Library Journal's Reader's Shelf

Falling into a Series Relationship:  Six Top Mysteries

The Man with a Load of Mischief By Grimes, Martha 2003-02 - Onyx Books 9780451410818 Check Our Catalog The debut novel by the "New York Times" bestselling author--and the first featuring Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury--is available once again. Two murders in two pubs bring Jury to the village of Long Piddleton. While the villagers look outside for the killer, only one points Jury toward the darkest parts of his neighbors' hearts. …More

Crocodile on the Sandbank By Peters, Elizabeth 1988-01 - Warner Books 9780445406513 Check Our Catalog Thirty-one-year-old Victorian gentlewoman Amelia Peabody has not only inherited her father's fortune, but she is also blessed with his strong will as well. Now she's headed for Cairo, accompanied by a girl with a tarnished past, to indulge her passion for Egyptology. Little did she know that murder and a homicidal mummy lay in wait for her. …More

Bootlegger's Daughter By Maron, Margaret 1993-06 - Mysterious Press 9780446403238 Check Our Catalog Winner - 1993 Edgar Awards Attorney Deborah Knott is running for district judge in good-old-boy-ruled Colleton County, N.D. …More

A Taste for Death By James, P. D. 2005-11 - Vintage Books USA 9781400096473 Check Our Catalog When the quiet Little Vestry of St. Matthew's Church becomes the blood-soaked scene of a double murder, Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh faces an intriguing conundrum: How did an upper-crust Minister come to lie, slit throat to slit throat, next to a neighborhood derelict of the lowest order? Challenged with the investigation of a crime that appears to have endless motives, Dalgliesh explores the sinister web spun around a half-burnt diary and a violet-eyed widow who is pregnant and full of malice--all the while hoping to fill the gap of logic that joined these two disparate men in bright red death. . . . …More

Still Life By Penny, Louise 2008-09 - St. Martin's Griffin 9780312541538 Check Our Catalog "As the early morning mist clears on Thanksgiving Sunday, the homes of Three Pines come to life--all except one...""" Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal and yet a world away. Jane Neal, a long-time resident of Three Pines, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more but Gamache smells something foul this holiday season...and is soon certain that Jane died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter. ... STILL LIFE With this award-winning first novel, Louise Penny introduces an engaging hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces--and this series--with power, ingenuity, and charm. "[An] auspicious debut... [Penny's] deceptively simple style masks the complex patterns of a well-devised plot."--Marilyn Stasio, "The New York Times Book Review""" "A perfectly executed traditional mystery."--"Denver"" Post" …More

Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire By Downie, Ruth 2008-03 - Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 9781596914278 Check Our Catalog Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. When he rescues an injured slave girl, she drags trouble in her wake. …More