Harlequin Mira Mystery and Suspense Titles for February 2012

Harlequin.com has released the list of February 2012 titles for their Mira imprint, the brightest stars in women's fiction. From all titles available, we've only listed those that are mystery, thriller, or suspense on this page.

For more information about the book from Harlequin.com, click on the title or cover; other purchase options (see icons below cover) are also provided.

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Secrets of the Lost Summer by Carla Neggers
Non-Series

A wave of hope carries Olivia Frost back to her small New England hometown nestled in the beautiful Swift River Valley. She's transforming a historic home into an idyllic getaway. Picturesque and perfect, if only the absentee owner will fix up the eyesore next door …

Dylan McCaffrey's ramshackle house is an inheritance he never counted on. It also holds the key to a generations-old lost treasure he can't resist … any more than he can resist his new neighbor. Against this breathtaking landscape, Dylan and Olivia pursue long-buried secrets and discover a mystery wrapped in a love story … past and present.

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Next of Kin by Sharon Sala
A Rebel Ridge Novel

Beth Venable has seen too much. Witness to a major mob hit, she's placed in protective custody until the trial. But after her third safe house is riddled with bullets, she goes off-grid to save herself. What the FBI can't do, her kinfolk will.

The beautiful but forbidding Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky welcome Beth back, dirt roads and rustic shacks a world apart from L.A. But her homecoming — even her blissful reunion with strong, silent Ryal Walker — is made bittersweet by the fight she's brought to the clan's doorstep. Hidden in a remote cabin with the man she's always wanted, Beth begins to dream of a new life: her old one. But after so long, with such dangers stalking her … impossible.

But love can distill life down to its essence: an elixir of pure hope, nerve — and the will to survive.

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Edge of Midnight by Leslie Tentler
The Chasing Evil Trilogy (3rd in series)

The writer becomes the story when crime reporter Mia Hale is discovered on a Jacksonville beach — bloodied and disoriented, but alive. She remembers nothing, but her wounds bear the signature of a sadistic serial killer. After years lying dormant, The Collector has resumed his grim hobby: abducting women and taking gruesome souvenirs before dumping their bodies. But none of his victims has ever escaped—and he wants Mia back, more than he ever wanted any of the others.

FBI agent Eric MacFarlane has pursued The Collector for a long time. The case runs deep in his veins, bordering on obsession … and Mia holds the key. She'll risk everything to recover her memory and bring the madman to justice, and Eric swears to protect this fierce, fragile survivor. But The Collector will not be denied. In his mind, he knows just how their story ends.

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Love is Murder Conference Begins Friday, February 3rd, in Chicago

On Friday, February 3rd, the 13th annual Love is Murder — "When chocolate and flowers aren't enough …" — mystery writers and readers conference opens in Chicago and runs through Sunday, February 5th.

A full schedule is planned, far more than we can cover here, but includes panel discussions, master classes, "pitch-a-palooza", the presentation of the Lovey Awards, and much, much more. And even if you can't make it for the entire weekend, be sure to drop by Thursday evening, February 2nd, from 5 to 7 PM in a pre-conference event to meet crime novelists Donald Bain, Julie James, David Morrell and Hank Phillippi Ryan, plus local featured author Julie Hyzy, at the InterContinental Chicago O'Hare Hotel. The event is free, so bring your friends and fellow mystery fans to get your book(s) signed, chat with the authors, mingle with other authors, and maybe win books and Love is Murder souvenirs in prize drawings every 15 minutes.

See the conference website at LoveIsMurder.net for all the details, including registration information and where to stay.

First Official Photo of Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall

The official James Bond website, 007.com, has released an image from the upcoming 23rd film in the series, Skyfall, showing Daniel Craig in a typical "Bond with gun" pose from a scene set in Shanghai (see below; click for larger version).

In a press release from last November, the plotline for the film is given as "Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost."

Directed by Sam Mendes from a screenplay by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan, the film also stars Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, and Albert Finney.

Skyfall will be in US theaters November 9th, 2012.

Firsts on the 1st: New Series Characters Being Introduced in February 2012 Mysteries

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of February 2012 hardcover mysteries as well as shelved new February 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 February. (Purchase options include Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, and the iTunes iBookstore, which are indicated by icons under the cover image.)

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Title: Buried in a Book
Author: Lucy Arlington
Series Character: Lila Wilkins
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Lila Wilkins is a literary agent in North Carolina.

Her first case: After losing her job as a journalist at the age of forty-five, Lila accepts an internship at A Novel Idea, a thriving literary agency. Being paid to read seems perfect to Lila, although it's difficult with the cast of quirky co-workers and piles of query letters. But when a penniless aspiring author drops dead in the agency's waiting room — and Lila discovers a series of threatening letters — she's determined to find out who wrote him off.

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Title: Dying in the Wool
Author: Frances Brody
Series Character: Kate Shackleton
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Kate Shackleton is a professional sleuth in this historical series set in England.

Her first case: Bridgestead is a peaceful spot: a babbling brook, rolling hills and a working mill at its heart. Pretty and remote, nothing exceptional happens … until the day that Master of the Mill Joshua Braithwaite goes missing in dramatic circumstances, never to be heard of again. Now Joshua's daughter is getting married and wants one last attempt at finding her father. Has he run off with his mistress, or was he murdered for his mounting coffers?

Kate has always loved solving puzzles. So who better to get to the bottom of Joshua's mysterious disappearance? But as Kate taps into the lives of the Bridgestead dwellers, she opens cracks that some would kill to keep closed …

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Title: Scrapbook of Secrets
Author: Mollie Cox Bryan
Series: Cumberland Creek
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the series: The Cumberland Creek (Virginia) mysteries feature former investigative journalist, now stay-at-home mom Annie.

Her first case: Having traded in her career as a successful investigative journalist for the life of a stay-at-home mum in picturesque Cumberland Creek, Virginia, Annie can't help but feel that something's missing. But she finds solace in a local "crop circle" of scrapbookers united by chore-shy husbands, demanding children, and occasional fantasies of their former single lives. And when the quiet idyll of their small town is shattered by a young mother's suicide, they band together to find out what went wrong, Annie resurrects her reporting skills and discovers that Maggie Rae was a closet scrapbooker who left behind more than a few secrets … and perhaps a few enemies. As they sift through Maggie Rae's mysteriously discarded scrapbooks, Annie and her "crop" sisters begin to suspect that her suicide may have been murder. It seems that something sinister is lurking beneath the town's beguilingly calm facade— like a killer with unfinished business …

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Title: Dead and Not So Buried
Author: James L. Conway
Series Character: Gideon Kincaid
Format: Trade Paperback

What we know about the character: Gideon Kincaid is a private investigator in Hollywood.

His first case: Hollywood is rocked after the remains of one of the most idolized movie stars of the '60s are stolen. The thief chooses Gideon to deliver the ransom, forcing the PI and ex-cop to unravel a master plan that will include extortion, blackmail and murder. While trying to stay one step ahead of his nemesis, Gideon is led on a harrowing roller coaster ride through sun and sin-drenched Hollywood.

The dead beauty is not Gideon's only concern; he must also contend with a few live ones. First there's the tough-as-nails cop assigned to the case Gideon's bitter ex-wife. Then there's the gorgeous starlet he must protect. Unfortunately they have a history that puts her in jeopardy. Finally there's Gideon's assistant, the adorable and adoring Hillary, whose involvement in the case endangers them both.

As the body count mounts and the madman's crimes grow ever more audacious, Gideon finds himself in a desperate race against time. Can he put a stop to this crime spree before Gideon himself ends up dead and very buried?

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Title: Death Drops
Author: Chrystle Fiedler
Series Character: Willow McQuade
Format: Trade Paperback

What we know about the character: Willow McQuade is a naturopathic doctor and new owner of Nature's Way Market & Café. She lives in the picturesque seaside village of Greenport on Long Island in New York.

Her first case: Nature's Way Market and Café sells healthy foods and natural cures for what ails you. But there is no cure for murder …

Even naturopathic doctors need a little stress relief—that's why Willow takes a break to visit her Aunt Claire, owner of the café. But Willow's serenity is shattered when she finds her aunt's lifeless body on the market floor, a bottle of Mimulus lying nearby. Taken to calm one's fear of misfortune, the flower essence clearly failed Aunt Claire … for her death was no accident.

But who would want to kill her? The police soon zero in on Willow herself, who stands to inherit Claire's business and the rights to a breakthrough anti-aging cream. Desperate to prove her innocence, Willow turns to former police officer Jackson Spade for help. Together they unearth a slew of suspects, each with something to gain by Claire's unnatural demise. But as Willow gets closer to the truth, a killer waits to administer one final dose of death.

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Title: Dead Harvest
Author: Chris F. Holm
Series Character: Sam Thornton
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Sam Thorton is a collector of souls.

His first case: Sam's job is to collect the souls of the damned, and ensure their souls are dispatched to the appropriate destination.

But when he's dispatched to collect the soul of a young woman he believes to be innocent of the horrific crime that's doomed her to Hell, he says something no Collector has ever said before: "No."

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Title: Silent Partner
Author: Jonathan Kellerman; adapted by Ande Parks and illustrated by Michael Gaydos
Series Character: Alex Delaware
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Alex Delaware is a forensic psychologist … and this isn't his first appearance in print. However, it is his first appearance in a graphic novel, adapted from the fourth book in the series (originally published in 1989).

His first case: Alex is struggling to keep his relationship with girlfriend Robin Castagna alive when a beautiful face from the past suddenly steps back into his life. Sharon Ransom was Alex's lover back in the day — until her mind games and increasingly erratic behavior drove them apart. Now Sharon tries to rekindle old feelings and seek his help with some new troubles. Alex turns her away — a decision he bitterly regrets when Sharon ends up dead the next day.

The official ruling is suicide, but for Alex the case won't be closed until he finds out what happened. Driven by guilt and grief, he plunges deep into the territory he knows best — where dark secrets, dangerous fears, and twisted needs prey on hearts and minds. With the aid of his trusted friend, homicide cop Milo Sturgis, Alex traces Sharon's fatal path through a world of Hollywood high life riddled with scandal, corruption, and blood — where innocence and lives are easily lost.

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Title: Lake on the Mountain
Author: Jeffrey Round
Series Character: Dan Sharp
Format: Trade Paperback

What we know about the character: Dan Sharp is a missing persons investigator.

His first case: Dan, a gay father and missing persons investigator, accepts an invitation to a wedding on a yacht in Ontario's Prince Edward County. It seems just the thing to bring Dan closer to his noncommittal partner, Bill, a respected medical professional with a penchant for sleazy after-hours clubs, cheap drugs, and rough sex. But the event doesn't go exactly as planned.

When a member of the wedding party is swept overboard, a case of mistaken identity leads to confusion as the wrong person is reported missing. The hunt for a possible killer leads Dan deeper into the troubled waters and private lives of a family of rich WASPs and their secret world of privilege.

No sooner is that case resolved when a second one ends up on Dan's desk. Dan is hired by an anonymous source to investigate the disappearance 20 years earlier of the groom's father. The only clues are a missing bicycle and six horses mysteriously poisoned.

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For a list of more hardcover mysteries scheduled for publication during February, 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 February 2012 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.

OMN Welcomes Mystery Author Spencer Seidel

Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome crime novelist Spencer Seidel. His newest thriller, Lovesick (PublishingWorks, October 2011 eBook), is a murder mystery set in Portland, Maine.

Today Spencer tells us about a kid and his books.

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Because my fiction can be so dark, I occasionally get asked what kinds of books I read as a kid. I suppose some people think I was raised on a steady diet of old horror movies and King novels. As Frank Zappa famously (and flippantly) said to a senator inquiring about what odd toys his children must have had: "Well, why don't you come up to the house and I'll show 'em to you." That's sort of what I'm going to do here. Hopefully, this short list of my favorites as a kid will bring back some fun reading memories of your own.

Photo provided courtesy of
Spencer Seidel

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. This classic was the first big-boy book I remember reading on my own from start to finish. I was probably five or so, but I don't know for sure. What I do remember is the absolute thrill the experience of reading something like this gave me. The little kid version of a head rush, I guess. I think I read it six times in a row.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. As I recall, I had to give this a start a few times to get through it. The language was tougher in Phantom Tollbooth than in other books I'd read and the concepts far more abstract. Once I caught onto it however, I couldn't let go. To this day, I think about Milo driving his car through that play tollbooth.

"The Great Brain Series" by John D. Fitzgerald Man, did I eat these up. My favorite was The Great Brain at the Academy, but I loved them all. Remember how The Great Brain used to climb up in that hay loft and haul the ladder up after him so he could think? Or the fact that the kids were always fist fighting in those books? These books were gritty. Publishers would have a hard time with that today, I'd wager. Wonderful, true-to-life series depicting real, not-even-close-to-politically-correct kids doing kid stuff.

Anything by Judy Blume. I can't say enough about Judy Blume and the influence her books had on me. I read them all, even the girly ones like Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. And I probably read them all before I was technically old enough, and that's part of the reason I love my mom. Her philosophy was: if the kid wants to read something, let him, because he'll find a way to read it anyway. My mom is probably mostly why I have such respect for women, but I'm sure Judy Blume's female characters had something to do with that as well.

Anything by Beverly Cleary. When I was a kid, I was a strong reader, so they put me in a program called "Great Books." What a joke. I hated the books they wanted me to read. They were all ancient and had kid characters I just couldn't relate to. It's a miracle those people didn't poison my love of reading. Sheesh, if a kid is reading on his own, stop trying to control it, let him be, and enable the habit with all the books he wants! He'll get to the good stuff before too long. Besides, a lot of that "literature" is overrated — crap grown-ups think kids should read and not what kids want to read. Anyway, I didn't last long in that misguided program. See, what I wanted to read was stuff about kids like me. Back then, I guess I felt that way about Henry Huggins, because I couldn't get enough of those stories. I think a part of me still wants to be like Henry.

Honorable Mention: "The Hardy Boys Series". I must confess that I didn't love the Hardy Boys books, but I aspired to read them all, as some of my friends did. If you're looking for a hook into my dark side, the Hardy Boys series was probably it. Something about their world was dangerous (but not too dangerous) and scary (but not too scary). Kind of perfect for a kid who is maybe curious about the evils people commit behind closed doors …

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Spencer Seidel's love of reading and writing began — as he mentions, above — after he discovered Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When he's not writing novels, Spencer enjoys playing loud rock guitar, something he's been doing for over twenty-five years. To learn more about the author and his books, visit his website, SpencerSeidel.com.

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About Lovesick:

Late one night out on the Eastern Promenade Trail in Portland, Maine, the police discover an incoherent teenager sitting in a pool of blood, holding the body of his best friend and the murder weapon. The girl they both love has been missing for weeks.

The kid's jealousy clearly drove him to murder. He says the missing girl is the love of his life. She also happens to be the girlfriend of the murder victim.

It's an open and shut case, or so most of Portland thinks.

Dr. Lisa Boyers, forensic psychologist, receives a call from an old friend, a connection to her troubled past. Attorney Rudy Swaner wants her to interview the young killer Paul Ducharme, who is claiming he doesn't remember the events leading up to the murder.

In her jailhouse interviews, Lisa helps Paul to recover his memories. But something about Paul's disturbing love story shakes Lisa to the very core of her being. To understand Paul, she is forced to confront her own ugly, violent secrets.

Media attention mounts. Reporters stream into Portland. All eyes turn to the psychologist who seems intent on exonerating the vicious teen killer. Soon Lisa finds herself the focus of an over-zealous reporter with a knack for digging up dirty secrets.

But the killer who has Lisa in the crosshairs already knows them all.

Collision of Evil by John J. Le Beau is Today's Seventh Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Collision of Evil by John J. Le Beau as today's seventh free mystery ebook.

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

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Collision of Evil by John J. Le Beau
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

In our review of this debut thriller, we said, "the author handles the narrative exceptionally well, unfolding key plot points in a measured, controlled manner while maintaining a brisk pace."

About Collision of Evil (from the publisher): As evening falls against the majestic backdrop of the Bavarian Alps, Charles Hirter, an American tourist, is savagely murdered. In the peace, quiet and pastoral splendor of this magnificent setting, Charles Hirter draws his last breath. Was Charles simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Kommissar Franz Waldbaer, the German detective in charge of the case, faces an investigation that yields neither clues nor suspects nor motives. A gruff, go-it alone detective, Waldbaer is dismayed by the arrival of Robert Hirter, the victim's brother, who insists on joining the investigation. But there is more to Robert than meets the eye.

As Robert and the Kommissar uncover a nefarious nexus of evil past and evil present, they find themselves probing dark, long-forgotten episodes from the Third Reich in order to identify the present threat.

Thrust into a violent world of fanatic passions, malevolent intentions and excruciating urgency, Robert Hirter and Kommissar Waldbaer must race against the clock to stop a sophisticated, covert, and deadly plot.

Read our review of Collision of Evil by John J. Le Beau.

Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Free Kindle Edition Download Link.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.