Collection Development and RA: Mystery

Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o' joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose.

Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee - and, now, a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff - thanks to her adorably meddlesome parents who nominated her--and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter's new school, plus and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny.

But even clouds have their silver linings. This one's got Levi, Sunshine's sexy, almost-old-flame, and a fiery-hot US Marshall. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol's normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger. Can Sunshine face the call of duty - and find the kidnapper who's terrorizing her beloved hometown - without falling head over high heels in love . . . or worse?

Ten years ago, Aarav’s mom vanished. He awakened to a piercing scream on a stormy night and saw the taillights of his mom’s Jaguar fade into the darkness. Now, authorities have discovered his mom’s skeleton entombed inside her Jaguar in the dense bush of New Zealand’s Waitākere Ranges Regional Park. Someone on his parents’ affluent cul-de-sac knows what happened – and Aarav is scrutinizing all the neighbors. In this thriller whodunit, we even start questioning the memory and mind of our narrator, loyal son Aarav. Read this mystery to pass the time on a rainy winter weekend when it’s too nasty to leave home.

. As a digital archaeologist, young, bright and inquisitive Michaela pieces together a person’s life story from the artifacts they hold dear, transforming them into a supercharged, high-tech scrapbook. Now she’s tasked with helping an older woman obsessed with memorabilia make a record of her own life before the memories slip away. But just as she’s getting started, that client is found dead with a plastic bag over her head. Though a note points to suicide, there’s plenty of room for doubt, and Michaela is determined to find the truth no matter the danger.

A Town Called Solace charts an unfolding mystery through three principal characters: Mrs. Olsen, her former (now adult) neighbor Liam, and her current neighbor, 8-year-old Clara. Through their different narratives of past, present and future, a mystery unfolds that is both compelling and weirdly mundane. This novel alchemizes grief and remorse, revealing the interesting bonds that connect us. Lawson’s writing is effortless, and the novel is both a gripping mystery and a lovely slice of emotional storytelling.

Oh boy, friends, do you love a publishing mystery? If you’re searching through the Books We Love, you probably do, so gather ‘round. A young woman named Florence Darrow, down on her luck and yearning to become a famous author, is hired to become the assistant to a bestselling writer who publishes under the pseudonym Maud Dixon. Trying to break a bad spell of writer’s block, the two head to Morocco. To say any more would be unfair to your future self who will want to reread this to see what you missed, but suffice to say, this one is a thriller. Who are you rooting for? No one, who cares? Both “Maud” and Florence are deliciously difficult ladies (don’t say unlikeable, don’t say unlikeable). Who is Maud Dixon? is for lovers of Misery, The Talented Mr. Ripley and anyone whose speculation about the real identity of Elena Ferrante went just a smidge too far.