The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of August 2013 hardcover mysteries as well as shelved new August paperbacks on The Mystery Bookshelf.
In this series of monthly posts, which we call Firsts on the 1st, we're introducing readers to new series characters who will make their mysterious American debut in print during August.
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Title: Murder on the Rocks
Author: Allyson K. Abbott
Series Character: Mack's Bar (1st)
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook
What we know about the character: Mackenzie "Mack" Dalton is a Milwaukee bar owner.
Her first case: Mack's Bar is one of those nice, friendly places where everybody knows your name. That's great when someone's buying you a round, but not so hot when you find yourself at the top of a list of murder suspects — with your fingerprints on the bloody knife!
Mackenzie 'Mack' Dalton is a Milwaukee bar owner with a nose for trouble — literally. A neurological glitch has left her with extra perceptive senses. So when she stumbles upon a dead body in the alley behind the bar — the same spot where her own father was shot eight months earlier - she can tell right away there's something fishy in the air. The lead detective thinks there's a link between the two deaths, and he'll need Mack's help to sniff out the murderer amid the crowd of eccentric regulars. But when all the evidence points to her as the most likely culprit, it could be an early last call for Mack-and celebratory cocktails for a killer.
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Title: Death Al Dente
Author: Leslie Budewitz
Series Character: Erin Murphy, Food Lovers' Village (1st)
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook
What we know about the character: Erin Murphy is the 32-year-old manager of Glacier Mercantile, aka The Merc, a market specializing in regional foods in Jewel Bay, Montana.
Her first case: Murphy's Mercantile has been a staple in Jewel Bay for over a hundred years. To celebrate their recent makeover as a gourmet food market, Erin has organized a town festival, Festa di Pasta, featuring the culinary goods of Jewel Bay's finest — including her mother Fresca's delicious Italian specialties.
But Erin's sweet success is soured when the shop's former manager, Claudette, is found dead behind the Merc on the Festa's opening night. With rival chef James Angelo stirring up rumors that Fresca's sauce recipes were stolen from Claudette, Erin's mother is under close scrutiny. Now Erin will have to hunt down some new suspects, or both her family and her store might wind up in hot water …
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Title: Jump the Gun
Author: Zoe Burke
Series Character: Annabelle Starkey (1st)
Formats: Hardcover and ebook
What we know about the character: Amateur sleuth Annabelle Starkey is a shrewd and sweet and a one-man kind of girl who loves hats and shoes and the movies.
Her first case: Annabelle Starkey loves movies. Why does her own life never match up to her favorite Silver-Screen scenarios? One day, by chance, she meets the charming but slightly mysterious and definitely magnetic Mickey Paxton at a book convention and decides it's time to live one of those Cary Grant films and accept Mickey's invitation to fly to Las Vegas for a holiday. Not so much a hook-up as a test flight for romance.
The script takes a surprise turn when they arrive in Sin City and danger knocks. Suddenly Annabelle and Mickey are on the run — from what? And why? Did Mickey lead Annabelle into this mess? Then the brutal murder of Annabelle's BFF in Annabelle's San Francisco apartment sends the couple winging west to that city where, once again, criminals and cops pursue them.
In two frenetic days of fast driving, fast talking, and fast thinking, Annabelle discovers several truths by learning to trust her own instincts. And the significance of an antique hat pin.
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Title: Good As Gone
Author: Douglas Corleone
Series Character: Simon Fisk
Formats: Hardcover and ebook
What we know about the character: Former U.S. Marshal Simon Fisk now works as a private contractor, tracking down and recovering children who were kidnapped by their own estranged parents.
His first case: Former U.S. Marshal Simon Fisk now works as a private contractor, tracking down and recovering children who were kidnapped by their own estranged parents. He only has one rule: he won't touch stranger abduction cases. He's still haunted by the disappearance of his own daughter years ago when she was just a child, still unsolved, and stranger kidnappings hit too close to home.
Until, that is, six-year-old Lindsay Sorkin disappears from her parents' hotel room in Paris, and the French police deliver Simon an ultimatum: he can spend years in a French jail for his actions during a past case, or he can work with them now to find Lindsay Sorkin. So, Simon sets out in pursuit of the missing child and the truth behind her disappearance. But Lindsay's captors did not leave an easy trail, and following it will take Simon across the continent, through the ritziest nightclubs and the seediest back alleys, into a terrifying world of international intrigue and dark corners of his past he'd rather never face again.
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Title: Multiple Exposure
Author: Ellen Crosby
Series Character: Sophie Medina
Formats: Hardcover and ebook
What we know about the character: Sophie Medina is a photojournalist in Washington DC.
Her first case: When Sophie Medina returns to London from an overseas assignment, she discovers that her husband, Nick, a geologist and covert CIA operative, has been abducted. Three months later she is shocked when a friend in the British government says Nick has been spotted in Moscow and is not only a suspect in his boss's murder but also potentially involved in illicit Russian oil deals. With her every step now closely watched, Sophie moves to Washington, D.C., to be with her family and friends.
There, Sophie is drawn deeper into Nick's shadowy world. While photographing an exhibit of two never-before-seen Fabergé imperial eggs at the National Gallery of Art, Sophie is confronted by a Russian oil tycoon, implicating her husband in an international energy scheme. On the run from Nick's enemies, Sophie plays a high-stakes game of Russian roulette as she tries to determine friend from foe and prove her husband's innocence.
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Title: Rules of Murder
Author: Julianna Deering
Series Character: Drew Farthering (1st)
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook
What we know about the character: From his black Homburg hat to the crease in his stylish cheviot trousers, Drew Farthering is the epitome of the well-bred English gentleman of 1932.
His first case: Drew Farthering loves a good mystery, although he generally expects to find it in the pages of a novel, not on the grounds of his country estate. When a weekend party at Farthering Place is ruined by murder and the police seem flummoxed, Drew decides to look into the crime himself. With the help of his best friend, Nick Dennison, an avid mystery reader, and Madeline Parker, a beautiful and whip-smart American debutante staying as a guest, the three try to solve the mystery as a lark, using the methods from their favorite novels.
Soon, financial irregularities at Drew's stepfather's company come to light and it's clear that all who remain at Farthering Place could be in danger. Trying hard to remain one step ahead of the killer — and trying harder to impress Madeline— Drew must decide how far to take this game.
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Title: Pall in the Family
Author: Dawn Eastman
Series Character: Family Fortune (1st)
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook
What we know about the character: In the small western Michigan town of Crystal Haven, everyone knows the Fortune family. Rose is gifted with Tarot card readings. Her sister Vi is a self-proclaimed pet psychic. And her daughter Clyde is a cop on leave from Ann Arbor.
Their first case: A cop. A cop on leave from Ann Arbor, more specifically, who's come home to kooky Crystal Haven to reevaluate her life. Mom and Aunt Vi can't wait for Clyde to finally embrace her own psychic gifts and join the family business. Clyde would prefer the low-stress lifestyle of a dog walker and the low-key company of her nephew, Seth.
But when a local psychic is killed, leaving behind a traumatized Shih Tzu, it seems to be in the cards for Clyde to get involved. With her old flame Mac leading the investigation, that may prove awkward. Whether she uses her skills as a cop or her long-denied psychic abilities, it's up to Clyde to divine a killer's identity before someone else suffers more misfortune.
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Title: Good Girl, Bad Girl
Author: Christopher Finch
Series Character: Alex Novalis (1st)
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook
What we know about the character: Alex Novalis is a private investigator in late 1960s New York City.
His first case: In May of 1968, New York City is broke and on the skids, and Alex Novalis is hard up for gigs. So when he's offered a case from wealthy construction mogul Gabriel Kravitz, he can't refuse.
Kravitz's eighteen-year-old daughter Lydia has gone missing. Though she's presumed to be with Jerry Pedrosian, the radical middle-aged artist and known womanizer she'd been sleeping with, there are few clues. Information is hard to come by; everyone seems to be hiding something. And then there's Andrea Marshall, Lydia's miniskirted and vinyl-booted best friend, who Novalis is deeply distrustful of … and unfortunately attracted to.
But as Novalis traverses the city, tracking Lydia from scummy artists' lofts in pre-gentrified SoHo to luxury penthouses overlooking Central Park, he'll face threats deadlier than any he signed on for.
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Title: Cloche and Dagger
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Series Character: Scarlett Parker, Hat Shop (1st)
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook
What we know about the character: Cousins Scarlett Parker and Vivian Tremont own a ladies' hat shop on Portobello Road in London.
Her first case: Not only is Scarlett Parker's love life in the loo — as her British cousin Vivian Tremont would say — it's also gone viral with an embarrassing video. So when Viv suggests Scarlett leave Florida to lay low in London, she hops on the next plane across the pond. Viv is the proprietor of Mims's Whims, a ladies' hat shop on Portobello Road bequeathed to both cousins by their beloved grandmother, and she wants Scarlett to finally join her in the millinery business.
But a few surprises await Scarlett in London. First, she is met at the airport not by Viv, but by her handsome business manager, Harrison Wentworth. Second, Viv — who has some whims of her own — seems to be missing. No one is too concerned about the unpredictable Viv until one of her posh clients is found dead wearing the cloche hat Viv made for her — and nothing else. Is Scarlett's cousin in trouble? Or is she in hiding?
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Title: Murder, She Rode
Author: Holly Menino
Series Character: Tink Elledge
Formats: Hardcover and ebook
What we know about the character: Former world-class rider Tink Elledge is a horse trainer and amateur sleuth.
Her first case: Tink Elledge is a woman with a mission: to see her prized horse take home the victory at the prestigious Brandywine Three-Day Event. Tink is whip-smart, headstrong, and used to making her own way — so when an accident forces her onto the sidelines and causes her to forfeit the ride on what may be her last horse to a protégé, she struggles with the realization that her peak days as a horsewoman may be behind her.
Then, before the event can begin, a truck accident kills a respected horseman and a talented colt. And when a young rider disappears, what began as a seemingly freak accident reveals sinister roots that lead directly to the tightly knit equestrian community and that Tink, in her newfound and uneasy role as a spectator, can't help trying to uncover.
During the three-day event, horses will perform with inspiring grace. Their riders will navigate treacherous obstacles. And Tink will unravel a plot that threatens the reputations — and lives — of the very men and women she hopes to defeat on the course.
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Title: She Overheard Murder
Author: Jean Sheldon
Series Character: Nic Owen and Nora Hahn (1st)
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook
What we know about the character: Set in post-World War II Chicago, Nic Owen, who played a detective on radio, and her partner Nora Hahn are amateur sleuths.
Their first case: On October 29, 1945, Nic Owen made her debut appearance as a radio detective on the new show, Inez Ingalls, Private Eye. Her career began only a few weeks earlier when she was hired to read ad copy and work as an understudy.
The murder of Carolyn Park propelled Nic to the starring role and a top spot on the list of suspects. Cecil Park, husband of the murdered woman, wants answers. As does Nora Hahn, Carolyn's "special friend" for fourteen years.
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For a list of more hardcover mysteries scheduled for publication during August, please visit our New Mysteries home page. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with August 2013 releases. See also our regularly updated eBook site for new mysteries, suspense novels and thrillers, MysterEbooks.com.
Please also visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.
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