7th Woman

From Rosemarie Jerome
Author:  Frederique  Molay
7th Woman
Inspector Nico Sirsky is the Chief of Police, Head of the Paris Criminal Investigation Division. When Marie-Helene Jory, Assistant Professor of History at the Sorbonne, is killed in her home, Nico is called in to investigate. The homicide has sexual overtones and the victim was brutally tortured. The killer was slow, methodical and calculating, he enjoyed the kill. When similar murders occur, Nico realizes that they are dealing with a serial killer. The killer begins leaving messages for Nico. This crime novel is not for the squeamish, but the plot twists and the appealing characters will draw you in as the acts of violence repel you. Read it with the lights on and whatever you do, don’t answer your doorbell…This exclusive Kindle eBook is available on our circulating Paperwhite Kindle.

Six Years

From  Rosemarie Jerome
Author:  Harlan  Coben
Six Years
A broken hearted college professor, Jake Fisher, watches is ex-lover, Natalie, marry another man, Todd. He tells her that he loves her and she makes him promise that he will never contact her again. He keeps that promise for six years until a momentous event occurs, he sees Todd’s obituary online. Jake attends the funeral but another woman is the grieving widow. Where is Natalie? His search for her unearths lies, secrets, conspiracies and violence. His world and reality is destroyed but he knows that he must discover the truth about the woman that he loves.

The narrator of this suspense, Scott Brick, is a master storyteller who navigates the listener through these plot twists and draws you into the story. His intense delivery captures you from the very beginning and he gives each character their own distinct voice by just using a subtle change in tone, pitch or dialect. His narration is very natural, never over the top, but you really get to know the characters by their (his) voice. I loved the characters with attitude like our hero.

Murder in Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?

From Jackie Cantwell
Author:  Mark Fuhrman
Murder in Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?
This is the true crime account of the murder of 15 year old Martha Moxley on her own property in the exclusive area of Belle Haven, Greenwich, CT. on October 30, 1975. Her neighbors were the Skakels, who are related to the Kennedys. From the beginning, many people suspected that someone from the Skakel household must have committed the crime, as the murder weapon was a golf club matching a set found in the house. Thomas Skakel, the 17 year old son of the widowed Rushton Skakel, emerged early as a suspect, since he was the last known person to see her alive. Ken Littleton, the 23 year old tutor who moved in that day, was a suspect for many years. Not only was the police investigation incompetent, but they tiptoed around the wealthy Skakels. It seemed the only way the crime would be solved would be a confession, because the police weren’t about to uncover anything useful themselves! Not until the existence of “the Sutton file” (a report by a private investigation firm, paid for by Rushton to clear Thomas’s name) became known did Michael Skakel (15 y/o at the time of the murder) become a suspect.

I like how Fuhrman explained how a murder investigation is supposed to be conducted, as he is a former detective with LAPD, most notable for being associated w/ the O.J. Simpson trial. A cast of characters would have been useful.

Murder past due

From Andrea Kalinowski
Author:  Miranda  James
Murder past due
I love books and cats and not necessarily in that order so when I discovered a new author who combines my two loves, I was in heaven. Miranda James has a “Cat in the Stacks mystery” series which features an archivist/public librarian named Charlie Harris who is accompanied almost everywhere by his Maine Coon cat, Diesel. Diesel warbles, chirps, meows and manages to communicate quite easily with his owner. Charlie solves the mystery while Diesel provides sympathy and/or emotional support to Charlie and others. So far there are four titles in the series and they are, as follows: Murder past due, Classified as Murder, File M for murder, and Out of circulation. I can’t wait for the next Cat in the stacks mystery to appear on my bedside table.

Hawkwood: A Regency Crime Thriller

From Rosemarie Jerome
Author:  James McGee
Hawkwood: A Regency Crime Thriller
The dashing, dangerous, mysterious, Matthew Hawkwood is the hero of this historical thriller set in Regency London. Hawkwood, a Bow Street Runner, is ordered by Chief Magistrate James Read to investigate the double murder of a coachman and a navy officer on the Kent Road. Could the murders be part of a plot by Emperor Napoleon to crush Britain? Does the country’s security rest in the hands of its most controversial investigator? This is the first book of this exciting series. Hawkwood’s adventures are an entertaining treat.

Dead Scared

From Rosemarie Jerome
Author:  S.J. Bolton
Dead Scared
What is happening in Cambridge? An alarming rate of student suicides are occurring. DI Lacey Flint goes undercover to discover if the deaths are a suicide cult or murders. She confronts danger at every turn but what scares her most is her reaction to her partner, Mark Joesbury, and his turquoise eyes. It is an intense mystery with a hint of romance.

The Yard

From Rosemarie Jerome
Author:  Alex Grecian
The Yard
Detective Inspector Walter Day is new to the Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad. When a body is found in a steamer trunk at the Eaton Square Station, it becomes his investigation. Pressure to solve the case quickly increases when word gets out that it is one of their own, Inspector Christian Little, who has been murdered. Day is assisted by coroner, Dr. Bernard Kingsley, who is a forensic pioneer at University College Hospital. Their unconventional methods are ridiculed by his superiors and colleagues and he begins to doubt his ability to solve the crime. To add to his distress, Constable Nevil Hammersmith, discovers the body of a 5 year old boy stuffed halfway up a chimney. Are these two cases somehow connected? Set in Victorian London, the period details and the use of real historical figures makes this a must read for fans of Sherlockian mysteries and the advent of criminology such as in Caleb Carr’s The Alienist.

Blue Lightning

From  Eileen Effrat
Author:  Ann Cleeves
Blue Lightning
This is the fourth book in Cleeves’ crime series set in the Shetland Islands. Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez returns to Fair Isle to introduce his fiancée to family and friends. Shortly after their arrival, the well- known director of the island’s bird observatory is found murdered. Within a day the cook is found dead. As a storm rages across the island, no one can get on or off the island. When forensic help finally arrives, it is of little help. This is a mystery where motive is crucial. I would recommend beginning with the first in the series, Raven Black, followed by White Nights, and Red Bones.

Book, Line and Sinker

From  Andrea Kalinowski
Author:  Jenn McKinlay
Book, Line and Sinker
Jenn McKinlay has a new series gracing the library shelves. A fast-paced, humorous mystery featuring a small-town library director and her Crafternoon friends. Her closest friend, however, is the Children’s Librarian, Beth Stanley. The first in the series is Books Can be Deceiving followed by Due or Die. The third title in the series is Book, Line and Sinker and as one can surmise it has to do with water and pirates, to be specific, who sail oceans blue and bury their pirate booty. Lindsey Norris is not as gung-ho as some of her fellow citizens about the pirate map but she does take advantage of the adventuresome spirit infusing the town and arranges a book display. When the Tourism Director is found murdered at the treasure site, Lindsey rolls up her sleeves and places herself in the middle of the action, regardless of the danger.

The bloodletter’s daughter : a novel of old Bohemia

From Rosemarie Jerome
Author:  Linda Lafferty
The bloodletter’s daughter : a novel of old Bohemia
Power, lust, obsession and madness – these are the forces which drive this tale of the beautiful bathmaid Marketa Pichlerova of Cesky Krumlov and the illegitimate son of the Hapsburg King Rudolf II, Don Julius. In 1605, the king banished Don Julius to remote Cesky Krumlov to calm the uproar caused by his depraved acts in Prague. While there he underwent the treatment of bloodletting to purge him of the vicious humors that possess him. When the prince met the bloodletter’s daughter, Marketa, he became dangerously obsessed with her. Marketa was also drawn to, and frightened by, this mad prince. Lafferty creates a tale that is powerful and haunting, innocent and brutal and completely captivating.