Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of December 5 – 11, 2021 with six debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

Murder in the Drawing Room by C.J. Archer (Cozy)
When Harry Armitage passes an investigation to Cleo involving adultery, they both think it will end in divorce. But when the client’s wife is found stabbed in her drawing room, it becomes clear that marital problems are only part of the story. Reluctantly joining forces, Cleo and Harry realize the wrong person was targeted, but the police think they have their killer and refuse to look elsewhere.

Mistletoe Malarkey by Stella Bixby (Cozy) *new series*
They’ve been dating more than a year. They practically live together. Now, Shayla’s meeting his family for Christmas. In Ireland. Seamus is a park ranger, shares an apartment with three other guys, and drives a beat up pickup truck. How would Shayla have known he was practically Irish royalty? When they arrive at the airport and are bombarded by camera flashes, Shayla’s insecurities move closer and closer to the surface.

A Plus One For Murder by Laura Bradford (Cozy) *new series*
Emma Westlake has always wanted to be in business for herself. As a kid, she had her own successful lemonade stand and dog-walking business. And when she entered adulthood, Emma sunk all her cash into her dream job of travel planning. But as her customers became more and more internet savvy, the need for her services declined. At a loss for what to do next, she turns to an elderly friend who suggests she try to get paid for doing something she’s really good at–being a paid companion. Emma thinks it’s a crazy idea until requests start pouring in.

Unsafe Haven by Lucy Burdette (Thriller)
Sixteen-year-old Addison is on the run. She’s leaving her life on New York’s streets behind for a new one with Rafe, armed with just his phone number on a scrap of paper. She’s taking the subway to meet him in New Jersey. He’ll take care of her. Or so she thinks . . .

The Brief Luminous Flight of the Firefly by Ellen Byerrum (Historical)
In wartime Washington, D.C., stolen sugar, illegal moonshine, ladies of the evening, and shortages of goods converge in murder. It’s June 1943, halfway through a World War that feels like it will never end. Rationing, victory gardens, and making do or doing without have all become a patriotic way of life. But the flip side of patriotism is hoarding, profiteering, theft, and black marketeering.

Stitched in Crime by Emmie Caldwell (Cozy)
The Craft Fair may have hit a few snags lately, but knitting enthusiast Lia Geiger is hopeful her quiet life will return to its usual patterns in no time. Her daughter has officially moved back home, and sure, the house is a little crowded with Hayley’s take-home work from the alpaca farm, but that’s a price Lia will happily pay. All seems well until Cori Littlefield, a new vendor with a gift for crochet, is found dead, sending shock waves through all of Crandalsburg.

Absence of Mallets by Kate Carlisle (Cozy)
Shannon could not be happier that her hunky thriller-writing boyfriend, Mac, has moved in, and it is a good thing they are living together because they are both busier than ever. Mac is hosting writing retreats at his now vacant lighthouse mansion, while Shannon and her crew build Homefront, a quaint Victorian village of tiny homes for veterans in need. Mac’s latest guests are proving to be a handful though, and Shannon has heard some grumbling from the luminaries of Lighthouse Cove about her latest passion project.

Death Under the Perseids by Teresa Dovalpage (Cozy)
Cuban-born Mercedes Spivey and her American husband, Nolan, win a five-day cruise to Cuba. Although the circumstances surrounding the prize seem a little suspicious to Mercedes, Nolan’s current unemployment and their need to spice up their marriage make the decision a no-brainer. Once aboard, Mercedes is surprised to see two people she met through her ex-boyfriend Lorenzo: former University of Havana professor Selfa Segarra and down-on-his-luck Spanish writer Javier Jurado. Even stranger: they also received a free cruise.

The Case of the Sugar Plum Shenanigans by Pamela Sue DuMond (Cozy) *new series*
It’s Christmastime when my boyfriend, Detective Raphael announces he’s traveling to Wisconsin for a job interview. Back off Dairy State. You’re not getting him without a fight. I’m going home with him. I’ll introduce him to my weirdo family. Uncle Elliot thinks he created gum. My cousin’s taking Zoom classes to become a witch.

Renewed for Murder by Victoria Gilbert (Cozy)
August in Taylorsford, Virginia finds library director Amy Webber and her new husband, dancer Richard Muir, settling into married life–and a new project. Richard and his dance partner, Karla, are choreographing a suite based on folk music and folk tales, while Amy scours the library’s resources to supply background information on the dance’s source material. But the mellifluous music comes to a jarring halt when an unknown woman’s body turns up in Zelda Shoemaker’s backyard gazebo.

The Midnight Hour by Elly Griffiths (Historical)
Newly minted PI Emma Holmes and her partner Sam Collins are just settling into their business when they’re chosen for a high-profile case: retired music-hall star Verity Malone hires them to find out who poisoned her husband, a theater impresario. Verity herself has been accused of the crime. The only hitch—the Brighton police are already on the case, putting Emma in direct competition with her husband, police superintendent Edgar Stephens.

Deceit in High Heels by Gemma Halliday (Cozy)
Fashion designer Maddie Springer has always been close to her best friend, Dana. So when Dana’s celebrity husband Ricky is chosen for a reading on the Hollywood Psychic TV show, Maddie’s thrilled to be at the taping! That is, until the over-the-top psychic, Moira DeVine, suddenly suggests that the accidental death of Ricky’s mother years ago was actually murder and promises to name the culprit… right before she herself collapses, dying in front of the viewing audience!

The Answer To His Prayers by Ellen Kirschman (Traditional)
A down-and-out, wheelchair-bound lonely man calls 911 from a trailer that’s just burst into flames. The tragic fire claims the man’s life. It seems like an accident until the cops find a few arguments against that theory. And another puzzler — the dispatcher seems to be keeping some dangerous secrets. Police psychologist Dot Meyerhoff, on call to counsel police station employees, soon finds herself trying to help the traumatized dispatcher.

How To Book A Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (Cozy) *new series*
To help save her family’s floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate Tabitha Baxter. It’s a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha’s husband, Tip—hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.

A Nose for Mischief by K.T. Lee (Cozy) *new series*
When materials engineer Zoey Butler lands her dream job at Future State Energy, she believes her research in renewable energy will make headlines. Unfortunately for her, she’s right. Zoey is working on her latest experiment when FBI Special Agent Alexis Thompson and her K-9 partner, Waffle, raid Future State and arrest the head of the development for fraud. Zoey helps the FBI find answers in the aftermath, but she soon finds herself jobless and unemployable.

Cold Brew Corpse by Tara Lush (Cozy)
It’s a steamy September, and business is brisk at Perkatory, the hottest coffee shop in Devil’s Beach, FL. Much of the clientele pours in from Dante’s Inferno, the hot yoga studio next door. But the bright, sunny Gulf Coast days turn decidedly dark-roast when the body of the studio’s owner turns up in a nearby swamp.

The Mirror Dance by Catriona McPherson (Historical)
Something sinister is afoot in the streets of Dundee, when a puppeteer is found murdered behind his striped Punch and Judy stand, as children sit cross-legged drinking ginger beer. At once, Dandy Gilver’s seemingly-innocuous investigation into plagiarism takes a darker turn. The gruesome death seems to be inextricably bound to the gloomy offices of Doig’s Publishers, its secrets hidden in the real stories behind their girls’ magazines The Rosie Cheek and The Freckle.

From Ladle To Grave by Amy Patricia Meade (Cozy)
Literary caterer Tish Tarragon’s ‘heroines of literature’ fundraising dinner at St. Jude’s Episcopal Church is a resounding success. But as Tish walks through the graveyard to lock up the church hall, she takes a tumble . . . over a dead body. Retired Sheriff Gadsden Carney has been murdered. Not only that, he’s lying upon the Honeycutt family plot.

Downriver by Jess Montgomery (Historical)
In 1939, many years ago, Rona Carter was a shy, lonely girl. Nothing like the pretty, popular Emily—the golden girl of Liberty, Ohio. Emily, whose body was found in the river. Now, the legend of Emily’s death has lived on in Rona, in the town, and in the tiger’s eye necklace that Emily’s mother gave her. Forced to reckon with her own mortality, Rona must decide whether to share a secret long kept buried—or take it to her grave.

Pride, Prejudice, and Peril by Katie Oliver (Cozy) *new series*
Phaedra Brighton is perfectly content with her life of lecturing college students, gossiping with her best friends, and dreaming of Mr. Darcy. As a young, respected (if somewhat peculiar) English professor, her expertise lies in all things Jane Austen—but she knows that the closest she’ll ever get to being a real-life Elizabeth Bennet is in her dreams.

Family Business by S.J. Rozan (Private Investigator)
Choi has left the Tong headquarters building to his niece, who hires Lydia and her partner, Bill Smith, to accompany her to inspect it. The building is at the center of a tug-of-war between Chinatown preservation interests—including Lydia’s brother Tim—and a real estate developer who’s desperate to get his hands on it.

Playing Possum by Lois Schmitt (Cozy)
When animals start mysteriously disappearing from the Pendwell Wildlife Refuge, former English-teacher-turned-magazine-reporter Kristy Farrell is on the case. Days later, the body of the refuge’s director is found in a grassy clearing. Kristy, assisted by her veterinarian daughter, investigates and discovers strong motives among the suspects, including greed, infidelity, revenge, and blackmail.

Dark Night by Paige Shelton (Traditional)
Winter is falling in the remote town of Benedict, Alaska, and with the cold comes a mysterious guest. The dreaded “census man,” seemingly innocuous, is an unwelcome presence to those members of this secretive community who would prefer to keep their business to themselves. Meanwhile, thriller writer Beth Rivers has received her own unexpected company: her mother. The last Beth heard, Mill Rivers had gone underground in the lower forty-eight, in search of Beth’s kidnapper, and Beth can’t help but be a little alarmed at her appearance: If Mill was able to track down her daughter, who knows who else might be able to?

Prose and Con by Wendy Corsi Staub (Traditional)
It’s been nine months since widowed mom Bella Jordan and her young son Max moved to Lily Dale, the quirky, close-knit New York community populated by people who can speak to the dead . . . if one believes in that kind of thing. Now she counts Valley View, the guesthouse she runs, as home and her psychic medium neighbours as friends. Even haughty, British Pandora, who used to own Valley View before her difficult divorce.

City of Shadows by Victoria Thompson (Historical)
Elizabeth Miles Bates has returned from her honeymoon with Gideon and is taking great pride in having completely forsaken her disreputable past. Then her friend, Anna Vanderslice, begs her to use her talents to save her widowed mother from a unscrupulous medium. Since the war and the flu epidemic left so many families in mourning, séances have come back into vogue as desperate families long to communicate with their loved ones.

Death Washes Ashore by Caleb Wygal (Traditional)
He receives a late-night message from Detective Moody soon after the body of a locally famous entertainer washes up on the Myrtle Beach shore. The department is under enormous pressure to solve the high-profile case quickly. They call upon Clark to help investigate but to do it quietly. Clark soon learns there was more to this entertainer than met the eye.