A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase

Ethan Brand has just been appointed the police chief in Blaine, Washington. He's been on the force for fifteen years, but some are not happy that he's now in charge. In fact, someone has put an animal heart on Ethan's front porch with a note telling him to quit. When a woman's body is found near the train tracks, Ethan and his team are under pressure to solve the first murder that Blaine has seen in many years. A Lonesome Place for Dying is an engaging mystery with an interesting main character and story. Here's hoping this will become a series. A great read-alike for C.J. Box, Paul Doiron, J.A. Jance's J.P. Beaumont series and Northwoods by Amy Pease.

Lovers and Liars by Amanda Eyre Ward

Children's librarian Sylvie has found love after much heartbreak. Her husband, Alexander, died in a car accident ten years ago. She is now engaged to Simon, a wealthy British man whose family owns Mumberton Castle in the north of England, where the wedding will be held. Sylvie has invited her sisters Cleo and Emma and their mother Donna for a weekend of festivities leading up to the nuptials. The sisters have lost touch, although all three are united in their feelings towards Donna, who was both aloof and self-centered as they were growing up. Cleo brings her boyfriend, Danny, as her guest, although their relationship is on shaky ground because Cleo is in love with her friend, Isaac. Cleo has also been keeping a secret from Sylvie that she should have confessed long ago. Middle sister Emma, happily married with two kids, is not far from financial ruin, which she has not told her husband Rich about. In Lovers and Liars, the sisters bond, confess, and work through their problems together.

Miss Morgan's Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles

In 1918, Jessie Carson leaves her job as a children's librarian at the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France (CARD) in an area that was decimated by the Germans in the war. The philanthropist Anne Morgan created the group, which consists entirely of women. The village that Jessie is based in, Blerancourt, is largely destroyed-- the people living there are shellshocked and fighting to survive. Jessie and the rest of the Cards find themselves bonding with the residents and each other. In an alternating storyline set in 1987, aspiring writer Wendy Peterson works in the Remembrance Department at NYPL and stumbles upon articles about the CARDs and vows to make their work, all but forgotten, better known. Miss Morgan's Book Brigade is a sure bet for readers who enjoyed Skelsien Charles' book The Paris Library  or Lauren Willig's Band of Sisters.

Don't Let the Devil Ride by Ace Atkins

Addison McKellar is oblivious to how her husband, Dean, makes his money. So when he goes missing and she visits where his office is located, she is stunned to discover that it doesn't exist. Addison then hires private detective Porter Hayes to find out what happened to Dean. Dean, however, has been involved in lots of illegal activity--Dean might not even be his real name. Don't Let the Devil Ride is filled with colorful characters reminiscent of Elmore Leonard, Tarantino, and S.A. Cosby and has a great sense of place in Memphis. It will be published next month.

Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron

When Hammond Pratt goes missing, game warden Mike Bowditch goes to investigate. Pratt had come to Maine from Idaho, looking for a man and his daughter who were living in the woods. The man, Mark Redmond, is building a cabin near the Canadian border for a woman named Josie Jonson, who is close with Stacey (Mike's wife) and her father, Charley Stevens. The simple act of finding a missing person leads Mike on a trail of violence and murder, with even Mike himself fighting for survival. Pitch Dark is similar in format to Doiron's Dead by Dawn. It will be published next month.