HUGHES/PAPER THIN ALIBI

This edge-of-the-seat thriller from Shamus Award–winning author Lynn Hightower plunges Cincinnati homicide detective Sonora Blair into a case with a high-profile suspect—and a chilling link to an unsolved murder There are times when Sonora Blair hates being a cop—for instance, the day distraught husband and father of two Butch Winchell walks into the Cincinnati PD to report his wife missing. A mutilated corpse has been found along Interstate 75 between Kentucky and Tennessee, and the body parts might belong to Julia Winchell. Eight years earlier, when Julia was a student at the University of Cincinnati, she witnessed a murder. When the body disappeared, no one believed her. But Julia never forgot it, and was compiling notes and articles that would point the finger at a shocking suspect. District Attorney Gabe Caplan is Cincinnati’s golden boy—a champion of the underdog, a defender of law and order, and a man shadowed by a tragic past. Eight years ago, his pregnant wife was brutally murdered, leaving behind their two-year-old daughter. Now Gabe is on the verge of scoring a major victory in a high-profile case. Sonora’s gut tells her the two murders are linked, but how can she prove it when she’s up against a DA who knows how to work the system—and whose current pregnant wife could be in mortal danger? Eyeshot is the 2nd book in the Sonora Blair Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Chesapeake Crimes 3 is the latest installment of the Agatha- and Anthony-award-winning Chesapeake Crimes series. "The Chesapeake Bay area is home to strong winds, joys, and fears, where you lock your doors at night in the cities and probably should lock them in the countryside, too, especially after reading this anthology. [It] gave me 15 reasons to wish I had not moved to the Midwest. And for the folks who are still living in this supposedly mild-mannered region, all I can say is, enjoy the weather, but watch your back." -- Sujata Massey

When murder pierces the fabric of the close-knit Crandalsburg Craft Fair, it's up to the Ninth Street Knitters to make a killer slip their stitch. The Craft Fair may have hit a few snags lately, but knitting enthusiast Lia Geiger is hopeful her quiet life will return to its usual patterns in no time. Her daughter has officially moved back home, and sure, the house is a little crowded with Hayley's take-home work from the alpaca farm, but that's a price Lia will happily pay. All seems well until Cori Littlefield, a new vendor with a gift for crochet, is found dead, sending shock waves through all of Crandalsburg. What begins as a tragic accident turns into a snarled spool of lies that only the combined efforts of the Ninth Street Knitters can untangle. When Lia makes a connection between Cori's death and a decades-old murder, it's up to her to weave together the clues and find the truth.

"Business is booming at Piper's Picklings in Cloverdale, New York. But not all is sweet in the life of Piper's number one customer and friend, local caterer Sugar Heywood. Sugar is dating wealthy realtor Jeremy Porter, but his family doesn't approve. After their unscrupulous accountant finds some dirt on Sugar, the family quickly urges Jeremy to throw her out like rotten fruit. Things are further spoiled after the accountant is found poisoned, and all evidence points to Sugar's son, Zach. With the Porter family determined to avoid scandal, it won't be easy for Piper to preserve Zach's innocence. And after someone falls victim to a poisoned jar of some of her brandied cherries, Piper's got a peck of trouble to deal with herself." --

After her fiance left her, Piper came to Cloverdale to rebuild her life and open up her shop, Piper's Picklings, to sell pickles and preserves. When her ex decides to drop in for a visit, just as things are heating up between her and a local Christmas tree farmer, Piper finds herself in a jam.

A memory-stealing cult. The ever-watchful City of Eyes. Making small talk. Join Droplet as she faces all these horrors and more… Vigilante shapeshifter Droplet has trained her entire life to take down those with more power than scruples, but she still makes mistakes. When a rescue mission goes wrong, a memory-stealing cult of blood mages escapes with kidnapped captives in tow. To save them, Droplet reluctantly teams up with the outgoing, tenacious Azera. Droplet knows better than to trust a human—she made that mistake once, and that person’s betrayal scattered her community across the known world—and she can tell Azera is hiding secrets behind her sunny smile. But if they can’t learn to work together, even Droplet’s own memories could be lost.