Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of August 27 – September 2, 2023 with five debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

AUGUST 29
Tragedy in Tahoe by Rachele Baker (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Thirty-two-year-old veterinarian Rylie Sunderland is in trouble. After the veterinary hospital where she worked burns to the ground, Rylie takes a summer job as a part-time caretaker at an old Tahoe estate turned B & B called Whitaker Cottages while she tries to figure out what to do next with her life. Format: Digital

Mrs. Jeffries Aims to Win by Emily Brightwell (Historical Mystery 1800s)
Successful businessman Jeremy Marks wasn’t highly regarded by any of the members of the West London Archery Club. Most of them considered him a buffoon and a bore. But everyone was stunned when the fellow was murdered during a lull in the club’s annual archery competition. He’d been shot with arrows from a longbow during a raging thunderstorm. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare (Historical Mystery 1930s)
Lena Aldridge grew up in a cramped corner of London, hearing stories of the bright lights of Broadway. She always imagined that when she finally went to New York City, she’d be there with her father. But now he’s dead, and she’s newly arrived and alone, chasing a dream that has quickly dried up. When Will Goodman—the handsome musician she met on the crossing from England—offers for her to stay with his friends in Harlem, she agrees. She has nowhere else to go, and this will give her a chance to get to know Will better and see if she can find any trace of the family she might have remaining. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Traditional, Literary Mystery)
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Hint of Light by Kristin Kisska (Women’s Fiction)
In the wake of her son’s sudden death, Margaret Dobrescu struggles to keep it together in the face of her grief…and her guilt. She can’t help but blame herself for Kyle’s own lifelong struggles—namely, the alcoholism that plagued him. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Clutter Free by Jackie Layton (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Returning to Fox Island where she grew up, Emma Sloan begins her career as a professional organizer. When a woman accuses Emma’s police chief brother of having an affair, Emma’s priority shifts from organizing to proving her brother’s innocence. Emma visits the woman, hoping for a confession. The woman won’t admit she lied, and to make the situation worse, the accuser is found dead the next day by Emma and her business partner. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf by Alexander McCall Smith (Traditional Mystery)
The Department of Sensitive Crimes is downsizing in light of a recent downturn of sensitive crime, and staff members are wondering who among them will be transferred elsewhere. As the bickering between colleagues intensifies, Ulf tries his best to stay above the fray. But when Anna, a longtime friend and coworker, appears to blame him for an old case that went sideways, it seems she may be putting her own job prospects above their friendship. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann (Cozy Mystery)
It has been an eventful morning for Agnes Sharp and the other inhabitants of Sunset Hall, a house share for the old and unruly in the sleepy English countryside. Although they have had some issues (misplaced reading glasses, conflicting culinary tastes, decreasing mobility, and gluttonous grandsons), nothing prepares them for an unexpected visit from a police officer with some shocking news. A body has been discovered next door. Everyone puts on a long face for show, but they are secretly relieved the body in question is not the one they’re currently hiding in the shed (sorry, Lillith). Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Shoot Shovel and Shut Up by Jessica Thompson (Traditional Mystery)
After a fight over the family ranch, Dad’s young fiancée is found dead. Bria risks her family’s disapproval to sneak around and investigate as the tragedies pile up. Luckily, she has help from her childhood crush and from the handsome new deputy. When new love blooms in two directions and her main suspect dies, she must grow around her grief to discover the family’s secrets before she loses everyone she loves. Format: Digital

Put Pen to Perpetrator by Jasmine Webb (Cozy Mystery)
When a plane crash-lands in Crissy Field, Poppy and Ophelia are called in to help. The case initially seems to be fairly innocuous, until they discover one of the victims was dead before the plane hit the ground. Format: Digital

AUGUST 30
A Death in the Night compiled by Dragon Soul Press (Crime Fiction Anthology)
Assassins who are paid well, blackmailed, or are repaying debts as they hunt face more challenges than anticipated. The worst crime is growing attached to their target or sympathizing with their cause. Each assassin’s journey is entirely unique in these eleven dark tales. Format: Print, Digital

The Legend of Acorn Hollow by Maureen Klovers (Cozy Mystery)
As the Hudson Valley’s best garden-to-table home cook, fiercest Italian matriarch, and most dogged reporter, Rita Calabrese has many reasons to look forward to fall. Her garden is bursting with the ingredients for chicken cacciatore, apple crisp, and pumpkin cheesecake. Her son is starring in the local community theater production. And Acorn Hollow is at its most festive as it celebrates “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” which the townspeople insist was inspired by their own bucolic hamlet. Format: Digital

Killin’ Time in San Diego edited by Holly West (Crime Fiction Anthology)
Killin’ Time in San Diego is a gripping anthology edited by Holly West, featuring twenty of today’s best crime and mystery writers. Published in conjunction with Bouchercon 2023, this new anthology peels back the postcard-perfect image of San Diego to expose its darker side. Format: Print, Digital

AUGUST 31
A Statue To Die For by Jennifer S. Alderson (Cozy Mystery)
Carmen De Luca is having the time of her life recovering stolen artwork from nefarious European collectors for her employer, the Rosewood Agency…until her partner, Baroness Sophie Rutherford, is injured during a mission gone wrong. Format: Digital

SEPTEMBER 1
Open For Witchness by Ada Bell (Cozy Mystery)
With two solved murders under her belt, Emma agrees to tackle a mystery that’s been haunting the residents of neighboring Shady Grove for years: what supernatural presence keeps the only bar in town from operating? Emma’s been in haunted places before, and no one else ever noticed. The ghosts she’s encountered may not have all been warm and fuzzy, but they were peaceful. Intrigued, she and her friend Ben head to the bar he hopes to take over. The last thing she expects is to find a ghostly sentry at the door, preventing anyone from going in. Since ghosts don’t wear clothes, Emma’s thread magic is of little use. Still, she made a promise, so she’ll do her best to find out who died and what they need to be at peace. Format: Print, Digital

Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg (Police Procedural) *first book in a new series*
Hell comes to Southern California every October. It rides in on searing Santa Ana winds that blast at near hurricane force, igniting voracious wildfires. Master thief Danny Cole longs for the flames. A tsunami of fire is exactly what he needs to pull off a daring crime and avenge a fallen friend. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Redemption by Deborah J Ledford (Police Procedural) *first book in a new series*
After four women disappear from the Taos Pueblo reservation, Deputy Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran dives into the case. For her, it’s personal. Among the missing is her best friend, Paloma, a heroin addict who left behind an eighteen-year-old son. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Dutch Threat by Josh Pachter (Traditional Mystery)
All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. But when one of his professors offers to send American grad student Jack Farmer to Europe to do historical research in Amsterdam’s Begijnhof—a peaceful closed community in the heart of the bustling Dutch capital—Jack looks forward to a summer of mostly play and not much work. Then he meets Jet Schilders, an attractive young nurse who takes care of the elderly woman next door, and realizes that his summer in The Netherlands might just turn out to be even more fun than he’d hoped. Format: Print, Digital (November)

Arrest the Alibi by Anne R. Tan (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
My name is Cedar Woods, and I am a recovering ostrich. I have the unfortunate habit of burying my head in the sand. Newly divorced and penniless, I am cleaning my friends’ fancy McMansions to make ends meet while lawyering up for a financial audit on my ex-husband’s tech company. Format: Print, Digital