Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of August 6 – 12, 2023 with one debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau (Historical (1920s)
New York City, 1923. Zia De Luca’s life is about to be shattered. Having lost her husband to The Great War, she lives with her in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library. But when a quiet poetry-lover is murdered outside the library, the police investigation focuses on Zia. After a second tragedy strikes even closer to home, Zia learns that both crimes are connected to a new speakeasy in Greenwich Village called The Orchid Hour. Format: Print, Digital

The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen (Historical (1940s)
Londoner Madeleine Grant is studying at the Sorbonne in Paris when she marries charismatic French journalist Giles Martin. As they raise their son, Olivier, they hold on to a tenuous promise for the future. Until the thunder of war sets off alarms in France. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

A Clue in the Crumbs by Lucy Burdette (Cozy)
Food critic Hayley Snow and her pal Miss Gloria are overjoyed to welcome Violet and Bettina Booth, aka the Scottish Scone Sisters, to Key West. The sisters will host The UK Bakes!—Key West Edition. But the same day they arrive, the bed-and-breakfast the sisters are staying in gets torched. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childs (Cozy)
Theodosia’s Honey Bee Tea was an elegant affair set in Charleston’s new Petigru Park amid newly planted native grasses and a community beekeeping project. But when a phony beekeeper shows up and sprays toxic smoke at the guests, the party erupts in chaos. Worse yet, a shot rings out and Osgood Claxton III, candidate for state legislature, falls to the ground—dead. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Mainely Wicked by Matt Cost (Private Detective)
There was silence around the fire. The flames danced and flickered, casting shadows in the dark May night. Langdon took the bottle from Richam and poured himself another…Bart, the dour but poetic cop, is back, even if demoted to a blue uniform. The dapper lawyer, Jimmy 4 by Four, is up to his regular philandering ways. Richam is hiding a secret from Jewell, and Chabal makes a new friend… And then goes missing. Format: Print, Digital

Sunshine and Sweet Wine by Kathi Daley (Cozy)
It’s summertime in Holiday Bay, and between the outdoor dining option provided by the new rooftop bar and eatery, and the summer concert series held on the roof every Thursday night, the Bistro is busier than they’ve ever been. Beck has an interesting case involving a woman whose mother disappeared when she was a child, Amy is entered into the annual clam chowder cookoff, Dawson has an important decision to make, Nikki has a new guy in her life, and Kennedy is struggling with empty nest syndrome while Addy is visiting her brother in Boston. Format: Print, Digital

Read to Death at the Lakeside Library by Holly Danvers (Cozy)
Summer is in full swing as tourists flock back to the Northwoods and travel to Lofty Pines, Wisconsin. For Rain Wilmot, owner of the Lakeside Library, this is the perfect opportunity to bring back her mother’s summer book club. But the summer sun starts to really heat up when one of the club’s members, Lily Redlin, is found dead in her own home not long after the first meeting. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Death of an Intelligence Gatherer by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Historical 1550s)
In 1554, scores of English Protestants fled into exile on the Continent after Mary Tudor took the throne and returned England to Catholicism. Sir Henry Ingram and his daughter Cordell were among them, but Sir Henry is not all he seems. When he dies in Strasbourg, Cordell’s life is turned upside down. Certain he was poisoned, and that his murder had something to do with the intelligence he was gathering about a plot to overthrow the queen, she is determined not only to complete his mission but also to bring his killer to justice. Format: Print

Murder a la Mode by Lena Gregory (Cozy) *first book in a new series*
When twenty-five-year-old Danika Delaney, black sheep of the Delaney clan, returns home to Long Island to take over Jimmie’s, her eccentric uncle’s old fashioned malt shop on eastern Long Island, she’s not exactly thrilled. But things start to look up when her uncle tells her she can do whatever she’d like with the shop, and it seems she might realize her dream of a small trendy café. That is, until she discovers the body of her ex-boyfriend’s estranged wife in a melted puddle of rocky road in the malt shop basement. Format: Print, Digital

We’ll Always Have Murder by Gayle Leeson (Cozy)
Dina and Patty, two sisters with a shared love for the arts, find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery that mirrors the intrigue of the stage. Dina, the proud owner of a quaint movie memorabilia shop, and Patty, a talented director at the Skillet Ridge Reparatory Theater, are shaken when Imelda, an older actress starring in Patty’s latest production of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, is brutally murdered. Format: Digital

Secrets and Scallywags by Elizabeth Pantley (Cozy)
When this club selects a book, magic happens. They become the main characters in the story when the mystery comes to life. This month’s book selection takes them to a charming island community that’s abuzz over a mysterious boat that washed ashore. Rumor has it that it’s the same pirate boat that sunk a year ago in the bay. The one that supposedly sank with treasure aboard. Format: Digital

Dead and Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen (Police Procedural)
For Chicago police detective Annalisa Vega, Sam Tran’s death presents an ominous puzzle. The ex-cop turned PI is found hanging from a cemetery tree with a message across his chest that suggests someone holds a murderous grudge against the police. Annalisa suspects the real answer lies in one of Tran’s open cases. She believes he stumbled on a dark secret during his investigations and someone killed him to keep him quiet. Her own family harbors plenty of secrets, something Annalisa is reminded of when her brother turns out to be one of Sam’s last clients. Format: Print, Digital, Audio