Carla Schantz

Colleen Gleason: Lady Darling Inquires After a Killer

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Series debut

Colleen Gleason (who also writes as Colleen Cambridge) adds a new series to her considerable list of works with a new series featuring Lady Darling, set in 1898 London. The Dowager Marchioness of Darling, Irene Colchester, has decided to return to London after a long sabbatical in the countryside. She’s helping a dear friend of hers who happens to be too ill to introduce her daughter to society by assisting that daughter in looking for a husband. Lady Darling is well respected but seen as a bit eccentric, and is the perfect sponsor for young Priscilla Bedwith. With all of her own children married off, Lady Darling has plenty of time and connections to help Priscilla make a success of her debut Season. Her secret hope is to marry the girl off quickly so that she can return to the countryside and avoid the frivolity of high society politics and gossip. Lady Darling has very little patience for wasting time on what she sees as frivolous conversation and false niceties, although she does put her best foot forward whenever she happens to be stuck in said social situations. read more

Cate Conte: Claws Out

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Cat Café #9

Maddie James, cat café owner and animal enthusiast,  works closely with family and friends to run her café, find felines new families, and solve mysteries. The solving mysteries part is Maddie’s secondary passion, as her first love will always be helping the poor kitties find their forever homes and making sure they are well cared for in her keeping. Her café, J.J.’s House, is located on Daybreak Island off the New England Coast. J.J. is Maddie’s cat and mascot, as well as a demanding socialite. Maddie has been contemplating expanding her operation beyond the one café on Daybreak Island, and is presented with a timely and interesting opportunity in the form of a donated food truck. read more

Ellie Brannigan: Death at an Irish Village

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Irish Castle #3

For those who enjoy a little Irish mystery, Ellie Brannigan’s Irish Castle Mystery series are a must read. In Death at an Irish Village, the third in the series, cousins Ciara Smith and Rayne McGrath have been tasked by their late Uncle to save Grathton Village and the McGrath castle. Not a very small thing to ask, especially with a year’s deadline attached. Of course, if they fail, they just have to sell everything and split the money between them. While that doesn’t sound like a very bad deal, it is for those who value their heritage and would like nothing more than to preserve it. Both women are a little daunted and overwhelmed with the task, but are determined to succeed. It hasn’t been a very smooth start, with several murders already hindering things, and Rayne’s crazy ex making her life hectic as she tries to continue to run her sewing business Modern Lace. read more

Maddie Day: Murder at Cape Costumers

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Cozy Capers Book Group #7

Maddie Day’s cozy capers book group series celebrates its seventh addition with Murder at Cape Costumers. Makenzie “Mac” Almedia run a bike rental and repair shop known as Mac’s Bikes in Cape Cod. She has extensive family there, and lives with her husband, Tim, and her African Grey Parrot, Belle. Mac and many of her friends are part of the cozy capers book group. While the group does spend time discussing the books they read, they also indulge in some investigations of their own when the need arises, often times to help clear the name of a member of the club, family member, or a friend in the community, of suspicion. read more

Katarina Bivald: Just Another Dead Author

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Just Another Dead Author is Katarina Bivald’s follow up to her charming Edgar winner, The Murders in Great Diddling. Set in Lyon in the French countryside, Chateau des Livres is the setting for a literary retreat featuring main character and author Berit Gardner. Berit is a very pragmatic, inquisitive, and creative individual. Her dear friend Emma Scott, literary enthusiast and former bookstore owner, has managed to convince her to agree to be a speaker at the literary retreat. While speaking to large crowds and mentoring other authors isn’t Berit’s idea of a party, she is determined to help her friend. read more

Roz Noonan: That Missing Piece is Killing Me

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Alice Pepper Lonely Hearts and Puzzle Club #2

Roz Noonan’s main character is Alice Pepper, a librarian, and she also has a club known as the Lonely Hearts and Puzzle Club. Her group spends many a relaxing evening working on puzzles together, sharing good food and company. Sometimes they puzzle over mysteries, too. Alice also has a rather complicated home life, with an estranged daughter, two grand kids that grew up with her as the most stable influence in their lives, an ex-husband, and a new romance on the horizon. Starting her life over as a librarian had seemed daunting when she left the restraint business, but she has found her spot and is thriving in her new community. read more

Vicki Delany: Tea with Jam and Dread

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Tea by the Sea #6

In Vicky Delany’s latest, Tea with Jam and Dread, teashop owner Lily Roberts, her grandmother Rose, and her friend Bernadette are all headed to Yorkshire, England for a party at the Thornecroft Castle House and Hotel. Rose had worked in the kitchen at the castle and was personally invited by Elizabeth Crawford, Dowager Countess of Frockmorton, to celebrate her one hundredth birthday alongside other friends and relatives. Lily also has a little side motivation to join Rose on the trip (other than it sounds amazing and she wishes to be there for her): her long distance boyfriend, Simon McCracken, is nearby, and can meet up with them. Everyone is beyond excited for their English adventure. read more

Sandra Jackson-Opoku: Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes

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Debut

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is the winner of Minotaur’s Malice Domestic© Award, a prize previously won by writers like Donna Andrews and Julia Spencer-Fleming. Savvy Summers owns the soul food restaurant Sapphire Summers Soulfood Café and Catering Company, or Essie’s, for the abbreviation SSS-CCC. Her restaurant is a staple of the community and one of the few remaining businesses on a sought-after bit of land. Her one employee and friend, Penny Porter Lopes, keeps things running smoothly. Savvy is a very down-to-earth woman who is determined to make a success of her business and to keep ahold of it, something that is becoming increasingly difficult with numerous phone calls and emails from a very annoying investor harassing her almost daily. read more

Lindsey Davis: There Will be Bodies

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Flavia Alba #13

Lindsey Davis’s latest addition to her Flavia Albia series is There Will Be Bodies. Flavia Albia is married to a Roman by the name of Tiberius, and is a dedicated Roman wife who learned her husband’s business. She helps him to keep things organized and running smoothly and profitably. However, she has her own profession on the side as well. Flavia has a knack for solving mysteries and getting answers for people, and thus she has made a bit of a name for herself. If anyone wants to know what happened to a missing cousin, or are worried the local authorities might not give them a fair investigation, they turn to her. read more

Isis Crawford: A Catered Bake-Off

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Mystery with Recipes #19

Isis Crawford’s latest addition to her “mystery with recipes” series is A Catered Bake Off. The owners of A Little Taste of Haven Catering, sisters Libby and Bernie Simmons, have a knack for solving mysteries. So much so that they are now sought out by those in need of a little amateur sleuthing expertise. Libby and Bernie each have very distinctive personalities and methods that allow them to play off each other, approaching the same clues and problems from different angles. It also helps that their father is a former detective and can advise them on how to proceed with whatever they find. Often the sisters and their father ruminate over cases and cake, a combination that often results in progress in culinary master pieces, or a break in the case. Their catering business has taken off in popularity recently, and it’s becoming difficult to keep up with the orders, which is a very good problem to have. read more