“The Overnights,” by Ian K. Smith (Amistad)
Chicago TV anchor Morgan Shaw hires PI Ashe Cayne when she believes somebody is threatening to kill her. Cayne and his crew end up not only providing protection but are also drawn into the shooting of an unarmed black man, by a cop. With her show placing No. 1 in the ratings for years, Shaw is stressed over sweeps week, and the probability that she’s slipped to second place. Breaking the story would put her back on top in the ratings. She needs Cayne to help her find the truth about the killing. As he investigates, Cayne uncovers details of the killing — and about Morgan, as well.
“The Last Remains,” by Elly Griffiths (Mariner Books)
When the remains of a young woman are found hidden behind a wall, who do you call? Well, if you’re an Elly Griffiths fan and the body is found in England’s King’s Lynn, you ring up Dr. Ruth Galloway. After all, she’s solved mysteries in more than a dozen other books.
The body turns out to be that of an archaeology student who disappeared 20 years before. Suspicion falls on her bizarre professor as well as Ruth’s dear friend, Cathbad. Meanwhile, Ruth is trying to save her archaeology department, which the university wants to close. And then there is Ruth’s messy love affair with a detective, who happens to be overseeing the case. Will he ever leave his wife and move in with Ruth and their 12-year-old daughter? This is the last in the Ruth Galloway series, so readers just might find out.
“Red Queen,” by Juan Gomez-Jurado (Minotaur Books)
Antonia Scott just might be the smartest woman in the world, but is she smart enough to solve the murder of a billionaire’s son or the kidnapping of the daughter of the world’s richest man? Does she even want to?
Antonia is the Red Queen, the intellectual center of an international crime-solving entity. After three years of mourning for her unconscious, bed-ridden husband, she’s persuaded to return to work to find the kidnapped woman. Her partner is a disgraced Spanish cop. The two appear to be an ill-matched pair, but the combination of her smarts with his dogged-if-blundering style works.
Told from the standpoints of the two detectives, the victim and the perpetrator (known as Ezekiel), the fast-paced thriller explores the motivation of genius and of evil.
“The Cliff’s Edge,” by Charles Todd (William Morrow)
Nurse Bess Crawford is barely back from the Great War when she’s sent off to nurse Lady Beatrice, a friend of a friend who’s undergoing a gallbladder operation. Lady Bea is still recovering when a telegram arrives telling her that her godson, Gordon, has been injured at a house party. Once again, Bess is hurried away to minister to a stranger.
Once at Gordon’s estate, Bess learns he fell over a cliff and landed on top of his friend, who’s dead. Gordon’s suspected of murder. Not only must Bess (and the inspector) determine if the death is intentional, they also must deal with an English country household of suspicious guests of various degrees of disagreeability. Written by the mother-son team identified as “Charles Todd,” “The Cliff’s Edge” is No. 13 in the Bess Crawford mystery series.
“Try Not to Breathe,” by David Bell (Berkley)
A decade separates stepsisters Avery and Anna, both college students, who barely speak. When their angry, disabled ex-cop father asks Avery, an ex-cop herself, to check up on Anna, who refuses to communicate, Avery reluctantly agrees. She can’t understand why her paranoid father is so concerned. Then she discovers Anna’s roommate has been murdered and Anna herself is missing.
The sisters catch up at a student movement protesting police violence — but only for a minute. Avery’s thrown in jail, and Anna disappears again. Once released, Avery sets out once more to track down her sister, only to find herself caught up in an illegal marijuana-growing operation and an ugly family secret. The two sisters have to learn to trust each other if they want to live.
“Lay Your Body Down,” by Amy Suiter Clarke (William Morrow)
Things aren’t going well for Delilah Walker. Her boyfriend dumped her, she quit her job and her roommate asked her to move out. When Del Finds out that Lars, the man she’d once hoped to marry, was killed in a hunting accident, she decides to return to her church-dominated hometown to attend his funeral.
Del isn’t welcome. She’s estranged from her family. She’d told Lars on his wedding day that he’d made a mistake. And people remember when she was forced to repent for a sin in front of the entire church congregation. It’s clear that nobody wants her there, especially Lars’s wife, Eve, Del’s former best friend.
Then Del catches Eve and an associate pastor in an embrace and decides the two were having an affair. She concludes one of them killed Lars. With the aid of a local bartender, she launches an investigation not only into the murder but also into the Messiah church and its founder. Alas, Del is a clumsy investigator, but each stumble brings her closer to a killer. There’s a nice little twist at the end.
“North of Nowhere,” by Allison Brennan (Minotaur Books)
Kristin McIntyre, 16, and her young brother, Ryan, 10, are in hiding from their murderous crime family when their father discovers their whereabouts, and they’re forced to flee with minutes to spare. They escape in a small plane that crashes in the Montana wilderness, killing the man who’s cared for them for five years. Left alone with a blizzard coming, they flee into the forest with little more than a compass to guide them.
Searching for them are not only their father and his cohorts, but an L.A. detective bent on killing Kristin. But they’re also followed by a wilderness guide and his son, Kristin’s best friend, along with her aunt, who escaped the family by joining the army and now wants to protect the children.
As the weather turns as deadly as the crime family, the various pursuers encounter each other in their deadly attempt to rescue Kristin and Ryan. The boy is deaf and communicates only through sign language, which adds a poignant element to the story.
