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Unlikely Detectives
| Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano On her sixtieth birthday, Auntie Poldi retires to Sicily, intending to while away the rest of her days with good wine, a view of the sea, and few visitors. But Sicily isn’t quite the tranquil island she thought it would be. When her handsome young handyman goes missing—and is discovered murdered—she can’t help but ask questions. Soon there’s an investigation, a smoldering police inspector, a romantic entanglement, one false lead after another, a rooftop showdown, and finally, of course, Poldi herself, slightly tousled but still perfectly poised. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki One year after the death of his beloved musician father, thirteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house—a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce. When his mother, Annabelle, develops a hoarding problem, the voices grow more clamorous. At first, Benny tries to ignore them, but soon the voices follow him outside the house, onto the street and at school, driving him at last to seek refuge in the silence of a large public library, where objects are well-behaved and know to speak in whispers. He falls in love with a mesmerizing street artist with a smug pet ferret, who uses the library as her performance space and he meets a homeless philosopher-poet, who encourages him to ask important questions and find his own voice amongst the many. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud of, but when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepy coastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage, until Jack happens upon a dead body while kayaking. She quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Lana decides to pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power. But as their amateur snooping advances into ever-more dangerous territory, the headstrong Rubicon women must learn to do the one thing they’ve always resisted: depend on each other. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| Happiness Falls by Angie Kim Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak. What follows is both a ticking-clock investigation into the whereabouts of a father and an emotionally rich portrait of a family whose most personal secrets just may be at the heart of his disappearance. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz “The dead don’t talk. I don’t know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Sometimes the silent souls who seek out Odd want justice. Occasionally their otherworldly tips help him prevent a crime. But this time it’s different. A stranger comes to Pico Mundo, accompanied by a horde of hyena-like shades who herald an imminent catastrophe. Aided by his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Odd will race against time to thwart the gathering evil. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. An homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Alan’s traditional formula has proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job. Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pünd investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. Noemí is a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton Abi keeps them safe. One hundred and twenty-two islanders and their three beloved scientists live in harmony, kept safe from a poisonous security barrier with the help of Abi's instructions. Niema keeps the islanders occupied. Niema is one of the scientists who remembers what life was like before the fog. She ensures that all of the islanders have a job to do, and everyone loves her. Almost everyone. Emory can't stop asking questions. But then one of the scientists is found dead, and their murder triggers the dropping of the security barrier. The only way to reinstate it is to find the killer. But can Emory ask the right questions? They have 107 hours to solve the murder before the fog sweeps in. Can they stop the end of their world? Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves; a female cop with her first big case; a brutal murder. Welcome to the Thursday Murder Club. In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late? Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| The Unwedding by Ally Condie Ellery Wainwright is alone at the edge of the world. She and her husband, Luke, were supposed to spend their twentieth wedding anniversary together at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California, but now she’s traveling solo. To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery remembers how it felt to be on the cusp of everything new and wonderful, with a loved and certain future glimmering just ahead. Now, she isn’t certain of anything except for her love for her kids and her growing realization that this place, though beautiful, is unsettling. When Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed. Before the police can reach Broken Point, a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, leaving the guests trapped. When another guest dies, it’s clear something horrible is brewing. Everyone at Broken Point has a secret. And everyone has a shadow. Including Ellery. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone has a photographic memory. He knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. When he finds his neighbour's dog, Wellington, lying dead on the lawn, he decides to track down the killer and write a murder mystery about it. But in doing so, he uncovers other mysteries that threaten to bring his whole world crashing down around him. This improbable story of Christopher’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for a captivating and unusual mystery novel. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. | |
| Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love by James Runcie It is May 1971 and the Cambridgeshire countryside is bursting into summer. Attending to his paternal duties, Archdeacon Sidney Chambers is walking in the woods with his daughter Anna and their aging Labrador, Byron, when they stumble upon a body. Beside the dead man lies a basket of wild flowers, all poisonous. And so it is that Sidney is thrust into another murder investigation, entering a world of hippies, folk singers, and psychedelic plants, where love triangles and permissive behavior seem to hide something darker. An historic religious text vanishes from a Cambridge college; Sidney's former flame, Amanda Richmond, gets a whiff of art-world corruption; and his nephew disappears in the long, hot summer of 1976. Meanwhile, Sidney comes face to face with the divine mysteries of life and love while wrestling with earthly problems--from parish scandals and an alarmingly progressive new secretary to his own domestic misdemeanors, the challenges of parenthood and a great loss. Also available on Libby as an ebook. | |
| The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan For nearly a century, people have ventured to the idyllic seaside town of Maple Bay in search of a legendary lost pirate treasure, but locals know there’s more than just gold buried in the sand. Peter Barnett is rapidly approaching 40 with little to show for it when a mysterious letter invites him to the mansion his estranged family has called home for generations. Seventeen-year-old Dandy Feltzen is isolated and adrift following the death of her beloved grandfather, until his final request and a tantalizing clue sets her on a mission to solve the mystery he spent his entire life chasing. Cass Jones has given up on being a successful author when a housesitting gig in remote offers the perfect subject matter for her breakout book. Peter, Dandy and Cass are on a collision course with each other and the mystery that has defined Maple Bay for two centuries, and none of them are prepared for the shocking truths that may or may not still be buried there. Also available on Libby as an ebook and an audiobook. |