[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Mystery July 2008
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:25:20 -0400
Mystery July 2008
"The cat will mew and dog will have his day." ~ from William Shakespeare's
Hamlet
New and Recently Released!
Last Post - by Robert Barnard
Publisher: Scribner
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/13/2008
ISBN: 9781416559405
ISBN-10: 141655940X
Mystery. Death has a way of helping secrets see the light of day. May McNabb
has just died from breast cancer, and her daughter, Eve, is in town making
funeral arrangements when she opens a letter addressed to her mother from a
woman named "Jean." Jean obviously doesn't know that May has died...and her
letter implies she was once May's lover. Eve considers her mother's mysterious
nature and wonders what other secrets lie buried in her past. With the help
of a married policeman (whom Eve finds attractive), she looks for the letter
writer and checks into the possibility that her father, who her mother said
was dead, is still alive. In a starred review, Booklist calls Last Post "great
entertainment."
First Chapter
Blackman's Coffin: A Sam Blackman Mystery - by Mark de Castrique
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/10/2008
ISBN: 9781590585177
ISBN-10: 1590585178
Mystery. In the 1st entry of what promises to be an exciting new series,
readers meet Sam Blackman, a skilled investigator who lost a leg while serving
in the U.S. military's Criminal Investigation Detachment in Iraq. Sam is
recuperating in an Asheville, NC, veterans' hospital and feeling a bit down when
ex-Marine (and fellow amputee) Tikima Robertson stops by. She cheers him up by
telling him about a job that would allow him to use his investigative talents,
and promises to visit again--but before she can, someone kills her. Thanks to a
journal from 1919 that's found in Tikima's apartment, Sam learns that the
roots of her murder might reach deep into the past. If you enjoy well-drawn
characters and well-done historical details, take a peek inside Blackman's
Coffin.
Heavenly Pleasures: A Corinna Chapman Mystery - by Kerry Greenwood
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/10/2008
ISBN: 9781590584262
ISBN-10: 1590584260
Cozy Mystery. Culinary mystery fans are in for a yummy treat--artisan baker
Corinna Chapman is back...and she has recipes! In Australian author Kerry
Greenwood's
2nd installment in this tasty series, someone is--chocolate lovers take a deep
breath--purposefully ruining gourmet chocolates. In order to help her friends
Juliet and Vivienne Lefebvre figure out who's tampering with their wares and
save their chocolate shop's reputation, Corinna investigates. Greenwood, who
also writes the charming Phrynne Fisher historical mysteries, has cooked up "a
congenial whodunit peopled by charmingly quirky characters and adorable
cats" (Kirkus Reviews).
The Girl of His Dreams - by Donna Leon
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/13/2008
ISBN: 9780871139801
ISBN-10: 0871139804
Mystery. Even if you don't vacation in Venice this summer, you can still visit
the enchanting city via bestselling author Donna Leon's latest book (Library
Journal says "American-born Leon describes her longtime home of Venice
lovingly"). In his 17th outing, Commissario Guido Brunetti has two cases on his
hands: a newly arrived Protestant minister who may be fleecing his flock, and
the drowning death of an 11-year-old Romany girl. If The Girl of His Dreams
is checked out, don't leave the library empty-handed--pick up one of Lindsey
Davis' historical Roman mysteries featuring Marcus Didius Falco or try Magdalen
Nabb's Florence-based Marshal Guarnaccia novels.
Vita Nuova - by Magdalen Nabb
Publisher: Soho
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/1/2008
ISBN: 9781569474938
ISBN-10: 1569474931
Police Procedural. Vita Nuova is the 14th--and final--case for compassionate,
self-doubting Marshal Guarnaccia (60-year-old author Magdalen Nabb died of
a stroke last year). A young single mother and college student is killed in her
wealthy family's home outside Florence, Italy. Guarnaccia investigates
and learns that the girl's father made his fortune by dealings in prostitution
and forced labor--but who would kill his daughter? Donna Leon fans should
enjoy Nabb's clever, graceful, character-based mysteries. If you haven't read
any entries in this underrated series, which are often based on real Italian
crimes, you can start here; for those who want to start with the 1st, grab
Death of an Englishman.
The Calling - by Inger Ash Wolfe
Publisher: Harcourt
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/5/2008
ISBN: 9780151013470
ISBN-10: 0151013470
Police Procedural. A murderer visits sleepy Port Dundas, Ontario, and
61-year-old Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef, who's been the acting commander
of
the local police for years, discovers that her remote town was just one stop on
the terrifying serial killer's tour de death across Canada. The beleaguered
Hazel fights back problems (she's planning to get surgery), a fondness for
booze and painkillers, and police politics in order to capture a killer who
targets terminally ill victims. If you like authentic heroines and creepy
killers, check out The Calling, the suspenseful first crime novel by
pseudonymous
author Inger Ash Wolfe.
First Chapter
Focus on: Canines and Crime
This Dog for Hire: A Rachel Alexander and Dash Mystery - by Carol Lea Benjamin
Publisher: Bantam Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 1/1/1998
ISBN: 9780440225201
ISBN-10: 0440225205
Mystery. Manhattan P.I. Rachel Alexander and her formidable canine partner,
Dash, search for a witness to the murder of a New York artist--the victim's
barkless dog. Finding the champion Basenji and solving this case will have
Rachel and Dash checking out the Westminster Dog Show and the SoHo art world.
Carol Lea Benjamin's debut mystery (she's also written nonfiction books about
dog training) won the 1997 Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel; if you
enjoy it, check out the next book in the series, The Dog Who Knew Too Much.
Kirkus Reviews says This Dog for Hire is "highly satisfactory even for readers
who prefer two-legged animals."
First Chapter
The Hound of the Baskervilles - by Arthur Conan Doyle
Publisher: Modern Library
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/1/2002
ISBN: 9780812966060
ISBN-10: 0812966066
Classic Mystery. Not all dogs are friendly--the Baskerville family certainly
knows this to be true. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, one of the most famous
and popular cases of one of the world's most well-known detectives, a ghost
hound is said to stalk the cursed Baskerville family. Master sleuth Sherlock
Holmes, along with his assistant Dr. Watson, is at his best as he leads an
investigation into the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. The country gentleman's
sudden heart attack has his heir and the townspeople in shock and whispering
that the ghostly hound has struck again. Is Sir Charles' heir next in line
for death-by-ghost dog? Or is a more material killer at work? This well-told
tale is richly deserving of its fame.
First Chapter
The Serpents Trail: A Maxie and Stretch Mystery - by Sue Henry
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/1/2005
ISBN: 9780451411785
ISBN-10: 0451411781
Cozy Mystery. With her mini-dachshund, Stretch, by her side, 63-year-old
retiree Maxie McNabb cruises across America in her Winnebago, indulging her
wanderlust.
So when Sarah, a dying friend in Grand Junction, Colorado, calls and asks Maxie
to come visit, she does. Unfortunately, when Maxie arrives, Sarah is in
the hospital and soon dies from very unnatural causes. Who would kill her?
Maxie remembers Sarah's penchant for secrets and hiding places and begins
puzzling
out the answer, but the closer she gets to solving the crime, the more she's in
danger. If you long to gather up the dog and hit the road in an RV but
gas prices are keeping you stuck in park, head over to the library and check
out this 1st book in the Maxie and Stretch series.
Sick Puppy - by Carl Hiaasen
Publisher: Warner Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 4/12/2005
ISBN: 9780446695688
ISBN-10: 0446695688
Comic Caper. Sick Puppy more than lives up to its title. It features "the most
personable dog to grace the pages of a book since Lassie" (Library Journal),
who also has stomach problems; an avenging, eco-terrorist good guy with anger
management issues (the court-ordered class wasn't much help); politicians
who don't give a whistle about the environment; a vain, girdle-wearing hit man
who listens to 911 calls for fun; and a millionaire who wants to turn young
women into Barbie using plastic surgery. Bestselling author Carl Hiaasen's
wonderfully wacky story, a New York Times 2000 Notable Book, will have you
shaking
your head and rolling on the floor.
First Chapter
A Bloodhound to Die For - by Virginia Lanier
Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/1/2004
ISBN: 9780061098406
ISBN-10: 006109840X
Mystery. Jo Beth Sidden trains bloodhounds in Southern Georgia and does some
tracking, too. In her 6th and last case, Jo Beth and her assistant, Jasmine,
are on the trail of a sweet elderly lady who has vanished into the Okefenokee
Swamp. Meanwhile, serious man-trouble is once again threatening Jo Beth (her
ex-husband was abusive) as a disturbed escaped convict has decided that she is
his one and only true love. Fortunately for Jo Beth, there are a few males
in her life who aren't violent towards her, such as hunky Sheriff Hank Cribbs
and bloodhound Bobby Lee...but that doesn't mean there isn't trouble involving
these two. If you want to read Jo Beth's 1st outing, pick up the Anthony
Award-winning Death in Bloodhound Red.
First Chapter
Play Dead - by David Rosenfelt
Publisher: Warner Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/29/2007
ISBN: 9780446582414
ISBN-10: 0446582417
Mystery. According to an old proverb, "every dog will have his day," but it's a
good bet that most canines won't have theirs in court. Still, that's exactly
where Yogi, a golden retriever on doggie death row who's been accused of biting
his owner, has his. In his 6th case, likeable defense attorney Andy Carpenter
creates a sensation when he represents Yogi in court...and gets him off. But
things are just heating up; could Yogi actually be Reggie, a golden who, five
years earlier, disappeared from a boat the same night a man (currently in
prison) allegedly threw his fiancée overboard? Andy thinks so, and he thinks
the man in jail is innocent. If you want a "cracking good yarn," read Play Dead
"as soon as you can" (Booklist).
First Chapter
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