The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of November 2009 hardcover mysteries as well shelved new November paperbacks on The Mystery Bookshelf. In this post, which we're calling Firsts on the 1st, we're introducing readers to new series characters who will make their debut during November.
— ◊ —
Title: Murder on the Cliffs
Author: Joanna Challis
Series Character: Daphne du Maurier
Format: Hardcover
What we know about the character: Daphne du Maurier is the English author and playright, here as a young woman and amateur sleuth.
Her first case: Walking on the cliffs in Cornwall, she stumbles upon the drowned body of a beautiful woman, dressed only in a nightgown, her hair strewn along the rocks, her eyes gazing up to the heavens. Daphne soon learns that the mysterious woman was engaged to marry Lord Hartley of Padthaway, an Elizabethan mansion full of intriguing secrets. As the daughter of the famous Sir Gerald du Maurier, Daphne is welcomed into the Hartley home, but when the drowning turns out to be murder, Daphne determines to get to the bottom of the mysteries of Padthaway—in part to find fresh inspiration for her writing, and in part because she cannot resist the allure of grand houses and long buried secrets.
— ◊ —
Title: Cape Greed
Author: Sam Cole
Series Character: Vincent Saldona and Mullet Mendes
Format: Hardcover
What we know about the characters: Vincent Saldona and Jeffrey "Mullet" Mendes, former South Africa police officers, are private investigators in Cape Town.
Their first case: Involved in seemingly different cases, Jeffrey is hired by the wife of an adulterous financial consultant, while Vincent is contracted to find out who is stealing from an abalone farm. But the two cases converge, and the mastermind behind them both is a mesmerizing international gangster.
— ◊ —
Title: Bodies in Winter
Author: Robert Knightly
Series Character: Harry Corbin and Adele Bentibi
Format: Hardcover
What we know about the characters: Harry Corbin and Adele Bentibi are NYPD homicide detectives.
Their first case: On a cold winter's morning in New York, NYPD detective Harry Corbin and his partner Adele Bentibi arrive at the scene of a murder. It looks like a cut-and-dried case but, as Corbin and Bentibi investigate, they uncover a murky world of bent cops and cover-ups that puts both of their careers and their lives in serious danger.
— ◊ —
Title: The Murdered House
Author: Pierre Magnan
Series Character: Seraphin Monge
Format: Hardcover
What we know about the character: Seraphin Monge is a young man who seeks the identity of his murdered parents.
His first case: At the turn of the century in Upper Provence, a family is violently massacred. The sole survivor of the tragedy is a three-week-old baby. Twenty years later, the orphaned survivor returns home to avenge his family’s killers. Then unexpected secrets set in motion a dreadful unveiling of the past. (Originally published in the UK in 1999, this is its first US release.)
— ◊ —
Title: The Morning Show Murders
Author: Al Roker (with Dick Lochte)
Series Character: Billy Blessing
Format: Hardcover
What we know about the character: Billy Blessing is the host of a cooking show on morning television.
His first case: Network TV can be murder. Just ask Billy Blessing, famous for his smile, charm, and ability to survive the shark tank that is high-stakes morning TV. But though Billy has outlived his fair share of prima-donnas, his cooking segment on Wake Up America! is a staple of the American diet, and his Manhattan bistro is a mega-success, his career has just taken a very dangerous turn: His show’s perky cohost, Gin McCauley, has launched into some brass-knuckles contract negotiations. A visiting Mossad agent is about to tell all on the air. And then the network’s head honcho is murdered in his luxury apartment, and an ambitious D.A. decides that Billy is to blame. Billy knows that someone’s trying to frame him. He also knows that a ruthless international assassin has just arrived in New York City. And suddenly, for the most trusted guy on TV the ultimate career move is not about ratings. It’s about staying alive—and stopping the next murder from becoming tomorrow’s breaking news.
— ◊ —
Title: The Dead Hand of History
Author: Sally Spencer
Series Character: Monika Paniatowski
Format: Hardcover
What we know about the character: DCI Monkia Paniatowski is a protégé of Scotland Yard DCI Charlie Woodend (a character in the author's other series).
Her first case: It will be no easy task to fill DCI Charlie Woodend's shoes, the newly-promoted Monika Paniatowski tells herself, but, given a little time, she thinks she can grow into them. Yet, with the discovery of a severed hand, time is the one thing she does not have. When her colleagues prove untrustworthy, the urge to call Woodend for help becomes almost irresistible.
— ◊ —
For a list of more mysteries scheduled for publication during November, 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 November 2009 releases.
Please 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.
Return to Mystery Books News ...