Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of December 3 – 9, 2023 with three debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

DECEMBER 5
Murder at the Polo Club by C.J. Archer (Historical Mystery)
Summer has arrived along with a plethora of social events that keep Cleo and her cousins busy. Between balls, dinners, concerts and picnics, they attend the final match between two proud polo clubs. When the winning team’s captain is found murdered in the stables, everyone assumes the opposing team’s captain killed him. After all, he was found holding the murder weapon, and everyone knows they hated each other. Format: Print, Digital

Murder in the Mountains by Judith A. Barrett (Cozy Mystery)
Wren and Rascal check in at the Tennessee campground that has no history of being haunted except for the ghostly sounds of stock car races at night. As the feelings deepen between Wren and Justin, the town marshal who waits for her in Arizona, she’s tempted to write a quick summary then leave Tennessee until she stumbles across a body. Format: Digital

Sniffing Out Murder by Kallie E. Benjamin (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
After deciding that life as a teacher wasn’t right for her, Priscilla found inspiration for her first children’s book in her three-year-old bloodhound’s nose for truth, and so The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound was born. After the book’s massively pawsitive response led Pris to move back to her hometown of Crosbyville, Indiana, to continue the series, she’s surprised by how things have changed in the town, but even more so how they haven’t. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Death at the Dower House by Jenna Bennett (Historical Mystery 1920s)
After the funerals of the late Duke of Sutherland and his daughter-in-law, Charlotte, (and of course Grimsby, the blackmailing valet), the younger members of the family—Philippa Darling, her cousins Christopher and Francis, and Crispin, Viscount St George—are invited to a weekend party at the Dower House in Dorset by Dowager Lady Peckham’s children, Constance and Gilbert. Format: Print, Digital

Dissolved by Sara Blaedel (Suspense)
Everything is peaceful in Tommerup, Denmark, until a young mother disappears in the middle of an idyllic summer day. There’s no trace of the missing woman when Chief Superintendent Liam Stark and Superintendent Dea Torp are called to investigate. The small town is on edge, rumors begin to fly, and blame is cast on Charlotte’s husband, who was the last to see her. When another person goes missing and Liam and Dea find a strange note linking the second missing person to the first crime, they suspect the disappearances may be the work of a serial killer. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Deadly Game by Michael Caine (Thriller)
And all his unorthodox skills will be needed as an extraordinary situation unfolds on his doorstep: a metal box of radioactive material is found at a dump in Stepney, East London, but before the police can arrive it is stolen in a violent raid. With security agencies across the world on red alert, it’s Harry and his unconventional team from the Met who must hit the streets in search of a lead. They soon have two wildly different suspects, aristocratic art dealer Julian Smythe in London and oligarch Vladimir Voldrev in Barbados. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Jaime and Henry were the perfect couple with the perfect life; together, they ran one of the most successful construction and interior design companies in all of Charlotte, North Carolina. But when Jaime catches her charismatic husband in an affair, she realizes her husband is not the man she thought she married. The divorce is equally gutting—due to an ironclad prenuptial agreement, Jaime receives only one thing: a historical house in disrepair. Knowing that any renovation she attempts will be tedious and costly, Jaime starts to believe that things can’t get much worse—until she finds a dead body in the house. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Fall by Tracy Clark (Domestic Thriller)
The Chicago PD is on high alert when two city aldermen are found dead: one by apparent suicide, one brutally stabbed in his office, and both with thirty dimes left on their bodies—a betrayer’s payment. With no other clues, the question is, Who else has a debt to pay? Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Manner of Death by Robin Cook (Medical Thriller)
After Dr. Jack Stapleton’s near-death confrontation with a medical serial killer, his wife, NYC Chief Medical Examiner Laurie Montgomery, is carrying the load both at work and at home. When Laurie insists that Dr. Ryan Sullivan—an underperforming senior pathology resident who is spending his required month at the medical examiner’s office but who truly detests doing forensic autopsies—assist her on a suicide autopsy in hopes of stimulating his interest in the field, the last thing she expects is to be unwittingly drawn into a major conspiracy that puts her own life in jeopardy. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Mayhem in Circulation by Leah Dobrinska (Cozy Mystery)
Librarian Greta Plank is hard at work planning and preparing for Larkspur’s Fall Festival and regional tourism showcase which, if successful, will be a boon to the local economy. But disaster strikes and chances of a positive review look slimmer than a periodical’s spine when a series of pranks escalates and one of Larkspur’s own is found dead the same day the reporter is set to arrive. Format: Print, Digital

Such a Good Man by Kate Flora (Traditional Mystery)
When Dr. Eliot Spence is found dead in his pristine condo, Detective Joe Burgess and his team must delve behind his glossy façade to reveal the doctor’s insatiable desires, his wife’s mysterious death, and a cache of compromising photos. As Burgess and his colleagues strive to uncover the truth about the man colleagues describe as a dedicated and compassionate doctor, they unearth a web of intrigue, shocking family secrets, and hidden agendas, testing their ability to separate fact from fiction. Format: Print, Digital

Five Bad Deeds by Caz Frear (Domestic Thriller)
Teacher, mother, wife, and all-around good citizen Ellen is juggling nonstop commitments, from raising a teen and two toddlers to job-hunting to finally renovating her dream home, the Meadowhouse. Amidst the chaos, an ominous note arrives in the mail, declaring: People have to learn there are consequences, Ellen. And I’m going to teach you that lesson. Right under your nose. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Murder of an Amish Bridegroom by Patricia Johns (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Petunia Yoder is Blueberry, Pennsylvania’s youngest old maid, at twenty-two years of age, and completely unmarriageable. But she’s determined to celebrate her friends’ weddings with joy and a full heart. Unfortunately, Petunia’s best friend, Eden Beiler, is playing a dangerous game with a man who is ruining her reputation. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Engagement Party by Darby Kane (Psychological Thriller)
Emily Hunt went missing from her affluent liberal arts school on graduation weekend. Her body was found floating in a river, and a quiet loner who most people on campus really didn’t know died by suicide. A tenuous link—one text—bound the two dead students together and was enough for law enforcement to close the case. But they got it wrong and now someone is determined to set it right. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Death Takes A Fall by Sharon Lynn (Cozy Mystery)
When Maddie McGuire finds herself tumbling over a cliff while hiking The Cotswold Way, she uncovers much more than ancient woods. Terrified by her shocking discovery, she returns to the safety of her international internship at the Roman Baths only to find competition in the form of the tittering, aristocratic Gwendolyn De Valence, who has captured the attention of everyone Maddie hopes to impress. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Maternal Instinct by Becky Masterman (Domestic Thriller)
Don’t let them know what you’re thinking, Althea Deming tells herself. It’s your best defense. Althea didn’t want her good natured but thoughtless step-son Hal and manipulative daughter-in-law Grace to move in with her, relegating her to a corner of the house that was once just hers, but she doesn’t have much choice. She’s been powerless since her beloved husband Robert’s death. According to the will, everything that was hers now belongs to Hal – and to Grace. Format: Print, Digital

Hop Scot by Catriona McPherson (Cozy Mystery)
Lexy Campbell is long overdue a trip to Scotland to see her parents, and an unexpected death in the extended Last Ditch Motel family makes Christmas in a bungalow in Dundee with nine others seem almost irresistible. But when Lexy and the Last Ditch crew hop across the Atlantic, there’s a change of plan and they’re whisked off to Mistletoe Hall in the pretty village of Yule, where the surprises continue. The news that a man disappeared from the crumbling pile sixty years ago, along with an unsettling discovery in the bricked-up basement, means that Todd, Kathi and Lexy – Trinity for Trouble – must solve another murder. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Jazz Club Spy by Roberta Rich (Historical Mystery 1930s)
At the height of the Great Depression, a time when President Roosevelt is trying to keep America out of World War II, Giddy Brodsky is lucky to have a job as a cigarette girl at a Manhattan jazz club. Nevertheless, she dreams of establishing a cosmetics business and leaving the poverty-stricken Lower East Side tenements behind. She has lived there with her family ever since they fled Russia, forced to emigrate after a group of Cossacks burned down their village, and her memories continue to haunt her. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Mayors of New York by S.J. Rozan (Private Investigator Mystery)
In January, New York City inaugurates its first female mayor. In April, her son disappears. Called in by the mayor’s chief aide—a former girlfriend of private investigator Bill Smith’s—to find the missing fifteen-year-old, Bill and his partner, Lydia Chin, are told the boy has run away. Neither the press nor the NYPD know that he’s missing, and the mayor wants him back before a headstrong child turns into a political catastrophe. But as Bill and Lydia investigate, they turn up more questions than answers. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Lost Hours by Paige Shelton (Traditional Mystery)
A year after arriving in Benedict, Beth Rivers is feeling very at home in Alaska, even as outsiders are starting to return to enjoy the brief summer perfection. Beth feels like she’s finally let go of most of her demons. She’s even found her father, Eddy Rivers—or, rather, he found her—and she’s trying to find the middle ground between anger and forgiveness. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Murderous Means by Lida Sideris (Cozy Mystery)
Corrie Locke may not be the best rookie lawyer in town, but when it comes to catching a killer, let’s just say, she’s got enough skills to bring a band of shifty-eyed suspects to their knees. When the wealthy matriarch of the dysfunctional Means family dies in her sleep, Corrie’s hired to prove the death was anything but peaceful. Problem is, the only evidence she has to go on is a half-baked psychic vision that the matriarch was murdered. Format: Digital

Murder Crossed Her Mind by Stephen Spotswood (Private Investigator Mystery)
Vera Bodine, an elderly shut-in with an exceptional memory, has gone missing and famed detective Lillian Pentecost and her crackerjack assistant Willowjean “Will” Parker have been hired to track her down. But the New York City of 1947 can be a dangerous place, and there’s no shortage of people who might like to get ahold of what’s in Bodine’s head. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Nurse Murders by Jon Talton (Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction)
It’s 1936, and private investigator Gene Hammons has more work than he can handle. A crime syndicate, J. Edgar Hoover, a wealthy family from back East, and a wily stalker all want something from him. His capable-but-drug-addicted brother, still a homicide detective, is as much a hindrance as a help. Luckily, Hammons finds a professional ally in Pamela Bradbury, a fellow gumshoe with some new tricks to teach him. When the two pair up, there doesn’t seem to be a case they can’t solve, from kidnapping to blackmail to an intricate gold-smuggling operation. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

City of Betrayal by Victoria Thompson (Historical Mystery)
A year has passed since Elizabeth Bates ran her last con. Life has been simpler, although not nearly as exciting, but she has thrown herself into working to get the 19th Amendment ratified by thirty-six states to become the law of the land. Since every other Southern state has already rejected the amendment, it seems unlikely Tennessee will be an exception . . . but it’s their only hope, so the suffragists descend on Tennessee for the final battle. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Devils At The Door by Tessa Wegert (Traditional Mystery)
Sixteen-year-old Henrietta used to be happy. But that was before her family hit the national news. Before she – and the whole world – knew she was related to one of New York’s most prolific serial killers. Senior Investigator Shana Merchant readily agrees when her brother asks her to take in his troubled, rebellious daughter for the fall semester. Doug’s convinced that spending a few months in Alexandria Bay with Shana will straighten Hen out. Format: Print, Digital

DECEMBER 6
Frozen Dough by D.B. McNicol (Holiday Cozy Mystery)
Holiday Corner is abuzz with excitement. The Cookie Box food truck is being repurposed by the owner of Sweet Kneads Bakery, Alberta (Bertie) Baker, with the help of her twin niece and nephew, Melody and Maxwell. AND, Cinnamon (Cinda) Starr, a famous actress and singer, is moving to town where she is repurposing an old mansion and converting it to an independent living facility for seniors as Snowball Village. Format: Digital

Poisoned Pudding by Sharon Michaels (Holiday Cozy Mystery)
Joy Holiday, Activities Director of Holiday Corner, invites renowned chef Ava Merryweather to create a spectacular feast for the town’s annual Santa’s Workshop Dinner, a beloved charity event. However, the excitement turns to shock when Ava is discovered dead in the snow, a plum pudding by her side. Format: Digital

Yuletide Murder by Ileana Muñoz-Renfroe (Holiday Cozy Mystery)
A year had passed since the case of Lady Louise Rafferty had been solved, and it was time to return to Holiday Corner to celebrate the holidays with friends. Upon arriving at Mistletoe Manor, Celeste and Hayley are pleased to see that so far it appears their wish has indeed come true – a holiday without the appearance of ghosts. Format: Digital

8 Days by Jule Selbo (Private Investigator Mystery)
Despite her life-changing injury, Dee Rommel is as determined and scrappy as ever. Still adjusting to her new life working for her godfather, private investigator Gordy Greer, Dee is ready to try out her hi-tech running blade, returning to the annual 10K competition. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

DECEMBER 7
Curtains on A Christmas Carol by Luke Swanson (Cozy Mystery)
It’s December in Tennant Park, Colorado, and that can only mean one thing: The annual production of “A Christmas Carol” is just around the corner. The cast is abuzz, full of community-theatre veterans and fresh-faced newcomers. All in this small mountain town is merry and bright…Format: Print, Digital, Audio

DECEMBER 8
Keep Your Family Close by Annette Dashofy (Traditional Mystery)
When a badly decomposed body is found in the basement of an abandoned warehouse, Erie police detective, Matthias Honeywell, is called in to investigate. Meanwhile, freelance photographer Emma Anderson is desperately trying to find her drug-addicted sister, Nell. Then a devastating piece of evidence found at Detective Honeywell’s crime scene brings her world crashing down, a driver’s license belonging to her missing sister. Format: Print, Digital

Death Pulls the Strings by Elle Hartford (Cozy Mystery)
Red is looking forward to accompanying her boyfriend to a conference in the big city, Brass. Too bad her best friend and magical companion, William, isn’t on board! In fact, William’s been acting strange, and it’s only when he hears of a murder in Brass that he decides to tag along. Format: Digital