Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of November 3 – 9, 2024 with three debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

NOVEMBER 4
Braulio Brown by Traci Andrighetti (Cozy Mystery)
Thanksgiving is approaching, and yet for PI Franki Amato every holiday in New Orleans smacks of a Mardi Gras party. Prime example, she should be preparing a traditional turkey and lasagna dinner, but instead she has to deliver booze to a krewe brunch at an aquarium where mermaids happen to be performing. The delivery goes more or less swimmingly until one of the “gills” falls victim to foul play, and Franki finds herself in a sea of troubles. If she doesn’t identify the true culprit, she could end up in the tank—permanently. Format: Kindle (Print and Audio to follow)

Maple Sugar and Magic by Tara Lush (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Welcome to Hemlock Hollow, where the maple syrup flows, the magic never stops, and at least one moose talks. Life’s been a struggle recently for fifty-four-year-old witch Renee Zinn. But when she returns to her Vermont hometown for Thanksgiving, her everyday troubles are turned upside down by glowing sap, enchanted fireflies, and trees that refuse to lose their leaves. Format: Digital

Somewhere in the Night by Julie Mulhern (Cozy Mystery)
Thanksgiving night in Kansas City means the Plaza Lighting Ceremony. When Ellison Jones and her family go to her great-aunt’s apartment to see the lights come on, she doesn’t anticipate a murder (she never does). But when a shirt-tail relative falls from a seventeenth-floor balcony, she and Anarchy are drawn into the investigation. Format: Kindle (Print and Audio to follow)

Sheer Window by Diane Vallere (Cozy Mystery)
When a freak accident sidelines klutzy fabric store owner Polyester Monroe, she’s destined to enjoy her Thanksgiving party from a wheelchair by her window. But when shady actions in the apartment across the street catches her attention, she’s less concerned with mobility than credibility; her friends are quick to write off her fears as folly. Format: Digital (Print and Audio to follow)

NOVEMBER 5
Antiques Slay Belles by Barbara Allan (Cozy Mystery)
It’s five days before Christmas, and Vivian Borne – septuagenarian antiques dealer, true-crime writer and enthusiastic amateur sleuth – and her long-suffering daughter Brandy are preparing a presentation of holiday antiques at the local country club’s annual Christmas luncheon. Format: Print, Digital

Murder at the Hacienda by Amanda Allen (Historical Mystery)
Newly engaged Maddie is hoping for a quiet Christmas filled with fun and festivity with her gorgeous husband-to-be Dr David Cole, but the moment she bumps into old friend Katrina Wilton, Maddie’s Christmas plans are thoroughly destroyed. Katrina is now married to the dashing, yet troubled veteran Alfonso Luhan, son of the infamous local landowner, Don Victor Luhan, and is celebrating Christmas at the family hacienda, Los Pineros – Katrina insists that Maddie and David simply must join them. Format: Print, Digital

The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit (Cozy Mystery)
After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Double Barrel Bluff by Lou Berney (Thriller)
During his years as a wheelman for the Armenian mob in Las Vegas, Shake Bouchon didn’t think of himself as the settling-down type. But now he’s happily married to Gina, the love of his life—and former adversary—in Indiana, of all places. The great thing about Bloomington, for two people with exceptionally checkered pasts, is that everyone is nice and no one knows them. Until the day a brutal Armenian thug who has always hated Shake shows up in his backyard. He demands that Shake help him find the missing mob boss, the pakhan—the dangerous and beautiful Alexandra “Lexy” Ilandryan, who also happens to be Shake’s ex-girlfriend. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

You Can’t Hurt Me by Emma Cook (Psychological Thriller)
Everyone has heard about the case of Eva Reid. Ever since she was born, she’s felt no pain: she can get a paper cut, break a limb and even give birth without feeling a single thing. Her story has long captivated the minds of reporters and researchers—including Dr. Nate Reid, Eva’s husband and acclaimed scientist, renowned for his work in the Pain Laboratory. Also among them is Anna Tate, a ruthless journalist with a dark past of her own. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Loose End by A.J. Cross (Police Procedural Mystery) *first book in a new series*
No one has seen reclusive Emma Matheson for years. But when her mummified remains are found in the cellar of a property in Birmingham during a renovation, the chilling discovery raises more questions than answers. Forensic psychologist Professor Teigan ‘Tig’ Craft from Central University is called in to assist DCI Steve Thompson’s team with the investigation, and her shrewd observations on her first police case quickly profile a ruthlessly efficient killer. So ruthless they have struck more than once? Format: Print, Digital

The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdhui by K.B. Jackson (Middle Grade Mystery)
Join Jake, Jasmine, Lanny, and Benny as they venture to Scotland for a Christmas vacation filled with excitement and mystery. While the gang hopes to catch a glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster, Jake is especially intrigued by the elusive Big Grey Man, rumored to haunt the peak of Ben Macdhui. Will they finally encounter this legendary figure? Format: Print (Digital to follow)

Death at the Scottish Broch by Rose Kerr (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Dr. Mia Reid arrives on the Isle of Skye for a summer dig. She learns her friend and trusted colleague, Dr. Ethan Carter, is dead and valuable artifacts are missing. Interpol agent and Mia’s former lover, Luke Forbes, is working the case with the police. They suspect murder and a smuggling ring. Format: Digital (Print to follow)

Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch (Traditional Mystery)
Pony has been passed from owner to owner for longer than he can remember. Fed up, he busts out and goes on a cross-country mission to reunite with Penny, the little girl who he was separated from and hasn’t seen in years. Penny, now an adult, is living an ordinary life when she gets a knock on her door and finds herself in handcuffs, accused of murder and whisked back to the place she grew up. Her only comfort when the past comes back to haunt her is the memory of her precious, rebellious pony. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Death and the Old Master by G.M. Malliet (Traditional Mystery)
Something is bothering Sir Flyte Rascallian, renowned art expert and Master of Hardwick College at the University of Cambridge. Are the grimy paintings he recently inherited from his aunt as worthless as he claims? Curator Ambrose Nussknacker believes one of the paintings could be a genuine Rembrandt. Why is Sir Flyte so reluctant to get it authenticated, and so determined to avoid the tributes due to the discovery of one of the world’s great lost treasures? Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Other by Jeff Markowitz (Historical Mystery 1930s)
For Abe Dubinski and his family, life on the canal is both peaceful and productive. Employed as a lock tender, Abe is responsible for the safe passage of barges carrying anthracite from Pennsylvania to New York. When the canal company announces its plan to close the canal in 1933, Abe worries about his job and his company home. Still, in his heart, he knows that his family will be okay. But the peace is shattered when a Nazi youth camp opens on the banks of the canal. Under the direction of their Nazi leaders, more than one hundred teenage boys in brown shirts erect tents in the fields that abut Abe’s home. Threats of violence put his wife and children in imminent danger. Abe Dubinski must take action to protect his family, even if that action threatens his very soul. Format: Digital (Print to follow)

Two Times Murder by Adam Oyebanji (Traditional Mystery)
Greg Abimbola is many things. He’s Black, British and fluent in Russian. He’s a snappy dresser, a reasonable teacher, and an unenthusiastic sports fan. But most of all, he’s exceptional at keeping secrets. Like, who he really is, and the things he’s done. Determined to keep his head down after helping solve a murder in the school basement, Greg fears a trap when Sergeant Rachel Lev of the Pittsburgh police corners him in his apartment. Because his refusal to take credit isn’t modesty, it’s a survival tactic. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Notorious Nutcracker Case by Nancy Pennick (Cozy Mystery)
When Serena Tate’s twin daughters propose a unique holiday venture to Nina Takeda, the owner of The Pearl Hotel, Serena is reluctant to give her approval. Her friends, Mia and Lily, support the girls’ plan, so Serena changes her opinion, and The Merry and Bright Christmas Market is underway. As the festive season kicks into high gear, the hotel is alive with holiday cheer—until a nutcracker mysteriously appears. Is it a harmless prank or something more sinister? Serena and her friends are on a mission to uncover the truth. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Mr Campion’s Christmas by Mike Ripley (Traditional Mystery)
Boxing Day looks set to be a quiet affair for the Campions when they are snowed in at their remote farmhouse, Carterers – until a charabanc full of ‘pilgrims’ travelling from London to the Shrine of Our Lady in nearby Walsingham crashes into their imposing granite gateposts and the family unexpectedly find themselves playing host to the eccentric passengers. Format: Print, Digital

Covert Chaos by Stephanie Rowe (Cozy Mystery)
Mia Murphy has a big announcement, and her friends aren’t going to like it. But when Hattie shows up two hours late with a corpse in her truck, Mia’s news has to take a backseat to keeping her bestie out of jail. Armed only with a stowaway cat, corded implements, and a cranky mystery writer, the trio of trouble must invade a cauldron of testosterone to uncover the murderer before he or she finds them. Format: Digital (Printo follow)

A Lively Midwinter Murder by Katy Watson (Cozy Mystery)
A high society Christmas Eve wedding at a secluded Scottish castle sounds like the perfect winter getaway for the three Dahlias – until a dead body wearing a wedding dress and a stolen diamond necklace turns up in the snow outside the family chapel, and the bride and groom are suddenly the prime suspects in a murder case… Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Coldest Case by Tessa Wegert (Traditional Mystery)
It’s February in the Thousand Islands and, cut off from civilization by endless ice, eight people are overwintering on tiny, remote Running Pine. Six year-rounders, used to the hard work, isolation and freezing temperatures . . . and two newcomers: social media stars Cary and Sylvie, whose account documenting their year on the island is garnering thousands of followers, and thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury gifts. Format: Digital (Print to follow)

Darjeeling Dead by Kirsten Weiss (Cozy Mystery)
It’s Thanksgiving time, and tearoom owner Abigail Beanblossom is not overflowing with gratitude. Her boyfriend is out of town. A gang of birdwatchers have been leaving nasty reviews about Beanblossom’s Tea and Tarot. And a body on the beach points the police directly to the tea and Tarot room. Format: Digital (Print to follow)

The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White (Traditional Mystery)
There’s been a sensational murder at historic Castle Kinloch, a gothic fantasy of grey granite on a remote island in the Highlands of Scotland. Literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley has been found dead—under bizarre circumstances—in the castle tower’s book-lined study. Years ago, Presley purchased the castle as a showpiece for his brand and to lure paying guests with a taste for writerly glamour. Now it seems, the castle has done him in…or, possibly, one of the castle’s guests has. Detective Chief Inspector Euan McIntosh, a local with no love for literary Americans, finds himself with the unenviable task of extracting statements from three American lady novelists. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

NOVEMBER 7
The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright (Cozy Mystery)
It’s Christmas Eve at the Merry Monarch. Nestled amongst the Yorkshire Dales, the pub is preparing to host its annual scavenger hunt for its rabble of regulars. There’s the landlord, Mickey, his wife Sofia and their wayward son, James; local policeman Alex and his supernaturally minded deputy Don; as well as Sita, Mrs Fazarkaley, the Kapoors and Curtis, who’s never far from his beloved dog Barkley. Quite the crowd. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Murder at the Crooked Horse by Lesley Cookman (Traditional Mystery)
After learning of a suspicious attempt to burn down a beloved old pub, The Crooked Horse, amateur detective Libby Sarjeant and her friend Fran reluctantly agree to investigate. But when a local antiques dealer mysteriously disappears after apparently taking out his boat, it appears there are dark and sinister forces at play. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Face Down Below the Banqueting House by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Historical Mystery 1570s) *re-release*
Queen Elizabeth is on a royal progress in Kent and plans to visit Susanna’s manor house, Leigh Abbey-an expensive and nerve wracking prospect for any householder. In preparation, a banqueting house is constructed in the branches of an ancient oak tree, but when a man is killed in a fall from that structure, it may be murder. Will that be enough to make the queen change her mind?

The Getaway by Nicola Martin (Traditional Mystery)
Welcome to Keeper Island, the private Caribbean paradise where the cocktails are chilled, the guests are not, and new manager Lola is hoping nothing messes up her badly needed fresh start. Her previous job in Hong Kong ended in tears – and quite a lot of blood – so she’s come to Keeper to lie low, as well as to provide the gold-star service the resort’s spoiled one-percenters expect. Her only connection to her previous life now is her old mentor and new boss, Mike Moxham. Format: Print, Digital

Murder by Owl Light by Corinne Holt Sawyer (Cozy Mystery)
For those far-from-over-the-hill senior sleuths, Angela Benbow and Caledonia Wingate, the murder of the gardener at posh Camden-sur-Mer retirement complex is a delightful break in their rather dull routine. Unfortunately, a bad-tempered police officer warns the ladies to stick to knitting. Yet Angela and Caledonia refuse to be intimidated. They’re off and running, bird-dogging a murderer as resourceful as themselves – and as shadowy as the owl light of dusk that conceals his deadly work…Format: Digital (Print to follow)

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