A well-read old dear has an unhealthy interest in murder, in this sharp, witty, and refreshingly original cozy crime novel. Retired librarian and bookshop owner May Morrigan lives in the affluent village of Blackheath with Fletcher, her best friend since they met decades ago, and May’s two dogs. What could be more normal? But May is not your average little old lady . . . After an unpleasant church volunteer and an annoying local butcher meet their untimely ends, Fletcher and May team up to do some sleuthing. Soon, the elderly pair start working with a young journalist to investigate the case of a missing girl and its possible link to previous unsolved crimes. May finds this new project quite intriguing. She’s never met a murderer before—and now she just may get the chance, if they play their cards right . . .

Lady Darby returns to London with her new husband, Sebastian Gage, but newlywed bliss won't last for long when her past comes back to haunt her in the latest exciting installment in this national bestselling series. November 1831. After fleeing London in infamy more than two years prior, Lady Kiera Darby's return to the city is anything but mundane, though not for the reasons she expected. A gang of body snatchers is arrested on suspicion of imitating the notorious misdeeds of Edinburgh criminals, Burke and Hare--killing people from the streets and selling their bodies to medical schools. Then Kiera's past--a past she thought she'd finally made peace with--rises up to haunt her. All of London is horrified by the evidence that "burkers" are, indeed, at work in their city. The terrified populace hovers on a knife's edge, ready to take their enmity out on any likely suspect. And when Kiera receives a letter of blackmail, threatening to divulge details about her late anatomist husband's involvement with the body snatchers and wrongfully implicate her, she begins to apprehend just how precarious her situation is. Not only for herself, but also her new husband and investigative partner, Sebastian Gage, and their unborn child. Meanwhile, the young scion of a noble family has been found murdered a block from his home, and the man's family wants Kiera and Gage to investigate. Is it a failed attempt by the London burkers, having left the body behind, or the crime of someone much closer to home? Someone who stalks the privileged, using the uproar over the burkers to cover his own dark deeds?

Most cultures and societies have their own customs and traditions of treating their dead. In the past, some deceased received a burial that deviated from tradition. The reasons for unusual burial could result from reasons such as outbreaks of epidemics or wars, or from premature births, distinctive social status, or disability. Authors present a selection of cases addressing the issue of unusual deaths, burials, or ways to remember the deceased. Chapters explore theoretical views related to social memory of death and memorializing the deceased and their resting places during modern period. The case studies introduce varied views on ‘otherness’ that are visible in burial customs and memorialization.

One of The Chicago Tribune's Best Reads of 2011 One of Dublin's most powerful men meets a violent end— and an acknowledged master of crime fiction delivers his most gripping novel yet On a sweltering summer afternoon, newspaper tycoon Richard Jewell—known to his many enemies as Diamond Dick—is discovered with his head blown off by a shotgun blast. But is it suicide or murder? For help with the investigation, Detective Inspector Hackett calls in his old friend Quirke, who has unusual access to Dublin's elite. Jewell's coolly elegant French wife, Françoise, seems less than shocked by her husband's death. But Dannie, Jewell's high-strung sister, is devastated, and Quirke is surprised to learn that in her grief she has turned to an unexpected friend: David Sinclair, Quirke's ambitious assistant in the pathology lab at the Hospital of the Holy Family. Further, Sinclair has been seeing Quirke's fractious daughter Phoebe, and an unlikely romance is blossoming between the two. As a record heat wave envelops the city and the secret deals underpinning Diamond Dick's empire begin to be revealed, Quirke and Hackett find themselves caught up in a dark web of intrigue and violence that threatens to end in disaster. Tightly plotted and gorgeously written, A Death in Summer proves to the brilliant but sometimes reckless Quirke that in a city where old money and the right bloodlines rule, he is by no means safe from mortal danger.

Menacing texts lead to murder in an English village, in this unmissable, witty mystery by the Dagger Award–nominated author of A Most Unusual Demise. May Morrigan is in her bookshop one morning when she—and everyone else in the shop—receives an anonymous text. It contains a reference to a Shakespeare quotation—and seems to be aimed at the vicar and his partner, Juan. The next morning, one of them is dead. Meanwhile, May’s elderly mother, Minty, is staying with her, her old friend Fletcher, and her two dogs. To her dismay, Minty is quite preoccupied with death herself lately. She also keeps reminiscing about her past in ways that make May wonder what secrets she’s hiding. As disturbing texts continue to arrive, the Blackheath residents are threatened with further revelations and titillations. Then Fletcher becomes the focus of the tormenting texter . . . and barely escapes an attempt on his life. It’s time for May to send a strong message—and block this killer permanently . . .

The strange and gruesome crime-scene snapshot collection of LAPD detective Jack Huddleston spans Southern California in its noir heyday. Death Scenes is the noted forerunner of several copycat titles.

A novice detective joins a rock star’s entourage to follow a trail of sex, drugs, and suspicious deaths, in this brand-new murder mystery by the author of Murder Your Darlings. Crime writer Francis Meadowes has just been offered his first paid detective gig—which means going on the road with gender-fluid rock star JonniK, tagging along as the musician’s entourage travels from Berlin to Brussels and beyond. Jonni’s manager is already worried by a guitar tech’s fatal overdose on a tour bus, but then the star himself is attacked on stage . . . Another shock comes as Jonni’s lead guitarist is electrocuted by his own instrument in the middle of a gig—and Francis realises he is in a dangerous race against time to find out exactly what is going on . . . Praise for the Francis Meadowes mysteries “A rollicking read.” —London Evening Standard “Very engaging.” —The Sydney Morning Herald “Readers will have fun.” —Publishers Weekly