Searching for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing the week of August 17 – 23, 2025 with two debut series. I hope a few of these books take you on a reading adventure!

AUGUST 18
Penance by Rena Aliston (Traditional Mystery) *first book in a new series*
When a series of high-profile murders rocks the city of Birchwood, Detectives Xander Walsh and Damon Schaeffer are called in to unravel a chilling mystery. Each crime scene is marked by a haunting signature—a poem, hinting at the killer’s motivations. Format: Print, Digital

Ride a Dark Trail by Winter Austin (Traditional Mystery) *first book in a new series*
A string of bad luck has left former Army helicopter pilot Dot Ybarra with a serious case of wrecked nerves and a need for peace and solace at her family’s Idaho ranch. Instead, she encounters a desperate mother who stumbles onto their land, begging Dot to rescue her kidnapped daughter. Format: Print, Digital

AUGUST 19
The Story That Wouldn’t Die by Christina Estes (Traditional Mystery)
Phoenix, Arizona TV reporter Jolene Garcia is fresh off winning her first Emmy and committed to covering stories that matter to her community. But Jolene’s managers want stories that grab immediate attention and generate clicks, not ones that take time to develop. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill (Traditional Mystery)
Crime fiction author Joe Penvale has won the most brutal battle of his life. Now that he has finished his intense medical treatment, he and his twin sister, Meredith, are boarding the glorious Orient Express in Paris, hoping for some much-needed rest and rejuvenation. Meredith also hopes that the literary ghosts on the train will nudge Joe’s muse awake, and he’ll be inspired to write again. And he is; after their first evening spent getting to know some of their fellow travelers, Joe pulls out his laptop and opens a new document. Seems like this trip is just what the doctor ordered…Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Close Call by Elise Hart Kipness (Domestic Thriller)
With a hard-won Emmy now gracing her mantel, sports reporter and former Olympian Kate Green turns her energy to the action unfolding in Flushing Meadows. Working on a feature for her weekly TV show, she spotlights two of today’s biggest female tennis stars: the sunny up-and-comer and the brash veteran. But the project goes sideways when one turns up missing. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols (Cozy Mystery)
Mrs. B, the landlady of The Marigold Cottages is a stubborn idealist who only rents to people she cares about: Sophie, an anxious young playwright with a dark past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a queer sculptor raising two kids alone; the perfectionist Lily-Ann; and Nicholas, a finance bro who’s hiding secrets. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Deadly Village by Kate Parker (Historical Mystery)
Olivia Redmond thought she’d left danger behind in blitzed-out London. But the quiet Cotswold village of Chipping Ford offers little refuge–especially when a local gossip turns up dead. With a baby to care for and the villagers turning frosty, Olivia’s only ally is a young bobby overwhelmed by his first murder case. Format: Print, Digital

Murder By The Book by Amie Schaumberg (Thriller)
Near a small college campus, a student is found strangled in an abandoned barn on the outskirts of town. She’s been posed to look like a painting of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the scene taunting the police with a message they don’t understand. Detective Ian Carter is known as a straitlaced cop, but seeing the girl’s body leaves him shaken and uncertain of where to turn—until a chance meeting with a charmingly awkward literature professor ends with her accidentally seeing, and solving, a clue left by the killer. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Crooks and Nannies by Misty Simon (Cozy Mystery)
The middle of summer is the busiest time of year for Roxy Gleason. So when the inn springs a a few leaks, more than her usual handyman can handle, Roxy hires a father and son team to make quick and hopefully inconspicuous work of getting things back on track. It’s all going well until one of them is found dead in the basement among the wine racks. Format: Print, Digital

AUGUST 20
A Brush with Murder by Tracy Gardner (Cozy Mystery)
When Savanna Shepherd’s father, Harlan, and artist friend Sebastian Alexander vanish during a sailing regatta along Michigan’s west coast, the Shepherd family is plunged into turmoil. As the Coast Guard scours the Great Lake, Savanna sets aside her work on Sebastian’s art show to join her sisters in comforting their mother and aiding in the search. Format: Print, Digital

Murder In The Mangroves by Joanne Tracey (Cozy Mystery)
Former divorce lawyer Clementine Carter’s life in Whale Bay is close to perfect. She’d never admit it, of course, because that would invite disaster and she’s got big plans for her new-age store as well as her romance with local barista Finn Marello. Format: Print, Digital

AUGUST 21
Beattie Cavendish and the White Pearl Club by Mary-Jane Riley (Historical Mystery 1940s)
The shadow of war still lingers over Britain and Beattie Cavendish, former Secret Operations Executive agent, refuses to settle into civilian life. When offered an undercover role at the newly formed GCHQ, the nerve centre of Britain’s intelligence network, she doesn’t hesitate. Her first mission is to infiltrate the powerful Bowen family and find out what she can about politician Ralph Bowen who is suspected of being a communist sympathiser. Format: Print, Digital

AUGUST 22
Truck a Duck by Claudia H. Long (Cozy Mystery)
Sal DeVine, temporarily suspended lawyer and town Keeper of Secrets, takes on a new challenge, covering a City Council meeting for the local paper, the Simpato Quack. Known to the locals as Sin-Pato, or Without a Duck, Simpato is famous for its wine, gourmet food, cannabis-cookie-selling nuns, and awful duck puns. Format: Print, Digital

AUGUST 23
Mince Pies and Murder by Judy Leigh (Cozy Mystery)
As Christmas approaches in the Cornish town of Seal Bay, festive cheer fills the air. Sparkling trees and twinkling lights adorn every corner, and Morwenna Mutton, the sharp-witted sexagenarian sleuth, is eagerly counting down the days. But when local author Pawly Yelland is discovered dead, a champagne flute in one hand and a mince pie in the other, it seems this Christmas will be anything but merry. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Note: in some cases, print releases for digital titles will be forthcoming.