The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg: A paperboy on his route in central Copenhagen stumbles upon a macabre find: the naked body of a dead woman, lying in a fountain with arms marked with small incisions. Cause of death? Exsanguination—the draining of all the blood in her body. Clearly, this is no ordinary murder. Lead Investigator Jeppe Korner, recovering from a painful divorce and in the throes of a new relationship, takes on the investigation and what he discovers will turn his blood as cold as ice.
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker: Vincent King was sent to prison for killing his childhood sweetheart, Star’s, sister. But now, he’s served his sentence and is returning hometown where his childhood best friend, Walk, is now the chief of police, and Duchess, Star’s daughter, is a self-proclaimed outlaw. When Duchess exacts her own vigilante revenge, she will set into motion a series of events that threatens not only her own family, but everyone she grows close to.
Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb: The scene in the West Village studio appears to be classic crime-of-passion: two wine glasses by the bed, music playing, and a young sculptor named Ariel Byrd with the back of her head bashed in. But when Dallas tracks down the wealthy Upper East Side woman who called 911, the details don’t add up and soon they’re getting the FBI involved in a case that involves a sinister, fanatical group and a stunning criminal conspiracy.
The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths: CaretakerNatalka notices an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy, a ninety-year-old woman with a bad heart who recently passed. Each includes a postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to suspect foul play.
Ghost Ups Her Game by Carolyn Hart: When ghost Bailey Ruth Raeburn receives an urgent call for help from her old hometown, she can’t resist taking on the mission herself. She arrives to face a shocking scene: Professor Iris Gallagher leaning over the corpse of her colleague Matt Lambert, murder weapon in hand. Bailey Ruth is only sent to help the innocent, but things are looking very black for Iris. Now Bailey Ruth must uncover the truth – or this could be the last trip to earth she’s ever allowed to make.
The Lady Upstairs by Halley Sutton: Jo’s job is blackmailing handsy, adulterous, and corrupt men in Los Angeles, and she is eager to prove herself to her coworker Lou and their enigmatic boss, known only as the Lady Upstairs. When one of her targets is murdered, both the Lady Upstairs and the LAPD have Jo in their sights. Desperate, she decides to bring down a rising political star, but learns that Lou and the Lady have secrets of their own, and that no woman is safe when there is a life-changing payout on the line.
The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear: September 1941. While on a delivery, young Freddie Hackett, a message runner for a government office, witnesses an argument that ends in murder. Dismissed by the police when he attempts to report the crime, Freddie goes in search of a woman he once met when delivering a message: Maisie Dobbs. She soon realizes she’s been pulled into the orbit of a man who has his own reasons to kill—reasons that go back to the last war.
Relentless by Mark Greaney: The first agent’s disappearance was a puzzle. The second was a mystery. The third was a conspiracy. Intelligence operatives around the world are disappearing. When a missing American agent reappears in Venezuela, Court Gentry, the Gray Man, is dispatched to bring him in. But a team of assassins has other ideas.
Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman: Milo doesn’t call Alex in unless cases are “different.” This murder warrants an immediate call: a rich young woman is obsessed with reopening the coldest of cases–the decades-old death of the mother she never knew. No physical evidence, no witnesses, no apparent motive. And a slew of detectives have already worked the case and failed. But as Delaware and Sturgis begin digging, the mist begins to lift. Too many coincidences. Facts turn out to be anything but.
Transient Desires by Donna Leon: Brunetti is faced with heinous crime committed outside his jurisdiction: two young American women have been badly injured in a boating accident. As Brunetti and Claudia Griffoni investigate, they discover one of the young men in the boat works for a man rumored to be involved in more sinister nighttime activities. The two must get bottom of what proves to be a gut-wrenching case whose perpetrators are technologically brilliant and ruthlessly organized.