Wyatt, and their best friends, Moki Kalani and Rani Kumar. Eerie footsteps inside the mansion, unexplained events in the adjacent cemetery, and the mysterious tenant in the backyard casita challenge them. But they make progress on the poem’s meaning with startling discoveries: sliding wall panels, a secret room, and hidden passages. The detectives aren’t the only ones looking for the emerald. The perilous race for the de Cordoba treasure is on!
PROOF OF LIFE, by Sheila Lowe
After recovering from amnesia five years ago, Jessica Mack never told anyone she had started hearing voices from the spirit world. Now, forced to use her “gift” to help find missing four-year-old Ethan Starkey, she can no longer ignore the voices. Time is running out for little Ethan as Jessica, and Sage Boles, a man with a mysterious past, are guided to a séance, where they hope to get clues to the child’s whereabouts.
A BEND IN THE RIVER, by Libby Fischer Hellmann
In 1968 two young Vietnamese sisters flee to Saigon after their village on the Mekong River is attacked by American forces and burned to the ground. The only survivors of the massacre that killed their family, the sisters struggle to survive but become estranged, separated by sharply different choices and ideologies. Mai ekes out a living as a GI bar girl, but Tam’s anger festers, and she heads into jungle terrain to fight with the Viet Cong. For nearly ten years, neither sister knows if the other is alive. Do they both survive the war? And if they do, can they mend their fractured relationship? Or are the wounds from their journeys too deep to heal? In a stunning departure from her crime thrillers, Hellmann delves into a universal story about survival, family, and the consequences of war.
OCTOBER NEW RELEASE:
DEEP FLAKES CHRISTMAS: A Nisse Visit (A Deep Lakes Cozy Mystery), by Joy Ann Ribar
Before Frankie Champagne encountered Deep Dark Secrets, her main concerns were baking tasty pastries and producing flavorful wines—along with charming her mother, of course. But with the town Christmas season in jeopardy, Frankie steps up to save the day, as only someone who doesn’t believe in the word impossible can do. Frankie summons her female superpowers and, with a little mysterious intervention, she might even overcome her Christmas blues in the process.
Advanced praise: This book is exactly what readers need right now–getting lost in a feel-good mystery story filled with snow, cookies, a town coming together, cats, dogs, and a sleigh ride in the snow! — Missi’s Book Reviews
Who doesn’t enjoy a bit of Christmas magic? If the idea of cuddling up with a glass of wine while enjoying a sweet Christmas story sounds delightful, then grab this book and add to your holiday reading list! — Vikki Walton, author of Viviane’s Adventures Mystery, Taylor Texas Mystery Series, and Backyard Farming Mystery Series
OCTOBER NEW RELEASE:
MYSTERY MOST THEATRICAL, an anthology.
The Malice Domestic anthology series returns with a new take on mysteries
in the Agatha Christie tradition—original tales with a theatrical bent!
Contributors include Blackbird Writers :
Anne Louise Bannon, author of Perfectly Awry and Sharon Lynn, author of the Final Curtain. When death descends along with the final curtain, backstage romance, gambling, and money play into the motivation.
SEPTEMBER NEW RELEASE
HANGING FALLS, by Margaret Mizushima
Murder stalks the rugged Colorado high country—and sends Mattie Cobb on a quest to uncover the darkest secrets from her past in the sixth gripping installment of Margaret Mizushima’s Timber Creek K-9 mysteries
A deluge has flooded the high ground near Hanging Falls—but heavy rains aren’t the only menace descending on Timber Creek. While on a scouting mission to pinpoint trail damage, officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo stumble upon a body floating at the edge of a lake. Robo catches human scent, which leads to an enigmatic forest-dweller who quickly becomes suspect number one.
With help from veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie identifies the victim, and discovers an odd religious cult whose dress and manners harken back to the 19th century. As the list of suspects grows, an unexpected visit from members of Mattie’s long-lost family sheds new light on her childhood as they help Mattie piece together details of the fateful night when she was abducted at age two.
The tangled threads of the investigation and family dynamics begin to intertwine—but darkness threatens to claim a new victim before Mattie and Robo can track down the killers.
Signed copies are available at Old Firehouse Books.
Follow Margaret on BookBub.
SEPTEMBER NEW RELEASE
CHECKED OUT FOR MURDER by Allison Brook
Checked Out for Murder
by Agatha Award Nominee, Allison Brook aka Marilyn Levinson
Released on September 8, 2020
Carrie Singleton and Evelyn the ghost sleuth the slayings of a starlet and a star-crossed psychic in Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook’s fourth Haunted Library mystery.
Daphne Marriott strolls into Clover Ridge and informs librarian Carrie Singleton that she’s a psychic. But had she foreseen what fate awaited her, Daphne would have steered clear of the quaint Connecticut town. Evelyn, the library ghost, tells Carrie that there’s more to Daphne than she lets on. Carrie and Evelyn investigate, assisted by bushy-tailed library cat Smoky Joe. But the suspect list could overflow the library shelves. Carrie’s sure she knows who committed the crime, but can she bind together the clues before the culprit Dewey-decimates the town?
Preorder at Amazon and Penguin Random House
Follow Marilyn on Goodreads and Amazon.
September Feature
A PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER by Saralyn Richard
Winner of the Silver Medal in the 2020 Readers Favorite Contest
Finalist in the 2020 International Book Festival Awards for Mystery/Suspense
Sign up for Saralyn’s monthly newsletter and receive fun content and special offers.
Welcome to Brandywine Valley, where the landscape is lush, the mansions are huge, and the secrets are deep. A Palette for Love and Murder takes you to an art heist, a murder, a treasure hunt, and a palette full of secrets.
Available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
Follow Saralyn on Goodreads and Facebook.
August New Releases
SOLSTICE SHADOWS by Avanti Centrae
SOLSTICE SHADOWS by Avanti Centrae
A VanOps Thriller #2
DA VINCI CODE meets TOMB RAIDER in this multi-award-winning thriller series.
A computer-app designer. An encrypted relic. Can she decipher the dangerous code before extremists trigger a high-tech apocalypse?
Software expert Maddy Marshall isn’t sure she’s ready for a hazardous role in black ops. But when an armed Russian thief makes off with a rare ancient star chart, the aikido black belt has no choice but to join her VanOps boyfriend and twin brother in the pursuit. If her royal Spanish family legends are true, the chart leads to a superconductive treasure trove capable of powering the ultimate instrument of global destruction.
Setting off on a mad dash to uncover the secrets of a Mexican archeoastronomy site, she and the VanOps team unearth a clue dating back to biblical times. But as they race across the globe to Morocco, Turkey, and Egypt, they find themselves only a half-step ahead of sinister assassins.
Before millions die at the hands of an anti-American Russian government, can Maddy crack the secret code?
Pre-order now at: https://www.amazon.com/Solstice-Shadows-Thriller-Avanti-Centrae-ebook/dp/B087WZSDY1
Avanti Centrae – International Award-Winning Thriller Author