New Crime & Mystery Fiction Titles From Minotaur Books 06 Oct-Dec
File Updated: 05/01/2007
New Crime & Mystery Fiction Titles From Minotaur Books OCT-DEC 06

Linda Barnes A Trouble of Fools Pbk published November 2006 by Minotaur Books at £6.99 ISBN: 0312359438

Since being bounced from the Boston police for insubordination after six years of service, Carlotta Carlyle has set up shop as a private investigator ready to deal with anything from lost pets to substantially grander larcenies. Though Carlotta, a six-foot-tall, redheaded ex cop, part-time cabbie, and neophyte private eye, works out of her home, it's rare that clients stop by unannounced. Especially clients like the genteel, reserved, elderly spinster Miss Margaret Devens. With cash flow problems and a caseload so light that she's taken to reading her cat's mail, Carlotta accepts the case of Miss Devens's missing brother Eugene. Oddly enough, Carlotta knew Eugene when they worked together back at Green and White Cab. As far as Carlotta sees it, this case should be a pinch - until two thugs looking for money send her client to the hospital. The old lady's missing brother seems to have been involved in something much more dangerous than simply driving a cab. Carlotta is determined to do whatever it takes? Work the cops, pose as a hooker, and even drive a cab again - to find Eugene before it's too late.

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Cassandra Chan The Young Widow Pbk published November 2006 by Minotaur Books at £6.99 ISBN: 0312941889

Jack Gibbons is an ambitious young detective sergeant at Scotland Yard, and his best friend is Jack's own personal Peter Wimsey, the charismatic and wealthy man-about-town Philip Bethancourt, who likes to tag along on Gibbons more interesting investigations. His latest case certainly deserves Philip's attention: Geoffrey Berowne has been poisoned and everyone believes his much younger wife Annette is guilty - especially since her two previous husbands also died under suspicious circumstances - but no one can prove it. A closer look provides more suspects - Geoff's curmudgeonly sister-in-law, who resented his new wife; and his beleaguered son and unhappy daughter-in-law, for starters. But everything keeps coming back to the alluring widow, who, to Philip's alarm, seems to have turned her charms on Jack. Can they solve the case before Jack becomes her next victim?

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Joan Druett Shark Island Pbk published December 2006 by Minotaur Books at £8.99 ISBN: 0312361475

Wiki Coffin, linguist aboard the U.S. Exploring Expedition, the famous voyage meant to put America at the forefront of 19th-century scientific discovery, brings many skills to his job. Whether he's translating native languages, assisting his good friend Captain George Rochester as unofficial first mate, or upholding the rule of law as deputy to the sheriff of the port of Virginia, Wiki is never far from the action aboard the seven ships that make up the expedition. But when they encounter a wrecked sealing ship and its desperate crew on the shoals of remote, uninhabited Shark Island, Wiki has little idea just how many of his skills are about to be put to the test. As soon as they board the wreck, a dead body turns up with a dagger firmly inserted between its shoulder blades. And it's not just any dead body: the victim of the brutal murder is none other than the enigmatic captain of the doomed voyage. What's more, Wiki's colleague and nemesis Lieutenant Forsythe is suspected of the crime. Knowing full well that Forsythe is capable of such violence, Wiki nonetheless believes him innocent and is duty-bound to prove it for the good of the expedition. Was the murder a case of mutinous sealers taking the law into their own hands? Did the secrets of several mysterious long-ago voyages finally come back to haunt a dishonest and dishonourable captain? Or is Shark Island home to something more sinister than a few lonely goats? Something isn't quite right about the crew of the wrecked ship, and Wiki will stop at nothing to find out just what it is that they're hiding, and, in the process, unmask a vicious killer.

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Harry Hunsicker Still River Pbk published October 2006 by Minotaur Books at £6.99 ISBN: 0312940904

It's not easy being named Oswald, at least not in the city where Lee Harvey grabbed his fifteen minutes of infamy and choked it to death. It's especially hard when half the town seems deter- mined to kill you for reasons as murky as the river that splits the city in two. For Lee Henry Oswald, a private investigator, Gulf War vet, and terminal loner, it's just one more burden to face as he trudges through the gritty underbelly of the concrete and glass metropolis that is Dallas in the new millennium. A simple assignment turns deadly when Oswald asks the right questions in the wrong places, and finds himself drawn into a shadowy world of smooth-talking drug lords and double- dealing real estate developers. In the end, he learns that blood is not always thicker than water, especially the muddy tributaries of the Trinity River, where he confronts the ultimate in dysfunctional families as he races to save the life of his partner.

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Harry Hunsicker The Next Time You Die Published October 2006 by Minotaur Books at £17.99 ISBN: 0312348509

Lee Henry Oswald Mystery
The story begins with a bourbon-swilling Baptist preacher who hires Oswald to recover a stolen file, who figures the job for a quick and painless infusion of cash. But nothing comes easily in Dallas for anybody named Oswald, especially when a psychopathic hit man shows up, intent on finding the same scrap of missing paper. As the stakes mount, each treacherous step toward the missing file forces Oswald to confront the haunting memory of a split second decision which ultimately cost one-time partner, Billy Barganier, his life.

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Merry Bloch Jones The River Killings Published December 2006 by Minotaur Books at £16.99 ISBN: 0312330413

Continuing the page-turning suspense of The Nanny Murders, Merry Jones's sequel, The River Killings, weaves a taut, fast-paced tale in the estimable tradition of Mary Higgins Clark. Heroine Zoe Hayes, a divorced art therapist with a six-year-old adopted daughter, returns with another gripping tale set in Philadelphia, this time taking place on the famous Boathouse Row.
On summer vacation from her job as an art therapist, Zoe takes a sculling class for fun with her best friend, Susan Cummings. One evening, while her daughter, Molly, waits with Susan's children at the boathouse on the banks of the Schuylkill River, Zoe rows off with Susan to practice for an upcoming regatta. When Susan's oar catches on some flotsam (which turns out to be a woman's dress), the boat flips, and the two find themselves in deep waters with not just one but an entire throng of floating bodies.
Someone along Boathouse Row is a murderer, but who? After Zoe argues with Detective Nick Stiles, her boyfriend, she and Molly head out to the river at night. There, Zoe uncovers a sinister plot that she and Molly might not be able to escape.

Merry Jones is the author of nine books, including the humorous bestseller I Love Him, But... and the nonfiction Birthmothers: Women Who Have Relinquished Babies for Adoption Tell Their Stories. Born and raised in the Chicago area, she now lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and two daughters. This is her second novel in the Zoe Hayes mystery series.

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New
Barry Maitland No Trace Published December 2006 by Minotaur Books at £17.99 ISBN: 031235892X

In a London neighborhood known for its artists and bohemian style, six year old Tracey Rudd is abducted from her home without any warning, or sign of violence. She is the third child abucted under similar circumstances in recent weeks. But this case is different. She is the daughter of notorious contemporary artist Gabriel Rudd, best known for the grotesque "Dead Puppies," a work centered around his wife's suicide five years earlier. While Rudd exploits Tracey's abduction as an inspiration for a major new work in his upcoming exhibit, D.C.I. David Brock and Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla hunt for the missing girls' kidnapper, who is suspiciously connected to the eccentric community of artists, dealers, and collectors in the neighborhood.

Barry Maitland is a well-known architect and professor of architecture. He is a finalist for the John Creasy Award for best first novel and winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction. He lives in Newcastle, Australia.

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Cathy Pickens Done Gone Wrong Pbk published October 2006 by Minotaur Books at £6.99 ISBN: 0312937474

A chance to be a part of a headline-grabbing case against a drug company has lured attorney Avery Andrews back to Charleston, South Carolina. She agrees to meet with Mark Tilman, a young doctor from her home town who seems to have something on his mind. When he doesn't show, she figures he stood her up and takes comfort in the stilt restaurant's she-crab soup. But it turns out he had a fatal car accident. Something about the crash isn't right, and Mark's father asks Avery to look into his death. Between that and digging up dirt on the wonder drug Uplift, Avery is coming up with more questions than answers. Of course, Avery isn't the only one making headlines. Back in Dacus, her mom is on live television confronting a teenager's dynamite-toting paramour in a hostage crisis at the Burger Hut, Great-Aunt Aletha is mixing it up with the now-toupee-less postman, and the son of a ghost wants vengeance. In short, it's life as usual back in Dacus, while in Charleston, Avery is forced to face demons from her own past...

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New
Jo-Ann Power Missing Member Published November 2006 by Minotaur Books at £17.99 ISBN: 0312357990

Texas Congress woman, Carly Wagner won her first election delivering one-liners about her opponent that made people chuckle so hard they voted her into his seat. She won not only because she could out-talk her rival, but also because she wasn't shy about employing her sexy contralto, her big, baby browns and the long legs that once got her the crown of Miss Texas. But her political career is threatened when she walks I into her office one morning and finds her party's second most powerful man sitting lifeless in her office chair. Carly tries to solve the crime herself, but suddenly a knight in shining armour appears. He calls himself Mr. Jones, has toys like Mr. Bond, and looks like Matthew McConaughey. She doesn't know who hired him, and at first she wants nothing to do with him. Then she wants to do everything with him.

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Ben Rehder Guilt Trip Pbk published November 2006 by Minotaur Books at £6.99 ISBN: 0312940947

Life in rural Blanco County, Texas, isn't what most folks would call exciting. And that suits game warden John Marlin just fine. He's happy to spend his time protecting the local wildlife from poachers, and the poachers from the local wildlife. Of course, every now and then an incident comes along to spice things up for a while. The tequila-slamming, skirt-chasing treasurer of the local Rotary Club suddenly goes missing, at nearly the same time as a house down the road explodes in a shower of drug paraphernalia and an exotic car turns up stolen from his barn. As the bullets start to fly and the bodies start to drop, author Ben Rehder keeps the plot moving and the laughs coming in another spectacularly funny crime novel straight out of the zaniest imagination in Texas.

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New
Mark Schorr Borderline Published November 2006 by Minotaur Books at £17.99 ISBN: 0312359152

Psychologist Brian Hanson, a Vietnam Vet and recovering alcoholic, is crushed by the death of one of his clients. He's sure it's not suicide. When he investigates, he discovers that a string of suspected criminals have been murdered without explanation. Is Portland America's safest small city because of a vigilant police force, or are there other forces at work? Hanson soon learns of a dark secret lurking just below the surface of the City Administration, risking his job, his marriage, and his life. A story of blackmail, political corruption and murder, "The Terminated Client" is truly a thrilling read.

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Steven Sidor Bone Factory Pbk published December 2006 by Minotaur Books at £6.99 ISBN: 0312997957

Homicide cops Eliza Ochoa and Ike Horner are on the scene of a body dump in a rundown midwestern city, crouching over the freezing corpse of another dead working girl. She's been cut up in all the most delicate places, and so it's perhaps understandable that Ike and Eliza at first miss the most telling detail of this routine Booth City morning: she isn't actually female. As the two detectives go over the last days of a young prostitute's life, pushed more by dogged determination than any extraordinary sleuthing abilities, the facts lead them deep into a quickly unravelling conspiracy that stretches from the darkest holes in Booth to the fringes of its most influential families. As the investigation hurtles toward its violent and startling conclusion, Ike and Eliza remain intent on proving, perhaps only to themselves, that justice is indeed possible in Booth City.

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Sarah Stewart Taylor Judgment of the Grave Pbk published October 2006 by Minotaur Books at £6.99 ISBN: 0312940165

As gravestone expert Sweeney St. George tours burial sites of the Civil War, she stops to watch a battlefield re-enactment in Massachusetts. There, she meets Pres Whiting, a boy whose family is in the gravestone business. When Pres discovers a dead man in a Revolutionary War-era British soldier's uniform, Sweeney and Cambridge homicide detective Tim Quinn jump on the case. While they search for clues regarding the dead body, Sweeney and Quinn investigate other strange events. While Sweeney looks into the 1775 disappearance of a militiaman, Quinn looks into a current missing persons case with alarming ties to the past. As they try to uncover how their own investigations are related to the body found in the woods, Sweeney and Quinn get a little too close for comfort-to each other and to murder.

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Steven Torres Missing in Precinct Puerto Rico Published December 2006 by Minotaur Books at £16.99 ISBN: 0312321112

Angustias, Puerto Rico, 1982 Even a tropical paradise can have its little murders...
In the early morning hours, a neighbor named Tomas Villareal knocks on the door of the home of Luis Gonzalo, the sheriff of Angustias, a small town in the mountains of Puerto Rico. Tomas reports that his son is missing, and the sheriff agrees to help search for the boy. Gonzalo is certain there is a simple explanation--that the child has just wandered off to visit a friend or fallen asleep in a field.
But then a second child is reported missing, and there are no clues to her whereabouts either. Soon the sheriff, the parents, and the entire town are searching frantically, but the horrors have only just begun. Gonzalo begins to suspect an organized plot to harm the children of Angustias, and he races against the clock to prevent the town's children from disappearing one by one.

Steven Torres was born in the Bronx, New York, but lived part of his childhood in a small town in Puerto Rico. He is a graduate of the City University of New York Graduate Center. Steven teaches at Manchester Community College and lives in Conneticut with his wife, Damaris.
Contact him at www.steventorres.com.

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