Wild Place by Christian White

In 1989, when Tracie Reed goes missing, the people in the neighborhood of Camp Hill wonder what happened to her. One of her high school teachers, Tom Witter, who has a few weeks off over the holidays, takes a particular interest. Tom suspects his teenage next-door neighbor, Sean, who listens to heavy metal music and wears all black clothes, is involved in Tracie's disappearance. Taking place over a week, the book details, mostly through Tom's eyes, the search for Tracie and the aftermath. Another solid story by Christian White. It's too bad his books are no longer being published in the U.S.

The Night Flowers by Sara Herchenroether

Thirty years after bones of a woman and two children were discovered in New Mexico's Gila National Forest, police detective Jean Martinez begins to look into the case again. In Connecticut, genealogy librarian and recent breast cancer survivor Laura MacDonald sees an article about the new investigation and decides to use her own skills to help identify the trio, driven by the fact that the day the bones were found in 1983 was also the day she was born. The Night Flowers details Jean's and Laura's inquiries as they come together to uncover the truth--and possibly catch a murderer. The novel also explores the backgrounds of the woman killed, as she and the two girls become ghostly presences around Jean and Laura.

Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

Lata has divorced Suresh, her husband of over thirty years and moved out of the family home into a condo. She now works as a library assistant at the university. Suresh, lonely, has taken up internet dating and is willing to travel hundreds of miles to avoid going out with anyone who knew his ex-wife. Their daughter--college professor Priya--would like to be a mother, but is in love with a married man. Son Nikesh lives in New York and is a successful lawyer, but his relationship with Denise (the mother of his soon to be year old son, Alok) has hit a rough patch. In Late Bloomers, the reader meets all four members of the Raman family as they struggle with the changes in their lives and how to find a new happiness. Although the characters at times were not that likable, this book was an okay read.

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

It's the summer of 1974 and the city of Boston is on edge because, come September, the public schools in the city will be desegregated. Mary Pat's daughter, Jules, is a senior and will be bused to Roxbury High School. Then, one evening Jules doesn't come home and Mary Pat begins a search for her, fearing the worst. Jules' disappearance coincides with the death of a young black man in their working class Irish neighborhood. The man, Auggie Williamson, was in the area because his car had broken down, and his death seems to be racially motivated. Could the two cases be connected? As Mary Pat digs deeper--questioning the people Jules was with that night and asking for help from members of the local mob (whom she knows very well), she finds herself on a bloody, violent path with nothing to lose. Small Mercies is a vivid, searing depiction of 1970's Boston with an extremely memorable main character in Mary Pat.

The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths

Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway's life is at a crossroads when she learns that the board of the University of North Norfolk is proposing the closing of the Archaeology department, of which she is the head. Ruth wonders what she will do if the plans come to fruition. Ruth is also consulting on a case of some human bones that have been found in the wall of a building in King's Lynn. DCI Harry Nelson, the father of Ruth's daughter Kate, is leading the investigation. It turns out that Cathbad, a friend of both Ruth's and Nelson's, had known the person whose bones were found. Suspicion and worry soon follow when Cathbad disappears. Could he have information about the murder? In this latest book in the Ruth Galloway series, author Griffiths advances the story of Ruth, Nelson, and their circle satisfyingly as the series is being put to rest for now.