LJ Genre Spotlight: Edge-of-Your-Seat Thrills

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opens in a new windowLJ mystery genre spotlightAccording to Library Journal‘s recent genre spotlight, mysteries still rule! Make sure you’ve got all the Macmillan titles mentioned for your growing collection:
Escaping the Ordinary

DAISY IN CHAINS by Sharon Bolton
On sale: Sept. 20, 2016
A criminal defense attorney with a reputation for getting the wrongly convicted exonerated is drawn into the machinations of a serial killer who claims innocence. “Bolton plays with reader’s perceptions,” comments [Minotaur editorial director Kelley] Ragland, “constantly shifting the ground under your feet as the story progresses.” And while she isn’t delivering an unreliable narrator, “she’s always got the reader where she wants her.”

Criminal Investigations

Female leads also dominate this spring’s crop of crime and police procedural novels. “Women protagonists are stronger than ever and comprise the majority of our list,” says Minotaur publicity manager Sarah Melnyk, who points out that many of these characters have careers in law enforcement or investigative work.

CITY OF THE LOST by Kelley Armstrong
On sale: May 5, 2016
An interesting switch for urban fantasy writer Armstrong. Her sharp protagonist is Casey Duncan, a detective with a dark past who seeks a fresh start in a remote Canadian town.

STRIPPED BARE by Shannon Baker
On sale: Sept. 6, 2016
A female Walt Longmire in Nebraska’s cattle country, Kate Fox must find out who shot her cheating husband, the county sheriff. “It might be a man’s world overall,” comments Tor/Forge senior editor Kristin Sevick, “but there’s virtually no avenue of sleuthing off-limits to women simply because of their gender. The West doesn’t belong only to the boys.”

REDEMPTION ROAD by John Hart
On sale: May 3, 2016
Back in small-town North Carolina, meet Elizabeth Black, a dedicated, driven, and deeply troubled detective and Hart’s first female protagonist.

Fresh Voices, New Stories

TRAIL OF ECHOES by Rachel Howzell Hall
On sale: May 31, 2016
Reader demand for more diverse authors and themes continues to grow. African American detective Elouise Norton is back for her third case, inquiring into the death of a 13-year-old girl in her old L.A. neighborhood.

Addressing Social Issues

Thanks to the phenomenon that was Downton Abbey, “the period between the wars—the PBS era—is a fertile period for mysteries,” comments Minotaur associate director of publicity Hector DeJean.

A MOST NOVEL REVENGE by Ashley Weaver
On sale: Oct. 11, 2016
Librarian Weaver’s forthcoming third entry in her acclaimed Amory Ames series revolves around an investigation of a years-old murder.

DESIGN FOR DYING by Renee Patrick
Available now
A star-studded 1930s Holly­wood debut starring real-life costume designer Edith Head and shopgirl Lillian Frost, who join forces to solve a murder. “The 1930s is a dramatically revolutionary time period that readers can relate to. Classic glamour, strong women rising in a man’s world, and a tough economic time—it’s 80 years ago, and yet it could be today.” — Tor/Forge’s Sevick

Bookish Cozies

On the lighter side of crime fiction, Minotaur associate publicist Shailyn Tavella sees a resurgence in “bookish mysteries…with odes to bibliophiles everywhere.

ALL THE LITTLE LIARS by Charlaine Harris
On sale: Oct. 4, 2016
Harris’s small-town Southern librarian, Aurora Teagarden, whose mystery-solving adventures have now been adapted by the Hallmark Channel, will be returning this fall.

ARSENIC WITH AUSTEN by Katherine Bolger Hyde
On sale: July 12, 2016
Minotaur newcomer Hyde “merges the fun and lighthearted aspects of a cozy with elements from classic fiction.” — Minotaur’s Tavella

Want more mysteries? See what Talia recommended at the recent “Mysteries to Die For” Booklist webinar!

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