Readers' Advisory: Mystery & Thrillers

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were raised by a foster mother named Miss Fairchild, who they believed was a loving caretaker who saved them from family tragedies. However, the girls eventually broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free, but she was always in the shadows of their minds. Years later, when the foster home is sold and a body is discovered buried under the house, the sisters are brought in for questioning as witnesses or suspects

This domestic thriller centers around Millie, the main character, who secures a job as a maid for the affluent Winchester family. Hired on the spot by Nina, the wife, Millie moves into their mansion, living in the attic bedroom. For Millie, who is homeless, this job signifies a fresh start. However, Millie harbors secrets of her own — secrets that the Winchesters are unaware of, including her recent release from jail. As tensions escalate and the family’s hidden truths emerge and no one is safe.

It is the year 2058, and technology now completely rules the world. But New York City Detective Eve Dallas knows that the irresistible impulses of the human heart are still ruled by just one thing-passion. When a senator's daughter is killed, the secret life of prostitution she'd been leading is revealed. The high-profile case takes Lieutenant Eve Dallas into the rarefied circles of Washing-ton politics and society. Further complicating matters is Eve's growing attraction to Roarke, who is one of the wealthiest and most influential men on the planet, devilishly handsome . . . and the leading suspect in the investigation.

In this town, anyone is replaceable. . . .

After a tragic chain of events led to the deaths of their spouses two years ago, D.C. philanthropist Sloane Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery are finally starting to move on. The horrifying ordeal drew them together, and now they're ready to settle down again—with each other.

Grace Evans, an overworked New Yorker looking for a total escape from her busy life, books an Airbnb on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming. When she arrives at the idyllic getaway, she’s pleased to find that the owner is a handsome man by the name of Calvin Wells—and he’s eager to introduce her to his easygoing way of life. But there are things Grace discovers that she’s not too pleased about: A lack of cell phone service. A missing woman. And a feeling that something isn’t right with the ranch.

No sooner has Alexis Stone been sworn in as the interim sheriff for Russell County, Tennessee, when a serial killer dubbed the Queen's Gambit Killer strikes again--this time in her hometown. Pearl Springs is just supposed to be a temporary stop along the way to Alex's real dream: becoming the first female police chief of Chattanooga. But the killer's calling card--a white pawn and a note with a chess move printed on it--cannot be ignored. Pearl Springs chief of police Nathan Landry can't believe that his high school sweetheart Alexis (he refuses to call her Alex) is back in town, and he can't help wanting to protect the woman he never stopped loving. But as the danger mounts and the killer closes in, can Nathan come through on the promises he makes to himself to bring a killer to justice before it's too late.

When the daughter of a high-profile businessman disappears from an exclusive girls' boarding school, police detective Cate Reilly is tapped for an undercover assignment. It doesn't take her long to realize that beneath the veneer of polish and wealth, things are not as they seem at Ivy Hill Academy. But the biggest surprise of all? The only man she ever loved is also working at the school. Zeke Sloan has never forgotten Cate, but now isn't the best time for their paths to cross again. When their two seemingly disparate agendas begin to intertwine--and startling connections emerge among the players--the danger escalates significantly. But who is the mastermind behind the elaborate ruse? And how far will they go to protect their house of cards? Queen of romantic suspense Irene Hannon invites you to scale the heights of human folly and plumb the depths of the human heart in this second gripping book in the Triple Threat series.

Each of Pettrey's Novels Has Been a Multi-Month Bestseller FBI agent Declan Grey is in the chase of his life--but isn't sure exactly what he's chasing after. Threatened by a terrorist that "the wrath is coming," Grey fears something horrible is about to be unleashed on American soil. When his investigation leads him to a closed immigrant community, he turns to Tanner Shaw to help him. She's sought justice for refugees and the hurting around the world, and if there's anyone who can help him, it's Tanner. Tanner Shaw has joined the FBI as a crisis counselor . . . meaning she now has more opportunity to butt heads with Declan. But that tension also includes a spark she can't deny, and she's pretty sure Declan feels the same. But before anything can develop between them, they discover evidence of a terror cell--and soon are in a race against the clock to stop the coming "wrath" that could cost thousands their lives.

The third book in USA TODAY bestselling romantic suspense author Colleen Coble's Annie Pederson Series (following Dark of Night) returns to fan-favorite Rock Harbor as Annie's happily ever after is finally within sight . . . If she can stay alive long enough to grasp it. Perfect for fans of Terri Blackstock, Dani Pettrey, and Lisa Harris.

Taunting riddles.A deadly string of heists. Two broken hearts trapped in a killer's game.Christian O'Brady was pulled into a life of crime at a young age by his con artist parents. Now making amends for his corrupt past, he has become one of the country's foremost security experts. When a string of Southwestern art heists targets one of the galleries Christian secured, he is paired up with a gifted insurance investigator who has her own checkered past.Andi Forester was a brilliant FBI forensic analyst until her career was destroyed. She now puts those skills to work investigating insurance fraud, and this latest high-stakes case will test her gift to the limit. Drawn deep into a dangerous game with an opponent bent on revenge, Christian and Andi are in a race against the clock to catch him, but the perpetrator's game is far from finished, and one wrong move could be the death of them both.

Federal Investigator Aaron Falk is on his way to a small town deep in Southern Australian wine country for the christening of an old friend's baby. But mystery follows him, even on vacation. This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Kim Gillespie's disappearance.

After her boss is gunned down in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel in a random attack, Mae takes it upon herself to investigate and runs headfirst into The Beast's lawless machinations and the twisted systems it exists to perpetuate.

A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone livesin a single high-rise building, in this gripping debut by an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter.

A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful--until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands--in this razor-sharp debut.

Lights, camera, action in bestselling author David Rosenfelt's Flop Dead Gorgeous, as lawyer Andy Carpenter goes bicoastal to prove an old friend's innocence.

When a series of mysterious deaths spoil the Christmas season in Crozet, Virginia, Mary Minor "Harry" Harristeen and her beloved cats and dogs lend the police a helping paw in this exciting holiday mystery from Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown.

Wisconsin veterinarian Ally Winter must solve a well-heeled young woman's a-paw-ling murder in USA Today bestselling author Laura Scott's second Furry Friends mystery.

For the K Team, playing "good dog", "bad cop" is all fun and games... until there's a body on the scene, in the next K Team Novel by bestselling author David Rosenfelt.

Bookmobile-driving librarian Minnie Hamilton investigates after her new cat, Eddie, leads her to the body of a murdered local resident.

For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job at the Harvard Library, but she hasn't enjoyed her family's social whirl. To clear her head, Lucy visits her aunt Ellen for a little fun in the Outer Banks sun. Her retreat becomes an opportunity when Lucy lands a librarian job in her favorite place. Then a priceless Jane Austen first edition is stolen, and the chair of the library is murdered . . .

Everyone in Athena, knows Charlie Harris, the librarian who walks his cat, Diesel, on a leash. Godfrey Priest, famous author of gory bestsellers and Charlie's former classmate, is the pride of Athena. Charlie remembers him as an arrogant jerk, and he's not alone. Godfrey's homecoming couldn't possibly go worse: by lunch, he's put a man in the hospital. By dinner, Godfrey's dead.

From one of the great pioneers of detective stories, a classic novel reissued with a new introduction by S.A. Cosby The steadfast and sturdy Continental Op has been summoned to the town of Personville--known as Poisonville--a dusty mining community splintered by competing factions of gangsters and petty criminals.

Raymond Chandler's first three novels, published here in one volume, established his reputation as an unsurpassed master of hard-boiled detective fiction. The Big Sleep, Chandler's first novel, introduces Philip Marlowe, a private detective inhabiting the seamy side of Los Angeles in the 1930s, as he takes on a case involving a paralyzed California millionaire, two psychotic daughters, blackmail, and murder.

The first novel by "master of mystery" (The New York Times) Walter Mosley, featuring Easy Rawlins, the most iconic African American detective in all of fiction. Named one of the "best 100 mystery novels of all time" by the Mystery Writers of America. The year is 1948, the town is Los Angeles. Easy Rawlins, a black war veteran, has just been fired from his job at a defense factory plant. Drinking in his friend's bar, he's wondering how he'll manage to make ends meet, when a white man in a linen suit approaches him and offers him good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a missing blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs. Easy has no idea that by taking this job, his life is about to change forever. . .

Follow Chicago private investigator V.I. Warshawski; who is hired by an anonymous client to find his son's missing girlfriend. However, the client's story is a lie, and V.I. soon discovers that the client's son is dead. V.I.'s search for the client and the truth behind the case leads her into a dangerous world of violence, fraud, and gangsters.

The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestselling psychological thriller In the Woods Six months after the events of In the Woods, Detective Cassie Maddox is still trying to recover. She's transferred out of the murder squad and started a relationship with Detective Sam O'Neill, but she's too badly shaken to make a commitment to him or to her career. Then Sam calls her to the scene of his new case: a young woman found stabbed to death in a small town outside Dublin. The dead girl's ID says her name is Lexie Madison, the identity Cassie used years ago as an undercover detective, and she looks exactly like Cassie. With no leads, no suspects, and no clue to Lexie's real identity, Cassie's old undercover boss, Frank Mackey, spots the opportunity of a lifetime.

There is little violent crime in Venice, a serenely beautiful floating city of mystery and magic, history and decay. But the evil that does occasionally rear its head is the jurisdiction of Guido Brunetti, the suave, urbane vice-commissario of police and a genius at detection. Now all of his admirable abilities must come into play in the deadly affair of Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor who died painfully from cyanide poisoning during an intermission at La Fenice. But as the investigation unfolds, a chilling picture slowly begins to take shape -- a detailed portrait of revenge painted with vivid strokes of hatred and shocking depravity. And the dilemma for Guido Brunetti will not be finding a murder suspect, but rather narrowing the choices down to one ...

A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf. True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn't mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she's retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence.

One by One is a thriller/mystery about a corporate staff retreat at a ski chalet that goes horribly awry, resulting in members of the group being killed off “one by one.” A group of technology executives arrive at a French Ski Chalet, but not all make it out alive.

A college student, on her way home from visiting her mother, gets stuck with a group of people at a mountain rest stop during a blizzard. Things take a turn for the worse when the young woman discovers a kidnapped child in a car belonging to one of the people inside, putting the group in a terrifying life-or-death situation as they struggle to escape while trying to discover who among them is the kidnapper.

Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can't recognize friends or family, or even his own wife. Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts—paper, cotton, pottery, tin—and each year Adam's wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read.

Shiver is a 2021 British mystery thriller and the debut novel of Allie Reynolds, a former freestyle snowboarder. Published in the United Kingdom through Headline, the novel shifts between the past and present to tell the story of arguments and rivalries between competitive snowboarders that may have led to murder.

A weekend retreat at a cozy mountain lodge is supposed to be the perfect getaway . . . but when the storm hits, no one is getting away.

A peaceful Vermont village turns creepy in this tale of the dead returning to life. Sara Harrison Shea's precious daughter, Gertie, dies in 1908 during a harsh and unforgiving winter in which her mother and father, Martin, struggle to keep food on the table.

Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he's done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago. But Ansel doesn't want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood.  Through a kaleidoscope of women--a mother, a sister, a homicide detective--we learn the story of Ansel's life.

A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance. Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge.

In West Adams, a rapidly changing part of South Los Angeles, they're referred to as "these women." These women on the corner ... These women in the club ... These women who won't stop asking questions ... These women who got what they deserved ...

Summer has come to Atlantic City but the boardwalk is empty of tourists, the casino lights have dimmed, and two Jane Does are laid out in the marshland behind the Sunset Motel, just west of town. Only one person even knows they're there. Meanwhile, Clara, a young boardwalk psychic, struggles to attract clients for the tarot readings that pay her rent. When she begins to experience very real and disturbing visions, she suspects they could be related to the recent cases of women gone missing in town.

It's 1999 and Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club. She's not used to mixing work and friendship--after all, between her jealous boyfriend and his young daughter, she has enough on her plate. But the newest dancer is so clueless that Samantha feels compelled to help her learn the hustle and drama of the club: how to sweet-talk the boss, fit in with the other women, and make good money. One night, when the new girl needs a ride home, Samantha agrees to drive: a simple decision that turns deadly.

Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton's life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.

Moving between past and present, ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS delves into the darkest corners of the life of one mother as she investigates the disappearance of her son one year prior—and, in the process, confronts long-buried secrets from her own childhood.

An urban Alaska detective unlocks menacing secrets in a frigid, sinister small town while struggling to recover from a personal tragedy. The discovery of dismembered body parts in rugged, remote Point Mettier brings police detective Cara Kennedy from Anchorage to investigate.

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes off the coast of Hawaii. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors—but it's too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he's been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter Avery unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Break out the prosecco! There’s a new detective in town—and she’s 60, sexy, wise and utterly adorable. In the first book of what promises to be a smash series, Poldi moves from Munich to Sicily, intent on cheerfully drinking herself to death with a view of the sea. Instead her handyman goes missing, she finds his corpse, and what choice does she have but to solve the crime? To use her favorite saying: Namaste, Poldi!”—People (Book of the Week)

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?

Miriam Quinones-Smith has just moved to her husband’s hometown of Coral Shores, Miami, where her best friend, Alma, also lives. When a socialite dies at a Women’s Club luncheon, a tox screen reveals she’d died of a drug overdose, and an anonymous tip fingers Alma as the pusher.
Miriam is determined to prove Alma’s innocence, and believes that a more likely suspect is Dr Fuentes, a Cuban herbalist who sells overpriced herbal mixtures that promise weight loss, fertility, and other such medical claims.

Rescued from torpor and poverty by the need to help a good friend deal with the murder of her beloved granddaughter, our downsized-social-worker protagonist and her cat, Bunnywit, are jolted into a harsh, street-wise world of sex, lies, and betrayal, to which they respond with irony, wit, intelligence (except for the cat), and tenacity. With judicious use of the Oxford comma, pop culture trivia, common mystery tropes, and a keen eye for deceit, our protagonist swaggers through the mean streets of - yes, a Canadian city!

The morning after a ‘dine and sleep’ at Windsor Castle, eighty-nine-year-old Queen Elizabeth is shocked to discover that one of her guests has been found murdered in his room, with a dressing-gown cord around his neck. When the police and MI5 begin to suspect her loyal servants, Her Majesty is certain they are looking in the wrong place. For the Queen has been living an extraordinary double life ever since her teenage years. Away from the public eye, she has a brilliant, secret knack for solving crimes.

Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.     Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.    Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.     Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution's deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair.  But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.  Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the reader through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.

Clare used to manage New York City's Village Blend coffeehouse, until she opted for quieter pastures. But after ten years away she's back in action, serving up steaming hot caffeine one cup at a time. With a rent-free apartment directly above the coffeehouse and her cat Java by her side. Clare is thrilled to return to work--until she discovers the assistant manager dead in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere.

Hannah Swensen already has her hands full, but when the Cozy Cow Dairy's beloved deliveryman is found murdered behind her bakery with her famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, Hannah sets out to track down a killer.

When Goldy's former father-in-law passes out from rat poison in the coffee she's catering, and her kitchen is closed down, Goldy wants answers. Everyone--from her ex-husband's other ex-wife to her eleven-year-old son Arch--seems to know more than Gold does. But she's had enough. And as she begins following the recipe to its logical conclusion, she discovers that some unsavory ingredients are flavoring the neighborhood and poisoning her own family with the bitter taste of deceit and revenge....

When a body is discovered at Sea Harbor's opening reception for the autumn art series, the Seaside Knitters must take a break from stitching baby gear to unravel a series of secrets in Sally Goldenbaum's 15th Seaside Knitters Society mystery.

Kelly Flynn has been enjoying motherhood and avoiding murder, but when a friend's life is cut short, she enlists the Lambspun knitters to catch a heartless killer in the last Knitting Mystery novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Only Skein Deep.

These are the dog days of August, but you won't catch the Tarzana Hookers crochet club napping. While Molly Pink knits together an idea for a new project, Miami Wilson busily converts a house she inherited into a rental property. But Miami is left shorthanded when Sloan Renner, the woman helping her clean out the house ends up dead under a pile of smelly seafood.