Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of October 22 – 28, 2023 with two debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

OCTOBER 22
Dead by Design by Kat Bellemore (Cozy Mystery)
Maddie Swallows had always thought of her hometown as unremarkable, until space tourism set up shop nearby. Now, real estate developers have set their sights on the small town, determined to have a piece of the lucrative pie. Too bad the residents of Amor want nothing to do with the fancy hotels and high-priced restaurants, and they are ready to fight back. Format: Print (Oct 9), Digital

OCTOBER 23
An Unfinished Storm by Bethany Maines (Private Investigator Mystery)
Two years ago, former actress Tish Yearly was fired, robbed, and evicted all the same day and washed up on the doorstep of her grandfather Tobias Yearly—a former test pilot, CIA agent, and all around trouble-maker. A few murder cases later, Tish is the owner of an events venue on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands and Tobias is the oldest licensed private investigator in Washington State. But when Hollywood knocks on her door, Tish finds she can’t quite let go of the movie-making dream and becomes a producer to what could be a blockbuster film. Format: Print (Oct 15), Digital

OCTOBER 24
The Blue Monsoon by Damyanti Biswas (Thriller)
Amid incessant rains pounding down on Mumbai, Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput is called to a shocking crime scene. A male body is found dismembered on the steps of a Kaali temple. Drawn into his flesh are symbols of a tantra cult. The desecration of a body at a Hindu place of worship puts the city on edge and divides Arnav’s priorities: stopping a fanatic from killing again and caring for his wife who’s struggling through a challenging pregnancy. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Lost & Hound by Rita Mae Brown (Cozy Mystery)
Early fall in Virginia means shorter days, cooler temperatures, the blooming milkweeds of summer giving way to fields of fluffy seeds—and of course, the start of fox hunting season. It’s “Sister” Jane Arnold’s favorite time of year. And this year, the Jefferson Hunt Club is busier than ever, organizing a fundraising drive to help with the upkeep of their beloved hunting grounds. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

A Medium Gift by Lynn Cahoon (Cozy Mystery)
In A Medium Gift, the fourth and final episode of Eddie Cayce’s return home to New Orleans, Eddie’s dealing with her murderous aunt along with trying to finish up Uncle Arthur’s love nest before Nic finds out due to a stray thought Eddie forgets to control. And there’s the Clayborne Estate to finish, not to mention figuring out all the college entrance hoops with Lilac. Format: Digital

The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle (Cozy Mystery)
In the middle of a wonderful Christmas holiday in Dharma, Brooklyn and Derek receive a frantic phone call from their dear friend Claire in Loch Ness, Scotland. The laird of the castle, Cameron MacKinnon, has just proposed to her! They plan to be married on New Year’s Day, and they want Derek and Brooklyn to be their witnesses. And while they’re visiting, Claire hopes that Brooklyn will be able to solve a little mystery that’s occurred in the castle library—twelve very rare, very important books have gone missing. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

A Parfait Crime by Maya Corrigan (Cozy Mystery)
At the site of a fatal blaze, Val’s boyfriend, a firefighter trainee, is shocked to learn the victim is known to him, a woman named Jane who belonged to the local Agatha Christie book club—and was rehearsing alongside Val’s grandfather for an upcoming Christie play being staged for charity. Just as shocking are the skeletal remains of a man found in the freezer. Who is he and who put him on ice? Format: Print, Digital

Murder Uncorked by Maddie Day (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
As the manager of Vino y Vida Wine Bar in Colinas, Cecelia “Cece” Barton’s first Alexander Valley harvest is a whirlwind of activity. Her twin sister, Allie Halstead, who owns a nearby Victorian bed & breakfast, is accustomed to the hustle and bustle of peak tourist season. But Cece barely has a moment to enjoy her new home in between worrying about her estranged college-age daughter, juggling her responsibilities at the bar, and navigating the sticky politics of the local wine association. Just when it seems things can’t grow any more intense, Colinas is rocked by a murder within the wine community . . . and Cece is identified as a possible suspect! Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Dating Can Be Deadly by Amanda Flower (Cozy Mystery)
It’s August in Holmes County, and that means it’s time for the Holmes County Fair. It’s the county’s biggest annual event, drawing tourists and locals alike to see livestock, eat too much fried food, and watch the rodeo and speed racing contests. This year, Millie has entered the quilting competition—while her very not Amish best friend, Lois Henry, is distracted by her new dating app and her search for husband number five. In a place where quilting is a way of life, the competition is fierce—especially this year, when an anonymous donor doubles the winning cash prize. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett (Traditional Mystery)
The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking among the amateur theater enthusiasts with petty rivalries, a possibly asbestos-filled beanstalk, and some perennially absent players behind the scenes. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Deadly Tides by Mary Keliikoa (Thriller)
Sheriff Jax Turner is learning to live again. Holding tight to the hope of reconciling with his FBI agent ex-wife, the wary man is determined to keep his focus on his coastal Oregon community. And after a concerned brother requests a welfare check, Jax is troubled to find the absent surf shop owner’s tracks lead to a pool of blood. Format: Print, Digital

Snow Place for Murder by Diane Kelly (Cozy Mystery)
International resort developer Nigel Goodwin has traveled all the way from London, England to Misty Murphy’s little corner of North Carolina and bought out the Mountaintop Lodge for the week prior to Christmas. Their intention? To pitch an exclusive new resort concept to wealthy American investors. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Laws of Annihilation by Eriq La Salle (Thriller)
It’s another blistering summer in New York City, and a sweltering heat wave stifles the area. Hostility between the Hasidic and Black communities has been steadily increasing since a tragic incident left a Black teenager dead. When two rabbis are killed in a gruesome attack on their synagogue, it has all the signs of retaliation. Format: Print, Digital

Murder On Mistletoe Lane by Clara McKenna (Historical Mystery 1900s)
Taking on the responsibilities that come with being Lady Lyndhurst, Stella is eager to embrace yuletide traditions in the Edwardian English countryside and use her strong social influence for good. Her world becomes so consumed with starting a horse farm charity for the holidays that she barely notices the usual oddities attached to her upper-crust lifestyle. At least, not until items vanish from her bedroom and maligned housekeeper, Mrs. Nelson, becomes seriously ill—only to be found dead in the cold on Mistletoe Lane . . .Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Some of Us Are Looking by Carlene O’Connor (Traditional Mystery)
In Dimpna Wilde’s veterinary practice, an imminent meteor shower has elevated the usual gossip to include talk of shooting stars and the watch parties that are planned all over Dingle. But there are also matters nearer at hand to discuss—including the ragtag caravan of young people selling wares by the roadside, and the shocking death of Chris Henderson, an elderly local, in a hit-and-run. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Sanctuary Motel by Alan Orloff (Domestic Thriller) *first book in a new series*
Mess Hopkins, proprietor of the seen-better-days Fairfax Manor Inn, never met a person in need who couldn’t use a helping hand—his helping hand. So he’s thrown open the doors of the motel to the homeless, victims of abuse, or anyone else who could benefit from a comfy bed with clean sheets and a roof overhead. This rankles his parents and uncle, who technically still own the place and are more concerned with profits than philanthropy. Format: Print, Digital

The Fatal Folio by Elizabeth Penney (Cozy Mystery)
After moving to Cambridge, England, Molly Kimball has found a lot to love, including—of course—her family’s ancestral bookshop, Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios. And though she’s not quite ready to use the “L” word when it comes to her boyfriend Kieran, she’s definitely fallen for his intimidating family’s library. Format: Print, Digital

The Anchorman’s Wife by Joseph Souza (Domestic Thriller)
Shay appears to have the perfect marriage to Gideon Wells, Boston’s most popular news anchor. But their lives are ripped apart when she is attacked outside the soup kitchen where she volunteers. Depressed and struggling to remember who assaulted her, Shay hires a new maid to help her around the house while she recovers from her injuries. But this new maid is not what she seems and things go from bad to worse, causing Shay to revisit a painful childhood past that she’s been desperately trying to forget. Format: Digital

Cruising Into Danger by Kari Lee Townsend (Cozy Mystery)
The cruise starts out with so much potential until a fellow passenger is found dead at sea. Murder on the Palace of the Seas forces the captain to put the ship on lockdown so the killer can’t escape while the investigation ensues. Detectives Mitch Stone and Nik Stevens offer their services, while Sunny and Kalli team up and use their gifts to do a little investigating of the clairvoyant kind. Format: Digital

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger (Psychological Thriller)
Madeline Martin has built a life for herself as the young owner of a thriving business, The Next Chapter Bookshop, despite her tragic childhood and now needing to care for her infirm father. When Harley Granger, a failed novelist turned true crime podcaster, drifts into her shop in the days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up events that Madeline would much rather forget. She’s the only surviving victim of Evan Handy, the man who was convicted of murdering her best friend Steph, and is suspected in the disappearance of two sisters, also good friends of Madeline’s, who have been missing for nearly a decade. It’s an investigation that has obsessed her father Sheriff James Martin right up until his stroke took his faculties. Format: Print, Digital, Audio

Tulle Death Do Us Part by Diane Vallere (Cozy Mystery)
When the historic Waverly House is transformed into a wedding venue, the town buzzes with excitement. An out-of-town couple with the loosest of local ties has adopted them as their own. But amidst the celebration, tragedy strikes when a guest is found dead in the chapel before the wedding march plays. Suspicion quickly falls on the bride. Poly’s ex-boyfriend, the groom-to-be, needles Poly for help in solving the murder, but things take a complicated turn as the bride points the finger–at him. Format: Digital

OCTOBER 26
Day Of The Wed by Laura Durham (Cozy Mystery)
Society wedding planner Annabelle Archer and her team are in Mexico to celebrate assistant Kate’s bachelorette weekend, which means there are no brides to worry about and no drama. Except for the elaborate skeleton brides for the Day of the Dead celebrations and the fact that Annabelle’s best friend, Richard, and hairstylist to the bottle blondes, Fern, are drama magnets. At least they won’t have to deal with dead bodies—or will they? Format: Digital