NEW MYSTERY AUTHORS

This bibliography of new mystery authors is not comprehensive, but it does not have variety! The titles chosen are of recent authors with less than four mystery titles published and all were published since 1990.

Anaya, Rudolfo
Zia Summer
Warner Books, 1995.
Albuquerque, P.I. Sony Baca makes his debut appearance in this elegantly poetic mystery which integrates gritty realism with mythic spiritually. His aunt asks him to investigate the gruesome murder of a favorite cousin, and Sonny is thrown into a case that combines ancient ritual sacrifice with protests with protests of atomic weapons, reflecting the conflict in New Mexico between traditional culture and the push for new development. (new series).

Baker, John
Poet in the Gutter
St. Martin’s Press, 1996.
Sam Turner, once a homeless alcoholic, attends a men’s meeting in York, England, and impulsively introduces himself as a private detective. Terry Deacon suspects his wife is having an affair and hires Sam to follow her. An easy way for Sam to make money, and no one the wiser that he is not really a detective, he accepts the case. But, then Terry is murdered and the simple adultery case turns into a twisted case of an international serial killer.

Barron, Stephanie
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
Bantam, 1996.
While Jane Austen is visiting her childhood friend Isobel Payne, new bride of the elderly Earl of Scargrave, his Lordship falls victim to a mysterious illness. The grieving widow soon finds herself at risk as questions are raised about her relationship with his handsome nephew and heir, and Jane agrees to investigate in an attempt to clear her friend’s good name. This well written and researched first installment in the " Jane Austen Mysteries’ series will be a pleasant surprise for Austen fans and Regency readers alike. The author manages to capture the Austenesque style and authentic Regency tone while at the same time crafting a moderately fast-paced mystery.

Dams, Jeanne
The Body in the Transept
Walker and Company, 1995.
Dorothy Martin and husband Frank planned for years to retire to a small University town in England, even leasing a small cottage. Frank dies, Dorothy decides to go on with their dream and makes the move. On her first Christmas in Shrewsbury. Dorothy is feeling very lonely and hopes that attending church will help- -however, falling over Canon Billings body after the service does little to improve her outlook on life. As an outsider and newcomer Dorothy is free to snoop and view people with a fresh look. Much against the advice of her new friend Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, Dorothy begins her own investigation of the murder. First book in a new series from Indian author Dams.

Evanovich, Janet
One for the Money
Scribners, 1994.
When Stephanie Plum loses her job as a lingerie buyer, she is forced to take a position with her cousin, Vinnie, the bailbondsman, as a bounty hunter. Her first case is to bring Joe Morelli, a cop who has jumped bail on a murder charge and is, coincidentally, the man to whom she lost her virginity in high school. A hilarious race ensues with Stephanie attempting to catch Joe, while he tries to prevent her from getting killed by the real murderer. Followed by Two For the Dough and Three to Get Deadly.

Fairstein, Linda
Likely to Die
Scribner, 1997.
This, the mystery that follows new author Fairstein’s Final Jeopardy, again features Manhattan’s sex crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper. Alex, the police, and Alex’s staff all work to find the killer of neurosurgeon Gemma Dogen who was found in her blood-soaked office at Mid-Manhattan Medical Center. Did the Doctor try to write the name of her killer before she died" is the killer a former patient, a member of the hospital staff or one of the homeless who lives in the tunnels beneath the hospital?

Gluter, Jan
Lie Down With Dogs
St. Martin’s, 1996.
After running out of gas on a lonely Wisconsin back road, Robert Cooper encounters a small boy, Luke his caregiver, Lisa, and the race for the solution to the mystery of Luke’s Dad’s disappearance, a burglary ring, and murder. Good plotting makes this an interesting fast-moving novel. Winner of the Malice Domestic Award for best first traditional mystery.

Harrison, Jamie
Going Local
Hyperion, 1996.
Jules Clement, sheriff of Blue Deer, Montana is just back on the job after recovering from gunshot wound, when he and his deputy spot a tent floating in the town reservoir. When two human bodies (and one canine) are found dead inside, not drowned but run over several times, Jules resolves one more time to leave his job for any career that doesn’t involve examining soggy corpses. As he begins to investigate the murders, he discovers shady land development deals, a British movie director and his lover (the dead man’s ex-wife), and a long-legged blonde who wants a few very private words with Jules.

Lawrence, Martha C.
Murder in Scorpio
St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
Parapsychologist Dr. Elizabeth Chase uses her understanding of the paranormal in her investigation. Escondido police Department Sergeant Tom McGowen has some doubts about consulting Elizabeth on a case involving the death of his high school friend. As her investigations cast an increasingly suspicious light on his friend’s death, Tom quickly gains more than a little respect and affection for Elizabeth. The closer she gets to the truth, the less either Tom’s protection or the intervention of the stars may be able to keep Elizabeth out of harm’s way. In this delightful series debut, Martha Lawrence captures the sunny, offbeat appeal as well as the danger of Southern California, and introduces an original detective who promises to enchant readers for many cases to come.

Lilliefors, James
Banaville
St. Martins, 1996.
Burnt out, separated from his wife, veteran newspaperman Martin Grant moves from the Midwest to tropical, booming Banaville, Florida. Here Grant finds in the murder of city councilman Rudolph Reed, what he has been looking for all of his life, the "Big Story". Hard edged and with the dark humor of the current crop of Florida based authors. First in a series.

Parrish, Richard
Nothing But the Truth
Dutton, 1995.
When Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky comes to the Tucson office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dish Rabb wonders what Lansky’s doing in Tucson and why he would pick a struggling attorney for his lawyer. The Papago Indians find the bodies of two Chassidic Jews on their reservation and the two Italian gangsters, Rabb finds himself drawn into the mysterious turf war between Mafia dons while also trying defend a Papago man accused of rape and murder. He doesn’t realize how deeply he’s become entangled in the mob’s affairs until his teenage daughter Hanna is kidnapped and Rabb has to race against time to discover the truth behind the murders if he is to save his daughter.

Reichs, Kathy
Deja Dead
Scribners, 1997.
A decayed woman’s body is found, as forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan examines the remains, she remembers a similar case a year earlier and suspects a serial killer. When the police discount her theory, Tempe starts investigating on her own. She searches the computer for mutilated bodies and discovers several cases, but the victims don’t appear to have anything in common. Just as she begins to doubt her own instincts, the killer starts to stalk her, and things get ugly! As a middle aged divorced mother, Tempe is an appealing character. The Montreal setting adds an extra sparkle with its exotic food, French language and Canadian customs. First book in a proposed series.

Reynolds, Brad
The Story Knife: a Father Mark Townsend Mystery
Avon, 1996.
Father Mark Townsend helps the Seattle police with the murder of a crooked lawyer, slain with a distictive Eskimo knife. Townsend served in the Yup’ik Eskimo village of Soongnyak, where the knife comes from, and knows the Eskimo tribe that carved the intricate pictures on its ivory handle. The priest returns to the village and uncovers more than he bargained for--startling discoveries may make him the killer’s next victim. Worth reading for the insights into modern Eskimo life and problems. First mystery in a new series.

Ripley, Ann
Death of a Garden Pest
St. Martin’s Press, 1996.
While recovering from solving her last murder, housewife Louise Eldridge is asked to co-host an organic gardening television show, displacing one of the current hosts. When the woman is found dead, Louise, the chief suspect, must work to clear herself while keeping up the shows rating. Interspersed with gardening lore, the book also includes ten informative essays on organic gardening.