Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of July 28 – August 3, 2024 with three debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

JULY 30
A Lethal Lady by Nekesa Afia (Historical Mystery 1920s)
Louise Lloyd is finally living the quiet life she’d longed for, working in a parfumerie by day and spending time with her new friends every night at the Aquarius club in Paris. When a desperate mother asks for help locating her artist daughter, Louise initially refuses to keep her hard-won but fragile peace intact. But the woman comes with a letter of introduction from an old friend in Harlem, and Louise realizes she has no choice but to do what she can to find the missing young woman. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman (Domestic Thriller)
Agnes Corey, a junior editor at a small independent publisher, has been hired by enigmatic author Veronica St. Clair to transcribe the sequel to her 1993 hit phenomenon, The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights. St. Clair has been a recluse since the publication of the Jane Eyre-esque book, which coincided with a terrible fire that blinded and scarred her. Arriving in the Hudson Valley at St. Clair’s crumbling estate, which was once a psychiatric hospital for “wayward women,” Agnes is eager to ensure St. Clair’s devoted fans will get the sequel they’ve been anticipating for the past thirty years. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Fog City by Claire M. Johnson (Private Investigator, Historical Mystery 1930s) *first book in a new series*
In 1930 San Francisco, the bridges haven’t yet been built, and although Prohibition is still in effect, the speakeasies are thriving. The Moore Detective Agency is two months and several fifths of whiskey away from closing its doors. When the wife of one of the most prestigious bankers knocks on their office door asking them to look for her wayward stepson, it could be the lifeline they need to keep the agency going. Format: Print, Digital

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena (Psychological Thriller)
The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked. But Diana Brewer isn’t lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Havoc by Deborah J Ledford (Psychological Thriller)
It’s been over a year since the case that almost broke her, but when Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran is called back to duty, she doesn’t hesitate to answer. A bank robbery has left an officer down and a suspect on the run. Law enforcement is in hot pursuit, and residents are on the lookout—but before anyone can catch the criminal, tragedy strikes. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Your Dark Secrets by Elle Marr (Domestic Thriller)
Addison Stern is unparalleled when it comes to spinning a story. A ruthless PR executive, Addison is the star employee of the infamous Ovid Blackwell Group where the rich and famous go to hide all their secrets. Connor Windell, on the other hand, is in the business of finding out information others would rather keep hidden. He used to be LA’s top private investigator until a betrayal from his ex-girlfriend ruined his reputation and sent him into early retirement. That ex? None other than Addison Stern. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight (Psychological Thriller)
When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom’s bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair (Historical Mystery 1940s)
In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, if necessary, business venture—The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with a dangerous—and never discussed—past in British intelligence and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a genteel war widow with a young son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family. Looking to throw a New Year’s Eve soiree for their clients, Sparks and Bainbridge scout an empty building—only to find a body contained in the walls. What they initially assume is a victim of the recent Blitz is uncovered instead to be a murder victim—stabbed several times. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Death in Kensington by Emily Organ (Historical Mystery 1920s)
A high-society fashion show is not Augusta Peel’s usual idea of entertainment. But when she’s offered a spare ticket, the chance to see a show by a renowned designer is too good to miss. The glittering event takes a turn when a rising model is found dead after the show. Format: Digital, Print to come

People Will Talk by Kieran Scott (Domestic Thriller)
When the Frank family throws their annual clambake at their gorgeous beachside home on Cape May, the seafood is always delivered to white-clothed tables on fine bone china. And Peter Frank, the beloved son and perennial heartbreaker, will make the rounds, charming every woman on the guest list. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Look In the Mirror by Catherine Steadman (Psychological Thriller)
Nina, still grieving from the loss of her father, discovers that she has inherited property in the British Virgin Islands—a vacation home she had no idea existed, until now. The house is extraordinary: state-of-the-art, all glass and marble. How did her sensible father come into enough money for this? Why did he keep it from her? And what else was he hiding? Format: Print, Digital, Audio

JULY 31
City Gone Askew by Matt Cost (Historical Mystery 1920s)
8 discovers that a priceless Aquila—an ancient eagle Roman standard carried into battle 2,000 years ago—was stolen from Karl Vogel when he was killed. This provides ties to a secret German organization known as the Batavi. But Vogel was also involved in the eugenics movement centered in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, as well as being involved with the Ku Klux Klan. Format: Print, Digital

Toxic Torte by Lori Pollard-Johnson (Cozy Mystery) *re-release*
Jess Harriet writes for the Seattle Sun, a weekly newsrag best known for its personal ads. When her latest assignment turns out to be yet another obituary, this time for caustic restaurant critic Perry Lowell, she seriously considers quitting. But before the memorial buffet is replenished, detectives appear. Perry didn’t die of a heart attack after all. He was murdered…with a toxic torte, likely served at the Valentine’s Day Chocoholic Ball. Format: Print, Digital

AUGUST 1
Not What She Seems by Yasmin Angoe (Domestic Thriller)
After years of self-exile, Jacinda “Jac” Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. But the small cliffside town no longer feels like home. Jac hasn’t been there since the beloved chief of police fell to his death—and all the whispers said she was to blame. That chief was Jac’s father. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

A Knife in the Back by Alex Coombs (Cozy Mystery)
Chef Charlie Hunter is just trying for mindfulness and a work/life balance, if such a thing is ever possible in the context of a busy professional kitchen. She’s found herself a great podcast that’s going to help her get there. Until she finds that her online self-help guru has feet of clay – feet which are much closer to her restaurant than seems possible. Format: Digital

Coffin Island by Kate Ellis (Historical Mystery 1950s)
Despite many years living in South Devon, DI Wesley Peterson has never visited the tiny island of St Rumon’s. That is until erosion from a storm reveals three bodies buried outside the local churchyard. Two are ancient skeletons, but one is far more recent, and Wesley realises he has uncovered a case of murder. But whose remains are they? And who killed them? Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Friends with Secrets by Christine Gunderson (Traditional Mystery)
What you see isn’t always what you get. Take Ainsley. The gorgeous mother of two lives a picture-perfect life with her husband, Ben—aspiring politician and heir to a candy fortune—in suburban Washington, DC. But in reality, Ainsley has no idea what she’s doing and is terrified someone will figure out who she really is and where she came from. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

A Gravely Troubling Discovery by Hannah Hendy (Cozy Mystery)
Margery and Clementine Butcher-Baker have been warned not to interfere in any more police investigations. When a body is found under Summerview School’s playground during renovations, they have absolutely no intention of getting involved. Format: Print, Digital

The Missing Professor by Andrea Instone (Historical Mystery 1920s)
Young Emma Schumacher is feeling stuck in a small English seaside town. Her Aunt Sybil’s friend is visiting, and the two friends simply cannot stop fighting. It’s enough to drive everyone in the house mad. Emma takes solace in a new friendship and spends as much time away from the house as she possibly can. The day she leaves to visit her father in Bonn, Germany, couldn’t come any sooner. Then, she receives a strange letter from her father, an Egyptologist. He’s planning a lecture tour during the time she had planned to visit him. What? That doesn’t make sense! Not to mention, the letter was shorter than she was accustomed to, contained very little in the way of information, and went to the wrong house initially. Emma suspected something wasn’t quite right. Format: Print, Digital

Storm Stayed by Yvonne Rediger (Cozy Mystery)
Welcome back to Musgrave Landing. Accessible by ferry across the Samsum Narrows, this island village is home to some quirky characters and some even odder visitors. Sometimes the visitors bring misfortune with them and other times the villagers supply their own brand of trouble. Whether the people are locals or from away, apparently a few are capable of murder. Format: Print, Digital

You Shouldn’t Be Here by Lauren Thoman (Traditional Mystery)
When sixteen-year-old Angie Stewart starts hearing a mysterious voice in her house, she’s thrilled at the possibility of a ghost. Finally, something interesting is happening in her boring hometown of East Henderson, Pennsylvania. But why is she the only one who can hear it? And what does it want from her? Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
The Hadley family ranch is struggling, so RaeLyn, her parents, and brothers decide to turn the old barn into an antique store. The only thing missing to go with the marketing of the store is Grandpa’s old red truck, Tilly, that was sold several years ago. Now coming back up on the auction block, Tilly would need a lot of work, but RaeLyn is sure it will be worth it—if only she can beat out other bidders and find out who stole Tilly after the auction ends. Hadley finds herself in the role of amateur sleuth, and the outcome could make or break the new family venture. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Deeper Than Dead by Debra Webb (Private Investigator Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Crime analyst and newly disgraced deputy police chief Vera Boyett doesn’t visit home often, and she certainly doesn’t venture back into the cave on her family land. But when the remains of her long-missing stepmother are discovered, Vera will have to face a past that threatens all she is. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Murder in Portofino by T.A. Williams (Cozy Mystery)
Dan Armstrong hasn’t done much retiring since moving to Tuscany, and with his new career as a successful private investigator taking off, it seems murder seems to follow him. He’s hoping a much-needed trip to beautiful Portofino will give him the break he needs and quality time with girlfriend Anna. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

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