Japan, 1701. A woman is brutally attacked within a bamboo prison as clouds swirl around her head. Meanwhile, at Edo Castle, samurai detective turned chamberlain Sano Ichiro is suspicious of his old rival, Yanagisawa, who has been oddly cooperative since returning from exile. But just as Yanagisawa's true motives begin to emerge, Sano's estranged uncle comes to him for help: His daughter has disappeared, and he begs Sano and his wife—who once suffered through the kidnapping of their own son—to find her before it is too late.Publishers Weekly calls Laura Joh Rowland's The Cloud Pavilion "One of the best mysteries of the year." Views: 14
Equivocal Death's heroine, Kate Paine, is a law firm associate who is assigned to defend a high-profile sexual harassment case, only to find that the female partner she is to work with has been brutally murdered. After the murder, the law firm's well-ordered environment is repeatedly marked by violence - and Kate begins to think she herself may be the murderer's next victim. Views: 14
Holly Denver is the biggest gossip at Shadyside High. Her best friends Miriam Maryles and Ruth Carver are sure it's going to get her in big trouble someday. But Miriam and Ruth never thought Holly would wind up dead—strangled with her own scarf. Now the murderer thinks Holly told her friends what she heard—and will do anything to silence them forever. Views: 14
When shy Jenny Cooper goes to stay with her cousin Jane Austen, she knows nothing of the world of beautiful dresses, dances, secrets, gossip, and romance that Jane inhabits. At fifteen, Jane is already a sharp observer of the customs of courtship. So when Jenny falls utterly in love with Captain Thomas Williams, who better than Jane to help her win the heart of this dashing man?But is that even possible? After all, Jenny's been harboring a most desperate secret. Should it become known, it would bring scandal not only to her, but also to the wonderful Austen family. What's a poor orphan girl to do?In this delicious dance between truth and fiction, Cora Harrison has crafted Jenny's secret diary by reading everything Jane Austen wrote as a child and an adult, and by researching biographies, critical studies, and family letters. Jenny's diary makes the past spring vividly to life and provides insight into the entire Austen family--especially the beloved... Views: 14
Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called upon by the sheriff's department in rural, upstate New York to assist on a developing situation that involves a reclusive Amish settlement and the death of a young girl. Unable to penetrate the wall of silence between the Amish and "English" communities, the sheriff asks Kate to travel to New York, pose as an Amish woman, and infiltrate the community.
Kate's long time love interest, State Agent John Tomasetti, is dead set against her taking on such an unorthodox assignment, knowing she'll have limited communication - and even less in the way of backup. But Kate can't turn her back, especially when the rumor mill boils with disturbing accounts of children in danger. She travels to New York where she's briefed and assumes her new identity as a lone widow seeking a new life.
Kate infiltrates the community and goes deep under cover. In the coming days, she unearths a world built on secrets, a series of shocking crimes, and herself, alone... trapped in a fight for her life.
**About the Author
Linda Castillo is the "New York Times" bestselling author of the Kate Burkholder novels, including "Sworn to Silence" and "Her Last Breath", crime thrillers set in Amish country. The first book in the series, "Sworn to Silence, "was" "was adapted into a Lifetime Original Movie titled "An Amish Murder" starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, the Holt Medallion and a nomination for the RITA. In addition to writing, Castillo s other passion is horses. She lives in Texas with her husband and is currently at work on her next novel. Views: 14
From the authors of the "excellent" Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries: Captain Heimrich investigates family secrets behind closed doors (TheNew Yorker). Capt. M. L. Heimrich of the New York State Police may not have the flash of hard-boiled city detectives, but there's no lead the intrepid investigator won't follow until his every hunch is satisfied . . . After four years serving as a lieutenant in the US Naval Reserve, all World War II widow Jane Phillips wants is to reunite with her great-aunt Susan Meredith at her home in Westchester, New York. But Jane's journey soon proves to be fraught with danger. First, a series of unfortunate events almost causes Jane to miss her train. Then, another passenger attempts to trick her into a premature disembarkation. Jane would like to think the mishaps are simple coincidence, but what she doesn't know is someone doesn't want her to make it home at all . . . When Susan's... Views: 14
A young woman is found murdered...and the clues to her death point to her spurned lover, Paul Cézanne.In this richly atmospheric novel, a mysterious young woman named Solange Vernet arrives in Aix-en-Provence with her lover, a Darwinian scholar named Charles Westbury, and a year later is found strangled in a quarry outside the city. The young and inexperienced magistrate, Bernard Martin, finds his investigation caught in the crossfires of a raging cultural debate. Many of the more conservative residents of Aix, including Martin's own police investigator, believe that Solange reaped what she sowed for entertaining such radical scientific theories.Initially assuming that Solange's murder was a simple crime de passion by either a spurned Cézanne or a betrayed Westbury, Bernard soon finds himself on a mission to unravel the secrets of Solange and Cezanne's hidden past—the key to which may be a series of his paintings which depict the strangulation and violation of a woman with golden-red hair.Exploring questions of science and religion—and the role of women in these realms—that persist even today, Cézanne's Quarry is an impressive debut mystery about life, death, love, and art.From Publishers WeeklyCould Paul Cézanne be a killer? That's one of the disturbing prospects confronting novice magistrate Bernard Martin in August 1885 as he starts to investigate the murder of Solange Vernet, a recent transplant from Paris whose brutalized remains are discovered near a favorite haunt of the painter's outside Aix, in Pope's provocative debut. Was the freethinking beauty with the flame-colored locks slain by her lover, self-professed Darwinian scholar—and likely scam artist—Charles Westerbury, as Martin's boss contends, or by a smitten Cézanne? Martin quickly recognizes that the case could be a career maker—or breaker—if he antagonizes the artist's powerful family without overwhelming evidence. Pope animates her canvas with plenty of vivid period detail, but subplots, romantic and otherwise, dilute the suspense; later she telegraphs what should have been a surprise ending. Still, Francophiles and history buffs will find much to like. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistIn fewer than 400 pages, first-time novelist Pope skillfully explores the subjugation and abuse of women in the nineteenth century; the injustices of the French legal system; the conflict between Darwinian philosophy and established religious belief; and Cézanne’s art, love life, and depressed personality. She also weaves a fascinating murder mystery into these diverse thematic threads, forming an intriguing portrait of the painter’s life in Provence and how others might have perceived him. A body is found in a quarry near Aix—the lovely Solange Vernet, object of Cézanne’s unrequited love and the paramour of Darwinian scholar Charles Westbury. Unfortunately, the summer holiday leaves only a skeleton law-enforcement crew in place, among them the inexperienced, timid magistrate Bernard Martin and his callous detective assistant, Franc, who unceremoniously hauls in Westbury and Cézanne for questioning. Both investigators believe this crime of passion points to a lover spurned—but which one? With a bleak view of humanity similar to Émile Zola’s, this story of tortured love and repressed violence resembles Iain Pears at his darkest and Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s The Flanders Panel (1994) in tone and thematic depth. --Jen Baker Views: 14
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author P. J. Alderman's delightful new mystery series blends haunting ghosts with hunting criminals as therapist Jordan Marsh dives deep into the past to solve a modern murder.
A recent transplant to Washington State's charming seaside town of Port Chatham, Jordan is still getting used to sharing her slightly run-down but historic lodging with ghosts. As if living with the long-deceased isn't enough of a challenge, she's just found a corpse: The town's notorious womanizer Holt Stillwell is lying on the beach with a bullet in his head. Before Jordan can reel in a suspect, another victim surfaces. And this one isn't taking murder lying down. Holt's ancestor Michael Seavey, the Pacific Northwest's most infamous shanghaier, has materialized in Jordan's house, seeking to solve his own death in a suspicious shipwreck in 1893. With two murders to solve and a killer on the loose, Jordan faces yet another equally terrifying prospect: her growing attraction to the very alive and criminally attractive pub owner Jase Cunningham. Views: 14
