Female Sleuths (6/12/24)

Dive into the world of female sleuths with these mysterious reads!

THE DARK WIVES BY ANN CLEEVES
9781250836847 | 8/27/24

“Forceful . . . Multiple narrators and a core cast of keenly rendered characters lend the tale dimension while furthering the series arc. Cleeves’s fans will be well satisfied.”—Publishers Weekly

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by July 1st.

THE GARDENER’S PLOT BY DEBORAH J. BENOIT
9781250334978 | 11/5/24

After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden.

When opening day arrives, Violet is nowhere to be found, and the gardeners are restless. Things go from bad to worse when Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the plots… and there’s a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by October 1st.

THE SERIAL KILLER GUIDE TO SAN FRANCISCO BY MICHELLE CHOUINARD
9781250359308 | 9/24/24

Welcome to San Francisco, a city with killer charm.

The chill of a San Francisco summer can be deadly. No one knows this better than Capri Sanzio, who makes her living giving serial killer tours of the city. Capri has been interested in the topic since she was a kid, when she discovered she’s the granddaughter of serial killer William “Overkill Bill” Sanzio. She’s always believed in his innocence, though she’s never fully explored all the details of the case.

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by August 1st.

THE SECRET OF THE THREE FATES BY JESS ARMSTRONG
9781250909886 | 12/3/24

American heiress Ruby Vaughn still hasn’t entirely forgiven her octogenarian employer and housemate Mr. Owen for bringing the occult into their lives during her recent trip to Cornwall. He claims their journey to Manhurst Castle in the Scottish Borders is simply to appraise and acquire illuminated manuscripts for their rare bookshop, however when Ruby discovers there are no manuscripts and receives news of a séance to be held that very night, she begins to grow suspicious about the true reason why they have come.

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by November 1st.

THE NIGHT WOODS BY PAULA MUNIER
9781250887917 | 10/8/24

Record snow and sleet and rain are pummeling Vermont and a wild boar has escaped from an exclusive hunting club nearby—but that won’t stop a very pregnant and very bored Mercy Carr from hiking her beloved woods with her loyal dog Elvis. She’s supposed to be decorating the nursery and helping her mother plan the baby shower, but she’d much rather be playing Scrabble with Homer Grant, a word-loving, shotgun-toting hermit living deep in the forest. But when she and Elvis drop by Homer’s cabin for their weekly game, they arrive to find an unknown dead man—and no sign of Homer.

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by September 1st.

PERFECT STORM BY PAIGE SHELTON
9781250910462 | 12/3/24

Beth Rivers needs to disappear. Her one-time kidnapper, Travis, is on his way to her town in Alaska, and she’s losing time to get out quickly.

The perfect spot for Beth and her boyfriend, Tex, to hide, presents itself in a camp in the woods, away from Benedict. But when their trip takes them by Blue Mine, a small community that has seen tragedy over the last couple months, plans get diverted.

ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND TREACHERY BY CELESTE CONNALLY
9781250867605 | 11/12/24

21 June, 1815. London may be cheering the news of Napoleon’s surrender at Waterloo, but Lady Petra Forsyth has little to celebrate after discovering that the death of her viscount fiancé three years earlier was no accident. Instead, it was murder, and the man responsible is her handsome, half-Scottish secret paramour Duncan Shawcross—yet the scoundrel has disappeared, leaving only a confusing riddle about long-forgotten memories in his wake.

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by October 1st.

A NEW LEASE ON DEATH BY OLIVIA BLACKE
9781250336675 | 10/29/24

Ruby Young’s new Boston apartment comes with all the usual perks. Windows facing the brick wall of the next-door building. Heat that barely works. A malfunctioning buzzer. Noisy neighbors. A dead body on the sidewalk outside. And of course, a ghost.

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by September 1st.