Searching for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing the week of March 8 – 14, 2026 with four debut series. I hope a few of these books take you on a reading adventure!
MARCH 8
Close Call by Isabella Bassett (Historical Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Lady Ursula has always eschewed the telephone. After all, a letter is a far more civilized way to communicate. And one simply knows that Gladys at the exchange is listening in on every call. But when murder shatters the tranquility of Thistle-Upon-Avon, and Gladys is the first to hear of the latest developments, Lady Ursula begins to reconsider her position. Format: Digital
MARCH 9
Drowning in the Shark’s Tank by David Korson and Nicole Korson (Cozy Mystery)
The reality TV show “The Sharks” is making quite a splash when it comes to Walnut Falls, but not the kind anyone expected. When the dead body of producer Tommy Roark, who’d recently been fired by Hollywood producer Will Greyson, turns up on set, all bets are off. Holly, armed with her wit and assisted by her quirky friend Pixie, must navigate the murky waters of mystery to prove Will’s innocence. With suspects that include the show’s no-nonsense director and celebrity investors Marc Havana, Laura Greener, and Mr. Terrible, it quickly becomes a high-stakes game of who-dunnit. Format: Digital
Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davis (Thriller)
The most respected citizen in Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. It’s there she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South. Criminally, it’s open-and-shut. Ethically, there is no middle ground. Essentially, it’s a choice between life and death. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
MARCH 10
Vanished in the Crowd by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles (Historical Mystery 1900s)
New York is busier than ever as two million visitors come to the city to witness the Hudson-Fulton celebration in 1909, marking the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the Hudson River. Parades, exhibitions, carnivals, and a marvelous display of the wonders of the latest invention–electricity–across the city make for two straight weeks of celebrations, which Molly and her family, along with their friends Sid and Gus, are excited to enjoy. But Molly is secretly dealing with financial troubles. She is too proud to ask her friends for a loan, but when they want to hire her as a detective she jumps at the chance. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J.D. Brinkworth (Traditional Mystery)
Jane Pye and Simon Mash are a millennial couple with a little extra time on their hands. Jane was recently let go from her position as a back-end programmer, having never been quite sure what that meant. And Simon’s career as a corporate collaboration consultant seems to be less collaborating and more scrolling the internet in search of matching velour tracksuits and well-balanced charcuterie boards. When they sign up for a private detective class on a whim, they quickly realize they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Death at a Firefly Tea by Laura Childs (Cozy Mystery)
As fireflies dazzle like tiny glowing lanterns, tea maven Theodosia hosts an elegant evening tea on the patio of the Tangled Rose B and B. But in this gentle darkness an intruder has made their way in and slipped deadly drugs into the baked Alaska of Mrs. Van Courtland, one of Charleston’s local grande dames. Shocked by this brazen act, urged on by Mrs. V’s grieving son, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. Soon, she finds herself at odds with a greedy developer, the questionable residents of Honey Badger House, a vengeful ex-daughter-in-law, ne’er do well relatives, and a housekeeper who knows all the secrets. Format: Digital, Print
Murder on Ashton-on-Tinch by Emily Dakin (Cozy Mystery)
laire Barclay is happily taking tourists to the sites of mystery novels in Britain. Her husband Detective Inspector Mark Evans is rushing off to sites of murder when called. They have worked out a stable homelife which is suddenly disrupted by ten-year-old Amber. Neither Claire nor Mark had any intention of being a parent. They struggle to adjust their lives and are coming to some kind of stability when Claire and Amber discover a body in the church. For the first time Claire is torn between her driving curiosity to find the killer and her need to protect her newly acquired daughter. Format: Digital, Print
Once Upon a Spy Game by Kathi Daley (Cozy Mystery)
When Lou Prescott bought the bookstore in Holiday Bay, she dreamed of more than a charming seaside shop. She wanted a place that felt like home—a welcoming haven where friends could gather, share stories, and lean on one another through life’s challenges and triumphs. But when Lou inherits a vast collection of books from Gia, a woman she barely knew, she discovers far more than dusty shelves and forgotten titles. Format: Digital, Print
A Lie for a Lie by Ren DeStefano (Psychological Thriller)
Margaux leads a double life that would make most people dizzy. By day, she’s a seemingly ordinary interior decorator with a picture-perfect marriage. By night, she works for a mysterious employer known only as Mr. X. Her specialty: infiltrating the lives of dangerous targets, gaining their trust, and ultimately exposing their crimes. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Never Say Die by Meredith Doench (Thriller)
Detective Rory Scott was in college when six-year-old Savannah Armitage vanished and the body of a missing teen was found nearby in a shallow grave. The case went unsolved, but Rory’s mother’s partner, Stephen, was convicted in the court of public opinion. When Rory’s mother refused to leave him, Rory broke familial ties. Format: Digital, Print
Spring Melt by Lori Duffy Foster (Historical Mystery 1920s)
As a doctor’s wife in a thriving Adirondack village in the 1920s, Ella Devine seems to have an ideal life. Her husband grew rich catering to New York City socialites who wanted to hide their TB diagnoses from their friends. Their marriage is devoid of emotion, but so is she, having learned long ago to quietly accept whatever life offers. But all that changes when three men are charged with a nineteen-year-old murder, and the long-buried crime that shaped Ella’s childhood is exposed. Format: Digital, Print
Buried in Beckinfield by Bob Gebert (Psychological Thriller)
In the secluded town of Beckinfield, steeped in “quaint” legends and lore, Sheriff Nancy Branter hoped to bury the guilt of her husband’s death and raise her brilliant daughter, Rose, in peace. For years, this sleepy California town seemed like the perfect refuge from her high-tech past as a counter-surveillance expert. Then Rose vanishes during a mysterious midnight ceremony in the woods, leaving only a trail of cryptic video posts behind. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
A Scoop of Deceit by Lena Gregory (Cozy Mystery)
Spring has finally sprung on the south shore of eastern Long Island, New York, and Danika Delaney is ready to take a break from running her old-fashioned malt shop, the Coffee & Cream Café, to help her mom start planting for the season. With visions of colorful tulips and delicate daffodils in mind, Danika and her mother browse through the local garden center, where they can’t help but notice a confrontation between out-of-towner Sebastian Krane and the local cashier. Format: Digital, Print
The Shadow Carver by Nadine Matheson (Thriller)
When a string of grisly murders begins painting the city in terror, DI Henley soon realise a vigilante killer is scalping their victims before leaving them for dead. Henley is thrust into a web of secrets, unravelling connections between the victims while battling demons from her own past. As the killer raises the stakes, the line between predator and prey begins to blur. With time slipping away and her own life in jeopardy, Henley must outwit a psychopath who views murder as an art form. Can she hunt them down before the final stroke of the scalpel closes the case forever? Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Rich Girl by Julie Mulhern (Cozy Mystery)
A whirlwind marriage to a French count who wanted her father’s money more than he ever wanted her? It’s a secret Libba has kept for twenty years. She’s never told anyone. Not even Ellison. But secrets can be deadly — and this one is revealed with a knife in his side on Ellison’s back patio. Format: Digital, Audio
She Fell Away by Lenore Nash (Political Thriller)
Lake Harlowe may not appear to be your typical State Department diplomat. With the number of skeletons in her closet exceeding the tattoos on her skin, she moves to a new country every few years to keep one step ahead of her personal demons. After two grueling years working in Cambodia, Lake’s desperate for a break and a new posting to sleepy Wellington, New Zealand, seems like a dream come true. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
When her grandmother suffers a nasty fall and asks for help managing the family business, coffee-addicted single mother Veronica Blackthorne moves her sixteen-year-old rom-com-obsessed daughter to Mystic Hollow, Connecticut. Veronica is ecstatic to return to New England, but when she arrives, she quickly finds out that Mystic Hollow Books, her grandmother’s pride and joy, needs more than a little TLC. Format: Digital, Print
The Prague Spring by Bill Rapp (Political Thriller)
Chief of the CIA station in Prague for nearly a year, Baier has been following the Dubcek government’s efforts to reform the country’s rigid communist system and move closer to Western Europe. On a warm August night, the Soviet Army rolls into Czechoslovakia to crush the reform program and ensure the country’s subservience to the Warsaw Pact. Baier must move quickly to protect his officers, his family, and his Czechoslovak allies and assets from death and deportation by the Red Army and Soviet intelligence. Format: Digital, Print
The Carnival Murders by Irina Shapiro (Historical Mystery)
In a respectable London neighborhood, nurse Gemma Tate and her fiancé, Inspector Sebastian Bell, are planning their future together. But their dreams shatter when they discover a murdered young woman, carefully arranged in a darkened alleyway behind her family home. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Alibi by Accident by Kayleigh Suggett (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Verona Montero loves calling herself a private dick because it makes her sound like she’s in a 1940s detective movie. And she gets to say “dick” a lot. So when Miami—a walking Barbie with an emoji addiction—needs proof her billionaire husband Javier is cheating, Verona’s all over it. Bonus: it means working with divorce lawyer Quentin, whose cologne gives her “crotch headaches.” Format: Digital, Print, Audio
A Day of Judgment by Charles Todd (Historical Mystery 1920s)
England is suffering a heatwave and the coast of Northumberland, just across the border from Scotland, is filled with holiday-makers bird watching and enjoying the beaches. Pilgrims also come to visit the home of Saints Cuthbert and Aiden—the founders of Christianity in England—located on the “Holy Island” of Lindisfarne, accessible by a causeway at low tide. When the murdered body of a local man washes ashore just south of Lindisfarne, the government and the Church of England are concerned about protecting both the reputation of the Church and the sacred sites that are a destination for hundreds of pilgrims at this time of year. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Served Him Right by Lisa Unger (Psychological Thriller)
Ana Blacksmith has gathered her closest friends and sister Vera for a brunch to celebrate her recent breakup from her boyfriend Paul. But when shocking news about Paul arrives, all eyes are on Ana, the angry ex with a bad reputation. Suspicions only intensify when Ana’s best friend falls deathly ill after the brunch. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
The Barbershop Showdown by Ellie Webster (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Lucy Hart wanted peace and quiet in Cedar Hollow. Instead, she’s running a general store with Echo, her retired K9 partner who happens to be hard of hearing—and sometimes fetches the wrong clue. When grumpy barber Barry “Blade” Cavanaugh is found with his own razor at his throat, suspicion falls on Lucy’s friend, handsome carpenter Will Mercer. Lucy knows Will isn’t guilty, but proving it will take more than a trim and a tidy alibi. Format: Digital, Print
MARCH 12
Chic Happens by Erica Whelton (Cozy Mystery)
Fashion historian Regina Thornwood has spent years researching a tell-all book about the industry’s golden era. Her upcoming release has ruffled plenty of feathers, digging up old scandals and questioning long-held reputations. By the end of the evening, Regina is dead on the museum floor, and everyone Dora Lee shook hands with that night seems to have a reason to want her silenced. Format: Digital, Print
Note: in some cases, print releases for digital titles will be forthcoming.
Publication date subject to change