Amateur Sleuths I to Z

I TO Z

September 2, 2010

Jance, J.A. CRUEL INTENT. Pocket Star. December '09. $7.99. "From New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance comes a chilling tale of suspense, where romance turns deadly at the hands of a man whose heart is filled with...CRUEL INTENT. On a dating site, singleatheart.com, bored housewives can find romance with married men looking for sex without strings. But these 'married singles' are flirting with more than just their vows. At the heart of this seemingly innocent service, a vengeful computer hacker is playing games with people's lives...and deaths. Ex-television journalist Ali Reynolds just wants a break from excitement. In the midst of a remodel, the last thing she expects is a murder investigation that will stop the construction on her home. But when the savagely murdered body of stay-at-home mom Morgan Forester is found, Ali's contractor Bryan is the prime suspect. Bryan swears he has nothing to do with his wife's murder - but as the investigation progresses Ali seems to be the only resident of Sedona who believes him. Determined to prove Bryan's innocence, Ali unknowingly lands herself directly in the path of a calculating killer. In a world filled with encrypted computer traps and life-threatening lies, will Ali be able to decode the actions of a ruthless man determined to destroy women - before he uses his wicked website to find her?"

Juba, Stacy. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY. Mainly Murder Press Trade pbo. November '09. $14.95. "Kris Langley has always been obsessed with murder. She blames herself for the violent death of her cousin when they were kids and has let guilt invade every corner of her existence. Now an editorial assistant and obit writer for a Massachusetts newspaper, Kris stumbles across an unsolved murder while compiling '25 Years Ago Today' items from the microfilm. She grows fascinated with the case of a young cocktail waitress who was bludgeoned to death and dumped in the woods. Determined to solve the case and atone for the death of her cousin, Kris immerses herself in the mystery of what happened to Diana Ferguson, a talented artist who expressed herself through haunting paintings of Greek mythology. Not only does Kris face resistance from her family and her managing editor, she also clashes with Diana's suspicious nephew, Eric Soares - until neither she nor Eric can deny the chemistry flaring between them. Kris soon learns that old news never leaves the morgue and that yesterday's headline is tomorrow's danger, for finding out the truth about that night twenty-five years ago may shatter Kris's present, costing her love, her career, and ultimately, her life."

King, Laurie R. THE GOD OF THE HIVE. Bantam Books. May '10. $25.00. "In Laurie R. King's latest Mary Russell - Sherlock Holmes mystery, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author delivers a thriller of ingenious surprises and unrelenting suspense - as the famous husband and wife sleuths are pursued by a killer immune from the sting of justice. It began as a problem in one of Holmes' beloved beehives, led to a murderous cult, and ended - or so they'd hoped - with a daring escape from a sacrificial altar. Instead, Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, have stirred the wrath and the limitless resources of those they've thwarted. Now they are separated and on the run, wanted by the police, and pursued across the Continent by a ruthless enemy with powerful connections. Unstoppable together, Russell and Holmes will have to survive this time apart, maintaining tenuous contact only by means of coded messages and cryptic notes. With Holmes' young granddaughter in her safekeeping, Russell will have to call on instincts she didn't know she had. But has the couple already made a fatal mistake by separating, making themselves easier targets for the shadowy government agents sent to silence them? From hidden rooms in London shops and rustic forest cabins to rickety planes over Scotland and boats on the frozen North Sea, Russell and Holmes work their way back to each other while uncovering answers to a mystery that will take both of them to solve. A hermit with a mysterious past and a beautiful young female doctor with a secret, a cruelly scarred flyer and an obsessed man of the cloth, Holmes' brother, Mycroft, and an Intelligence agent who knows too much: Everyone Russell and Holmes meet could either speed their safe reunion or betray them to their enemies - in the most complex, shocking, and deeply personal case of their career."

King, Laurie R. THE LANGUAGE OF BEES. Bantam Books. May '10. $15.00. "In a case that will push their relationship to the breaking point, Mary Russell must help reverse the greatest failure of her legendary husband's storied past - a painful and personal defeat that still has the power to sting...this time fatally. For Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, returning to the Sussex coast after seven months abroad was especially sweet. There was even a mystery to solve - the unexplained disappearance of an entire colony of bees from one of Holmes's beloved hives. But the anticipated sweetness of their homecoming is quickly tempered by a galling memory from her husband's past. Mary had met Damian Adler only once before, when the promising surrealist painter had been charged with - and exonerated from - murder. Now the talented and troubled young man was enlisting their help again, this time in a desperate search for his missing wife and child. When it comes to communal behavior, Russell has often observed that there are many kinds of madness. And before this case yields its shattering solution, she'll come into dangerous contact with a fair number of them. From suicides at Stonehenge to a bizarre religious cult, from the demimonde of the Cafe Royal at the heart of Bohemian London to the dark secrets of a young woman's past on the streets of Shanghai, Russell will find herself on the trail of a killer more dangerous than any she's ever faced - a killer Sherlock Holmes himself may be protecting for reasons near and dear to his heart.

Larsen, Craige. MANIA. Pinnacle Books pbo. November '09. $6.99. "A City Gripped By Fear... Seattle newspaper photographer Nick Wilder has snapped his fair share of gruesome homicide scenes. But when a serial killer dubbed the Street Butcher takes his sick crimes to new depths of depravity, Nick finds the case suddenly getting to him in more ways than one... A Killer Who Knows No End... The deeper Nick digs, the closer he gets to his own disturbing past - and the more he must risk to unmask an unpredictable, deranged psychopath. As the motives multiply and the suspects narrow, the cold, stark Seattle winer turns even chillier..."

McFarland, Nora. A BAD DAY'S WORK. Touchstone Trade pbo. September '10. $14.99. First in the series. "Lilly Hawkins is having one of those days... The last thing she needs is a murder to solve. Nothing seems to be going Lilly's way. A TV news photographer at her hometown television station, she's one of the hardest the hardest working people 'shooters' there, but her pit-bull personality and a series of unlucky blunders have put her job in jeopardy. So when an urgent story breaks in the middle of the night, Lilly is determined to turn her bad luck around and get the respect she deserves. But the pressure is on; either she delivers amazing video or she's fired. After busting her butt and dodging the cops, Lilly has what could be the biggest scoop of her career - exclusive video of a murder scene. Or does she have it? Lilly is stunned when the tape played in front of the entire newsroom is nothing but dead air. Soon she's on the run from criminals and police, both of whom claim Lilly's video is the key to solving the murder and think she has pocketed the real tape. Can she escape her pursuers long enough to catch the killer, or will she end the day as the next victim? Lilly's bad day just keeps getting worse, but the one thing she knows for she is that she'd like to live to see more of them..."

McNamara, Mary. THE STARLET. Simon & Schuster pbo. June '10. $15.00. "It's a not-so-well-respected rule in Hollywood that what happens on location stays on location. But when a hot young leading man winds up dead in his Rome hotel room, his costar's life is about to go off the rails in a very public way - even by celeb standards. At the tender age of twenty-three, Mercy Talbot has won an Oscar, battled addiction, wrecked more than her share of cars, and burned down her house. Her look-alike mother keeps her on a tight leash (and fueled with an endless supply of OxyContin and cocaine) and her producers demand a grueling schedule. By the time she stumbles across Juliette Greyson, a Hollywood insider on a much-needed vacation, Mercy is surrounded by photographers and about to emerge drunk, high, and naked from a public fountain. Whisking her away to an idyllic Tuscan 'retreat,' Juliette is about to discover another rule of Hollywood: wherever the starlet may go, the drama will follow."

Morgan, Kaye. CELEBRITY SUDOKU: A Sudoku Mystery. Berkley Prime Crime. December '10. $6.99. Fifth in the series featuring puzzle master Liza Kelly. "Small-town Sudoku expert Liza Kelly flies to Los Angeles to appear on TV. But when a celebrity is found dead, she has a far more serious puzzle to solve."

Morgan, Kaye. GHOST SUDOKU: A Sudoku Mystery. Berkley Prime Crime. February '10. $6.99. "The next installment in the exciting Sudoku mystery series featuring puzzle master Liza Kelly.... After spending her vacation hiding from the media, Liza returns to find that the town has put her in the running for mayor. She has a feeling that the neighboring county and its dirty political machine are involved. When she turns to an old classmate to find out, she discovers that he's been murdered. A closeted Sudoku fan, he's left behind puzzles that may have hidden clues to what finished him off and who is trying to run Liza into the ground. Original Sudoku puzzles included."

Patterson, James & Paetro, Maxine. SWIMSUIT. Grand Central. July '10. $14.99. "THE BEACH... A breathtakingly beautiful supermodel disappears from a swimsuit photo shoot at the most glamorous hotel in Hawaii. Only hours after she goes missing, Kim McDaniels's parents receive a terrifying phone call. Fearing the worst, they board the first flight to Maui and begin the hunt for their daughter. ...WILL NEVER BE... Ex-cop Ben Hawkins, now a reporter for the L.A. Times, gets the McDaniels assignment. The ineptitude of the local police force defies belief - Ben has to start his own investigation for Kim McDaniels to have a prayer. And for Ben to have the story of his life. ...THE SAME FOR YOU AGAIN. All the while, the killer sets the stage for his next production. His audience expects the best - and they won't be disappointed. Swimsuit is a heart-pounding story of fear and desire, transporting you to a place where beauty and murder collide and unspeakable horrors are hidden within paradise."

Peters, Elizabeth. A RIVER IN THE SKY. William Morrow. May '10. $25.99. "New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Peters brings back beloved Egyptologist and amateur sleuth Amelia Peabody in an exciting tale set amid the ancient temples and simmering religious tensions of Palestine on the eve of World War I.... August 1910. Banned from the Valley of the Kings by the Antiquities Service, Amelia Peabody and her husband, Emerson, are relaxing at home in Kent, enjoying the tranquil beauty of summer. But adventure soon beckons when they are persuaded to follow would-be archaeologist Major George Morley on an expedition to Palestine, a province of the crumbling, corrupt Ottoman Empire and the Holy Land of three religions. Searching for the vanished treasures of the Temple in Jerusalem, Morley is determined to unearth the legendary Ark of the Covenant. The skeptical Emerson wants no part of the scheme until a request from the War Office and Buckingham Palace persuades him to reconsider. The Germans are increasing their influence in Palestine and British intelligence insists that Morley is an agent of the Kaiser, sent to stir up trouble in this politically volatile land. Emerson can't believe that the seemingly inept Morley is a German spy, but could he be mistaken? Determined to prevent a catastrophically unprofessional excavation that could destroy priceless historical finds as well as cause an armed protest by infuriated Christians, Jews, and Muslims who view the Temple Mount, also known as the Dome of the Rock, as sacred, Amelia, Emerson, and company head to Palestine. Though it is not to her beloved Egypt, the trip to Jerusalem will also reunite her with her handsome and headstrong son, Ramses, working on a dig at Samaria, north of the holy city. Before Ramses can meet his parents, however, he is distracted by an unusual party of travelers who have arrived in Samaria, including a German woman archaeologist and a mysterious man of unknown nationality and past. Unfortunately, Ramses's insatiable curiosity and his knack for trouble lead him to a startling discovery: information he must pass on to his parents in Jerusalem - if he can get there alive. Once again the Peabody-Emerson clan must use all their skills and wiles to find the truth, prevent a bloody holy war, and save their son from the clutches of a nefarious enemy in this wonderfully engaging tale chock-full of thrills, mystery, and daring from the inimitable Elizabeth Peters." Simultaneous release on MP3 CD from Recorded Books.

Phillips, Christi. THE DEVLIN DIARY. Pocket Books. May '10. $15.00. "From the acclaimed author of THE ROSSETTI LETTER comes a dazzling novel of intrigue, passion, and royal secrets that shifts tantalizingly between Restoration-era London and present-day Cambridge. London, 1672. The past twelve years have brought momentous changes: the restoration of the monarchy, a devastating plague and fire. Yet the city remains a teeming, thriving metropolis, energized by the lusty decadence of Charles II's court and burgeoning scientific inquiry. Although women enjoy greater freedom, they are not allowed to practice medicine, a restriction that physician Hannah Devlin evades by treating patients that most other doctors shun: the city's poor. But Hannah has a special knowledge that Secretary of State Lord Arlington desperately needs. At the king's Machiavellian court, Hannah attracts the attention of two men, charming courtier Ralph Montagu and anatomist Dr. Edward Strathern, as well as the attention of the powerful College of Physicians, which views her work as criminal. When two influential courtiers are found brutally murdered, their bodies inscribed with arcane symbols, Hannah is drawn into a dangerous investigation by Dr. Strathern, who believes the murders conceal a far-reaching conspiracy that may include Hannah's late father and the king himself. Cambridge, 2008. Teaching history at Trinity College is Claire Donovan's dream come true - until one of her colleagues is found dead on the banks of the River Cam. The only key to the professor's unsolved murder is a seventeenth century diary kept by his last research subject, Hannah Devlin, physician to the king's mistress. With help from the eclectic collections of Cambridge's renowned libraries, Claire and historian Andrew Kent follow the clues Devlin left behind, uncovering secrets of London's dark past and Cambridge's equally murky present, and discovering that events of three hundred years ago may still have consequences today.... A suspenseful and richly satisfying tale brimming with sharply observed historical detail, THE DEVLIN DIARY brings past and present to vivid life. With wit and grace, Christi Phillips holds readers spellbound with an extraordinary novel of secrets, obsession, and the haunting power of the past."

Rowland, Laura Joh. BEDLAM: The Further Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte. Overlook Press. June '10. $24.95. "Following the notable debut of THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE, beloved author Laura Joh Rowland offers her legions of fans the next installment in the Charlotte Bronte mystery series...with more to come. On her last escapade, Charlotte unintentionally witnessed a murder and found herself embroiled in a dangerous chain of events. Now, Charlotte returns in a stunning sequel that takes the reader into the most sinister institution in London: Bedlam. With the death of her siblings and far from home, Charlotte has few people to trust. Struggling with romantic entanglements and her stressful rise to prominence on the literary scene, she is more alone than ever. On a visit to London, Charlotte goes on a tour of London's most famous hospital for the mad, Bedlam. She is sure she recognizes a struggling Mr. Slade, her long-missing ex-lover, strapped to one of the stretchers. Charlotte starts digging, and soon finds herself trying to reveal a secret that high-powered men would (and do) kill to protect. It is up to Charlotte to find the truth and expose a plot of global proportion. But what if the conspirators get to her first?"

Ryan, Hank Phillippi. DRIVE TIME. Mira Books. February '10. $7.99. Fourth in the series. "Investigative reporter Charlotte McNally is an expert at keeping things confidential, but suddenly everyone has a secret - and it turns out it is possible to know too much. Her latest scoop - an expose of a dangerous car scam, complete with stakeouts, high-speed chases and hidden-camera footage - is ratings gold. But soon that leads her to a brand-new and diabolical scheme. Charlie's personal and professional lives are on a collision course, too. Her fiance is privy to information about threats at an elite private school that have turned deadly. Charlie has never counted on happy endings. But now, just as she's finally starting to believe in second chances, she realizes revenge, extortion and murder may leave her alone again - or even dead...."

Viets, Elaine. THE FASHION HOUND MURDERS: Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper. Signet Books. November '09. $6.99. "Josie Marcus has been hired to check out a big pet store's involvement with puppy mills. When an employee who clued her into the mills' existence shows up dead, Josie realizes that sinking her teeth into this case could mean getting bitten back..."

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