Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of November 12 – 18, 2023 with three debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

NOVEMBER 13
The Corpse With The Opal Fingers by Cathy Ace (Traditional Mystery)
Welsh Canadian professor of criminal psychology Cait Morgan, and her retired-cop husband Bud Anderson, are visiting Cait’s sister, Siân, and brother-in-law, Todd, in Australia. They’re enjoying the bustling delights of Sydney, and looking forward to a few quiet days in the famed Blue Mountains. Format: Print, Digital

Malice, Matrimony, and Murder edited by Marla Bradeen (Crime Fiction Anthology)
Over two dozen authors have teamed up to offer you this wedding-themed collection of brand-new cozy mystery and cozy crime fiction stories that will keep you wondering whodunit and what’s next from the first page to the last. Between bad bridesmaids, conniving caterers, greedy guests, ill-mannered in-laws, savvy sleuths, and vengeful villains, this anthology has it all! All of the stories are clean and fun, with a general feel-good tone. If you read to be entertained, surprised, and uplifted, then this collection is for you! Format: Print, Digital

NOVEMBER 14
The Edge by David Baldacci (Thriller)
When CIA operative Jenny Silkwell is murdered in rural Maine, government officials have immediate concerns over national security. Her laptop and phone were full of state secrets that, in the wrong hands, endanger the lives of countless operatives. In need of someone who can solve the murder quickly and retrieve the missing information, the U.S. government knows just the chameleon they can call on. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Christmas Stranger by Leslie Budewitz (Cozy Short Story)
Amid the holiday rush of keeping the shelves stocked and filling orders for the Merc, the grocery her family has run for more than a century, proprietor Erin Murphy treasures the way her tight-knit community of Jewel Bay seems to grow even closer during the Christmas season. And this year, when she slows down to do a simple favor for a mysterious stranger, he shows his thanks with a small, quiet gesture—a gift that changes lives, and so much more . . . Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Trotting Into Trouble by Amber Camp (Cozy Mystery)
It’s business as usual when horse rescue owner Mallory Martin gets a call from Sheriff Grady Sullivan that a loose horse has been found in a popular hunting area. While trying to catch the horse, Mallory stumbles upon the body of his unfortunate rider, Hillspring’s star basketball coach, Douglas Griggs. All signs point to a tragic hunting accident. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Murder Beyond the Pale by Wendy Church (Cozy Mystery)
Jesse O’Hara is unemployed. “A million dollar brain and a ten-cent personality,” her last employer said. With nothing better to do, Jesse accepts a request to go to Ireland to help a relative find his missing daughter. She expects to find the young woman quickly, and is looking forward to spending her trip touring and drinking, not necessarily in that order. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally (Historical Mystery 1800s) *first book in a new series*
Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, has made a shocking proclamation. After losing her beloved fiancé in an accident three years earlier, she announces in front of London’s loosest lips that she will never marry. A woman of independent means—and rather independent ways—Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life is gone. Instead, she plans to continue enjoying the best of society without any expectations. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Bulletproof Barista by Cleo Coyle (Cozy Mystery)
Only Murders in Gotham, the smash-hit streaming program, is famous for filming in authentic New York locations and using real New Yorkers as extras. For its second season, they’ve chosen to spotlight the century-old Village Blend and its quirky crew of baristas. Shop manager and master roaster Clare Cosi is beyond thrilled, especially when her superb bulletproof coffee lands her a craft services contract for the production. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Odyssey’s End by Matt Coyle (Private Investigator Mystery)
San Diego private investigator Rick Cahill’s past comes back to haunt him when he’s at his most vulnerable. His wife, Leah, has fled with their daughter, Krista, to her parents’ home in Santa Barbara. She fears Rick’s violent outbursts brought on by his potentially fatal brain disorder, CTE—and she doesn’t trust that he’ll ever be able to tame his manic desire to bring his own brand of justice to an unjust world. Format: Print, Digital

King Me by J.A. Crawford (Private Investigator Mystery)
The hit TV show, The Lands Beyond, has become a cultural phenomenon, influencing fashion and baby name trends. Its creator, R. R. Reynard, masterminds the story each season, pitting the cast against each other in a toxic, kill or be killed, environment. But Reynard has even greater ambitions. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Serving Up Spite by Devon Delaney (Cozy Mystery)
With international cuisine on the menu for her next cook-off, Sherry Oliveri experiments with one dish after another looking for that perfect killer recipe. But her competitive drive gets put on the back burner when her friend Patti calls in a panic: her new boyfriend has vanished, and signs of foul play suggest he may have been killed. Then the police begin investigating the disappearance as a murder, and they’ve got Patti pegged as the main suspect. Format: Print, Digital

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Amanda Flower (Historical Mystery 1850s)
The Dickinson family is comfortably settled in their homestead on Main Street. Emily’s brother, Austin Dickinson, and his new wife are delighted when famous thinker and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to Amherst to speak at a local literary society and decides he and his young secretary, Luther Howard, will stay with the newlyweds. Emily has been a longtime admirer of Emerson’s writing and is thrilled at the chance to meet her idol. She is determined to impress him with her quick wit, and if she can gather the courage, a poem. Willa Noble, the second maid in the Dickinson home and Emily’s friend, encourages her to speak to the famous but stern man. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Hope for the Holidays by Daryl Wood Gerber (Holiday Romance)
Hope Lyons’s husband ran through all their money and split Portland, Oregon, forcing Hope to sell her beloved Pie in the Sky bakery and move with her two children back to charming Hope Valley, her hometown. She has been working as a waitress and pinching pennies to get their lives back on track; however, when her children win KPRL’s Spirit of Christmas vacation contest, Hope worries about the extra expenses she will incur on such a trip and turns it down. Format: Print

Murder Checks Out by Victoria Gilbert (Cozy Mystery)
Returning to her role as an amateur detective is the last thing library director Amy Muir wants. She’s already buried under an avalanche of responsibilities, including sharing the directorship of the local public library, parenting her holiday-obsessed five-year-old twins, and helping her choreographer husband, Richard, present The Nutcracker as part of the town’s festivities. With her frosty mother-in-law, Fiona, visiting for the holidays, Amy definitely has enough on her Christmas cookie plate. Format: Print, Digital

The Great Gimmelmans by Lee Matthew Goldberg (Heist Crime, Traditional Mystery)
Middle child Aaron Gimmelman watches as his family goes from a mild-mannered reform Jewish clan to having over a million dollars of stolen money stuffed in their RV’s cabinets while being pursued by the FBI and loan sharks. But it wasn’t always like that. His father Barry made a killing as a stockbroker, his mother Judith loved her collection of expensive hats, his older sister Steph was obsessed with pop stars, and little sister Jenny loved her stuffed possum, Seymour. Format: Print, Digital

Mississippi River Mischief by Greg Herren (Traditional Mystery)
Spring has returned to New Orleans, bringing with it the swarming termites! First-time homeowner Scotty Bradley is feeling like he may have made the biggest mistake of his life buying in the French Quarter. Between dealing with the Vieux Carré Commission rules, termite damage, and contractors, it’s a relief when his best friend David brings the accidental sleuth a case: one of his students is being harassed by a much older man who turns out to be a big wheel politician in one of the parishes outside of New Orleans, up to his neck in corruption. Format: Print, Digital

The Stuff of Murder by Katheen Marple Kalb (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
When Hollywood comes to small-town Connecticut, it should be the stuff of dreams—but when a fading movie star ends up dead, a whole different kind of stuff hits the fan. Unity Historical Society head and antique household items—stuff!—expert Christian Shaw is on set when actor Brett Studebaker falls from the pulpit during a streaming service shoot in an old church. She, the “dads she should have had,” Garrett and Ed, her son Henry, who has a photographic memory and Type-1 Diabetes, and her colorful friends end up helping Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Poli track the killer. Format: Digital

Murder on the Books by Christine Knapp (Cozy Mystery)
Maeve O’Reilly Kensington has fully recovered from her heart-pounding escape from a murderer last summer. Now she and her husband, Will, are happily adapting to life as parents of an eight-month-old while also preparing for the birth of their second daughter. Will’s catering business, A Thyme for All Seasons, is booming and Maeve’s midwifery practice has blossomed under new hospital leadership. Format: Print, Digital

Game Over at Guild Hall by Amy Patricia Meade (Cozy Mystery)
In rural Vermont, where hunting and trapping are a way of life, nothing is bigger than the annual wild game supper at Guild Hall. Stella can’t wait to sample the exotic dishes prepared by her neighbors, but when the longtime organizer of the supper falls dead, a victim of poisoning, Stella’s appetite—along with a roomful of suspects—vanishes. Then that same night someone ransacks the hall’s kitchen, presumably to destroy any evidence, and spots Stella snooping. Now she fears she may be the next target. Format: Print, Digital

Double Mocha Blues by Tyora Moody (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Jocelyn “Joss” Miller, a twenty-something barista, works at Sugar Creek Cafe, a hip coffeehouse with deep ties to the local arts and music community. Joss is finally feeling like she’s found her purpose as her recently launched podcast soars in popularity. With her family’s blessings, Joss produces a special tribute to her grandfather. Format: Digital

To Conjure a Killer by Clea Simon (Cozy Mystery)
Becca Colwin is coming home from her job at Charm and Cherish when she sees a tortoiseshell kitten run down an alley – leading to a dead body. As a connection between Becca and that corpse is confirmed, Becca comes under suspicion — and is dragged into a cyberware scandal, thanks to her cheating ex, Jeff. The unfaithful computer geek and his high-power investor were working on stealth software designed to record and transmit personal data – a new form of spyware that would be of interest to everyone from the police and security agencies to cybercriminals. Format: Print, Digital

NOVEMBER 15
The Body In The Cornfield by Catherine Dilts (Cozy Mystery)
Lawyer Drew Brauner’s dream job with the Rose Creek historical amphitheater has devolved into wrangling contentious cats—and those cats have claws. The leading man is a disaster waiting to happen, with more enemies than the musical Oklahoma! has dance steps. Format: Print, Digital

Killer in a Winter Wonderland by Wendy Sand Eckel (Cozy Mystery)
Holidays are fickle things — often good, but sometimes not so good. It’s December in the quirky town of Cardigan, and Rosalie Hart has been thrown several curve balls. For one, her ex-husband has booked a semester break vacation to Dubai with their only daughter, Annie, leaving Rosalie alone for Christmas. And following a renovation, Rosalie’s restaurant, the Day Lily Café, is open for business with an expanded dining room and a chef with an inflated ego. To make matters worse, when her head waiter and best friend Glenn Breckinridge is concerned about a neighbor who hadn’t returned home, they learn he had been murdered while riding his bike on River Road. Format: Digital

Mrs. Claus Needs a Hand by Sarah Osborne (Cozy Mystery)
Octogenarian Flo, founder of the Old Dames Protection Agency, has a second case to solve this holiday season. She is over the moon. Preventing two murders in one season is beyond her wildest expectations. The other members of her organization are equally delighted. Maude, also in her eighties, is quite happy to stay in Naples, Florida for a second case and a warm Christmas. Young Kate, honorary member and bodyguard, is thrilled they will be spending time with Kate’s new boyfriend and his grandmother, who is known as Mrs. Claus to everyone in her condo building. Format: Print, Digital

Dying For A Decoration by Cindy Sample (Cozy Mystery)
When a six-foot-tall elf arrives at Laurel McKay Hunter’s detective agency, it can only mean trouble. Then her eccentric grandmother refers her to an old flame who wants Laurel to track down the rustlers who have stolen his herd. Of reindeer! On top of everything, her best friend ropes her into filling in for an injured member of the Elf cast. Amid all the chaos, Laurel discovers her grandmother is dating a man decades younger. Is there something fishy going on beneath the mistletoe? Format: Digital

NOVEMBER 17
Murder at the Highland Castle by Helena Dixon (Cozy Mystery)
Lightly dusted with snow and nestled on the edge of a sweeping Scottish loch, Finnglach Castle looks positively magical. Kitty Underhay, her husband Matt and their beloved dog Bertie are delighted to be celebrating the new year with a Hogmanay party, but just after midnight, a shot rings out across the grounds…Format: Digital

NOVEMBER 18
The Psychologist’s Shadow by Laury A. Egan (Suspense)
In October 1992, Dr. Ellen Haskell begins a new therapy practice in Princeton after a tragic error with a former client. Demoralized by her failure, Ellen strives to restore her emotional and professional confidence. Her parents have departed for Greece, leaving Ellen alone in their secluded country house. As her clients are introduced through their individual sessions, Ellen becomes unnerved when she receives hang-up phone calls and a series of bizarre gifts from an anonymous admirer—first at her office and then at home. As the obsessive lover increasingly invades her life, Ellen’s anxiety crescendos and she begins to fear the stalker’s behavior will escalate into violence. Format: Digital