I'm proud to say that I know a lot of authors I consider to be my friends. I met many of them through Sisters in Crime. If you like my books, chances are you might like theirs, too. I hope you'll give them a try. Like me, all these authors are "mid-list," and we depend on sales to stay published.

If possible, please support your local independent bookstore through IndieBound (formerly Booksense), or via the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. Like Tricia's Haven't Got a Clue, small bookstores depend on sales to stay open. (And they make great reading recommendations, too!)

~~ NEW RELEASES ~~
 

NOVEMBER

Black Beans & Vice by J.B. Stanley, #5 in the Supper Club Mystery series.  The Flab Five's creative new strategy to slim down?  Hypnotherapy!  And James has new motivation for laying off the Krispy Kremes; his adorable son Eliot and a re-kindled romance with his ex-wife.  But someone doesn't approve, as evidenced by the gruesome "messages" threatening the happy family. On top of this, two sudden deaths have occurred: a councilman and a young animal rights advocate.  With guiltless grasshopper parfait to sustain them, the Flab Five team up to solve another delectable, food-filled mystery.  (Includes tempting recipes!)

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

 

Double Knit Murders by Maggie Sefton, #1 and #2 in the Knitting Shop Mysteries.  In Knit One, Kill Two, Kelly Flynn returns to Colorado for her aunt's funeral only to suspect that the woman's death was not an accident. With the help of the knitting regulars at House of Lambspun, Kelly's about to get a few lessons in creating a sumptuously colored scarf-and in luring a killer out of hiding. In Needled to Death, Kelly visits her friend Vickie's alpaca farm, and finds her splayed out on her original hand-woven rug, blood seeping into the design. Kelly can't resist investigating-even if it means taking a break from the sweater she's been knitting in the round.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

 

You Better Knot Die by Betty Hechtman.  #5 in the Crochet Mystery Series.  Her crochet group, The Tarzana Hookers, is working overtime for the holidays-but Molly Pink is having trouble finding time to crochet so much as a snowflake. The bookstore where she works is adding a yarn department, and planning a huge launch party where the mysterious author of a popular series will reveal his or her true identity.

But before the author appears, another person disappears. The husband of Molly's neighbor is missing. When a suicide note arrives, it appears the husband has jumped off the Catalina Ferry- but Molly smells something fishy. Despite the protestations of her detective boyfriend, Molly's soon hooked on unraveling another mystery. She better watch out-or her sleuthing may get her on someone's naughty list...

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

OCTOBER

Available from:

Amazon          

Barnes & Noble       

Dirty Rotten Tendrils, #10 in the Flower Shop Mysteries by Kate Collins. When high-powered lawyer Ken "the Lip" Lipinski is found dead from a suspicious overdose, florist and amateur sleuth Abby Knight finds it hard to swallow that his opposing counsel-and her old boss-is the murderer.

Available from: 

Amazon    

Barnes & Noble

SEPTEMBER
 

BUZZ OFF by Hannah Reed:  The first in the Queen Bee Mystery Series.

Story Fischer is celebrating her divorce when her mentor and beekeeper friend dies from an apparent bee attack. Then her ex-husband's girlfriend is murdered, and Story has to find who is guilty because she is the primary suspect. VERDICT This debut is just a tad contrived but will appeal to readers who like Joanne Fluke and other cozy writers for recipes, the small-town setting, and a sense of community.

Available from:  Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Mystery Lovers Bookshop

SCOOP TO KILL by Wendy Lyn Watson:  Second book in the Mystery a La Mode series.

During the local college's annual Honor's Day festivities, a graduate student is killed. When the English professor suspected of his murder also meets an untimely end, Tallulah Jones steps out from behind the counter of Remember the a-la-Mode to clear the professor's name-before anyone else gets put on ice...

Available from:    Amazon    Barnes & Noble    Mystery Lovers Bookshop

WAY OF THE GUILTY by Jennifer Stanley:  Third in the Hope Street Church Mysteries.

Cooper Lee has a new outlook on life, thanks to her friends at Hope Street Church. Spending time with the Sunrise Bible Study Group nourishes her mind and soul. But home is where the heart is—along with Mrs. Lee’s baked treats—and Cooper is indeed happy to have such a great family to come home to when not spending time with Nathan, a friend from the group who just might be (fingers crossed) The One. So when her sister, Ashley, is implicated in a gruesome murder, Cooper snaps into action. Along with Nathan and her friends from Hope Street, Cooper vows to solve this unholy mess—with a wing, a prayer, and a small dose of snooping…

Available from:     Amazon    Barnes & Noble     Mystery Lovers Bookshop

AUGUST

DEEPLY, DESPERATELY by Heather Webber:  Lucy Valentine wants to breathe new life into her family’s Boston-based matchmaking company. But how? Even though she comes from a long line of ancestors blessed by Cupid with psychic abilities, a freak accident left Lucy with only one special skill: finding things. Car keys, socks in the dryer, needles in haystacks...and now, in a stroke of professional genius, lost loves!

It’s not long before Lucy’s on a winning streak, helping old flames reunite and create new sparks. Business is booming. But when Lucy finds herself involved in a possible case of murder, she realizes she’s in too deep. Enter Sean Donahue. Lucy’s handsome fire-fighter turned private-eye neighbor, Sean is just the man she needs to help her on the job. Could he also be the man she’s been looking for all along? When it comes to Valentine, Inc., falling in love is always serious business…

Available from:  Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Mystery Lovers Bookshop

July Releases

CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL by Mary Jane Maffini:  Fourth in the series featuring professional organizer and amateur sleuth Charlotte Adams, following Death Loves a Messy Desk. Charlotte’s latest client is a real beaut. Lorelei Beauchamp is the image of the international Face It line of cosmetics and a lifelong acquaintance of Charlotte’s. She’s also a client that comes with a clean-up job a bit grittier than it first appears. Her hidden agenda? The model’s daughter was recently killed in a freak construction site accident—and Lorelei’s convinced it was murder. There’s scarce evidence to prove her hunch, but Charlotte can’t say no. Because she knows better than anyone that if you want to find something, you have get your house—and your suspects—in order...

Available From:  Amazon     Barnes & Noble    
Mystery Lovers Bookshop

THE LONG QUICHE GOODBYE by Avery Aames:  Welcome to the grand opening of Fromagerie Bessette. Or as it's more commonly known by the residents of small-town Providence, Ohio-the Cheese Shop. Proprietor Charlotte Bessette has prepared a delightful sampling of bold Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, delicious tortes of Stilton and Mascarpone, and a taste of Sauvignon Blanc-but someone else has decided to make a little crime of passion the piece de resistance. Right outside the shop Charlotte finds a body, the victim stabbed to death with one of her prized olive-wood handled knives.

Available from:

Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Mystery Lovers Bookshop

DELICIOUS AND SUSPICIOUS by Riley Adams:  Rebecca Adrian came to Memphis to suss out the best local BBQ for a prominent Cooking Channel Show. Trouble is, a mystery ingredient has killed her-and now all fingers are pointing to Aunt Pat's restaurant. Horrified that her family is being accused of murder, Lulu fires up her investigative skills to solve the crime before someone else gets skewered.

Available From:

Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Mystery Lovers Bookshop

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