Mystery
Black leopard, red wolf
Marlon James
SCIENCE FICTION James Marlon
Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery
"In the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child"--
The cuckoo's calling
Robert Galbraith
MYSTERY Galbrait Robert
Fiction, Mystery
This was the perfect read for me on my trip to England, an engrossing mystery with vibrant characters and a window into contemporary London life. Cormoran Strike is a down on his luck detective, with plenty of scars, both physical and mental, from his past. With the arrival of an efficient secretary he can't afford, his rich new client could be just what he needs to get his business back on track. With the death of a model ruled a suicide by the police and media, the case seems impossible from the start, but Strike pursues the truth, even as the danger rises. -Morgan
The Parker inheritance
Varian Johnson
jFICTION Johnson Varian
Kids, Fiction, Mystery
Twelve-year-old Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house that belonged to her grandmother, who died after being dismissed as city manager for having the city tennis courts dug up looking for buried treasure--but when she finds the letter that sent her grandmother on the treasure hunt, she finds herself caught up in the mystery and, with the help of her new friend and fellow book-worm, Brandon, she sets out to find the inheritance, exonerate her grandmother, and expose an injustice once committed against an African American family in Lambert.
I love this book about seeking truth and acceptance. With the help of her friend Brandon, Candice searches for the truth about her grandmother’s failed tenure as city manager. Following clues her grandmother left her, their search for treasure instead leads to a decades old cover up of racial injustice, the truth of which was ignored by the city for years. The modern-day story is the main focus, with historical vignettes providing the backstory for the mystery. Readers will be just as invested as Candice and Brandon in solving the mystery of the letter writer and finding out what happened to the Washington family. -Morgan
Brown Girl Dreaming
I had never read a book by Jacqueline Woodson, but after hearing her speak in Iowa City, I couldn't wait to start. I chose Brown Girl Dreaming, a National Book Award winner because so many people I spoke with recommended it as the first to read. It was fantastic! Ms. Woodson is a gifted story teller and this children's autobiographical work about her childhood is marvelous on so many levels. It is a book for teens and adults too. I can't wait to read another book by her. -Maeve
Truly Devious
Maureen Johnson
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Johnson Maureen
Fiction, Mystery
When Stevie Bell, an amateur detective, begins her first year at a famous private school in Vermont, she sets a plan to solve the cold case involving the kidnapping of the founder's wife and daughter shortly after the school opened.
Can't wait to see where Maureen Johnson takes the main character Stevie. -Beth
Murder is bad manners : a Wells & Wong mystery
Robin Stevens
jFICTION Stevens Robin
Kids, Mystery
At an English boarding school in the 1930s, crime-solving friends Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells struggle to find an exciting mystery to investigate until Hazel discovers the dead body of Miss Bell, the science teacher.
With fun nods towards those titans of mystery, Christie and Doyle, this English boarding school mystery series gets off to an exciting start. Hazel Wong is the thoughtful and cautious Watson providing narration and case notes, with plenty of keen observations. Her best friend and Sherlock wannabe, Daisy Wells, is overly confident in her own cleverness and tends to act first and think later. With murders to solve and friendships to mend, this story is a winning blend of mystery and school story. -Morgan
Lock in
John Scalzi
SCIENCE FICTION Scalzi John
Science Fiction, Mystery
"Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. Four percent suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And one percent find themselves "locked in"--fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. One per cent doesn't seem like a lot. But in the United States, that's 1.7 million people "locked in"...including the President's wife and daughter. Spurred by grief and the sheer magnitude of the suffering, America undertakes a massive scientific initiative. Nothing can restore the ability to control their own bodies to the locked in. But then two new technologies emerge. One is a virtual-reality environment, "The Agora," in which the locked-in can interact with other humans, both locked-in and not. The other is the discovery that a few rare individuals have brains that are receptive to being controlled by others, meaning that from time to time, those who are locked in can "ride" these people and use their bodies as if they were their own. This skill is quickly regulated, licensed, bonded, and controlled. Nothing can go wrong. Certainly nobody would be tempted to misuse it, for murder, for political power, or worse..."--
Part Sci-Fi, part Mystery--Lock In has something for lovers of both! -Brian
Deja dead
Kathy Reichs
MYSTERY Reichs, Kathy
Mystery
Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan series features a forensic anthropologist who works in Montreal and North Carolina using her scientific skills to solve mysteries. The series blossomed into the Bones television series, but my favorites are the first books: Deja Dead and Death du Jour. Reichs is an actual forensic anthropologist so the details are real. -Kara
"A" is for alibi : a Kinsey Millhone mystery
Sue Grafton
MYSTERY Grafton, Sue
Mystery
Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series features a strong female private investigator who solves mysteries in Southern California. I listened to many of the series and the narration is great. Sadly, Grafton recently died and the series ended with "Y is for Yesterday" in 2017. -Kara
One for the money
Janet Evanovich
eBOOK
Mystery
Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series cultivates a cast of memorable characters who all pitch in to help Stephanie solve crimes. This may be a bit too chick-lit-y for some Nancy Drew fans (and certainly Morelli and Ranger don't compare to Ned) but Stephanie is dedicated and gets the job done. A note for new readers of this series - you don't have to read the books in order but it helps. The first two or three books are not as good but then the characters find their voice and the series takes off. -Kara
The beginning of a fantasy trilogy that promises mythology mash-ups, an African setting, and literary language. -Morgan