[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Mystery May 2008
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 11:33:28 -0400
Mystery May 2008
"Death is a shadow that always follows the body."
~ 14th-century English proverb
New and Recently Released!
The Silver Swan: A Novel - by Benjamin Black
Publisher: Henry Holt
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/4/2008
ISBN: 9780805081534
ISBN-10: 0805081534
Mystery. A beautiful young woman is found dead, washed up on the rocks, an
apparent suicide. Her husband asks pathologist Garret Quirke, an old school
acquaintance,
to skip the autopsy because he doesn't want his wife to be cut up. Quirke,
who's been sober for six months, doesn't think his friend is covering up
anything,
but after he notices a puncture mark on her arm, he begins digging into the
lady's past. Booker Prize-winner John Banville, writing under the pseudonym
Benjamin Black, produces a "tense, engrossing tale of passion, crimes, and
chaos" (Booklist) in this well-written follow-up to Christine Falls.
First Chapter
The Poisoner of Ptah: A Story of Intrigue and Murder Set in Ancient Egypt - by
P.C. Doherty
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/19/2008
ISBN: 9780312359621
ISBN-10: 0312359624
Historical Mystery. In 1478, three leading Egyptian scribes die shortly after
drinking wine as part of a peace treaty ceremony between Egypt and Libya.
Pharaoh Queen Hatusu (aka Hatshepsut) orders Amerotke, Chief Judge of the Halls
of Two Truths, to investigate the poisoning. Later that day, a wealthy
young couple is found drowned in a guarded pool that no one saw them enter. Are
the two crimes related? Are the Libyans involved? Amerotke and his dwarf
assistant scour Thebes looking for answers. This 6th in the series is a "rich,
complex tale" (Publishers Weekly) that is sure to please fans of well-crafted
whodunits.
Careless in Red - by Elizabeth George
Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/1/2008
ISBN: 9780061160875
ISBN-10: 0061160873
Mystery. The death of his beloved wife sent Thomas Lynley reeling. He resigned
from Scotland Yard and began hiking along the Cornish coast looking
for...something.
What he finds is a dead body. Lynley is soon a suspect in the murder and
becomes intrigued by the case. If you're in the hold queue for Elizabeth
George's
latest bestseller, try Deborah Crombie's books featuring Superintendent Duncan
Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James--both series feature expertly constructed
plots and characters whose personal lives frequently become tangled up with
their work. A Share in Death is the 1st in Crombie's series, though the 5th,
Dreaming of the Bones, is also a good starting point.
Murder Melts in Your Mouth: A Blackbird Sisters Mystery - by Nancy Martin
Publisher: Obsidian
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/4/2008
ISBN: 9780451223111
ISBN-10: 045122311X
Mystery. Fans of the Blackbird Sisters are in for a treat--in the siblings'
madcap 7th adventure, they reunite with their on-the-lam parents! It all starts
when sensible Philadelphia socialite/society reporter Nora Blackbird turns
sleuth after her life-long best friend Lexie becomes a suspect in the killing
of a prominent Philadelphia philanthropist. Meanwhile, Nora's sister Libby is
recovering from a car accident at the Ritz, leaving Nora to take care of
her five children, and unmarried little sister Emma announces she is pregnant.
For a rollicking good time with wacky family members, the Blackbird Sisters
can hardly be beat.
The Iron Tongue of Midnight: The Fourth Baroque Mystery - by Beverle Graves
Myers
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/15/2008
ISBN: 9781590582329
ISBN-10: 1590582322
Historical Mystery. Opera singer Tito Amato, a castrato, is asked to take an
out-of-character role (he normally plays princes, not pillaging conquerors)
in a new opera that's rehearsing at a remote villa in the hills overlooking
Venice. Tito agrees--the job pays handsomely and his brother-in-law, artist
Gussie Rumbolt, has been asked to paint scenes around the villa. But the
seemingly tranquil locale's atmosphere is threatened when a notorious figure
from
Tito's past turns up and a stranger is found beaten to death. Can Tito lower
the curtain on the killer before it's too late? Set in an isolated Italian
manse, this novel should definitely please fans of country house mysteries.
Judas Horse: An FBI Special Agent Ana Grey Mystery - by April Smith
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/12/2008
ISBN: 9781400042050
ISBN-10: 1400042054
Mystery. In this suspenseful, critically acclaimed outing, FBI agent Ana Gray
has just returned to the force after a traumatic shooting incident when she
learns that her secret ex-lover, another agent, has been killed. To snare his
murderers, Ana goes undercover and infiltrates a group of anarchists who
are masquerading as an animal rights group. They are led by the charismatic
Julius Emerson Phelps--who may have connections to the FBI. Ana must walk a
taut undercover tightrope and figure out what big event this terror group is
planning. Judas Horse is the 3rd book in the Ana Grey series.
First Chapter
Recent Award Winners
The Dramatist - by Ken Bruen
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/6/2007
ISBN: 9780312363109
ISBN-10: 0312363109
Noir Fiction. Dublin, Ireland detective Jack Taylor can't seem to catch a
break. Clean and sober now that his dealer is in jail, Jack is stunned when the
imprisoned man asks him to investigate the mysterious death of his
sister--she's been found dead with a copy of the Irish play The Playboy of the
Western
World under her body. Jack agrees to investigate, only to find himself caught
up in a shocking scheme with deadly consequences for all concerned. The
Dramatist
won the 2007 Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel. If you want more dark, brooding
books featuring a troubled protagonist, try Ian Rankin's Inspector John
Rebus novels.
The Janissary Tree: A Novel - by Jason Goodwin
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/16/2006
ISBN: 9780374178604
ISBN-10: 0374178607
Historical Mystery. Historian Jason Goodwin puts his expertise to good use in
his first novel--a mystery set in the Ottoman Empire of 1836. Ten years have
passed since the elite but corrupt military force called the Janissaries were
crushed by the Sultan's New Guard--but could they be on the rise again? The
murders of four New Guard officers seem to indicate they are, meaning the
Sultan himself is in danger. Yashim Togalu, a highly trusted eunuch who's able
to enter all areas of the palace (including the harem), is asked to solve the
crimes. In the process, he uncovers political deceit and corruption. The
Janissary Tree won the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best mystery novel.
First Chapter
Dating Dead Men - by Harley Jane Kozak
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/15/2005
ISBN: 9780767921237
ISBN-10: 0767921232
Humorous Mystery. Wollie Shelley is a greeting card designer and small business
owner, but she's also dating 40 men in 60 days, dealing with her schizophrenic
brother's belief that there's been a murder at his mental hospital...and
possibly falling in love with a killer. Publishers Weekly says the author (an
actress who's been in The Guiding Light and When Harry Met Sally) "struck gold"
with Dating Dead Men, and award committees agree--she received an Agatha,
an Anthony, and a Macavity. If you enjoy Wollie's wackiness, grab the next two
books in the series, Dating is Murder and Dead Ex, or check out Janet
Evanovich's
Stephanie Plum, another feisty female who finds herself in hilarious,
over-the-top situations.
First Chapter
California Girl - by T. Jefferson Parker
Publisher: HarperTorch
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 1/1/2006
ISBN: 9780060562373
ISBN-10: 0060562374
Mystery. Living in a small town in Orange County, California, in the 1950s, the
four Becker brothers are neighbors to the troubled Vonn family. The Beckers
grow up and become a sheriff's deputy, a minister, a reporter, and a soldier
(who's killed in Vietnam). The youngest Vonn, Janelle, grows from a spunky
child into the town's beauty queen, but struggles to get away from her abusive
family and becomes involved with the drug and hippie scene of 1960s Laguna
Beach. Then she's brutally murdered. The three surviving Becker brothers
investigate the crime and are drawn into Janelle's unhappy life. This
compelling,
atmospheric tale won a 2005 Edgar Allan Poe Award.
First Chapter
Still Life - by Louise Penny
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 7/11/2006
ISBN: 9780312352554
ISBN-10: 0312352557
Mystery. When local artist Jane Neal is killed during hunting season by an
arrow through the heart, her death is thought to have been an accident. Soon
after his arrival in the charming village of Three Pines, however, Chief
Inspector Armand Gamache determines that she was probably murdered. The question
is, who would want to kill well-regarded Jane? And why? Author Louise Penny
uses the bicultural Quebecois setting and a deep understanding of art to create
what Booklist calls a "real gem." Still Life won several "best first novel"
awards, including the 2007 Anthony Award. If you want to continue your visit
in Three Pines, grab the next in the series, A Fatal Grace.
First Chapter
The Virgin of Small Plains: A Novel - by Nancy Pickard
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/29/2007
ISBN: 9780345471000
ISBN-10: 0345471008
Mystery. In 1987, the sheriff's teenage son, who's looking for newborn calves
in the middle of a blizzard, finds a beautiful dead girl lying naked in the
snow. The discovery shocks the small town of Small Plains, Kansas. Then the
judge's son, Mitch Newquist, leaves town the next morning. Fast forward 17
years: locals believe that the unidentified girl's grave is a source of
miracles...and Mitch has just returned home. What really happened during that
winter
storm years earlier? Mitch's old high school girlfriend, Abby, decides to find
out. This page-turner, which is chock-full of rich characterizations, won
both an Agatha Award and a Macavity Award.
First Chapter
Other related posts:
- » [bksvol-discuss] Fw: Mystery May 2008
