April 25, 2025
New Fiction
Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd – 1954: When letters from Frieda, her dependable former novice, stop arriving, Nora Breen asks to be released from her vows. Haunted by a line in one of Frieda’s letters, Nora arrives at Gulls Nest, an eccentric boarding house filled with lively characters in Gore-on-Sea in Kent. A seaside town, a place of fresh air and relaxed constraints, is the perfect place for a new start. Nora hides her identity and pries into the lives of her fellow guests. But when a series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest, it’s time to ask if a dark past can ever really be left behind.
Every Deadly Suspicion by Janice Cantore – In Dry Oaks, California, Chief of Police Hanna Keyes has long believed her father, Joe, is a murderer, justly imprisoned. When she’s told he’s dying and is being given compassionate release from prison, she wants nothing to do with him. But taking him in might be Hanna’s one shot at cracking the cold case, so she reluctantly agrees to oversee his care. Joe’s arrival in Dry Oaks seems to set off a chain reaction in crimes. Then an infamous true-crime podcaster comes sniffing for information, and Hanna’s first love, Jared, shows up just when she least needs the distraction. As Hanna tries to convince Joe to reveal what he knows about the missing persons, evidence in the cold case surfaces at a suspiciously rapid pace …suggesting there’s more to the murders than people thought. With Joe’s strength failing, Hanna and her colleagues look for answers, not only about the past but also about recent criminal dealings in Dry Oaks. As the puzzle pieces start to fit together, it becomes clear that there’s a sinister plot at work, far more wide-reaching than anyone suspected, and that someone is desperate to silence the truth at any cost.
This is Not a Game by Kelly Mullen – Widow Mimi lives on idyllic Mackinac Island, where cars are not allowed and a Gibson martini with three onions at the witching hour is compulsory... Her estranged granddaughter, Addie, is getting over the heartbreak of not only being dumped by her fiancé, Brian, but also being cut out of the deal for the brilliantly successful video game Murderscape they invented together (with Addie doing most of the heavy lifting). When Mimi gets an invitation from local socialite Jane Ireland – a seventysomething narcissist who’s having a salacious affair with her son-in-law – to a charity auction, she invites Addie. But Mimi doesn’t tell her that a blackmail threat from Jane looms over the party’s invitation. Once they arrive, a big storm rolls in, trapping everyone in the mansion. And then Jane is murdered. Soon Mimi and Addie’s strained relationship is put to the test when they must team up to narrow down the suspects. When another body turns up, the sleuthing pair realizes someone else is playing a deadly game, and they might not survive the night.
Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage - Things are heating up, and not just because of Blanche’s hot flashes. With Rose hosting her cousin’s wedding in Miami, if she can’t pull off the traditional St. Olaf wedding customs, her hometown may never accept her cousin back again. Wanting a witty conversationalist for the sure-to-be-strange event, Dorothy tries this newfangled VHS dating service she’s heard all about. Unfortunately, what appeared to be the ideal man on tape turns out to be a jerk in real life. Set to enjoy the wedding in the company of Sophia, Blanche, and whomever Blanche targets with her feminine wiles, Dorothy pitches in to help the increasingly frantic Rose plan the events. Despite tensions between the two wedding families, and certain St. Olafians’ mistrust of the big city, the opening tea is going perfectly, not a herring out of place. That is, until Dorothy’s date is found dead – face-planted in an otherwise scrumptious-looking cheesecake. With every guest a suspect and a marriage on the line, it’s up to the Golden Girls to sleuth out the real killer and ensure love, humor, and friendship win the day!