Mysteries for the Modern Reader

Louise Lloyd made headlines as the “Harlem Hero” after escaping her kidnapper as a teen. Ten years later, she’s determined to lead a normal life—one filled with bootleg booze and dancing until dawn with her girlfriend. But when young Black girls are being abducted, murdered, and publicly displayed, Louise will need to stop running from her past and take action. Dead Dead Girls transports you to the Harlem Renaissance with 1920s slang, clothes, and music, while dealing with issues that are as timely as ever.

With the help of her close-knit family, Bronwyn “Win” Crewse has successfully restored her family’s ice cream parlour in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. But Win will need to continue to defend her shop when a real estate developer plans to build a mall in center of town and her aunt in intent on taking command of the creamery. It only gets worse when the developer is found dead and Win’s friend is wrongfully accused of the murder. Win will need to catch the cold-hearted killer while also keeping control of her beloved ice cream shop. This well-crafted whodunit will have you constantly questioning the identity of the murderer as well as their motivations behind the calculating crime.

Nan’s day is not off to a good start. Her on-again, off-again relationship with Walter is off…again, and when she offers a fellow busker a place to stay for the night he ends up murdered on her kitchen floor. To make matters worse, the busker turns out to have been an undercover cop. And his former partner has taken an immediate and extreme dislike to Nan. When she finds that the dead man stashed a wad of cash in her apartment, cash that could go to help his blind girlfriend, Nan’s desire to do the right thing lands her in trouble.

Mimi Lee is living her best life, running her thriving Hollywood pet-grooming business, dating her super-sweet boyfriend, and caring for her sassy talking cat. But she’ll need to pull on her sleuthing cap when her sister is wrongfully accused of murdering her elementary school co-teacher. Fans returning to the series will be happy with the development of the book’s characters and relationships (and the addition of small gray kitten!). New readers will be delighted to know that this cozy also makes for the perfect stand-alone read!

Odessa Dean is working hard hand-selling books and craft beers at Untapped Books & Café in Brooklyn. When the death of a waitress/rising YouTube star is caught on camera, Odessa takes matters into her own hands and tries to pin down the killer before they take her offline for good. Perfect for foodies, bookworms, and mediagenic millennials!

A wildly charming and fast-paced mystery written with all the panache of the hardboiled classics, Fortune Favors the Dead introduces Pentecost and Parker, an audacious new detective duo for the ages. Abigail Collins was found bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball following a big, boozy Halloween party at her home—her body slumped in the same chair where her steel magnate husband shot himself the year before. With rumors flying that Abigail was bumped off by the vengeful spirit of her husband (who else could have gotten inside the locked room?), the family has tasked the detectives with finding answers where the police have failed.