From Venice to Santa Cruz: 6 new mysteries and thrillers that take you round the world
by Severn House on 1 August 2023
This month’s crop of mysteries and thrillers are taking you all around the world! Visit the historic halls of Oxford (Death in Print), the canals of Venice (The Borgia Portrait), the snowy peaks of the Alps (The Beautiful Risk), the arid mountains of Santa Fe (Death Comes to Santa Fe), the highlands of Scotland (In Her Blood), or the beaches of Santa Cruz (A Sense for Murder).
Of course, there might be a few murders along the way . . .
All of these are available now. Find them online, or request them from your friendly local librarian or bookseller.
The Borgia Portrait
by David Hewson
A Venetian Mystery
“A murder mystery, an eye-opening tour of Venice, a lesson in Italian history, and a titillating tale of love, loss, and revenge”
Booklist
When Arnold Clover is recruited by Lizzie Hawker to help her look into her family inheritance, he cannot begin to guess the journey he is about to embark on.
When a body is discovered in a hidden crypt beneath the checkerboard courtyard of the Lizzie’s family’s palazzo, other secrets are unearthed with it. Lying with the body is a document, a story of an episode in Casanova’s colourful life, and within it a set of clues that might lead to the location of a legendary lost portrait of Lucrezia Borgia. But it quickly becomes apparent that Lizzie and Arnold are not the only ones interested in finding the painting…
The Beautiful Risk
by Lynn Hightower
“Dark and swiftly moving, both a thriller and an examination of how deep a connection can be”
Kirkus Reviews
After nine months of grief, Junie Lagarde is gradually accepting life without her beloved husband Olivier, whom she lost in a tragic plane accident over Mont Blanc. But then Junie receives an unexpected call from France . . .
The man in charge of investigating Olivier’s death, has seen recent CCTV footage which shows a man who closely resembles Olivier . . . right down to his distinctive jacket.
It’s not Olivier. It can’t be . . . can it? Junie knows she must go to Chamonix and uncover the truth . . . but there are those who mean her harm, and soon Junie’s learning dangerous secrets. Secrets that will shake her faith in her closest friends and put more than just her own life in the gravest of danger.
Death in Print
by G.M. Malliet
A St Just Mystery
“A richly diverse cast of characters, and intriguing glimpses into modern-day police work”
Booklist
University of Oxford tutor and bestselling author Jason Verdoodt has it all: acclaim, women, money . . . and an enemy or two. When he’s found dead at the bottom of the stairs during a celebratory reception at St Rumwold’s College, many wonder if seething jealousy of his literary success has turned someone’s mind to murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just becomes inescapably drawn into an investigation that takes him down the historic streets of Oxford and into the hallowed halls of its university. Alongside his fiancée, crime fiction writer Portia De’Ath, he uncovers several motives for murdering the celebrated but insufferable Jason – whose next novel may be a threat to many in his orbit – and no shortage of suspects who are nursing a grudge from the first novel. Has someone decided to write revenge into the plot?
A Sense for murder
by LEslie Karst
A Sally Solari Mystery
“Culinary cozy fans will be in heaven”
Publishers Weekly
When Sally Solari gets the opportunity to volunteer at a farm-to-table dinner taking place at the hip new restaurant and culinary bookshop Pages and Plums, she seizes the chance. Not only is it a fundraiser for an organization aiding the homeless and seniors, but up for auction at the event is a signed boxset of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Sally’s hero, the renowned chef Julia Child.
But then the Pages and Plums dining room manager turns up dead – the locked cabinet containing the precious books now empty – and the irrepressible Sally once again finds herself up to her neck in a criminal investigation. She may have a sense for murder, but can Sally outwit a devious killer with a taste for French cooking before the villain makes mincemeat of her, too?
Death Comes To Santa Fe
by Geri Krotow
A Santa Fe Revival Mystery
“Santa Fe, a place of beauty and artistic inspiration, provides the perfect backdrop for the sympathetic sleuth”
Kirkus Reviews
It’s the week of Fiesta in Santa Fe and Maddie is looking forward to enjoying the celebrations. But as ‘Old Man Gloom’ Zozobra goes up in flames, so too do Maddie’s hopes for a carefree life… Human remains are found in the dying embers of Zozobra, and then Maddie and her dashing beau Dr David Cole find a body washed up in the arroyo at the edge of town.
With the celebrations of Fiesta continuing around them, Maddie and her ‘Detection Posse’ get busy infiltrating the best parties and hobnobbing with old and new faces – but can they bring the murderer to justice before they strike again?
In Her Blood
by Caro Ramsay
A DCI Christine Caplan Thriller
“A taut, suspenseful police procedural with plenty of dark twists to keep fans riveted”
Booklist
When a body is discovered in the water at Connel Bridge, the police assume it’s an open-and-shut case of suicide. But when DCI Christine Caplan is called in to take a closer look, she discovers that darker truths lurk beneath the surface, and suspicion begins to turn to a young woman recently out of care.
Known only as Girl A, her identity remains anonymous, protected under law. Her violent past includes an allegation of the murder of a younger sibling, so the timing of this new death seems too coincidental. Then a vigilante sets her home on fire and she flees, so the ‘child killer’ is now on the loose – and at risk herself.
As Caplan launches a search for the elusive teenager, looking for connections between her and the dead man, she turns to Girl A’s past for answers. And when she gets them, she realizes the truth may be even more sinister.
