Winner
Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen
Naughty in Nice (Royal spyness #5) by Rhys BowenCall Number: Fiction B786r v.5 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780425243497
Publication Date: 2011-09-06
London, 1933. Her Majesty the Queen is sending Georgie off to Nice with a secret assignment—to recover her priceless, stolen snuff box from the disreputable Sir Toby Groper. Her Majesty’s trust is an honor, but an even greater honor is bestowed upon Georgie in Nice when none other than Coco Chanel asks her to model the latest fashions. Unfortunately, things go disastrously wrong on the catwalk and before Georgie can snatch the snuff box, someone’s life is snuffed out in a very dastardly way. With a murderer on the loose—and Georgie's beau Darcy seen in the company of another woman—how’s a girl to find any time to go to the casino?
Finalists
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Murder Your Darlings by J. J. Murphy
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Mercury's Rise by Ann Parker
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Troubled Bones by Jeri Westerson
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A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
Murder Your Darlings
Mercury's Rise
Troubled Bones
A Lesson in Secrets
A Lesson in Secrets (Maisie Dobbs #8) by Jacqueline WinspearCall Number: 2011
ISBN: 9780061727672
Publication Date: 2011-03-22
Maisie Dobbs' first assignment for the British Secret Service takes her undercover to Cambridge as a professor, and leads to the investigation of a murderous web of activities being conducted by the up-and-coming Nazi party.
Winner
Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for Murder by Catriona McPherson
Finalists
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The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen
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Murder on Fifth Avenue by Victoria Thompson
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An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd
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Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear
The Twelve Clues of Christmas
The Twelve Clues of Christmas (Royal spyness #6) by Rhys BowenCall Number: Fiction B786r v.6 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780425252789
Publication Date: 2012-11-06
Scotland, 1933. While her true love, Darcy O’Mara, is spending his feliz navidad tramping around South America and her mother is holed up in a tiny village called Tiddleton-under-Lovey with droll playwright Noel Coward, Georgie is quite literally stuck at Castle Rannoch thanks to a snowstorm.
It seems like a Christmas miracle when she manages to land a position as hostess to a posh holiday party in Tiddleton. The village should be like something out of A Christmas Carol, but as soon as she arrives things take a deadly turn when a neighborhood nuisance falls out of a tree. On her second day, another so-called accident results in a death—and there’s yet another on her third, making Georgie wonder if there's something wicked happening in this winter wonderland.
Murder on Fifth Avenue
An Unmarked Grave
An Unmarked Grave : a Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles ToddCall Number: Fiction T633c v.4 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 97800620015723
Publication Date: 2012
The critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of the Ian Rutledge mystery series, Charles Todd once again spotlights World War I nurse Bess Crawford in An Unmarked Grave. Gripping, powerful, and evocative, this superb mystery masterwork unfolds during the deadly Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918, as Bess discovers the body of a murdered British officer among the many dead and sets out to unmask a craven killer.
Elegy for Eddie
Elegy for Eddie (Maisie Dobbs #9) by Jacqueline WinspearCall Number: Fiction W776L v.9 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780062049575
Publication Date: 2012-03-27
Maisie Dobbs takes on her most personal case yet, a twisting investigation into the brutal killing of a street peddler that will take her from the working-class neighborhoods of her childhood into London's highest circles of power. Set in London between the two world wars.
Winner
A Question of Honor by Charles Todd
A Question of Honor (Bess Crawford mysteries #5) by Charles ToddCall Number: Fiction T633c v.5 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780062237156
Publication Date: 2013-08-27
In 1908, when a young Bess Crawford lived in India, an unforgettable incident darkened the otherwise happy time. Her father's regiment discovered it had a murderer in its ranks, an officer who killed five people yet was never brought to trial. A decade later, tending to the wounded on the battlefields of France during World War I, Bess learns from a dying man that the alleged murderer, Lieutenant Wade, is alive and serving at the Front. According to reliable reports, he'd died years before, so how did Wade escape India? What drove a good man to murder in cold blood? Bess uses her leave to investigate. But when she stumbles on the horrific truth, she is shaken to her very core. The facts reveal a reality that could have been her own fate.
Finalists
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Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen
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Death in the Time of Ice by Kaye George
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A Friendly Game of Murder by J. J. Murphy
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Murder in Chelsea by Victoria Thompson
Heirs and Graces
Heirs and Graces (Royal spyness #7) by Rhys BowenCall Number: Fiction B786r v.7 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780425260029
Publication Date: 2013-08-06
While in the Australian Outback grooming a newfound heir, Jack Altringham, for high society, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself investigating the murder of the Duke who was found with Jack's hunting knife in his back.
Death in the Time of Ice
A Friendly Game of Murder
Murder in Chelsea
Winner
Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen
Queen of Hearts (Royal Spyness #8) by Rhys BowenCall Number: Fiction B786r v.8 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780425260364
Publication Date: 2014-08-05
Lady Georgiana Rannoch, thirty-fifth in line for the British throne, knows how to play the part of an almost royal-but now she's off to Hollywood, where she must reprise her role as sleuth or risk starring in an all-too-convincing death scene. My mother, the glamorous and much-married actress, is hearing wedding bells once again-which is why she must hop across the pond for a quickie divorce in Reno. To offer my moral support, and since all expenses are paid by her new hubby-to-be, Max, I agree to make the voyage with her. Crossing the Atlantic, with adventure in the air and wealthy men aboard, Mother all but forgets about Max and matrimony-especially when movie mogul Cy Goldman insists on casting her in his next picture. Meanwhile, I find myself caught up in the secret investigation of a suspected jewel thief. Lucky for me, the lead investigator happens to be my dashing beau, Darcy! Mother's movie and Darcy's larceny lead everyone to Cy's Hollywood home, where the likes of Charlie Chaplin are hanging about and there's enough romantic intrigue to fill a double feature. But we hardly get a chance to work out the sleeping arrangements before Cy turns up dead-as if there wasn't enough drama already.
Finalists
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Wouldn't It Be Deadly by DE Ireland
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Murder in Murray Hill by Victoria Thopmson
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Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd
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An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd
Wouldn't It Be Deadly
Murder in Murray Hill
Hunting Shadows
Hunting Shadows (Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery #16) by Charles ToddCall Number: Fiction T633r v.16 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780062237187
Publication Date: 2014-01-21
A man is murdered at a society wedding held at Ely Cathedral, and the local police are mystified. In the end, they send for Scotland Yard, but not before another man is killed. This time, there's a witness, but her description of the killer is so strange that no one believes her. So it's Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge's task to find out who the murderer is and why he has set out on this killing spree, because there is another death, and the three victims are so different that there is no rhyme or reason to their deaths. Nothing logically can connect them. Even as Rutledge begins to close in on the perpetrator, he finds himself doubting his own judgment because the facts are contradictory. It isn't until the fourth murder that something Rutledge witnessed in the war gives him the key and brings back an episode he has tried to forget. But that leaves him with a moral dilemma with only one solution. Will he follow the letter - or the spirit - of the law?
An Unwilling Accomplice
An Unwilling Accomplice (Bess Crawford mysteries #6) by Charles ToddCall Number: Fiction T633c v.6 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780062237194
Publication Date: 2014-08-12
Home on leave, Bess Crawford is asked to accompany a wounded soldier confined to a wheelchair to Buckingham Palace, where he’s to be decorated by the King. The next morning when Bess goes to collect Wilkins, he has vanished. Both the Army and the nursing service hold Bess negligent for losing the war hero, and there will be an inquiry. Then comes disturbing word from the Shropshire police, complicating the already difficult situation: Wilkins has been spotted, and he’s killed a man. If Bess is to save her own reputation, she must find Wilkins and uncover the truth. But the elusive soldier has disappeared again and even the Shropshire police have lost him. Suddenly, the moral implications of what has happened—that a patient in her charge has committed murder—become more important to Bess than her own future. She’s going to solve this mysterious puzzle, but righting an injustice and saving her honor may just cost Bess her life.
Winner
Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King
Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. KingCall Number: Fiction K5225r v.13 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780345531797
Publication Date: 2015-02-17
It is a normal afternoon in Sussex when Russell and Holmes return home to find a peculiar addition to their garden: a beautiful stone that once occupied the Imperial gardens in Kyoto. The stone immediately recalls the spring of 1924, when, on their way back from India (The Game), Russell and Holmes agreed to perform a small but exceedingly dangerous job for the emperor of Japan. At the time, Russell encountered a young Japanese woman on board their ship who tutored the two foreigners about her country and guided them into a secret meeting with the Prince Regent himself. Now, when Russell heads for Oxford to resume her long-delayed studies, she comes face-to-face with that very same young Japanese woman--and quickly realizes Miss Sato Haruki is not all that she seems.
Finalists
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Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen
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The Masque of a Murderer by Susanna Calkins
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Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal
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Murder on Amsterdam Avenue by Victoria Thompson
Malice at the Palace
Malice at the Palace (Royal spyness #9) by Rhys BowenCall Number: 2015
ISBN: 9780425260388
Publication Date: 2015-08-04
Caught between her high birth and empty purse, Georgie is relieved to receive a new assignment from the Queen. The King’s youngest son, George, is to wed Princess Marina of Greece, and the Queen wants Georgie to be her companion: showing her the best of London—and dispelling any rumors about George’s libertine history. The prince is known for his many affairs with women as well as men—including the great songwriter Noel Coward. But things truly get complicated when one of his supposed mistresses is murdered. The Queen wants the whole matter hushed. But as the case unfolds—and Georgie's beau Darcy, as always, turns up in the most unlikely of places—their investigation brings them precariously close to the prince himself.
The Masque of a Murderer
Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante
Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante [E-Book] (Maggie Hope mystery #5) by Susan Elia MacNealCall Number: Fiction M169h v.5 Ebook (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9780804178716
Publication Date: 2015
December 1941. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, D.C., along with special agent Maggie Hope. Posing as his typist, she is accompanying the prime minister as he meets with President Roosevelt to negotiate the United States’ entry into World War II. When one of the First Lady’s aides is mysteriously murdered, Maggie is quickly drawn into Mrs. Roosevelt’s inner circle—as ER herself is implicated in the crime. Maggie knows she must keep the investigation quiet, so she employs her unparalleled skills at code breaking and espionage to figure out who would target Mrs. Roosevelt, and why. What Maggie uncovers is a shocking conspiracy that could jeopardize American support for the war and leave the fate of the world hanging dangerously in the balance.
Murder on Amsterdam Avenue
Murder on Amsterdam Avenue (Gaslight mystery #17) by Victoria ThompsonCall Number: 2015
ISBN: 9780425260470
Publication Date: 2015-05-05
In the midst of Sarah and Frank's wedding preparations, Sarah accompanies her mother on a condolence call to the Upper West Side, where Charles Fairfax, the son of family friends, has died unexpectedly after suffering from a mysterious disease. It is a tragic and all-too-common story or so it seems. Charles's father asks to speak with Sarah privately. He believes his son was poisoned and would like Sarah and Frank to look into the matter with the utmost discretion. Putting their own personal affairs on hold, Sarah and Frank soon learn that not everyone wants to know more about Charles's death, particularly if he was murdered. As they unravel secrets that reach back to the War Between the States, they also discover that they are in the company of a very present danger.
Winner
The Reek of Red Herrings by Catriona McPherson
Finalists
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Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao
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Get Me to the Grave on Time by D. E. Ireland
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Delivering the Truth by Edith Maxwell
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Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson
Whispers Beyond the Veil
Get Me to the Grave on Time
Delivering the Truth
Murder in Morningside Heights
Murder in Morningshide Heights [E-Book] (Gaslight mystery #19) by Victoria ThompsonCall Number: Fiction T477g v.19 Ebook (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9781101987100
Publication Date: 2016
In the latest from the bestselling author of Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue, former police sergeant Frank Malloy and his wife adjust to life in New York high society as they investigate a death in the field of higher learning. After spending his first few weeks as a private detective by investigating infidelities of the wealthy, Frank has a more serious case at hand. Abigail Northrup of Tarrytown, New York, was her parents' pride and joy. After graduating from a prestigious women's college in Morningside Heights, she took a job there as an instructor. She also joined the ranks of the New Women, ladies planning for a life without a husband in which they make their own decisions and make a difference in the world. Unfortunately, her murder ended all that. When the police declare the incident a random attack and refuse to investigate further, Abigail's parents request Frank's help. Of course, he'll need Sarah's assistance as she's more familiar with the world of academia, and it will be far easier for her to interview the lady professors. Yet difficulties arise as they learn that although Miss Northrup may have been an exemplary student and teacher, she lived in a world of secrets and lies.
Winner
In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen
In Farleigh Field by Rhys BowenCall Number: Fiction B786f (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9781477818299
Publication Date: 2017-03-01
World War II comes to Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5 operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with determining if the man is a German spy. The assignment also offers Ben the chance to be near Lord Westerham's middle daughter, Pamela, whom he furtively loves. But Pamela has her own secret: she has taken a job at Bletchley Park, the British code-breaking facility. As Ben follows a trail of spies and traitors, which may include another member of Pamela's family, he discovers that some within the realm have an appalling, history-altering agenda. Can he, with Pamela's help, stop them before England falls?
In Farleigh Field [Large Print] by Rhys BowenCall Number: Ficton B786f LargeType (Large Type Books)
ISBN: 9781683247692
Publication Date: 2018-05-01
Finalists
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Murder in an English Village by Jessica Ellicott
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Called to Justice by Edith Maxwell
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The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
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Dangerous to Know by Renee Patrick
Murder in an English Village
Called to Justice
The Paris Spy
The Paris Spy (Maggie Hope mystery #7) by Susan Elia MacNealCall Number: 2017
ISBN: 9780399593802
Publication Date: 2017-08-08
Maggie Hope has come a long way since serving as a typist for Winston Churchill. Now she’s working undercover for the Special Operations Executive in the elegant but eerily silent city of Paris, where SS officers prowl the streets in their Mercedes and the Ritz is draped with swastika banners. Walking among the enemy is tense and terrifying, and even though she’s disguised in chic Chanel, Maggie can’t help longing for home. But her missions come first. Maggie’s half sister, Elise, has disappeared after being saved from a concentration camp, and Maggie is desperate to find her—that is, if Elise even wants to be found. Equally urgent, Churchill is planning the Allied invasion of France, and SOE agent Erica Calvert has been captured, the whereabouts of her vital research regarding Normandy unknown. Maggie must risk her life to penetrate powerful circles and employ all her talents for deception and spycraft to root out a traitor, find her sister, and locate the reports crucial to planning D-Day in a deadly game of wits with the Nazi intelligence elite.
Dangerous to Know
Winner
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata MasseyCall Number: Fiction M4167w (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9781616957797
Publication Date: 2018
Bombay, 1921: Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father's law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a law degree from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes her especially devoted to championing and protecting women's legal rights. Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen is going through the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on if they forfeit what their husband left them? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X--meaning she probably couldn't even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah--in strict seclusion, never leaving the women's quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts about the will were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Now it is her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that no innocent women or children are in further danger.
Finalists
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Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen
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The Gold Pawn by L.A. Chandlar
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Turning the Tide by Edith Maxwell
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Murder on Union Square by Victoria Thompson
Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding
Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Royal spyness #12) by Rhys BowenCall Number: Fiction B786r v.12 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 97806984100268
Publication Date: 2018
If only Darcy and I had eloped! What I thought would be a simple wedding has been transformed into a grand affair, thanks to the attendance of the queen, who has offered up the princesses as bridesmaids. Silly me! I thought that withdrawing from the royal line of succession would simplify my life. But before Darcy and I tie the knot in front of queen and country, we have to find a place to live as man and wife. House hunting turns out to be a pretty grim affair. Just as we start to lose hope, my globetrotting godfather offers us his fully staffed country estate. Mistress of Eynsleigh I shall be! With Darcy off in parts unknown, I head to Eynsleigh alone, only to have my hopes dashed. The grounds are in disarray and the small staff is suspiciously incompetent. Not to mention the gas tap leak in my bedroom, which I can only imagine was an attempt on my life. Something rotten is afoot--and bringing the place up to snuff may put me six feet under before I even get a chance to walk down the aisle...
The Gold Pawn
The Gold Pawn (Art Deco Mystery #2) by L. A. ChandlarCall Number: OverDrive EBook
ISBN: 9781496713445
Publication Date: 2018
Finally summoning the courage to face the past, Lane Sanders breaks away from her busy job at City Hall to confront childhood nightmares in Rochester, Michigan. An unknown assailant left Lane with scattered memories after viciously murdering her parents. However, one memory of a dazzling solid gold pawn piece remains—and with it lies a startling connection between the midwestern tragedy and a current mystery haunting the Big Apple.
Meanwhile, fears climb in Manhattan after the disappearance of a respected banker and family friend threatens the crippled financial industry and the pristine reputation of Lane’s virtuous boss, Mayor Fiorello “Fio” La Guardia. Fio’s fight to restore order leads him into more trouble as he meets a familiar foe intent on ending his mayoral term—and his life. Guided by overseas telegrams from the man she loves and painful memories, only Lane can silence old ghosts and derail present-day schemes. But when the investigation awakens a darker side of her own nature, will she and New York City’s most prominent movers and shakers still forge ahead into a prosperous new age . . . or is history doomed to repeat itself?
Turning the Tide
Murder on Union Square
Murder on Union Square (Gaslight mystery #21) by Victoria ThompsonCall Number: Fiction T477g v.21 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780399586620
Publication Date: 2018
Sarah and Frank Malloy are enjoying married life and looking to make their family official by adopting Catherine, the child whom Sarah rescued and has been raising as her daughter. The process seems fairly straightforward, but at the last minute, the newlyweds discover that Parnell Vaughn, Catherine's legal father, has a claim on the child, and his grasping fiancée is demanding a financial settlement to relinquish parental rights. Even though exchanging money for a child is illegal, Frank and Sarah's love for Catherine drives them to comply. When Frank returns with the money and finds Vaughn beaten to death, all evidence points to Frank as the culprit. A not-quite-famous actor with modest means, Vaughn seems an unlikely candidate for murder, particularly such a violent crime of passion. But Frank soon uncovers real-life intrigue as dramatic as any that appears on stage. Sarah and Frank enlist those closest to them to help hunt for Vaughn's killer as Frank's own life--and the future of their family--hang in the balance.
Winner
Charity's Burden by Edith Maxwell
Nominees
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Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen
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Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins
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The Pearl Dagger by L. A. Chandlar
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The Naming Game by Gabriel Valjan
Love and Death Among the Cheetah's
Love and Death among the Cheetahs (Royal Spyness Mystery #13) by Rhys BowenCall Number: Fiction B786r v.13 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780451492845
Publication Date: 2019-08-06
Georgie is excited when Darcy announces out of the blue that they are flying to Kenya for their extended honeymoon. It is only after they arrive that she suspects he has actually been sent there on an assignment. She tries not to be angry, because she is, after all, in a paradise! They are picked up in Nairobi and taken to a lovely house in Happy Valley--the center of upper-class English life there. Darcy finally confides that there have been some spectacular robberies in London and Paris, and it is suspected that the thief was a member of the aristocracy and may have fled to Kenya. Georgie is shocked at the completely decadent lifestyle that involves wild parties and rampant infidelity. One of the leading lights in the community, Lord Cheriton, makes a play for Georgie. She rebuffs him. Then he is found dead along a lonely stretch of road. At first it seems to be a lion attack. But why was he on that stretch of road, alone, late at night? It seems the Happy Valley community wants to close the case, but as Georgie and Darcy investigate, almost everyone has a motive to want Lord Cheriton dead.
Murder Knocks Twice
Murder Knocks Twice (Speakeasy murders #1) by Calkins, SusannaCall Number: FIC CALKI SUS S1 (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9781250190833
Publication Date: 2019-04-30
Gina Ricci takes on a job as a cigarette girl to earn money for her ailing father, and to prove to herself that she can hold her own at Chicago's most notorious speakeasy, the Third Door. It's a glamorous world of sleek socialites sipping bootlegged cocktails, rowdy ex-servicemen playing poker in a curtained back room, a flirtatious jazz pianist and a brooding photographer-- all overseen by the club's imposing owner, Signora Castallazzo. But Gina's predecessor died under mysterious circumstances, and the photographer, Marty, warns her to be careful. When Marty is brutally murdered, with Gina as the only witness, she's determined to track down his killer.
The Pearl Dagger
The Pearl Dagger (Art Deco Mystery #3) by L. A. ChandlarCall Number: OverDrive EBook
ISBN: 9781496713469
Publication Date: 2019
Lane Sanders and her fiery boss, Mayor Fiorello “Fio” La Guardia have managed to contain the explosive underground conspiracies of New York’s most sinister schemers. But after a seemingly harmless pinball racket claims the life of a trusted ally, a new ringleader signals the rebirth of an all-too-familiar crime network at home and across the pond. Spurred on by the possibility of a violent syndicate spreading like wildfire through Europe, Lane sets sail for London—the city where her parents began the undercover work that led to their tragic undoing. And this time, she won’t chase down childhood nightmares without Finn Brodie, who vows to dispel his own difficult secrets abroad. While Finn confronts a devious sibling’s plot that echoes Orson Welles’s Voodoo Macbeth, Lane discovers that a dazzling pearl dagger may wield the ultimate clue to guide their hunt for justice on two sides of the ocean. With terrors from the past and present converging, Lane can’t save herself unless she starts believing that, like her weapon of choice, she also has the power to be both beautiful and dangerous.
The Naming Game