Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of October 23 – 29, 2022 with four debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!

Silence Says the Most by Kathleen Bailey (Cozy)
Five days before Halloween, fall turns frightful in Apple Station when a child’s drawing entangles Olivia in a murder at a park lake. Olivia’s hometown is gearing up for its annual Halloween festival, and pumpkins, corn mazes, and autumn vibes are everywhere. All is cozy in the crisp fall air as excitement builds for the costume parade on Friday. A casual Monday lakeside picnic lunch with her forever friend, though, sets off a chain of events that catches Olivia in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dead Upon Arrival by Kat Bellemore (Cozy)
The biggest hot air balloon festival would have been a vacation if Maddie didn’t have to balance her apathetic teenagers, a meddling mother, and act as therapist for a desperate patient. Let alone solve a murder case! When Maddie witnesses someone fall from a hot air balloon, it seems like a tragic accident. But as facts come to light, the police are convinced it’s foul play. And Maddie’s friend is to blame.

Photo Finished by Christin Brecher (Cozy) *new series*
While some people escape into books or music, Liv Spyers escapes through her camera’s lens, which inspires her to jump into things she might otherwise have no business tackling—like moving to New York City. Hustling to make her dreams come true as a portrait photographer, she runs a pocket-sized studio below her grandparents’ West Village brownstone and key shop, where she also lives and works part-time. All of which still has her down to the end of her savings as the holidays approach.

A Doomful of Sugar by Catherine Bruns (Cozy) *new series*
Leila Khoury has always believed that everyone loved her father as much as they loved his artisanal maple syrup. But when he’s killed, and she returns to Sugar Ridge, Vermont to take over his business, she starts to realize how much of his life she’s left untapped.

A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge (Historical 1930s)
In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, is the exception. And housekeeper Phyllida Bright delights in discussing gory plot details with her friend and employer.

A Myrtle Clover Christmas by Elizabeth Spann Craig (Cozy)
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the small town of Bradley, North Carolina. Wreaths adorn doors, halls are decked, and candles cheerfully glow in windows. Adding to the Christmas excitement, there’s also a lovely local wedding with many guests to wish the couple well.

Death by Spiced Chai by Alex Erickson (Cozy)
In a small town like Pine Hills, reputation counts for a lot. And for reasons that Krissy Hancock can’t figure out, someone is trashing hers. Cockroaches in the bookstore’s coffee, spiteful reviews, vandalism—Krissy is being framed for every bit of bad news around. Her boyfriend, local cop Paul Dalton, is on the case, but before they can source the saboteur, Krissy is in the frame for murder, too.

The Plot Thickets by Julia Henry (Cozy)
With spring’s arrival in Goosebush, Lilly and the Beautification Committee turn their eyes to new projects. A cleanup of the historic Goosebush Cemetery may be in order, after Lilly and Delia find the plots there sorely neglected and inexplicably rearranged. Lilly soon discovers that Whitney Dunne-Bradford snapped up custodianship of the graveyard once she inherited Bradford Funeral Homes. But before Lilly can get to the bottom of the tombstone tampering, she stumbles upon Whitney’s body at the Jayne family mausoleum . . .

Murdered in Monterosso by Zara Keane (Cozy)
Angel and her friend and sidekick, Sidney, are ecstatic to fly to Florida for a six-month P.I. boot camp. They’ll finally become licensed team members of the Omega Group, the super-secret international P.I. agency co-run by Angel’s mother, former adult movie actress Desirée Chablis.

Hidden Pieces by Mary Keliikoa (Thriller) *new series*
Sheriff Jax Turner is staring down the barrel of his broken past. On the brink of ending it all, he feels like a failure following his daughter’s tragic passing and his subsequent divorce. But when a schoolgirl vanishes and her backpack is found in a sex offender’s backseat, the weary lawman drags himself into action and vows to nail one last sociopath.

A Trip With Trouble by Diane Kelly (Cozy)
When the ladies of the Dangerous Curves Motorcycle Club take over the Mountaintop Lodge for their annual autumn ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Misty Murphy couldn’t be more thrilled. Every room is full and the adventurous women even invite Misty and her assistant Brynn to join them on a ride to admire the colorful fall foliage. Hotel handyman Rocky Crowder is happy to keep an eye on the lodge for the day, and the ladies set out for a fun ride on the scenic road.

Murder at the Majestic Hotel by Clara McKenna (Historical 1900s)
Leaving behind tragedies surrounding their wedding at Morrington Hall, travel-worn Stella and Lyndy arrive at the grand Majestic Hotel in York to more misfortune—their stately honeymoon suite has been given away to Horace Wingrove, owner of England’s largest confectionery. Stella refuses to let an innocent booking mistake spoil the mood, but her optimism vanishes when Horace suffocates in the room where she and Lyndy should have stayed . . .

Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris (Historical 1960s)
It’s the summer of 1964 and three innocent men are brutally murdered for trying to help Black Mississippians secure the right to vote. Against this backdrop, twenty-one year old Violet Richards finds herself in more trouble than she’s ever been in her life. Suffering a brutal attack of her own, she kills the man responsible. But with the color of Violet’s skin, there is no way she can escape Jim Crow justice in Jackson, Mississippi. Before anyone can find the body or finger her as the killer, she decides to run.

Big Shot by Julie Mulhern (Cozy)
Ellison and Anarchy Jones are looking forward to a relaxing weekend in the country. Time spent skeet shooting, fishing, and horse-back riding with friends. Hours spent swaying in a shady hammock without friends. But when Ellison walks into a murder scene, her friends become suspects. And each of them has an excellent motive for murder.

No Strangers Here by Carlene O’Connor (Traditional) *new series*
On a rocky beach in the southwest of Ireland, the body of Jimmy O’Reilly, sixty-nine years old and dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes, is propped on a boulder, staring sightlessly out to sea. A cryptic message is spelled out next to the body with sixty-nine polished black stones and a discarded vial of deadly veterinarian medication lies nearby. Jimmy was a wealthy racehorse owner, known far and wide as The Dancing Man. In a town like Dingle, everyone knows a little something about everyone else.

High Spirits by Carol J. Perry (Cozy)
Christmas lights on palm trees and Santa hats on plastic pink flamingoes are far from the snowy landscape Maureen and her beloved golden retriever, Finn, are used to. But Maureen is determined to make this a holiday to remember—which means finding a way to promote Haven House on a shoestring. Fortunately, Haven’s vintage movie theater, the Paramount, has come up with a great “Twelve Days of Christmas” idea.

A Twist of Murder by Heather Redmond (Historical 1830s)
Harrow-on-the-Hill, March 1836: In a sense, orphans Ollie, John, and Arthur have always been treasure hunters. The mudlarks have gone from a hardscrabble life scavenging the banks of the Thames for bits and bobs to becoming students at a boarding school outside of London, thanks to the kind and generous intercession of Charles Dickens. But now they’re missing—as is, apparently, a treasure map.

The Cat Who Caught A Killer by L.T. Shearer (Cozy)
Neither has Lulu Lewis when he walks into her life one summer’s day. Mourning the recent death of her husband, the former police detective had expected a gentle retirement, quietly enjoying life on her new canal boat, The Lark, and visiting her mother-in-law Emily in a nearby care home.

How To Kill A Kingpin by Gabrielle St. George (Humorous)
It’s a not-so-happy Halloween weekend in Gina’s little lakeside town. Everyone is coming home for Sunset Beach High’s 150th-anniversary celebrations, plunging the Ex-Whisperer and her gal pals up to their necks in exes. For Gina, running into old crushes and former mean girls from high school is like anthrax-infected corpses of dead reindeer who’ve been encased in ice for millennia suddenly waking up in the melting permafrost. Prehistoric romantic history and high school cliques you weren’t welcomed in are almost always better kept in the deep freeze.

If the Dress Fits by Liz Talley (Cozy)
Cricket Crosby is back . . . and she’s licensed to snoop! Fresh off divorce and a private investigator’s course, Cricket’s ready to balance running her antiques store with proving her PI chops. . .if someone will take a chance on her. When a local PI catches a case involving the theft of luxury goods, he hires the former debutante to go undercover to trap a thief. But snooping during PTA meetings and cotillion parties is harder than it looks, especially when Cricket’s missteps cause a hunky police detective to cast suspicion on her new bestie, Ruby Balthazar.

Love Me or Grieve Me by Diane Vallere (Cozy)
When a junior copy editor at the local newspaper mistakenly uses interior decorator Madison Night’s life story in the obituary of a recently deceased woman with a similar name, Madison’s life turns upside down. Addison Nigh, a once in-demand jazz vocalist, had fallen into obscurity, and her death notice surprises only those who thought she died decades ago.

Film Crews and Rendezvous by Heather Weidner (Cozy)
The crew from the wildly popular, fan favorite, Fatal Impressions, takes over Jules Keene’s glamping resort, and they bring a lot of offscreen drama and baggage that doesn’t include the scads of costumes, props, and crowds that descend on the bucolic resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Added security, hundreds of calls from hopeful extras, and some demanding divas keep Jules’s team hopping.