English Women Sleuths

Iris Woodmore is a journalist with a hot new story. For the first time in history, two women compete in a by-election to become the third woman elected to Parliament. Iris accompanies one of the candidates to a debate in the House of Commons. But it's a place that holds painful memories. In 1914, Iris' mother died there when she fell into the River Thames during a daring suffragette protest. In the shadow of Big Ben, a waterman tells Iris her mother didn't fall - she jumped.

The infamous Dodd murders are hardly among Eastport's proudest legacies. So when bestselling true-crime author Carolyn Rathbone arrives to research the case for a new book, the locals in the seaside town let her know that she's about as welcome as a spoiled clam. But surely no one would harm a crime writer out of a sense of civic pride--or would they?

Eleanor Trewynn is a recently retired widow who has moved to the small village of Port Mabyn in Cornwall. Neither frail nor retiring, after a lifetime of traveling the world, she's ready for an uneventful life with her dog and friends in this quiet town. Unfortunately, excitement seems to happen around her. Her friend and neighbor, artist Nick Gresham, returns from a trip only to find several of his paintings slashed, reportedly by rival local artist Geoffrey Clarke.

A man's body is discovered in a church yard, the sign of the cross carved into his abdomen. Later he is found to be Alan Jacobs, a troubled psychiatric nurse. It seems to Jenny Cooper, Severn Vale District Coroner, this is likely to be an open and shut suicide case, but something tells her to probe a little deeper. After another tragic death, Jenny’s suspicions turn toward a powerful new global phenomenon: the politically ambitious and intoxicatingly charismatic Mission Church of God. Meanwhile Jenny must finally confront the demons of her past....

When a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless is found brutally executed, reporter Cindy Thomas knows the story could be huge. Probing deeper into the victim's history, she discovers he may not have been as saintly as everyone thought...

Fifteen months ago Detective Lindsay Boxer's life was perfect - she had a beautiful child and a doting husband, Joe, who helped her catch a criminal who'd brazenly detonated a bomb in downtown San Francisco, killing 25 people. But Joe wasn't everything that Lindsay thought he was, and she's still reeling from his betrayal as a wave of mysterious and possibly unnatural heart attacks claims seemingly unrelated victims across San Francisco.

Professional pet sitter Daphne Templeton loves the holidays in Sylvan Creek, Pennsylvania. And nothing gets her into the spirit more than the town's annual Bark the Halls Ball. The whole community will be there to wag their tails, especially this year's special guest - Celeste "CeeCee" French, founder of a national chain of pet care franchises, who's returning home to announce plans for a bright new flagship store.

It's Wine and Chocolate Days in San Benedetto, and paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski has sweet dreams about her new Magic of Chocolate exhibit. Her latest attraction is a haunted Mexican whisk called a molinillo that rattles if someone lies. When Maddie visits the town's new boutique chocolate shop, she finds one of the owners dead and covered in melted cocoa.

Paramedic Zoe Chambers hoped a week at the Monongahela County Fair, showing her horse and manning the ambulance, would provide a much-needed diversion from recent events that continue to haunt her. An old friend, a bossy nemesis, and a teenage crush from her 4-H days fail to offer the distraction she had in mind. But ever the caregiver, she soon bonds with a troubled teen and a grieving father. Back in Vance Township, a missing woman turns up dead, leading Police Chief Pete Adams into a journey through her mysterious final hours.

Gwen Franklin is looking forward to spending her retirement drinking her favorite coffee and reading mystery novels. Those peaceful plans are brought to heel by her best friend, Nora. Sporting stiletto heels, leggings, and a "more is better" makeup routine, 50-something Nora Goldstein has a penchant for marrying - and divorcing - rich men. Now that Gwen's got free time, Nora figures they should start a dog-walking and pet-sitting service together. But it's far from a walk in the park when the corpse of Linda Fletcher is found in Nora's kitchen.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...especially a dead one holding a grudge. Back on Deadwood's list of usual suspects, Violet Parker is hip deep in wild frights and fired-up females. After juggling bitter threats, haunted buildings, and vengeful ghosts, the last thing she needs is a pair of bullheaded detectives trying to pin another murder on her tail. Can Violet find the real killer before she ends up behind bars? Or worse, on a slab at the morgue.

Although this isn't the life Lexie would have chosen, all is going well. At least until Lexie is fired and her deranged ex-boyfriend tries to kidnap her. Deciding that it's better to accept a mysterious inheritance from a great aunt she's never heard of rather than end up kept in a cage as her ex's pet poodle, Lexie packs up and heads to Kansas. So, what if she has to go by a new name and live in a town that she can't find on a map? Unfortunately, once she arrives in her new hometown, everyone there seems just a tad off-kilter, and Lexie's cousin insists the citizens are magical.

Laura Lippman won the Nero Wolfe Award for this powerful mystery. Former journalist turned P.I. Tess Monaghan thought she knew Baltimore like the back of her hand - but what she doesn't know just might kill her in this grim yet irresistible novel.

In Liberty Falling, Anna leaves the rugged countryside of Colorado to face the concrete wilds of New York City. As soon as she hears her older sister is gravely ill, Anna rushes to the Big Apple to sit at her bedside. Between hospital visits, she relaxes at the park service quarters on Liberty Island and explores the crumbling ruins of Ellis Island where thousands of immigrants once were processed.

Private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney and her friends are celebrating New Year's Eve at the party of the year, a smashing Winter White Garden party at the newly renovated King Cotton Boutique Hotel. It's a dazzling success, until Frangelica "Sister" McFee walks through the door. Sarah Booth knew Sister in college, before Sister became a best-selling author and moved to New York, and fame and fortune don't seem to have tempered her arrogance and cruelty.

Winner of both the Harper Lee Award and the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence, Carolyn Haines has thrilled countless readers with her Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries. Here, Sarah investigates when two wealthy heiresses claim a four-million-dollar family necklace was stolen. All the evidence points to insurance fraud, but when Sarah starts poking into the family’s dark secrets, one of the heiresses disappears.

Margaret Maron continues her best-selling Deborah Knott series with Sand Sharks - an "outstanding ... neat mystery that [is] highly recommended" ( Library Journal, starred review). Judge Deborah's hopes for relaxation at a seaside judicial conference are dashed when she stumbles upon the murdered body of a colleague. And when more judges turn up dead, Deborah fears she could be next.

Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown return with an all-new mystery starring Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, intrepid kitty sleuths Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and Tee Tucker, the ever-faithful crime-solving corgi. This time around, Harry and her animal friends track a killer whose trail has gone as cold as the weather in December.

Quentin McGee, author of a sensational exposé, has been murdered, and her lover, Allison, is charged with the crime. Sarah is hired to find the real culprit, but the investigation won't be easy. Quentin had so many enemies, including her own family and all those rich, powerful people mentioned in her book. As scandal brews, the suspect list continues to grow, and Sarah fears that the killer isn't finished yet.

Trying to leave painful memories behind her, Chloe Ellefson is making a fresh start. She's the new collections curator at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum showcasing 1870s settlement life. On her first day, Chloe meets with an elderly woman who begs her to find a priceless 18th-century Norwegian ale bowl that had been donated to the museum years ago. But before Chloe can find the heirloom and return it to her, the woman dies in a suspicious car crash.