Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of January 2 – 8, 2022 with two debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

The Big Steep by Sandra Balzo (Cozy)
Maggy Thorsen’s new neighbors, Philip and Vivian Woodward, are forging ahead with their plans for The Big Steep tea shop. Philip’s enthusiasm to turn the neglected cottage once owned by Vivian’s reclusive grandparents, the Koepplers, into a tea lover’s paradise is infectious, but Vivian seems less excited. And when Maggy’s sheepdog Frank arrives at Uncommon Grounds coffeehouse bearing a ‘gift’ he discovered in the Woodwards’ compost heap, the tea shop project takes a chilling turn . . .

Fatal Family Feast by Lynn Cahoon (Cozy)
When Angie’s best friend and business partner, Felicia Williams, picks the County Seat to host her upcoming nuptials, Angie wants it to feel like a family affair–especially since Felicia is set to marry the farm-to-fork restaurant’s talented sous chef, Estebe Blackstone. Unfortunately, the bride’s actual family is far less enthusiastic about the union. They’re pulling out all the stops to cancel the couple’s wedding, even arranging for a surprise visit from Felicia’s ex-fiancé (and her father’s current lackey).

Spirits and Sourdough by Bailey Cates (Cozy)
Hedgewitch Katie Lightfoot works at the Honeybee Bakery in Savannah, and she’s always up for investigating her adopted home’s rich supernatural history. That’s why she’s taking a ghost tour for the very first time. But when the psychic tour guide tells Katie that she’s being followed by the ghost of a recently murdered woman, Katie realizes she met the victim earlier that day, just before she died. She knows she must bring the killer to justice.

Mystery at Magpie Lodge by Clare Chase (Cozy)
When the down-on-his-luck Emory Fulton moves into crumbling Magpie Lodge, and starts running historical tours, the locals are none too pleased. He’s inventing grisly tales about their lovely little village, and disturbing everyone’s peace. But then he’s found dead in his bath, and everyone is suddenly running scared. Could something strange be happening? After all, the murder mirrors one of Fulton’s stories about Saxford’s dark past.

A Deadly Affair by Agatha Christie (Traditional)
Love can propel us to our greatest heights . . . and darkest depths. In this new collection of Agatha Christie short stories, witness the dark side of love—crimes of passion, games of the heart, and deadly affairs. This pulse-pounding compendium features beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, master of charades Parker Pyne, the enigmatic Harley Quin, and the adventurous Tommy and Tuppence, all on the ready to solve a tantalizing mystery.

A Killer Sundae by Abby Collette (Cozy)
Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is gorgeous in the fall, and Bronwyn Crewse, owner of Crewse Creamery, knows just how to welcome the new season. At the annual Harvest Time Festival, residents will get a chance to enjoy hot-air balloons and hayrides, crown a new Harvest Time Festival Queen, and eat delicious frozen treats sold at Win’s freshly purchased ice cream truck. But she gets into a sprinkle of trouble when a festivalgoer is poisoned and Win is implicated.

Selling Sabotage by CeeCee James (Cozy)
Stella and her mom, Vani, are forced to find a new home, all caused by Mrs. Carmichael’s family drama. In the midst of this, Stella is scrambling to keep up with her house showings. When the great Candy King is killed in the playhouse at one of the homes, Stella’s is shocked to find out it’s Charity Valentines long time friend.

Seasonal Work by Laura Lippman (Psychological Suspense)
In a suspenseful collection of stories featuring fierce women—including one never-before-published novella—New York Times bestseller Laura Lippman showcases why she is one of today’s top crime writers.

Death in Cornwall by G.M. Malliet (Cozy)
To celebrate their engagement, DCI Arthur St. Just and Portia De’Ath visit the quiet village of Maidsfell in Cornwall. Upon arriving they find the villagers in an uproar over plans to redevelop the local seafront. The fishermen want to build a new slipway to aid their business, but many residents worry it will spoil the view for the tourists who help drive the economy.

Red Velvet Villainy by Molly Maple (Cozy)
Charlotte McKay has a passion for baking cupcakes, but when the owner of the Soup Alleyoop restaurant is attacked, she trades in her baking hat for a chef’s apron to help in the kitchen making soups. The beloved Gus wouldn’t hurt a fly, so when he ends up in the hospital after being attacked, no one quite knows where to point the finger.

Royal Valentine by Jenn McKinlay (Romantic Comedy)
Molly Graham doesn’t believe in love at first sight or fairy tales. She’s been burned too many times before. When her best friend, Brianna Cho, challenges her to aim high and go for men who are out of her league, Molly can’t imagine a worse way to spend Valentine’s Day. When she stumbles across a very handsome British professor, Albert George, seeking refuge in her office during the Museum of Literature’s Valentine’s Day gala for the opening of their Austen exhibit, Molly can’t help but be drawn to the fellow introverted academic.

Bake My Breath Away by Wendy Meadows (Cozy)
Sisters Rita and Rhonda Knight hope that their homicide investigations can take a hiatus long enough for them to celebrate their upcoming weddings. But when Billy’s crazed cousin appears right on the heels of a murder, the pair soon realize that one more case stands in their way.

Villany in Venice by Kelly Oliver (Historical)
1917. Vienna. File clerk turned British agent, Fiona Figg, is more comfortable wearing a fake mustache than a ballgown. When a royal ball ends with a royal body in the middle of the dancefloor, Fiona trades her dancing slippers for practical oxfords and sets out to investigate. As she tracks her nemesis, the Black Panther, from Vienna to the Austrian countryside, a hunting accident makes her rethink her loyalties.

Gone Missin’ by Peggy O’Neal Peden (Cozy)
Travel agent Campbell Hale isn’t surprised when she hears her good friend, socialite and talented artist Bitsy Carter, has booked a luxury Mexican spa vacation through her agency. Bitsy often takes solo trips abroad, and who’d want to spend February in grey Nashville when they could avoid it? She is, however, extremely surprised – and extremely worried – when Bitsy doesn’t come back.

Two Time Loser by Kristi Rose (Cozy)
When Stella MacInerney asks Samantha to be her maid of honor, she’s surprised. The woman has enough stepdaughters from her three previous marriages to ask one of them. Why didn’t she? Then Leo asks Samantha to be his plus one to the wedding, as his fake fiancée. What’s up with that? So when Stella is kidnapped the eve of her wedding it’s up to Samantha to get to the bottom of these mysteries. Samantha vows three things:

Littered with Trouble by Eryn Scott (Cozy) *new series*
Louisa Henry has had the worst year. She never imagined she would be a widow before the age of forty. To cope with the sudden loss of her husband, Lou moves across the country to live near her best friend in a town as cute as a button. Even though it means quitting her fancy New York editor job, she now owns the bookstore of her dreams.

Dangers and Empty Mangers by Trixie Silvertale (Cozy)
Mitzy Moon might be getting too comfortable. Her love life is satisfying, her family is supportive, and her extra senses are becoming more reliable. But, before she can bask in that glow, a suspicious death and a missing Messiah threaten to spoil the New Year. Sniffing out the murderer of a local cheesemaker should be her guiding star, but there’s nothing as upsetting as a stolen baby Jesus.

Bushwhacked In The Outback by Nancy Raven Smith (Cozy)
Lexi loves her job as a Beverly Hills bank fraud investigator. It lets her pursue scam artists and con men – known in the business as land sharks. Yet she risks everything when she follows a dead embezzler’s casket to the Australian outback. She knows it’s a desperate gamble, but it’s her last hope to recover the bank’s stolen money. Unfortunately, she’s persona non grata in that country

The Twist and Shout Murder by Teresa Trent (Cozy) *new series*
In 1962, Dot Morgan was told the best thing she could do besides being a nurse or teacher was to learn to type. While attending secretarial school, she decides to rub elbows with an elite ladies’ club to help her father with a struggling campaign for city council. Instead of getting the help she sought, Dot is thrown into a world of adultery, deceit, and murder when one of the town’s sons is found dead.

The Librarian Always Rings Twice by Marty Wingate (Cozy)
It has been nearly a year since I took up my position as curator of Lady Georgiana Fowling’s collection of Golden Age of Mystery writers’ first editions at her library in Middlebank House. I have learned that I need to take the good with the bad. The good: I have finally convinced Mrs. Woolgar to open up the collection to the public one day a week so that they too can share in Lady Fowling’s passion.