Crime and mystery: women sleuths / detectives

Book SynopsisFrom Ann CleevesNew York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV showscomes Silent Voices. Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.Louise Penny When Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the steam room of her local gym, she wonders briefly if, for once, it's a death from natural causes. But closer inspection reveals bruises around the victim's throat....As she leads her team, Vera relishes the thrill she gets from running an investigation. Death has never made her feel so alive. But soon, the victim's past reveals a shocking secret at the heart of Vera's community, as she tries to stop a killer who wants deadly secrets kept silent.Singular, complex, and fiercely loyal, Vera has quickly become an iconic British detective loved by millions both on the page and on-screen, and Silent Voices showcase

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Book SynopsisA retired colleague''s suspicious death puts Lt. Eve Dallas on the case in Payback in Death, the electrifying new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author J.D. Robb. Lt. Eve Dallas is just home from a long overdue vacation when she responds to a call of an unattended death. The victim is Martin Greenleaf, retired Internal Affairs Captain. At first glance, the scene appears to be suicide, but the closer Eve examines the body, the more suspicious she becomes.An unlocked open window, a loving wife and family, a too-perfect suicide noteEve''s gut says it''s a homicide. After all, Greenleaf put a lot of dirty cops away during his forty-seven years in Internal Affairs. It could very well be paybackand she will not rest until the case is closed.

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Book SynopsisIn this crime thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling J.D. Robb, a small and easily concealed weapon wreaks havoc, and the killer is just a face in the crowd.Jenna's parents had finally given in, and there she was, at a New York club with her best friends, watching the legendary band Avenue A, carrying her demo in hopes of slipping it to the guitarist, Jake Kincade. Then, from the stage, Jake catches her eye, and smiles. It's the best night of her life.It's the last night of her life.Minutes later, Jake's in the alley getting some fresh air, and the girl from the dance floor comes stumbling out, sick and confused and deathly pale. He tries to help, but it's no use. He doesn't know that someone in the crowd has jabbed her with a needleand when his girlfriend Nadine arrives, she knows the only thing left to do for the girl is call her friend, Lieutenant Eve Dallas.After everyone on the scene is interviewed, lab results show a toxic mix of

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Book SynopsisThe first book in M. C. Beaton''s New York Times bestselling Agatha Raisin seriesnow a hit show on Acorn TV and public television.Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and settles in for an early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. But she soon finds her life of leisure isn't all it's cracked up to be.Bored, lonely, and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest: Surely a blue ribbon for the best quiche will make her the toast of the town. But her recipe for social advancement sours when the judge, Mr. Cummings-Browne, not only snubs her entry but also falls over dead! After her quiche's secret ingredient turns out to be poison, she must reveal the unsavory truth. . . . That is, Agatha has never baked a thing in her life! In fact, she bought her entry ready-made from an upper-crust London quicherie. Grating on the nerves of several Carsely residents, she

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Book SynopsisA taut, suspenseful, and complex murder mystery with gorgeous period detail.Susan Elia MacNealThrough her exquisite prose, sharp observation and deft plotting, Mariah Fredericks invites us into the heart of a changing New York in her remarkable debut adult novel, A Death of No Importance.New York City, 1910. Invisible until she's needed, Jane Prescott has perfected the art of serving as a ladies' maid to the city's upper echelons. When she takes up a position with the Benchley family, dismissed by the city's elite as new money, Jane realizes that while she may not have financial privilege, she has a power they do notshe understands the rules of high society. The Benchleys cause further outrage when their daughter Charlotte becomes engaged to notorious playboy Norrie, the son of the eminent Newsome family. But when Norrie is found murdered at a party, Jane discovers she is uniquely positionedshe's a woman no one sees, but who witnesses everything

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Book SynopsisA timeless murder mystery with the fascinating, glamorous Mitford sisters at its heart, The Mitford Trial is the fourth installment in the Mitford Murders series from Jessica Fellowes, inspired by a real-life murder in a story full of intrigue, affairs and betrayal... It''s lady''s maid Louisa Cannon''s wedding day, but the fantasy is shattered shortly after when she is approached by a secretive man asking her to spy on Diana Mitfordwho is having an affair with the infamous Oswald Mosleyand her sister Unity.Thus as summer 1933 dawns, Louisa finds herself accompanying the Mitfords on a glitzy cruise, full of the starriest members of Society. But the waters run red when a man is found attacked.Back in London, the case is taken by lawyer Tom Mitford, and Louisa finds herself caught between worlds: of a love lost, a family divided, and a country caught in conflict.

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Book SynopsisIn New York Times bestseller Allison Brennan's Cold as Ice, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid must get into the head of a psychopath to save her family, and herselfTwo years ago, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid put psychopath Elise Hansen Hunt in juvenile detention for her role in an organized crime syndicate. Now eighteen, Elise has been released with a clean slate, and plans to take her revenge by making Lucy's life hell. The plot begins with Lucy's husband Sean Rogan, who has been arrested for a murder he most certainly did not commit.Lucy is determined to prove Sean's innocence, but is warned off the case by her boss. As she calls in reinforcements, she learns that Sean's brother Kane is missing in Mexico, her partner Nate Dunning has been arrested for possession of cocaine, and her friend Brad Donnelly has been kidnapped outside DEA headquarters. Lucy realizes that Elise doesn't have the resources or patience to execute such a devious plan. Did Elise's father o

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Book SynopsisFatal Flowers is the third in a colorful cozy mystery series from Jess Dylan, set in the Flower Housewhere you're as likely to find a killer as a chrysanthemum. As Aerieville, Tennessee's Flower House finally gains in popularity, Sierra Ravenswood finds herself feeling ready for new challenges. Luckily, the shop has grabbed the attention of the mayor's daughter, and bride-to-be, Marissa Lakely. Sierra is thrilled, and nervous, to land her most important job yet: providing flowers for the biggest wedding Aerieville has ever seen.Fortunately, Marissa bucks all stereotypes and is far from a bridezillabut her wedding planner, Taz Banyan, has apparently taken on the role for himself. He's uptight, intense, and a little intimidating. But Taz aside, everything seems to be under control...until Sierra makes a startling discovery in the great room: the wedding planner, lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, in very bad shape. In fact, he survives only long

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Book SynopsisJess Montgomery showcases her skills as a storyteller in The Hollows: a powerful, big-hearted and exquisitely written follow-up to her highly acclaimed debut The Widows.Ohio, 1926: For many years, the railroad track in Moonvale Tunnel has been used as a shortcut through the Appalachian hills. When an elderly woman is killed walking along the tracks, the brakeman tells tales of seeing a ghostly female figure dressed all in white.Newly elected Sheriff Lily Ross is called on to the case to dispel the myths. With the help of her friends Marvena Whitcomb and Hildy Cooper, Lily follows the woman's trail to The Hollowsa notorious asylumand they begin to expose dark secrets long-hidden by time and the mountains.

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Book SynopsisEllie Alexander''s Bake, Borrow, and Steal, the most delicious installment yet in the Bakeshop Series set in Ashland, Oregon! As the autumnal hues of November fall over the Shakespearean hamlet of Ashland, Oregon, Jules and her team at Torte are working on their biggest event ever. They've been invited to create chocolate showpieces for the gala opening of a new exhibit, Shakespeare's Lost Pages at SOMA. The museum, located on the campus of Southern Oregon University, is getting ready to unveil the Bard's lost manuscript, Double Falsehood, which is being touted as the greatest artistic discovery of modern times. In addition to molding luscious, silky chocolate into magnificent structures, Torte will be serving an authentic Elizabethan feast straight from the pages of a sixteenth century cookbook featuring Lardy cakes, Frangipane tarts, and jellies with chestnut cream.Jules has underestimated the amount of work required to pull off such a culinary

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Book SynopsisAshes to Ashes, Crust to Crust is the second book in Mindy Quigley''s delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria.Newly single pizzeria owner Delilah O'Leary is determined to keep her restaurant afloat in the picturesque resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. To boost her bottom line, she sets her sights on winning the hefty cash prize in the town's annual Taste of Wisconsin culinary contest. In her corner, she's got her strong-willed, big-boned cat Butterball, her wisecracking BFF, her cantankerous great-aunt, and a nearly-flawless recipe for Pretzel Crust Deep-Dish Bratwurst Pizza. But while Delilah and her team have been focused on pumping out perfect pizza pies, her ex-fiancé has cozied up to a new squeeze, juice bar owner Jordan WattsDelilah's contest rival.When one of Jordan's juice bar customers is poisoned by a tainted smoothie, Delilah lands deep in the sauce. Accusations fly, suspects abound, and a menacing stranger

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Book SynopsisA breakneck procedural that is beautifully written and masterfully crafted, Erin Young''s The Fields is a dynamite debutcrime fiction at its very finest.Some things don''t stay buried.It starts with a bodya young woman found dead in an Iowa cornfield, on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Agriculture.When Sergeant Riley Fisher, newly promoted to head of investigations for the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, arrives on the scene, an already horrific crime becomes personal when she discovers the victim was a childhood friend, connected to a dark past she thought she'd left behind.The investigation grows complicated as more victims are found. Drawn deeper in, Riley soon discovers implications far beyond her Midwest town.

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Book SynopsisAs with the very best series in any genre, the real joy is revisiting people whose lives are still unfolding for us, in a place that feels remarkably real, yet not like anywhere we know....this is a series that covers all the bases. -St. Louis Post Dispatch Detective Casey Duncan has noticed fewer and fewer residents coming in to the hidden town of Rockton, and no extensions being granted. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, presumes it's the natural flux of things, but Casey's not so sure. It seems like something bigger is happening in the small town they call home.When an injured hiker stumbles from the woods, someone who seems to have come to the Yukon for a wilderness vacation but instead is now fighting for her life, it's all hands on deck. What - or who - attacked this woman, and why? With the woman unconscious, and no leads, Casey and Eric don't know where the threat is coming from. Plus, the residents of their deeply secretive tow

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Book SynopsisTaylor presents an appealingly nuanced twist on the traditional police procedural. The Washington PostSarah Stewart Taylor is known for her atmospheric portrayal of an American detective in Ireland, and her critically acclaimed series returns with A Stolen Child.After months of training, former Long Island homicide detective Maggie D'arcy is now officially a Garda. She's finally settling into life in Ireland and so is her teenage daughter, Lilly. Maggie may not be a detective yet, but she's happy with her community policing assignment in Dublin''s Portobello neighborhood.When she and her partner find former model and reality tv star Jade Elliot murdereddays after responding to a possible domestic violence disturbance at her apartmentthey also discover Jade''s toddler daughter missing. Shorthanded thanks to an investigation into a gangland murder in the neighborhood, Maggie's friend, Detective Inspector Roly Byrne, brings her onto his team

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Book SynopsisMariah Fredericks''s The Lindbergh Nanny is powerful, propulsive novel about America's most notorious kidnapping through the eyes of the woman who found herself at the heart of this deadly crime.A masterful blending of fact and fiction that is as compelling as it is entertaining.Nelson DeMilleWhen the most famous toddler in America, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey in 1932, the case makes international headlines. Already celebrated for his flight across the Atlantic, his father, Charles, Sr., is the country's golden boy, with his wealthy, lovely wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by his side. But there's someone else in their householdBetty Gow, a formerly obscure young woman, now known around the world by another name: the Lindbergh Nanny.A Scottish immigrant deciphering the rules of her new homeland and its East Coast elite, Betty finds Colonel Lindbergh eccentric and often odd, Mrs. Lindbergh kind yet n

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Book SynopsisMariah Fredericks'' mesmerizing novel, The Wharton Plot, follows renowned novelist Edith Wharton in the twilight years of the Gilded Age in New York as she tracks a killer.New York City, 1911. Edith Wharton, almost equally famed for her novels and her sharp tongue, is bone-tired of Manhattan. Finding herself at a crossroads with both her marriage and her writing, she makes the decision to leave America, her publisher, and her loveless marriage.And then, dashing novelist David Graham Phillipsa writer with often notorious ideas about society and women's place in itis shot to death outside the Princeton Club. Edith herself met the man only once, when the two formed a mutual distaste over tea in the Palm Court of the Belmont hotel. When Phillips is killed, Edith''s life takes another turn. His sister is convinced Graham was killed by someone determined to stop the publication of his next book, which promised to uncover secrets that powerful people would rat

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Book SynopsisFBI Agent Lucy Kincaid is back in three novellas. For the first time in print, Storm Warning, No Way Out, and A Deeper Fear each find Lucy running out of time . . . New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan will have you on the edge of your seat.In Storm Warning, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid and her colleague Nate are racing a severe storm, but the weather is the least of their worries when two prisoners escape and take a child hostage along the way. Lucy and Nate must try to rescue the boy and survive the storm, without letting these violent criminals get away. In No Way Out, Lucy's husband, Sean Rogan, and his brother, Kane, go missing on the eve of a family wedding, and she's forced to put aside her fear and work the case. Someone is looking for a missing girl they think Lucy's future sister-in-law knows where she is and will do anything or kill anyone to learn the truth. In A Deeper Fear, Lucy

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Book SynopsisLinda Castillo''s bestselling series has been called gripping [People] and impossible to put down [Bookpage] and the teeth chattering suspense [USA Today] continues with GONE MISSINGa deeply chilling novel about a rite of passage gone horribly wrong.Rumspringa is the time when Amish teens are allowed to experience life without the rules. It''s an exciting time of personal discovery and growth before committing to the church. But when a young teen disappears without a trace, the carefree fun comes to an abrupt and sinister end, and fear spreads through the community like a contagion. A missing child is a nightmare to all parents, and never more so than in the Amish community, where family ties run deep. When the search for the presumed runaway turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. And Chief of Police Kate Burkholder knows that in order to solve this case she will have to call upon everything she has to give

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Book SynopsisIn Muffin But the Truth, Torte''s pastry chef and amateur sleuth Juliet Capshaw finds herself in deep water... in another delicious installment in the Bakeshop Series from author Ellie Alexander, set in Ashland, Oregon!Ashland is known for its Elizabethan charm and touches of Shakespeare around every corner, but the surrounding Rogue Valley draws adventure enthusiasts to its outdoor wonderland of high alpine lakes, mountain ranges, and pristine rivers. Jules Capshaw and the team at Torte have been hired to cater a weekend getaway on the mighty Rogue River. Jules is going to have to put her culinary skills to the test while baking gooey chocolate chip skillet cookies over an open flame and preparing extravagant feasts under a canopy of stars. The executive team at a big city firm will be rafting the Rogue's rapids and gathering around the campfire for spooky stories, but their dysfunction quickly begins to show. Between constant bickering and heavy drinking, Jul

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Book Synopsis#1 New York Times bestseller Kelley Armstrong returns to the captivating town of Rockton in The Deepest of Secrets, the next installment in one of the most imaginative crime series on shelves today.This is a series that covers all the bases. St. Louis Post DispatchIt's not always easy to live in the hidden town of Rockton, something Detective Casey Duncan knows firsthand. Tucked away in the Yukon wilderness, the community survivesand thrivesbecause the residents'' many secrets stay just thatsecret.But what happens when these secrets start to come out? Overnight, no one is safe. It's not a question of if your secret will come outbut when.Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, need to find the culprit while protecting those who have been thrust into the spotlight. For a place built on privacy and new beginnings, Rockton isn't handling these revelations very well. People are turning on one another, and when one o

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Book SynopsisFrom the Tony Hillerman Prize-winning author of Pay Dirt Road comes Hard Rain, Samantha Jayne Allen''s mesmerizing next novel set in a hardscrabble Texas town dealing with disaster.In shock and found clinging to a tree branch, Bethany Richter is pulled from thrashing floodwaters that have decimated the town of Garnett, Texas and killed a dozen others.Six months after solving the murder of a local waitress, Annie McIntyre is working as an apprentice P.I. when she''s handed her first solo case: uncover the identity of the man who rescued Bethany before he was swept downriver.When Annie''s search turns up a different victimshot dead, not drownedAnnie questions if the hero they seek is actually a killer.Flexing her new skills while relying on the wisdom of her eccentric, ex-cop grandfather, the case leads Annie into a web of drug dealers, preachers, and wayward drifters trying to make sense of life after a disaster. Annie''s own convi

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Book SynopsisNew York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's Rockton Novels had one of the most unique towns in crime fiction. Murder at Haven''s Rock is a spinoff, a fresh start... with a few new dangers that threaten everything before it even begins.Haven's Rock, Yukon. Population: 0Deep in the Yukon wilderness, a town is being built. A place for people to disappear, a fresh start from a life on the run. Haven's Rock isn't the first town of this kind, something detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, know first-hand. They met in the original town of Rockton. But greed and deception led the couple to financing a new refuge for those in need. This time around, they get to decide which applicants are approved for residency.There's only one rule in Haven's Rock: stay out of the forest. When two of the town''s construction crew members break it and go missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to track them d

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Book SynopsisThe third in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, Playing It Safe is a delightful World War II mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit.Ellie is a smart and gutsy new heroine. Ann Lee HuberAs the Blitz continues to ravage London, Ellie McDonnellformerly a safecracking thief, but currently determined to stay on the straight and narrow to help her countryis approached by British Intelligence officer Major Ramsey with a new assignment. She is to travel under an assumed identity to the port city of Sunderland and there await further instructions. In his usual infuriating way, the Major has left her task as vague and mysterious as possible.Ellie, ever-ready to aid her country, heads north, her safecracking tools in tow. But before she can rendezvous with the major, she witnesses an unnatural death. A man falls dead in the street in front of her, with a note clutched in his hand. Ellie's instincts t

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Book SynopsisMariah Fredericks''s The Lindbergh Nanny is powerful, propulsive novel about America's most notorious kidnapping through the eyes of the woman who found herself at the heart of this deadly crime.A masterful blending of fact and fiction that is as compelling as it is entertaining.Nelson DeMilleWhen the most famous toddler in America, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey in 1932, the case makes international headlines. Already celebrated for his flight across the Atlantic, his father, Charles, Sr., is the country's golden boy, with his wealthy, lovely wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by his side. But there's someone else in their householdBetty Gow, a formerly obscure young woman, now known around the world by another name: the Lindbergh Nanny.A Scottish immigrant deciphering the rules of her new homeland and its East Coast elite, Betty finds Colonel Lindbergh eccentric and often odd, Mrs. Lindbergh kind yet n

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Book SynopsisINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER#1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box''s Treasure State finds Cassie Dewell in Montana on the trail of a con man.Private Investigator Cassie Dewell's business is thriving, and her latest case puts her on the hunt for a slippery con man who's disappeared somewhere in the treasure state. A wealthy Florida widow has accused him of absconding with her fortune, and wants Cassie to find him and get it back. The trail takes Cassie to Anaconda, Montana, a quirky former copper mining town that's the perfect place to reinvent yourself. As the case develops, Cassie begins to wonder if her client is telling her everything.On top of that, Cassie is also working what''s easily one of her strangest assignments ever. A poem that promises buried treasure to one lucky adventurer has led to a cutthroat competition and five deaths among treasure-hunters. But Cassie's client doesn't want the treasure. Instead,

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