Thursday, August 28, 2014

Malice by Keigo Higashino

When writer Kunihiko Hidaka is found murdered in his home, detective Kyoichiro Kaga immediately suspects Hidaka's friend, Osamu Nonoguchi is the killer--but can he prove it? Malice details the cat-and-mouse game between the two, as Kaga delves into the friendship between Hidaka and Nonoguchi and his attempts to get Nonoguchi to confess. The mystery is an interesting puzzle that keeps you guessing until the end. It will be published in October.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith

In this latest mystery in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are hired by Mr. Sengupta to find out if the woman that he's taken into his home really has amnesia or if she's faking for some reason. Mma Makutsi is also starting a new business venture, The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe. While she has the funds to set up the restaurant and hire staff, she is not so experienced in what it takes to run a successful restaurant. In addition, the detective agency gets it's third employee, Charlie, whom Mma Ramotswe takes under her wing when he's let go from Tlokweng Speedy Motors, her husband's business right next door. Will Charlie's being young and having a completely different work ethic from the ladies make him a good fit for the agency? In typical fashion, McCall Smith focuses on the relationships between the characters with a bit of mystery thrown in.  It will be published in October.

To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie

Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, recently returned from paternity leave, has been demoted to the Holborn Police Station from Scotland Yard. When a young man dies while setting off a bomb in the St. Pancras underground, Duncan and his team try to discover his identity and motive.  On the home front, Duncan and his wife, DI Gemma James, wrestle with disappointing their three children, who want to keep all five kittens that the stray cat they've found gave birth to. In To Dwell in Darkness, the personal lives of Duncan, Gemma, their children, and colleagues Doug and Melody are given equal footing to the mystery. It will be published next month.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fortune-Hunter-A-Novel/dp/1250043891
In 1875, heiress Charlotte Baird is not looking for love when she meets Captain Bay Middleton. She is more interested in photography than being married off. However, Bay takes an interest in Charlotte's hobby and seems to like her for more than her substantial fortune. She reciprocates his feelings, but knows that her brother Fred will disapprove of Bay as her choice for a husband. When married Sisi, Empress of Austria, asks Bay to assist her in various hunts in the English countryside, he accepts and is swayed by her beauty and the same passion he shares for riding. In this triangle of love and possible scandal, someone is bound to be left hurt and unhappy. Author Daisy Goodwin spins an engaging fictional tale about the real-life Sisi that is hard to put down.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

It's Christmastime on Nantucket and the Quinn family are not looking forward to the holiday party at the family's Winter Street Inn. Owner Kelley has just walked in on his wife, Mitzi, passionately kissing Santa (aka George), whom they hire every year for their holiday party. When Mitzi reveals that they've been having an affair for the past twelve years, Kelley is stunned. Now, more than ever, he would like to sell the inn and get relief from the financial pressure he's been under. His grown daughter, Ava, despairs that her boyfriend, Nathaniel, hasn't proposed and doesn't love her as much as he should. Eldest son, Patrick, is being investigated for insider trading. Ava and Patrick's mother, Margaret, is Kelley's ex-wife, and a successful national news anchor, yet at times she regrets that she was not present enough for her children's childhoods. Finally, there is also another son, Kevin--a bartender--who has been keeping his relationship with his French girlfriend, Isabelle secret. In typical Hilderbrand style, the reader gets a front row seat to the feelings and emotions of all the members of the family as they unite and support each other in their times of need. It will be published in October.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

The Murder of Harriet Krohn by Karin Fossum

Charlo Torp is a compulsive gambler who's made a mess of his life.  His teenage daughter, Julie, won't talk to him, he mourns the death of his wife from leukemia, and he lives in fear because his gambling debts have grown into a large amount of money. Charlo thinks he's found a way to turn his life around-- rob elderly Harriet Krohn. However, his idea doesn't go as he planned and Harriet ends up dead. Charlo pays off his debts, buys Julie the horse she always wanted, and even finds employment, but he can't get the guilt about Harriet out of his mind or the thought that Inspector Sejer is probably on his trail. Will the authorities be able to prove that Charlo was the killer? In this seventh book of the Inspector Sejer series, the investigation takes a back seat to Charlo's own story of culpability and love. It will be published in November.