New Thanksgiving Stories

Looking for a few Thanksgiving themed stories? Check out these new releases:

Death Rides Again by Janice Hamrick: This cozy mystery, the third in the Jocelyn Shore mystery series, finds Texas high-school teacher Jocelyn Shore's family Thanksgiving disrupted by violent disputes involving a cousin's imminent divorce, which is further complicated by a disappearance, a murder and numerous suspects.

Want Not by Jonathan Miles is a compulsively readable, deeply human novel that charts the course of three intersecting lives—a freegan couple living off the grid in Manhattan, a once prominent linguist struggling with midlife, and a New Jersey debt-collection magnate with a new family and a second chance at getting things right—in a thoroughly contemporary examination of that most basic and unquenchable emotion: want.

Skating Under the Wire by Joelle Charbonneau: When a dead body turns up at her best friend's bridal shower, Rebecca Robbins, while trying to cook Thanksgiving dinner and track down the thieves responsible for a string of home invasions, must solve a murder and get her friend safely married with the help of her Elvis-loving grandmother. This cozy mystery is the fourth in the Rebecca Robbins Mystery series.

Cozy Crafty Mysteries

Crafty?  Not sure what to read next?  Try one of these craft-based mysteries, many of which include craft instructions:

• Ready, Scrap, Shoot - This 5th book in the "Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-Craft" mystery series deals with the murder of a wealthy matriarch at Kiki's daughter's May Day pageant.
• Skeleton Letters - This 9th book in the "Scrapbooking Mystery" follows Carmela and Ava as they delve into the murder of a member of their scrapbooking circle who was found in church beside a smashed St. Sebastien statue.
• Dangerous Alterations - In this 5th book in the "Southern Sewing Circle" series, Yankee librarian Tori Sinclair must rely on her friends from the Sweet Briar Ladies Society sewing circle to help her prove her innocence.
• Sins and Needles - In this 10th book in the "Needlecraft Mystery" series, adoptee Lucille Jones discovers a potential skeleton in her closet when she arrives in town to research her roots.
• Antiques Bizarre - In this 4th "Trash 'n' Treasures" mystery, a 90-year-old Russian widow donates a priceless antique that is not what it seems.

New cozy mystery series debut: 'A Class on Murder'

Fans of cozy mysteries will not want to miss A Class on Murder, the first book by new author Karen Bush Gibson.  When half-Cherokee and half-Irish psychology professor Ronnie Raven finds herself accused of a colleague's murder, she resolves to solve the case herself, with a little help from her students, coworkers, and a love-smitten campus police officer.  Check out this charming debut mystery at Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library! Looking for still more cozies in an academic setting?  Try the "Karen Pelletier" series by Joanne Dobson, starting with Quieter than Sleep.

New cozy wedding mysteries: 'Buried in Buttercream' & 'Till Death Do Us Purl'

Enjoy cozy mysteries?  Here are two new wedding-themed installments in cozy mystery series for bakers and knitters.  In Buried in Buttercream, plus-sized P.I. Savannah Reid must put her impending nuptials on hold to solve the murder of her (admittedly annoying) wedding planner.  In Till Death Do Us Purl,  the Black Sheep Knitters are shocked when the groom dies days after the marriage ceremony, and they work to prove the accused bride's innocence.  New to the Savannah Reid series?  Start with Just Desserts. New to the Black Sheep Knitters series? Start with While My Pretty One Knits.  And remember, library members can sign up for free monthly e-newsletters for their favorite genres, including mysteries, here.

Gingerbread Bump-Off

Think your holiday season has been stressful?  Escape from endless shopping lists and also gain a little perspective with Gingerbread Bump-Off, in which Phyllis Newsom, overwhelmed with Christmas baking and prepping her house for her town's annual Christmas Tour of Homes, discovers the attempted murder of a close friend on her own front porch.  The 6th in the "Fresh-Baked Mystery" series starting with A Peach of a Murder, Gingerbread Bump-Off is also a good stand-alone story that includes recipes as a bonus.  Fans of Joanne Fluke (Devil's Food Cake Murder) should not miss this cozy culinary mystery.

A cozy snowbound mystery in "Superior Dilemma"

With December now upon us, many people in the Tri-Hamlet area are starting to think with dread of snow.  For the residents of the fictional Apostle Bay, however, winter is a welcome season that is key to their economy.  Every year, the town hosts the Lake Superior Sled Dog Challenge.  This year, however, someone is booby-trapping the course, endangering snowmobilers and tourists.  Newspaperman Vince Marshall is torn between his desire to get to the bottom of this mystery and his need to provide emotional support for his wife, a high school teacher who is having health problems.  Readers of cozy mysteries will enjoy this story, which is the third in a trilogy (preceded by Superior Death and Superior Deception).

Author Spotlight: Elin Hilderbrand

Although Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library owns multiple copies of Elin Hilderbrand's books, you probably won't find them on the shelf; enthusiastic readers have made sure her books are constantly checked out. Here's what the library's readers' advisory database Novelist has to say about this rising star:

"While Elin Hilderbrand's characters change from novel to novel, her setting remains consistent - the historic island of Nantucket. Using the island as a jumping off point, Hilderbrand's works offer the hallmarks of an ideal summer vacation read: romance, friendship, a beautiful setting, conflict and characters facing personal challenges. While rife with tales of people living privileged lifestyle, Hilderbrand grounds her stories in topics that will feel familiar to all women: love, illness, friendship, and family relationships."

Because each book is a stand-alone story, newcomers can start with any of Hilderbrand's books. Her most recent book, The Island, is also available to Mastics-Moriches-Shirley patrons in large print and on CD.