London Calling by James Craig

A new London crime detective takes to the big city streets with a vengeance.  There is a little political intrigue mixed up with the murders John Carlyle is investigating...the case involves a former Cambridge University club filled with future politicos who are being killed off one by one years later. Carlyle is a believable London inspector who fights crime with a passion, though the writing could be a little better and the book does have its fair share of cliches.  Not the best British mystery (by a long shot) but far from the worst.  Definitely something for British mystery lovers to try. 

Niles Adult Fiction STAFF PICKS of the Best Fiction from 2011

Allison Will—Long Drive Home

Atkinson, Kate—Started Early, Took My Dog

Barclay, Linwood—The Accident

Barnes, Julian—Pulse: Stories

Benjamin, Melanie—The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

Berg, Elizabeth—Once Upon a Time, There Was You

Bradley, Alan—A Red Herring Without Mustard

Brooks, Geraldine—Caleb’s Crossing

Brown, Eleanor—Weird Sisters 

Clowes, Daniel—Mister Wonderful: A Love Story
Craig, James—London Calling

Crais, Robert—The Sentry

Ebert, Roger—Life Itself (NF)

Eugenides, Jeffrey—The Marriage Plot

Evans, Richard Paul—Miles To Go

Fey, Tina—Bossy Pants (NF)

Frazier, Charles—Nightwoods

Garwood, Julie—The Ideal Man

Genova, Lisa—Left Neglected
Gerritsen, Tess—Silent Girl

Goldman, Francisco—Say Her Name

Goodwin, Daisy—The American Heiress

Grafton, Sue—V is for Vengeance

Grossman, Lev—The Magician King

Haigh, Jennifer—Faith

Hannah, Kristin—Night Road

Hansen, Ron—A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion

Hodkinson, Amanda—22 Britannia Road
Hoffman, Alice—Red Garden

Hurwitz, Gregg—You’re Next

Kepler, Lars—The Hypnotist 

Lowe, Rob—Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Mankell, Henning—The Troubled Man

McLain, Paula—The Paris Wife

McNeal, Tom—To Be Sung Underwater

Mitzner, Adam—Conflict of Interest

Nesbo, Jo—The Snowman
O’Nan, Stewart—Emily, Alone

Pelecanos, George—The Cut

Penny, Louise—Trick of the Light 
Rosenfelt, David—On Borrowed Time

Russell, Mary Doria—Doc

Ryan, David Jahn—Good Neighbors

Schwartz, John Burnham—Northwest Corner

See, Lisa—Dreams of Joy

Sin, Kyong-Suk—Please Look After Mom

Spelling, Elizabeth—The Return of Captain John Emmett

Sullivan, J. Courtney—Maine

Waldman, Amy—The Submission


Ward, J.R.—Lover Unleashed 
Weiner, Jennifer—Then Came You

Winspear, Jacqueline—A Lesson in Secrets

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

Set in 1920 London, this mystery intertwines the horrors of World War I in a web of war survivors, murders, romance, social customs and history. Recovering from the trauma of both serving in the war and losing a wife and child, Laurence Bartram receives news of the suicide death of a classmate, Captain John Emmett. Feeling compassion for the family, Laurence comes to the aid of his sister to discover the why of the suicide and bequests to unknown individuals in his will. Laurence falls hopelessly in love with the sister, Mary. The investigation becomes one of can’t stop reading intrigue when it is discovered that Captain Emmett was a member of a firing squad for the execution of a British sergeant for desertion during the war.
Aiding Laurence in this investigation is good friend Charles. Charles knows everything and everyone and he steals every scene where he is placed and provides many light moments amid the darkness. The author does not spare the reader from the sad awfulness of World War I. This war destroyed a generation with over 1.6 million British men wounded, 662,000 men killed and 140,000 men reported missing in action. The novel’s core focuses on the psychological trauma of the survivors, shell shock, and vividly awakens the reader to current copings with the post traumatic stress disorder of contemporary military veterans.
This mystery has a lot to offer. While discovering the history of post World War I Britain, the reader can savor the puzzle of who, what and why.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is a fantastic book about love, friendship and prejudice at any time in life, within any social status, anywhere in the world.  The character of Major Ernest Pettigrew is pretty much the stereotypical older English gentleman.  He’s classy, he’s respectful, he’s neat and tidy, he’s quiet and he’s not one to ever make a scene.  Enter Mrs. Jasmina Ali and her Pakistani background and ways and the Major finds his proper, sedate life turned upside down.  Right from the start, there is some chemistry between Mrs. Ali and the Major but because of both cultural and class prejudices (from the townspeople, from the Major’s son Roger and even from the Major himself), Mrs. Ali leaves the town, and the Major, behind.  What the Major does next leads to one of the best “adult” endings in fiction ever.  Very little in this book is trite or clichéd.  An excellent, mature read for all…not only for those in the twilight of their lives. 

The Very Picture of You by Isabel Wolff

Once again, Isabel Wolff and her chick lit do not disappoint.  Yes, it’s light.  Yes, it’s predictable.  But, it’s fun.  And Wolff is a strong author who can create strong characters and semi-believable tales.  This one finds the main character Ella Graham as a popular portrait painter in London’s inner circles.  Her newly-engaged sister commissions a portrait of her fiancé and Ella encounters problems when she finds herself attractive to the fiancé.  Other fascinating storylines stem from the different clients Ella is assigned to paint, but the main focus is Ella’s woes with her sister’s fiancé.  Wolff combines just the right combination of wispy prose with heartfelt stories and quality writing for this to be a perfect weekend read! 

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

Featuring three Brown University seniors in 1982, The Marriage Plot captures the coming of age, apprehension and indecisiveness of timeless college graduates.  Eugenides, a Princeton professor and Brown graduate, writes with knowledgeable authority about the college setting.  Mitchell Grammaticus loves Madeleine Hanna and Madeleine Hanna loves Leonard Bankhead, rather unique names in an all too familiar college love triangle.  Madeleine is writing her senior thesis on Victorian novels and has been rejected by Yale graduate school, Mitchell is a religious studies major who plans a graduation trip to India, and Leonard has accepted a biology research fellowship on Cape Cod. As these three seniors make decisions concerning their future it seems that all three are struggling in their own way to find goodness and do the right thing. Madeleine falls in the female trap of confusing love with a need to save and mother a man. Mitchell confuses love with destiny,  and Leonard rejects love under the paralysis of manic depression.  Quite realistic in the characterization of the three students, their parents, and friends, the novel changes between the voices of the three students as the novel progresses. There is an art to capturing the right texture and rhythm of dialogue and Eugenides excels.  His affection for the characters is evident and he interjects humor throughout the novel to lighten the serious moments.

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

Written in lush and lyrical language complimenting the North Carolina forest setting, the novel is a thriller, romance, and character study. Luce is a spunky loner who has abandoned social interactions and lives as a caretaker for an abandoned summer lodge miles from town. Her solitary existence is drastically interrupted as a social worker delivers the children of her murdered sister. The children are mute and unresponsive. Without any experience in the care of children, she must be their protector and savior. Meanwhile the father is lurking in the background freed from the murder of his wife and trying to find hidden sums of money. If Luce is the heroine, Bud the father, is the villain of the narrative. In capturing the mind, motivations and self-pitying justifications of this psychopath, Frazier’s words glow.  Luce cares for the children, a stranger visits and a romance begins. As the action advances, Bud, the children, and Luce become entwined in fearful suspense. Providing the welcome escape that readers crave, Frazier journeys to another time and place. Lovers of Cold Mountain will not be disappointed with Nightwoods.

A Stranger in Mayfair by Charles Finch

Akin to Deanna Raybourn and her Lady Julia Grey series and Anne Perry’s William Monk series, Charles Finch puts together a smart, fresh historical mystery series with a debonair gentleman detective Charles Lenox.  In this book, the fourth in the series, Lenox begins working as a Member of Parliament in 1860s London, but called upon to do some investigating when the servant of a fellow MP turns up murdered.  Sadly, his new wife, Lady Jane Grey, is not too pleased his sleuthing…she would rather he be home with her, so that leads to some tension.  Mostly, Lenox is an easy-going and dapper fellow who appeals to all.  I think most mystery readers, especially those who like historical or British mysteries (or both) will like Finch! 

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler

Following the overwhelming success of The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl....series) by Stieg Larsson and the recent success of The Snowman by Jo Nesbo, it's no wonder American publishers are clamoring to get new Scandinavian authors out on the crime fiction shelves.  Sometimes, this leads to less than stellar works...published just for the sake of being published.  That is NOT the case with this book by Kepler, a Swedish husband and wife writing team.  The Hypnotist is one of the strongest thrillers I've read in ages...since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...and even gives that first book of Larsson's trilogy a run for its money.  Most of the way through (up until the very end -- maybe the last 50 pages) was some of the best suspense ever!  Kepler knows just how to reel the audience in and how much or how little to give away...letting the chills mount until they just HAVE to be released.  The ending was a bit of a disappointment, which is why it was not able to surpass The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as my favorite crime story in a decade.  Unlike Girl, which has a very strong ending, The Hypnotist's story and writing seems to drag on unnecessarily at the end, which is a shame since most of the book was so taut and fine-tuned.  But, the ending should not keep you from reading this one.  The first 450 pages are superb and need to be savored and remembered as you read to the end.  I'm sure you will not be disappointed with this one!  A MUST for all crime readers!

Once Upon a Time, There Was You by Elizabeth Berg

Not one of Berg's best but still a strong tale of woe among 50-something divorcees.  The main female character, Irene, got a little tiresome after a while since I so disagreed with a lot of choices in both parenting and dealing with her ex-husband.  But, John, the ex, is a strongly written, interesting male voice in modern-day America.  I felt John had his feet planted more in the real world than Irene, especially when dealing with their 18-year-old daughter.  If you've read Berg (and other women's fiction) and liked her, you will mostly like this one.

Novels to Commemorate the 10 Year Anniversary of September 11, 2001

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
By Foer, Jonathan Safran
2005-04 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
0618329706 Check Our Catalog

Winner - 2006 ALA Notable Fiction Selection
A BookPage Notable Title
Oskar Schell is an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, pacifist. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
…More


The Usual Rules
By Maynard, Joyce
2004-02 - St. Martin's Press
0312283695 Check Our Catalog

Thirteen-year-old Wendy lives in Brooklyn. Her world is transformed one day in September 2001--her mother goes to work that morning and doesn't come back. Through Wendy's eyes, readers follow her slow and terrible realization that her mother has died, and the family's struggle to move forward with their lives. …More

The Submission By Waldman, Amy 2011-08 - Farrar Straus Giroux 9780374271565 Check Our Catalog Cool, eloquent, raising two fatherless children, Claire has emerged as the most visible of the widows who became a potent political force in the aftermath of the catastrophe. She longs for her husband, but she has found her mission: she sits on a jury charged with selecting a fitting memorial for the victims of the attack. …More

Terrorist By Updike, John 2007-05 - Ballantine Books 9780345493910 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Born of an Irish-American mother and an Egyptian father long since disappeared, 18-year-old Ahmad craves spiritual nurture and is drawn into an insidious plot. …More

Ground Zero By Wilson, F. Paul 2010-09 - Tor Books 9780765362797 Check Our Catalog Jack finds the secret behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in the new dark thriller in the bestselling Repairman Jack series. …More

Absent Friends By Rozan, S. J. 2008-08 - Dell Publishing Company 9780440241850 Check Our Catalog The secrets of a group of childhood friends unravel in this haunting thriller by Edgar Award winner Rozan, set in New York in the unforgettable aftermath of September 11. …More

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Akin to titles by fellow Scandinavians Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson, Norwegian author Nesbo spins an exciting, edge-of-your-seat thriller with a whole lot of punch.  The “creep” factor is high here so don’t read at bedtime…nightmares of snowmen staring through the window at you are almost guaranteed.  Telling the story of a serial killer who is hunting prey in Norway and leaving a snowman at or near the scenes of his crimes, Nesbo weaves terror and strong writing together to tell his teeth-clenching tale.  The police detective investigating, Harry Hole, becomes personally attached to the killer after Hole begins to get messages from the killer.  A solid, intense thriller by an author who will give fans of Mankell’s Wallander series and Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy a run for their money.

The Help FEATURETTE (Behind The Scenes)

Ten Best Books of 2011 (So Far)

Ten Best Books of 2011 (So Far)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Set during both WWII and in the mid-1980s, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an exceptional novel about a time in history American we are too willing to forget…the internment of Japanese Americans during the war. Set in Seattle, Hotel focuses around main character Henry, who is a young 12-year-old Chinese American boy in 1942, where much of the book takes place. During these historical chapters, he meets Keiko, a Japanese girl who is a second generation American. They both start out apprehensive of each other (Henry’s father loathes the Japanese) but eventually grow to care deeply for each other. When Keiko and her family, along with all of the other Japanese families, are rounded up and moved to camps set up by the American government, Henry is not only unhappy but confused…confused since Keiko is more American than he is. Keiko does not even speak Japanese. This contrasts with Henry’s background…where his parents speak only Chinese and they force him to speak only “his English.”
I really liked this novel. It has one of the best, most moving stories I’ve read. Ever. Now, mind you, I am not saying this is the best book I have ever read. Why? What is the difference between “best story” and “best book?” Simple: the way it was written. As I was reading Hotel, I found myself thinking about another book I had read that was also set in the Pacific Northwest about Japanese Americans: Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. Even though Snow takes place AFTER WWII and Hotel focuses on events that happen DURING the war, I continued to make comparisons between the two while I was reading Hotel. Comparisons to the story and the location and the romantic elements…NOT comparisons to the writing. Guterson’s novel from 1994 is filled with lyrical prose that I remember submerging myself into and not wanting to escape from…vivid from page one to the end, brilliantly bringing to life an entire setting through the pages. The love story in Snow between the main characters is enhanced by the poetic words given to describe both them and their surroundings. Jamie Ford’s writing in Hotel is good…very good. It’s just not excellent. It’s the story in Hotel that you want to savor, not the prose. Had Ford brought to Hotel the expressive, inspired language Guterson used, Hotel might just have been a true literary masterpiece. But, having a minor masterpiece is still pretty good! It’s a great, page-turning read and a story that will stay with you long after the final page.

Summer Reading, 2011

Summer Reading, 2011

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

A true tearjerker, Night Road, is a perceptive novel on motherhood, friendship, family relationships and the devastation of loss. Jude Farraday is a super overbearing mother of twins, Mia and Zach. On the first day of high school Lexie Baill, newly adopted by her grand aunt, befriends Mia who is shy and insecure in contrast to her popular and athletic twin Zach. Jude grateful that Mia has found a friend opens her home to Lexie. The friendship flourishes.

As the action fast forwards to senior year, Jude beset by college applications and drinking parties becomes obsessive in her control of the twins’ lives. The timing for this novel is just right for Mother’s Day since the characterization of Jude relates so well to every mother who feels the pressure and concern for the happiness of her children. Adding to the tenderness of the novel Lexie and Zach fall in love.
On one tragic night on Night Road Jude’s fears are realized. In the explosion of Jude’s grief, guilt and rage lives are broken and dreams destroyed.
Setting and strong insightful characterization contribute to a realistic heartbreaking story.

In a previous post, I spoke of all of the books I read on my iPad while on vacation. Here short reviews of the titles that I read:

Brett, Simon — The Body on the Beach – The first of Brett’s Fethering mysteries, this is a fun cozy mystery set in a smallish coastal town in the South of England. The two main characters become amateur sleuths as they investigate a body that one of them found on the beach.

Crombie, Deborah — Where Memories Lie – An intense mystery featuring Crombie’s English police team of Kincaid and James. This one involves a diamond brooch that was stolen by the Nazis and belongs to a woman who needs to get to the bottom of why people associated with the brooch are turning up dead.

Fielding, Joy — Missing Pieces – A page-turning thriller that also has its fair share of family drama. Married with teen kids, Kate is a therapist whose former flame has just reentered her life and sister is in love with a serial killer. As Kate’s home life continues to unravel, her sister makes some decisions that jeopardize all of their lives.

Keyes, Marian — Sushi for Beginners – Lisa finally gets the promotion she’s been waiting for…but it’s Dublin, Ireland…not NYC, where all the movers and shakers are. On the other hand, Ashling LOVES Dublin and her new job working for Lisa. As always with chick lit, there are several different men who add complication to the plot. LOTS of fun…as usual from Keyes.

Rendell, Ruth — Murder Being Once Done – Rendell’s Chief Inspector Wexford is at it once again…this time in London, where he’s recuperating after a heart attack. But Wexford doesn’t know the meaning of the word REST, especially when he stumbles into a case of multiple murders.

Wickham, Madeleine — The Gatecrasher – Wickham (who also writes under her pen name Sophie Kinsella) once again scores with a weightier, meatier tale than she writes as Kinsella. This time, she features a main character who crashes funerals, hoping the new widower will be wealthy. Vivid characters outshine Wickham’s plot…but still lots of fun!

Winspear, Jacqueline — A Lesson in Secrets – Winspear’s 8th outing with her continuing sleuth Maisie Dobbs, who’s a spunky young PI in England between WWI and WWII. This time, Maisie is undercover in a college when the principal is murdered. Dobbs then reveals her true identity as a detective and begins to solve the crime.

Book Review from patron Caroline Szold-Goodman

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver is a novel set in Grace, Arizona.  Codi and Hallie are the daughters of eccentric Doc Homer who watches them with great concern.  They are sweet and gentle girls.  Doc Homer insists they wear orthopedic shoes to their dismay. 

The stories take place during the revolution in Nicaragua.  Hallie joins the cause to help the people, not to fight, but to teach the children and to heal people.

Codi keeps looking back at her dreaded childhood.  She also has to keep track of Doc Homer who is sinking into dementia.  She doesn’t feel confident of herself.  Yet, as the story progresses, she becomes a fine teacher.  She concerns herself with the students.  Codi gives them sex education.  The class tests the nearby waters and finds the Ph is off the charts.  So they alert the town about the water problem.

The native citizens of Grace loved displays of religious objects.  “Some people had business with the saints on November 1, and went to Mass, but on November 2 ‘everybody’ had business at the graveyard.”

The intricacies of the Navaho, Apache, and other tribes are realistic. The romance is dreamy.  The writing is fantastic-a poetic journey ending in a paradise on earth.

iPad vs. book

I was on vacation recently and read 10 books while away…8 being on my iPad. This is the first time I’ve done this. I mean I’ve tested opening the books and read one or two pages, but on the whole, it was the first true e-reading experience. And, I loved it. I used to travel with 4-5 paperback books that took up VALUABLE space in my suitcase (I have learned the hard way about packing so I pack VERY light now). Depending on the length of the trip, sometimes I would run out of books. So, I would head to local bookstore and buy some, which is money I could have been spending on crappy touristy trinkets. Also, as I finish the books, I leave them “on the road,” either in hotel libraries or I give them to fellow readers. So, basically, I’m spending money and forgoing luggage space on throwaway books. NOT ANYMORE! With my thin, lightweight iPad, I can pack on as many electronic books as I can store (thousands). And it ALWAYS takes up the same amount of space in my bag. And I have a plethora of choices…iBooks, Kindle (with the iPad app), NOOK (also with an app), Google Books, and, of course, books I downloaded from the library through both the Overdrive Media Console and the Bluefire apps. The prices of all of these books vary (the library ones were free, naturally) but spending money on books I will leave in my hotel room is even worse.

So basically, that’s my tale of love for my iPad and for e-books while on vacation.
At home, will I read books on my iPad from now on? I don’t think so…even with loving it as much as I do. Let me explain why.

First of all, there is the security factor that I have never been conscious of with books. Who cares if someone steals my $7.99 paperback…or even a library book for that matter, which might be $28.99. But, with my $499 iPad, I was constantly worried about this. I travel alone and when I was reading in a pub or restaurant, I would have to pack up my iPad, take it with me to the bathroom and then unpack it when I got back. When I used to have just a paperback on the table, I would leave it right out in the open while using the facilities.

Secondly, I was constantly afraid of getting the iPad wet. I was in England for most of my trip and we all know how English weather is…wet and damp. Yes, water is not a book’s best friend but again, a paperback getting drenched would be about an $8 hardship. Once more, the iPad’s price tag was getting in the way of my completely, unadulterated reading enjoyment.

Then, I had heard stories about how glare is a big problem for the iPad, whereas not a problem for people with non-glare “e-readers” such as the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes and Noble NOOK and the Sony Reader. When I was in St. Mark’s Square in Venice at an outdoor café and the sun was shining, I found out exactly how BIG this problem was. Quite big. I mean I could see the screen, but at times, it required a lot of adjustment. I had to increase the font size, increase the brightness of the screen and then just keep repositioning the iPad until I found the best position to see as much of the screen as possible. Suffice it to say, I didn’t sit at many outdoor cafés on sunny days.

Lastly, the most problematic experience with my iPad was when it just stopped working all of a sudden. I was away on a daytrip so I had to wait until I got back to my hotel to try charging it (even though when it conked out, it had about 60% of its charge left) to see if that brought it back to life. Nothing. So, I had to wait two days until I moved to a larger town where they had an authorized Apple service location. So, what did I do? I bought a book. A regular, ordinary, timeless, cheap book. With a book, there is never a “technical difficulty.” And if you lose it or it gets damaged, it doesn’t force you to take out a second mortgage to replace it.
Yes, the Apple service place was able to get my iPad up and running again (they had no clue what happened to it) so I was able to finish my trip reading off the iPad without having to exhaust Waterstones of their entire supply of Chick Lit and British Mysteries. But, until they devise something foolproof, while I’m at home, I will stick with a good ol’ fashioned book.

Titles of British Mysteries from Jan. 11 Presentation

Here are the titles of the British mysteries mentioned in Cecilia's British Mysteries talk given at the library on Tuesday, January 11 @ 7pm.

                  The Lake District 

Beyond the Bone By Hill, Reginald 2000-04 - Severn House Publishers 0727855107 Check Our Catalog …More

The Stranger House By Hill, Reginald 2005-10 - HarperCollins Publishers 0060820810 Check Our Catalog The "sorcerer of style" ("New York Times Book Review") delivers a stunning stand-alone novel full of suspense, romance, history, sex, and miracles--an exploration of the sometimes twisted side of the human psyche. …More

Dead Man Riding: A Nell Bray Mystery By Linscott, Gillian 2003-01 - Minotaur Books 0312308248 Check Our Catalog After three years of traipsing across Europe with her lovesick, widowed mother, Nell Bray has finally found her way to Oxford University. There she has befriended the beautiful Imogen and the charming Midge.When the three girls decide to accept an invitation by their male classmates to join a reading party in the country during vacation - accompanied by a dashing philosophy don with a reputation for stirring up trouble - they go against what is quickly becoming the obsolete conventions of the nineteenth-century. Once they arrive in the country, they are greeted by the unpleasant fact that their host has been accused of murder when a local boy is missing. Rather than return home, however, the six students and their mentor decide to put down their books and put their intellectual prowess to the test by solving the mystery.This combination of mystery and learning - with some college crushes and loves along the way - makes "Dead Man Riding Gillian Linscott's best mystery to date. …More

The Grave Tattoo By McDermid, Val 2007-02 - Minotaur Books 0312339216 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title In a novel reminiscent of The Dante Club and The Historian, suspense master McDermid spins a psychological thriller in which a present-day murder has its roots in the 18th century and the mutiny on the HMS Bounty. …More

The Coffin Trail By Edwards, Martin 2004-10 - Poisoned Pen Press 1590581296 Check Our Catalog On impulse, Oxford historian Daniel Kind and his partner Miranda buy a cottage in Brackdale, an idyllic valley in the Lake District. Tarn Cottage was once home to Barrie Gilpin, suspected of a savage murder. A young woman's body was found on the Sacrifice Stone, an ancient pagan site up on the fell, but Barrie died before he could be arrested. When the police launch a cold case review, the lives of Daniel and DCI Hannah Scarlett become strangely entwined, as they search for a ruthless murderer who is prepared to kill again to hide a shocking secret. …More Oxford and Oxfordshire

An Instance of the Fingerpost By Pears, Iain M. 1998-03 - Riverhead Books 1573220825 Check Our Catalog We are in England in the 1660s, Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Oliver Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in suspicious circumstances. A young woman is accused of his murder. We hear the story of the death from four witnesses: an Italian physician intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; the son of an alleged Royalist traitor; a master cryptographer who has worked for both Cromwell and the king; and a renowned Oxford antiquarian. Each tells his own version of what happened. Only one reveals the extraordinary truth. …More

Heresy By Parris, S. J. 2010-02 - Doubleday Books 0385531281 Check Our Catalog Like "The Dante Club," this clever, sophisticated, exceptionally enjoyable thriller is written with unstoppable narrative propulsion and stylistic flair. Follow the monk, poet, and scientist Giordano Bruno on his quest to uncover a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I. …More

Last Bus to Woodstock By Dexter, Colin 1996-06 - Ivy Books 0804114900 Check Our Catalog "[Morse is] the most prickly, conceited, and genuinely brilliant detective since Hercule Poirot." --The New York Times Book Review "YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW MORSE UNTIL YOU'VE READ HIM. . . . Viewers who have enjoyed British actor John Thaw as Morse in the PBS Mystery! anthology series should welcome the deeper character development in Dexter's novels." --Chicago Sun-Times Beautiful Sylvia Kaye and another young woman had been seen hitching a ride not long before Sylvia's bludgeoned body is found outside a pub in Woodstock, near Oxford. Morse is sure the other hitchhiker can tell him much of what he needs to know. But his confidence is shaken by the cool inscrutability of the girl he's certain was Sylvia's companion on that ill-fated September evening. Shrewd as Morse is, he's also distracted by the complex scenarios that the murder set in motion among Sylvia's girlfriends and their Oxford playmates. To grasp the painful truth, and act upon it, requires from Morse the last atom of his professional discipline. "Few novelists write books as intelligent and deliciously frightening as those by Colin Dexter. . . . What Mr. Dexter does so well, so brilliantly, is weave a thick, cerebral story chock-full of literary references and clever red herrings." --The Washington Times "A MASTERFUL CRIME WRITER WHOM FEW OTHERS MATCH." --Publishers Weekly …More Brighton and West and East Sussex

Play to the End By Goddard, Robert 2006-04 - Delta 0385339186 Check Our Catalog An instant top-ten bestseller in the U.K., "Play to the End" thrusts readers into a dangerous tangle of family rivalries and murderous deceit, as a struggling actor finds himself on a collision course with long-held secrets. …More

The Body on the Beach: A Fethering Mystery By Brett, Simon 2000-08 - Berkley Prime Crime 0425175006 Check Our Catalog When recent retiree Carole Seddon discovers a dead body on the beach of Fethering, an English seaside village, her sensible life becomes suddenly quite complicated. And with the help of her Bohemian neighbor, Jude, Carole finds a new purpose in life as a detective. …More

Dead Simple By James, Peter 2006-01 - Carroll & Graf Publishers 078671641X Check Our Catalog Launching a terrifying new series, James introduces recently widowed Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, who's called in when a man is reported missing from a bachelor party. Grace soon discovers that one man's disaster is another man's fortune. …More

From Doon with Death By Rendell, Ruth 1988-02 - Fawcett Books 0345348176 Check Our Catalog When Margaret Parsons disappears, Inspector Burden tries to reassure her frantic husband that she will be back by morning. Privately, though, he is certain Margaret has run off with another man. But then the missing woman's body is found, strangled and abandoned in a nearby wood. And when Mr. Parsons lets the police into his home, a startling discovery leads everyone to question just who Margaret Parsons really was . . . …More The Cotswolds

Bloodline By Mountain, Fiona 2006-02 - Minotaur Books 0312323255 Check Our Catalog Praise for "Pale as the Dead" "An original story delightfully told. Natasha Blake's genealogical detective work...is well worth the journey."- Anne Perry, author of "Thou Shalt Not Kill" "An evocative Cotswold setting, a compelling contemporary story, and a very human and appealing heroine with a fascinating profession."- Deborah Crombie, author of "Dreaming of the Bones" "Natasha is a mystery...readers will be eager to meet her again."- "Booklist" "Exhilirating opening debut of a fascinating 'detective'...this is a unique tale starring a delightful individual who makes a fine sleuth whether it is the past or present."- "Midwest Book Review" "Unique twist to the conventional mystery...nonstop suspense will leave readers eager for future installments in this enthralling new series."- "Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine""" "Intriguing...The plot is fantastic and gripping. It is well worth the journey back in time."- "Rendezvous Review" …More

High Marks for Murder: A Bellehaven House Mystery By Kent, Rebecca 2008-06 - Berkley Trade Pub 0425222047 Check Our Catalog Teacher Kathleen Duncan is found dead in the school garden. A bloody branch leads Miss Meredith Llewellyn to assume it had been an accident, until she learns that the limb didn't break off--it had been neatly sawn. Now she searches for a killer, in this first title of a new series set in Edwardian England. Original. …More

An Academic Death By Gregson, J. M. 2001-12 - Severn House Publishers 0727857487 Check Our Catalog …More

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death By Beaton, M. C. 1993-11 - Fawcett Books 0804111634 Check Our Catalog The creator of the popular Hamish Macbeth mysteries now introduces a new sleuth in a small English town. Who had the crust to poison the judge at the village baking contest? Irascible retiree Agatha Raisin wants to know who put together all the ingredients for a perfect crime. Martin's. …More York and Yorkshire

The Widows Club By Cannell, Dorothy 1989-09 - Bantam Books 0553277944 Check Our Catalog Stylish, amusing, and deliciously wicked, the Misses Hyacinth and Primrose Tramwell are hired to investigate a woman's organization whose members choose widowhood over divorce. With the help of a newlywed friend, the spinster sleuths stalk the mastermind of matrimonial murder. …More

The Torment of Others By McDermid, Val 2005-05 - Minotaur Books 0312339194 Check Our Catalog A BookPage Notable Title After a vicious assault, Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan has returned to Bradfield to resume her career. When she is assigned a case involving the grotesque murder of a prostitute, she turns to Dr. Tony Hill for help. …More

A Pinch of Snuff By Hill, Reginald 1990-07 - Dell Publishing Company 0440169127 Check Our Catalog Love, or at least pornography, are for sale at the arty Calliope Kinema Club on posh, proper Wilkinson Square. According to Yorkshire police superintendent Dalziel, it's all legal. Detective Peter Pascoe, however, doesn't believe it. His dentist, who knows real broken teeth and blood when he sees them, insists that the pretty actress wasn't playing a part when it happened. But the action that puts Pascoe into the picture is homicide. The sudden death of the Calliope's proprietor soon turns a sleazy sex flick into serious police business. And now Dalziel and Pascoe are looking into the all-too-human desire for pain, pleasure...and murder. …More Hangman Blind By Clark, Cassandra 2009-02 - Minotaur Books 0312537301 Check Our Catalog The stellar debut novel in a new mystery series features a brilliant and brave medieval abbess, in this work set in 1382 Yorkshire, England. …More Fear of Drowning By Turnbull, Peter 2000-08 - Minotaur Books 0312261586 Check Our Catalog A husband and wife disappear from their condominium in an affluent suburb of York and a farmer uncovers their bodies several days later. In this kickoff to an authentic new series, Inspector Hennesey and his sidekick, Lieutenent Yellich, must weed through several suspects in order to find the guilty party. …More The Dead Hand of History By Spencer, Sally 2009-11 - Severn House Publishers 0727868055 Check Our Catalog It will be no easy task to fill DCI Charlie Woodend's shoes, the newly-promoted Monika Paniatowski tells herself, but, given a little time, she thinks she can grow into them. Yet, with the discovery of a severed hand, time is the one thing she does not have. …More The Mushroom Man By Pawson, Stuart 2010-08 - Allison & Busby 0749083859 Check Our Catalog The second book in the newly re-issued DI Charlie Priest mysteries. Someone is killing priests and leaving a picture of a deadly fungus by their bodies …More  Bad Boy: An Inspector Banks Novel By Robinson, Peter 2010-09 - William Morrow & Company 0061362956 Check Our Catalog The acclaimed international bestselling author delivers a fast-paced, nail-biting thriller in which Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks must face his most challenging and personal case yet--one in which he must save his daughter's life. …More                 Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwickshire

Murder in Stratford By Peterson, Audrey 2005-03 - Five Star (ME) 1594142734 Check Our Catalog …More Cornwall

Beyond Recall By Goddard, Robert 1998-06 - Henry Holt & Company 0805051104 Check Our Catalog At a wedding party in Cornwall, Chris Napier, the bride's uncle, is shocked to recognize a drunken, disheveled, and evidently distraught intruder. Chris hasn't seen his childhood friend Nicky Lanyon for more than thirty years, not since Nicky's father was hanged for the murder of Joshua Carnoweth - Chris's great-uncle and the man behind the Napier family's inherited affluence. Nicky's plea for his father's innocence is underscored by the method by which he chooses to commit suicide at the conclusion of the day's celebrations. Chris is now compelled to test the truth of his friend's conviction and soon realizes that his own understanding of the events surrounding the murder amounts to none at all. The conduct of more than one member of his own family begins to dog his hesitant footsteps into a past slowly darkening with the shadows of corruption, greed, lies, child abuse, and good old-fashioned revenge. …More

Name to a Face By Goddard, Robert 2009-06 - Delta 0385342179 Check Our Catalog When Tim Harding is sent by his employer to buy an antique ring at auction, little does he realize that he is about to restart a chain of events which had begun many years before. …More

The Marigold Mafia By Bastion, Elisabeth 2009-04 - Five Star (ME) 1594147566 Check Our Catalog …More

Vow of Silence By Black, Veronica 1991-11 - Fawcett Books 0804108145 Check Our Catalog Sister Joan is transferred to Cornwall Convent to quietly investigate the death of Sister Sophia and the disappearance of Sister Magdalen. Finding many departures from normal convent routine, Sister Joan begins to suspect what she hardly dares to name--and soon, it's too late to even send for help. 'A fine debut for this series'.--Kirkus. Martin's. …More

Dead Ringer By Cook, Judith 2003-06 - Severn House Publishers 0727859552 Check Our Catalog The first in a brand-new series featuring an ex-cop turned environmental crusader. Retired policeman John Latymer is happily settled with his new wife Tess, and occupies himself with a part time job as a tour guide leading groups around England. When he witnesses a violent brawl in a small Cornish harbour-town, and when a body is discovered off the coast nearby, he cannot help but become embroiled in the ensuing investigations - much to the annoyance of his wife. Exposing the dark side of the fishing industry and the underworld of drugs, as well as tackling sensitive environmental issues, Dead Ringer will keep the reader glued to the pages through the various twists and turns of this exciting novel. …More

New-Slain Knight By Grabien, Deborah 2007-11 - Minotaur Books 0312374003 Check Our Catalog It's summer in England, and---with nothing urgent demanding their attention---Ringan and Penny are planning a quiet vacation alone together. Their plans change when Ringan's niece, fourteen-year-old violin prodigy Becca, is dumped in their care while her parents deal with an emergency abroad. Ringan has no idea what to do with a teenage relative. Penny points out that Becca is more a musician than a child, and suggests a musical holiday in Cornwall. Playing in front of a live audience with Ringan and a band will give the girl much-needed experience and confidence. It will let Ringan get to know his niece better, as well. It's a good plan, and everyone approves. And yet something about the St. Ives home of their host, Gowan, leaves Penny uneasy. She hears voices in her mind, speaking in Cornish, and has a horrifying vision through the eyes of a dying man. When, soon after, she finds Becca sleepwalking, Penny learns from Gowan that, many years earlier, his emotionally unstable lover hanged herself in this house. It may simply be the echoes of that tragedy disturbing both her and Becca. But after Becca has a seizure during a live performance of a seemingly harmless song, Penny and Ringan realize that a much older tragedy hangs over Gowan and his family. And if they can't find the truth and lay to rest whatever ghosts still walk, they may lose Becca. "New-Slain Knight," the fifth in the Haunted Ballad mystery series, touches on the ties that bind: family, the past and the present, and the mystery that lies behind every story. …More

Ash & Bone By Harvey, John 2006-12 - Harvest Books 0156032848 Check Our Catalog Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch will never see thirty again. Nor forty. And, after a lifetime on the force, all she has to show for it are a couple of hundred pounds in the bank and a mortgaged flat. In Cornwall, retired Detective Inspector Elder's solitary life is disturbed by a phone call from his estranged wife. Seventeen-year-old Katherine is running wild. Elder's fears for his daughter are underscored by remorse and guilt, for it was his involvement that led directly to the abduction and rape that has so unbalanced Katherine's life. There's a connection between Maddy and Elder: a brief, clumsy encounter sixteen years earlier. Just a quick grope and a cuddle, leading to nothing, but leaving a trace of lingering regret. When the takedown of a violent criminal goes badly wrong leaving both the target and a young constable dead, something doesn't feel right to Maddy. In Ash and Bone, the unsettled, unhappy Elder is once again persuaded out of retirement. A cold, cold case has a devastating present day impact with sinister implications for the crime squad itself. Elder's investigation takes place against the backdrop of his increasing concern for his daughter together with demons of his own he must battle before he can uncover the truth. …More

Sea of Lost Love By Montefiore, Santa 2008-05 - Touchstone Books 1416543732 Check Our Catalog The author of "The Last Voyage of the Valentina" returns with the gripping story of a young woman who must face the shocking truths of her family's past, in order to save their ancestral home. …More

Angel with Two Faces: A Mystery Featuring Josephine Tey By Upson, Nicola 2010-07 - Harper Paperbacks 0061451576 Check Our Catalog Exhausted and disillusioned with the world of theater in May 1935, Josephine Tey has traveled to Cornwall to spend the summer with her friends the Motleys at their run-down but beautiful country estate. Ready to begin work on her second mystery novel, Tey finds much to inspire her in the landscape and its legends. Meanwhile, the Motleys have become involved in an amateur production at the nearby Minack Theater. Detective Inspector Archie Penrose has returned to his roots in Cornwall to attend the funeral of a family friend, a young estate worker who died in a tragic riding accident. Penrose has a few questions about the circumstances surrounding the fatal occurrence. And when the Minack Theater proves to be the stage for a real-life tragedy, Penrose and Tey together must investigate an audacious murder and confront an evil suggesting that there are darker things than death. …More

Manna from Hades By Dunn, Carola 2009-03 - Minotaur Books 0312379455 Check Our Catalog "Manna from Hades" is a confounding case of daring theft, double-cross, and awily older woman confronted by a case of murder most foul. …More

A Colourful Death: A Cornish Mystery By Dunn, Carola 2010-06 - Minotaur Books 0312379463 Check Our Catalog In this cozy Cornish mystery, recently retired widow Eleanor Trewynn sets out to clear her friend Nick of the murder of neighbor artist Geoffrey Clark. She soon learns that Nick is far from the only one with a compelling motive for murder. …More

Mistletoe and Murder By Dunn, Carola 2002-12 - Minotaur Books 0312287755 Check Our Catalog Daisy Dalrymple brings her family to an old Cornish estate for Christmas. The estate has a rich history of lore, ghost stories and festering resentments--some or all of which leave the family trapped in a house with a corpse for the holidays. …More

The Lighthouse By James, P. D. 2005-11 - Alfred A. Knopf 030726291X Check Our Catalog When one of the distinguished visitors to Combe Island is bizarrely murdered, Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called in. Hardly has his team begun to unravel the complicated motives of the suspects than there is a second brutal killing, and Dalgliesh faces a danger more insidious than murder. …More

                   London

Her Royal Spyness By Bowen, Rhys 2007-07 - Berkley Publishing Group 0425215679 Check Our Catalog The Agatha Award winner debuts a 1930s London mystery series, featuring a penniless 20-something member of the extended royal family. When an arrogant Frenchman, who wants her family's estate for himself, winds up dead, Victorias most important job is to clear her family name. …More

Faces By Cole, Martina 2009-07 - Grand Central Publishing 0446179973 Check Our Catalog From international bestselling author Cole comes a gritty, gripping, and utterly unforgettable new tale set in the heart of London's criminal gangland. …More

Killing Me Softly: A Novel of Obsession By Nicci French 1999-07 - Mysterious Press 0892966971 Check Our Catalog "Damage" meets "Into Thin Air" in this spellbinding novel of a forbidden love turned into a dangerous obsession that drives a woman to impulsively abandon her old life and marry a charismatic stranger. …More

Until It's Over By French, Nicci 2009-03 - Minotaur Books 0312375395 Check Our Catalog A murder case pushes six roommates to their breaking point, in this chilling and erotic new thriller. …More

Full Dark House By Fowler, Christopher 2004-06 - Bantam 0553803875 Check Our Catalog 2004 British Fantasy Society Winner Edgy, suspenseful, and darkly comic, here is the first novel in a riveting new mystery series starring two cranky but brilliant old detectives whose lifelong friendship was forged solving crimes for the London Police Department's Peculiar Crimes Unit. In Full Dark House, Christopher Fowler tells the story of both their first and last case--and how along the way the unlikely pair of crime fighters changed the face of detection. A present-day bombing rips through London and claims the life of eighty-year-old detective Arthur Bryant. For his partner John May, it means the end of a partnership that lasted over half-a-century and an eerie echo back to the Blitz of World War II when they first met. Desperately searching for clues to the killer's identity, May finds his old friend's notes of their very first case and becomes convinced that the past has returned...with a killing vengeance. It begins when a dancer in a risque new production of Orpheus in Hell is found without her feet. Suddenly, the young detectives are plunged in a bizarre gothic mystery that will push them to their limits--and beyond. For in a city shaken by war, a faceless killer is stalking London's theaters, creating his own kind of sinister drama. And it will take Arthur Bryant's unorthodox techniques and John May's dogged police work to catch a criminal whose ability to escape detection seems almost supernatural--a murderer who even decades later seems to have claimed the life of one of them...and is ready to claim the other. Filled with startling twists, unforgettable characters, and a mystery that will keep you guessing, Full Dark House is a witty, heartbreaking, and all-too-human thriller about the hunt foran inhuman killer. ? …More

Birth Marks By Dunant, Sarah 1992-09 - Doubleday Books 0385423187 Check Our Catalog When the body of a talented young dancer, with stones in her pockets and an eight-month-old fetus in her womb, turns up, Hannah Wolfe begins an investigation of the dancer's life that leads her through the dance world of London and Paris. …More

Die with Me By Forbes, Elena 2007-10 - MacAdam/Cage Publishing 159692277X Check Our Catalog A series of deaths -- apparent suicides -- of vulnerable young girls is baffling police in London: the bodies are found in the naves of churches after having fallen from a great height. Thanks to a badly-handled leak, the press are all clamoring for a serial killer called The Bridegroom, and amidst the maelstrom of conflicting theories from the media, criminal profilers, politically competitive colleagues and the general circus surrounding a major murder inquiry, the chilling deaths mount up... Elena Forbes writes the kind of creepy and atmospheric crime novel that we love, populated by a cast of fresh and engaging characters: Mark Tartaglia, the Italian-Scottish detective whose good looks get him in to all sorts of trouble, and whose single status is a constant challenge for his sociable sister and extended family; his spiky yet emotionally intelligent colleague Sam Donovan; and his old boss Trevor Clarke, who tries to give Mark good advice while lying in a hospital bed . Together they are piecing together evidence that will lead them to the worst kind of serial killer, one for whom the hunt for a victim and the crime squad's hunting of him are both an equally seductive and irresistible game. …More

Forests of the Night: A Johnny Hawke Novel By Davies, David Stuart 2007-01 - Minotaur Books 0312360002 Check Our Catalog Praise for "Forests of the Night" "Wartime London is beautifully evoked in a plot as crafty as the black market . . . a book you can truly call a thriller."---Peter Lovesey, author of "The Last Detective" "The engaging debut appearance of wartime private eye Johnny Hawke breathes new life into the traditional British mystery. He's a hero with a heart." ---Val McDermid, author of "The Torment of Others" "A neatly crafted crime novel offering an unusual perspective on wartime London, by turns dark and poignant." ---Andrew Taylor, author of "The American Boy" …More

Streets of Town By Gardner, John 2003-05 - Severn House Publishers 0727859218 Check Our Catalog The second book in the new detective series from a master storyteller The year is 1941, and London is still at war. After her adventures in Bottled Spider, WPC Suzie Mountford is back, and working the beat in West End Central - a notoriously dangerous patch controlled by the infamous Balvak Twins. When Detective Chief Inspector Tony - Big Toe- Harvey is brought in, ostensibly to swell their ranks, Suzie predicts trouble. For Big Toe is every bit as unpleasant a character as the Balvak brothers, and he has good reason to dislike Suzie... …More

Blood on the Strand: Chaloner's Second Exploit in Restoration London By Gregory, Susanna 2008-06 - Sphere 0751537594 Check Our Catalog In London in 1663, rebellion is in the air. Thomas Chaloner, spy for the King's intelligence service, has just returned from thwarting a planned revolt in Dublin, but he soon realizes that England's capital is no haven of peace. Ordered to investigate the shooting of a beggar during a royal procession, he soon learns that the man is not a vagrant, but someone with links to the powerful Company of Barber-Surgeons. Meanwhile, Chaloner's master, the Earl of Clarendon, is locked in a deadly feud with the Earl of Bristol, and an innocent man is about to be hanged in Newgate. In a desperate race against time, Chaloner must find a way to protect Clarendon, track down a murderer, and save an innocent man from the executioner's noose. …More

False Charity By Heley, Veronica 2008-08 - Severn House Publishers 1847510221 Check Our Catalog Newly widowed Bea Abbott must decide what to do with her deceased husband's business. Though Bea is tempted to sell, she soon begins investigating an accounting irregularity within a catering firm. What Bea doesn't know is that someone is out of control, and finding it all too easy to kill. …More

Maisie Dobbs By Winspear, Jacqueline 2003-07 - Soho Press 1569473307 Check Our Catalog Alex Award Winner - 2004 "Meet Maisie Dobbs, who in 1929 launches her career as a private investigator and finds herself drawn back to the Great War she thought she'd long since put behind her: an unexpected beginning for Maisie--and a rare treat for mystery fans."--Charles Dodd, "A Fearsome Doubt." …More

The Blood Detective By Waddell, Dan 2008-06 - Minotaur Books 0312378904 Check Our Catalog In a London cemetery, a mans body is found. During the autopsy, the police discover the body has been marked with a string of letters and numbers that appears to be the code for a particular file in the Family Records Centre. To locate the file and unearth its relevance to the murder, police engage the services of Nigel Barnes, a professional genealogist. …More

The Man in the Queue By Tey, Josephine 1981-04 - Bentley Publishers 0837604508 Check Our Catalog Inspector Alan Grant searches for the identity of a man killed in the line ata theater and for the identity of the killer--whom no one saw. …More

The Marx Sisters: A Kathy and Brock Mystery By Maitland, Barry 1999-06 - Arcade Publishing 1559704748 Check Our Catalog Detective Kathy Kolla's first case is one for the books. Meredith Winterbottom, a resident of Jerusalem Lane -- a quaint section of London inhabited by Eastern European immigrants -- and a great-granddaughter of Karl Marx, is found dead. Was she the victim of greedy real-estate developers, or was she killed for the politics of another age? When a second Marx sister is killed, David Brock, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, is brought in to help. As Kathy and Brock delve into the Lane's eccentric melting pot, they find unpublished letters from Marx to Engels; a possible fourth volume of Das Kapital; an endless list of shady suspects; and a plot to end Kathy's investigating days for good. Can they unravel the mystery before Kathy's first case is her last? The Marx Sisters is a classic British whodunit, one that adds an unforgettable team to the ranks of great fictional detectives. …More

Nothing Like the Night By Lawrence, David 2005-06 - Minotaur Books 031232880X Check Our Catalog Heading up a murder investigation, Detective Stella Mooney soon has a likely suspect, but then another body is discovered. …More

Black Rubber Dress: A Sam Jones Novel By Henderson, Lauren 1999-05 - Three Rivers Press (CA) 0609804383 Check Our Catalog Wearing an impossible-to-ignore, black rubber dress, artist-turned-sleuth Sam Jones manages to attract both trouble and men. When she catches the eye of a successful young banker, she finds herself in a world of drugs, blackmail and murder. …More

Sleepyhead By Billingham, Mark 2002-07 - William Morrow & Company 0066212995 Check Our Catalog Alison Willetts can't move or communicate, but she's aware. Her survival of a deliberately induced stroke convinces police her attacker made an error. But Detective Tom Thorne discovers that Alison is the psychopath's masterpiece; the three women he killed before her were mistakes. Thorne must find a criminal whose agenda is terrifyingly unique. …More

The Echo By Walters, Minette 1997-03 - Putnam Adult 0399142517 Check Our Catalog A new novel of psychological suspense and terror by the Edgar Award-winning author of 'The Dark Room'. When a homeless man is discovered dead in the garage of a wealthy woman in one of the richest neighborhoods in the world, journalist Michael Deacon's curiosity about the case leads him on a chilling journey into the past. …More

The Chameleon's Shadow By Walters, Minette 2008-01 - Knopf Publishing Group 0307264637 Check Our Catalog In this electrifying new novel from the bestselling author of "The Devils Feather," British lieutenant Charles Acland returns home from Iraq, but his serious head injuries are only the outward manifestation of a profound inner change. …More

Prime Suspect By LaPlante, Lynda 1993-01 - Dell Publishing Company 0440214947 Check Our Catalog This critically acclaimed mystery series features Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, who struggles to combat the 'boys' club' atmosphere in her profession as a homicide detective. Set in London, these upbeat stories, based on the smash hit PBS-TV 'Mystery' series, give mystery readers hard-hitting realism, fast-paced action, and a savvy against-the-odds heroine they'll never forget. …More

Above Suspicion By La Plante, Lynda 2005-12 - Touchstone Books 0743284801 Check Our Catalog Young detective Anna Travis has been assigned to her first murder case -- and it couldn't be a more shocking, more horrific set of killings. They began eight years earlier; now the body count is up to six. The method of killing is identical, the backgrounds of the girls very similar -- all of them were drug-using prostitutes. Then a seventh body is found, same modus operandi, but this time the victim is a young student, sweet and innocent, with "the face of an angel." The profile of the murderer has changed dramatically. Anna stumbles on a vital piece of information that links one man to the killings. A household name, a much-loved actor who is about to become an international movie star -- he has plenty of charm and good looks. Denial and protestations of innocence spring easily and confidently to his lips. An arrest, in the face of intense publicity, would create media frenzy. If he was found beyond doubt to be the wrong man, his career would be finished and Anna's hard-fought-for reputation in the police force destroyed once and for all. With absolute authenticity and extraordinary power, Lynda La Plante takes us deeper into the criminal mind and the criminal world. And in heroine Anna Travis, she has created another memorable and utterly engaging female detective. …More

The Birthday Present By Vine, Barbara 2009-03 - Shaye Areheart Books 0307451984 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Writing under the pen name Barbara Vine, the international bestselling author Ruth Rendell--the best mystery writer in the English-speaking world ("Time")--has created an unrelentingly riveting novel of mystery and suspense. …More

The Cater Street Hangman By Perry, Anne 1985-10 - Fawcett Books 0449208672 Check Our Catalog "An ingenious mystery and an excellent example of manners and caste systems of the Victorian era." THE CHATTANOOGA TIMES While the Ellison girls were out paying calls and drinking tea like proper Victorian ladies, a maid in their household was strangled to death. The quiet and young Inspector Pitt investigates the scene and finds no one above suspicion. As his intense questioning causes many a composed facade to crumble, Pitt finds himself couriously drawn to pretty Charlotte Ellison. Yet, a romance between a society girl and so unsuitable a suitor was impossible in the midst of a murder.... …More

A Dangerous Mourning By Perry, Anne 1992-09 - Fawcett Books 0804110379 Check Our Catalog Inspector William Monk has his hands full when an aristocrat's daugher is stabbed to death in her own bed. He is instructed to proceed without delay, but finds his efforts hamstrung by the lingering traces of amnesia and the craven ineptitutde of his supervisor, who would love to see him fail. With the help of Hester Latterly, formerly a nurse with Florence Nightingale, Monk gropes warily through the silence and shadows, knowing that with each step he comes closer to the appalling truth.... "A richly textured, masterfully plotted, thoroughly enjoyable story." THE KIRKUS REVIEWS …More