Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of July 9 – 15, 2023 with seven debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

Mortgage and Mayhem by Carol Ayer (Cozy)
Sierra Madison and her mother, Autumn Cassidy, have joined forces to establish a realty team in Forest Lake, a gated community in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills. Autumn’s best friend, Gail Redland, shows up unexpectedly one morning, begging the two to sell her house. She’s clearly agitated and unable to provide further details. Sierra and Autumn agree to meet Gail at her house a short while later, but when they arrive for the appointment, she is nowhere to be found. They do find someone, though…Gail’s neighbor, Jake, dead on the kitchen floor. Format: Digital

Macarons Can Be Murder by Rose Betancourt (Cozy) *first book in a new series*
Living in Paris, Kentucky, and having a sidekick cat named Pepe le Pew gives Marci Beaucoup’s life a certain je ne sais quoi. Combining her love of baking and France, Marci opened La Belle Patisserie to bring her small Southern hometown a bit of French flair and lots of croissants. Everything is sunshine and macaron sat the bakery until her landlord calls to tell her she’s selling the property. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke (Historical, 1860s)
In the fall of 1863, the Union army is in control of the Mississippi river. Much of Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is occupied. The Confederate army is retreating toward Texas, and being replaced by Red Legs, irregulars commanded by a maniacal figure, and enslaved men and women are beginning to glimpse freedom. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo (Police Procedural)
On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. Aden Karn was just twenty years old, well liked, and from an upstanding Amish family. Who would commit such a heinous crime against a young man whose life was just beginning? Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman (Hard-Boiled) *first book in a new series*
Every cop in the city knows his name, but no one says it out loud. In fact, they don’t talk about him at all. He doesn’t wear a uniform, but he is the most powerful cop in New York. Nick Ryan can find a criminal who’s vanished. Or he can make a key witness disappear. He has cars, safe houses, money, and weapons hidden all over the city. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

No Mistaking Death by Shelley Costa (Private Investigator) *first book in a new series*
When an old Jesuit Mission House in Carthage, Ohio, is nominated for National Landmark status, the committee sends a private investigator to get to the bottom of the hostile letters they’ve received. Arriving in Carthage is Marian Warner, a New York PI whose life was dented by the bombing death—years ago—of her radical boyfriend. The only man with any staying power in her life is Charlie Levitan, the editor of the Carthage newspaper, whose relationship with her includes a long personal history. The day before Marian arrives, an older man nobody in town recognizes turns up dead in the Mission House. Format: Print, Digital

Innocent or Guilty by Kathi Daley (Cozy)
A man is found floating in a raft is rescued by has no memory of who he is or how he ended up drifting at sea. Sydney is asked to work with the man in the hope of helping him remember. Syd begins to have some luck and is feeling downright hopeful, when the body of another man washes ashore. Might their circumstance be related? Format: Print, Digital

Sliced, Diced and Dead by J.C. Eaton (Cozy)
Charcuterie chef Katie Aubrey is overjoyed when asked to create charcuterie boards for the summer fashion show at the prestigious Hidden Boulders Community in Cave Creek. However, the challenge for Katie isn’t designing the complex cured meat and cheese platters but rather, how to deal with Edith Ellory, the annoying food critic ghost who pesters her while she works. Lamentably, that becomes the least of her worries when the fashion show coordinator is found dead in the food pavilion clutching a handful of Katie’s pancetta rosettes. Format: Digital

A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert (Cozy) *first book in a new series*
Sixty-year-old Jane Hunter, forced into early retirement from her job as a university librarian, is seeking a new challenge to keep her spirits up and supplement her meager pension. But as she’s about to discover, a retiree’s life can bring new thrills—and new dangers. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman (Thriller)
It’s been twenty-five years since the shocking disappearance of a female student and the distinguished Creative Writing professor who died while searching for her. The Briarwood College community has never forgotten the double tragedy. Now, the college President is bringing together faculty, donors, and alumni to honor the victims from all those years ago. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Wrong Poison by Nikki Knight (Cozy) *first book in a new series*
In “WRONG POISON,” Grace knows she’s in trouble when a death at the Library Book Fair turns out to be murder – by a poison used only by her ancient sisterhood. Now, she’ll need all her skills as a PTA mom and former prosecutor to find the killer and protect her friends…and their secrets. Hopefully without using her other skills. Format: Print, Digital

Someone’s Always Watching by J.R. Lancaster (Traditional)
Basil Billingsly has dedicated more than ten years to flying under the radar of everyone in Badger’s Hollow. He employs Mrs. Greene to do his bidding while he sets to work with clients far from prying eyes in the Village. He answers to no one and there isn’t a soul alive that relies on him either. Everything was perfect, until it wasn’t. Format: Digital

Weeding Out Lies by Jackie Layton (Cozy) *first book in a new series*
Flower farmer Emma Justice’s life is firmly rooted in Lutz, Texas where she has recently begun her new business. One morning while delivering flowers, she stumbles upon a prominent citizen. Dead. When a friend is accused of murder, Emma launches her own investigation. Format: Digital

Death in the Woods by Maria Mankin & Maren C. Tirabassi (Cozy)
Misty fall weather should make for an idyllic walk in the New England woods and a needed respite from Reverend Wanda Duff’s duties. She’ll just take a stroll with her dog, breathe in the cool air, and remember that she loves her job and doesn’t really long for a life of solitude, even when the quiet red-and-gold patch of forest tempts her with it. Format: Print, Digital

The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey (Historical, 1920s)
India, 1922: Perveen Mistry is the only female lawyer in Bombay, a city where child mortality is high, birth control is unavailable and very few women have ever seen a doctor. Perveen is attending a lavish fundraiser for a new women’s hospital specializing in maternal health issues when she witnesses an accident. The grandson of an influential Gujarati businessman catches fire—but a servant, his young ayah, Sunanda, rushes to save him, selflessly putting herself in harm’s way. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Murder at Church Lodge by Greg Mosse (Cozy) *first book in a new series*
Maisie left the picture-perfect village of Framlington years ago. But when her brother asks for her help out of the blue she soon finds herself back among the windy lanes and open green fields. But it’s not the family reunion she hoped for – upon arrival she learns that she’s too late. Stephen is dead. And not just dead – murdered. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Pawprints, Prose & Murder by Kathy Manos Penn (Cozy)
Leta Parker is starting to feel comfortably at home. With life in the charming Cotswolds hills settling down and her boyfriend’s book about to launch, the fifty-something American ex-pat loves seeing everything come together. But her man’s publicity event ends disastrously when one of the guests is discovered dead. Format: Digital

Last Rites by Sharon Sala (Suspense)
Shirley Wallace and her four sons return to her childhood home on Pope Mountain in Jubilee, Kentucky, with a lifetime of hardship behind them, hoping to find peace and begin their lives anew. Eldest brother Aaron Pope returns to his life as a police officer, and is settling in just fine. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Windfall by Wendy Corsi Staub (Thriller)
J.J., Molly, and Leila had once been inseparable, but it’s been a long time since college, and life—not to mention distance—have disrupted the former roommates’ friendship. When the three reunite for a birthday weekend in Las Vegas, the lottery ticket they buy on a whim has the winning numbers—giving them a billion-dollar windfall. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

A Deathly Irish Secret by Nancy Nau Sullivan (Cozy)
The last thing Blanche Murninghan expects when she answers the phone is to hear her mother’s estate lawyer on the other side of the line. Her nan had many secrets, so it’s not a surprise that he’s still uncovering them. But, it is a surprise to hear from him so early in the morning. Format: Print, Digital