Town Mystery

In the weeks since he moved to Ghost, Oregon, Maz Amani’s life has gotten so much better. Charming small town? Check. Queen Anne beauty of a house? Check. Project organizing the fascinating papers of Ghost’s founding family? Check. Adorable handyman who might morph into more than a friend? Check. Rafts of friendly townies? Check. And did he mention the house? Sure, there’s the occasional professional annoyance—ghostwriters can’t always be picky about the gigs they take in the name of keeping their cat in kibble. But on the whole, things are awesome.

After the success of her first event, which revived the fortunes of the bookstore she loves so dearly, Annie is excited to launch Redwood Grove’s first film festival. But when an infamous film critic plunges to his death during the premiere of a Hitchcock-inspired thriller, Annie’s instincts tell her that this was no accident. She soon discovers that many of the cast, crew, and guests are harboring dark secrets—from the lead actress with a scandalous past, to a film historian obsessed with protecting his vintage reel collection.

Don’t miss the next Will Trent thriller, This Is Why We Lied, coming this August! From New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter, the first novel in her acclaimed Grant County Series. A small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated...

Between her cheating husband and her on-air meltdown, Marzie Nowak is going through a bit of a bad spell and a heck of a midlife crisis. Her kids have flown the coop to college, and her husband has opted to trade her in for a younger model. With nowhere else to turn, the ex-big-city journalist crawls back to her superstitious hometown of Widow's Bay just in time for their annual pagan festival. Her new, much less glamorous gig has her reporting for a local news website.

With this follow-up to The Royal Wulff Murders, acclaimed author Keith McCafferty brings back fly-fishing PI Sean Stranahan for a second quirky adventure. When two graves are found on the mysterious Sphinx Mountain, the local sheriff suspects murder and calls on Stranahan to join the case. Then a vintage Gray Ghost lure from a riverside cabin disappears, and Stranahan begins to suspect that a deeper mystery is lurking just beneath the surface.

All communities have their secrets...but on Widow’s Island, there’s a skeleton in every closet, as Deputy Tessa Black knows all too well. When Tessa stumbles upon a half-buried body in the woods, a peaceful morning hike suddenly turns into a race to catch a killer. Tessa identifies the skeletal corpse as Aurora Franklin, a young college student and aspiring actor. She’d come to Widow’s Island for a summer job, only to be strangled and discarded. Aurora has been dead for over a month - and not a single islander has reported her missing.

From award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert comes a debut middle-grade novel about the only two Black girls in town who discover a collection of hidden journals revealing shocking secrets of the past. Beach-loving surfer Alberta has been the only Black girl in town for years. Alberta's best...

When a body washes up on the state park beach, Deputy Tessa Black’s experience as a former Seattle detective tells her that the death was not an accident. All evidence points to another murder on the remote island. The victim is a local contractor with a shockingly long list of enemies. The more locals Tessa interviews, the more people she suspects - from the bitter ex-wife and estranged current wife to disgruntled former clients and employees. They all have different reasons to want him dead.

With Holding Lies, John Larison takes us deep into a thriving subculture of the Northwest, one born of the ferns and firs, rain and hot-springs, firebombs and whitewater. He takes us even deeper into the troubles of Hank Hazelton, a 59-year-old river guide, as he struggles to reconnect with his only daughter after a 14-year estrangement. His failure as a father haunts him, along with other deep regrets, tragedies, and longings. In the days before his daughter's arrival, Hank discovers a drift boat stranded below a rapid, empty except for a long smear of blood on its seat.

Lottery winner and ex-journalist Donal Fitzgerald joins forces with his girlfriend, DNR conservation officer Mercy Virdon, to solve the mysterious death of a beloved angler, Charlie, who was murdered in his tent in a state campground and who was known by all - and who may have known too much. Set in the engaging small town of Ossning on the Borchard River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula - an angler’s dream, filled with eccentric, believable, sympathetic, and unforgettable characters - Riverwatcher is a classic whodunit.

Mike Hammer steals a ride on a train upstate to Killington. But he is welcomed by a nasty surprise: he is accused by police of raping and murdering a young woman near the freight yards. Roughed up by the cops and facing a murder charge, Hammer's future looks bleak. Only a beautiful blonde, Melba Charles - daughter of powerful Senator Charles - might possibly save him...if he pays the price. From a brittle, brown manuscript, the first Mike Hammer novel - begun by Mickey Spillane in the mid-40s and completed 70 years later by Max Allan Collins - is a gift to mystery fans on the noir master's 100th birthday.

The town of Sarlat is staging a reenactment of its liberation from the British in the Hundred Years’ War when the play’s French hero, Brice Kerquelin, is stabbed and feared fatally wounded. Is it an unfortunate prop malfunction—or something more sinister? The stricken man happens to be number two in the French intelligence service, in line for the top job. Bruno is tasked with the safety of the victim’s daughter Claire, as well as her father's old Silicon Valley buddies, ostensibly in town for a reunion.

Agatha and Anthony Award nominee Susan Wittig Albert has garnered popular and critical acclaim for her whimsical mysteries based on the life and times of Beatrix Potter. Set in the summertime splendor of 1913 England, this eighth tale finds Beatrix eager to marry her fiancé, solicitor William Heelis. But a few obstacles are still blocking the happy couple’s path to the altar - like the troubled remodeling of Castle Cottage, Will and Beatrix’s future home.

On prom night, Caroline Winterfield walked away from the ruins of an abandoned mansion called Haven Cliff and into the woods…never to be seen again. Only her three best friends know what really happened. But a secret is a secret, and a promise is a promise—even when it shatters lifelong friendships. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of that night, Midge, Kelly, and Talia reunite at Haven Cliff, now a gleaming architectural jewel. But they aren’t alone. Someone is watching.

A trip back to Pittsburgh to spend Thanksgiving with Vic's large, exuberant family means dodging old frenemies and a bitter ex-boyfriend. A cold case comes back to haunt Vic when a murdered woman's ghost begs Simon for justice. Then a new murder back in Myrtle Beach looks suspiciously familiar, and the dead man's ghost isn't playing nice. When Simon gets a vision of the next victim before the crime occurs, he realizes that all the murders are supernaturally linked. Catching the murderer will take his psychic sleuthing skills along with Vic's street smarts to avert a tragedy.

When online influencer Simone Baker asks Leland Munroe to defend her on a criminal charge, the small town lawyer is ready to say no. He’s not a criminal lawyer—despite what the people of Basking Rock seem to think. Social media and manslaughter are both far from his area of expertise. But with no other clients coming through his door, Leland takes the job to make ends meet.

Katie Benard reluctantly returns home to Grady Lake two decades after her older sister Malorie disappeared without a trace, a story that has captivated the nation since the day she was reported missing in 2003. After leaving home years ago, Katie is overjoyed to reunite with her childhood best friend and cousin while working at her family's lakeside resort at the end of tourist season in northern Michigan. Just when life begins to feel normal again, a teenage girl goes missing from the resort. She has vanished without a trace, just like Malorie.

When Jim Qwilleran's friend Polly decides to spend two weeks on vacation with an old girlfriend in Oregon, he finds himself at a loose end—but not for long. A visit from Nick Bamba brings news of a hotbed of mystery.

Thirteen years ago, Maggie Ellis left her small town and vowed to never return. In her rearview mirror were two men she loved and an ominous secret that would forever haunt her. Now, tragedy has brought her back, and she’s determined to forget that fateful night. But in a town like Myers, with familiar faces and chilling memories lurking around every corner, moving on is easier said than done. Before the ink can dry on the closing documents for her new residence, Maggie begins to feel unsettled. In every room, there’s the unmistakable sensation she’s being watched.

In February, 1806, the frigate carrying Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho drops anchor off the shores of southern Africa. Bolitho's instructions are to assist in hastening the campaign in Africa where an expeditionary force is attempting to recapture Cape Town from the Dutch. Bolitho is still brooding over the loss of his flagship, and hi socntinuing personal troubles are only brightened by his love for Catherine, Lady Somervell.