Historical Mystery. In October 1806, due to reduced circumstances, Dido Kent is staying with her vicar brother and his decidedly unpleasant wife. Though her attic room is small and cold, Dido enjoys the quiet countryside. Quiet, that is, until a neighbor suffers a fall at a local abbey ruin and whispers "I saw her" before going unconscious. Most assume the injured young lady saw the "Grey Nun" ghost, but ever-curious Dido looks for a more corporeal explanation, especially when a human skeleton is found. Also on the witty and charming 36-year-old spinster's mind: a marriage proposal. Fans of Jane Austen's classic novels -- even those who aren't crazy over mysteries -- should appreciate the "perfect regency prose" (Kirkus Reviews) in this well-plotted 3rd in the Dido Kent series.

When a wedding gown seamstress is found dead, Kelly Flynn and her knitting partners must tie up all the loose ends before their friend's big day arrives.

When the former owner of her store is murdered, and an innocent man is accused of the crime, Claire Weatherly serves as the go-between for Detective Jakob Fisher and his former community as he tries to catch the real killer.

Mystery. Near Philadelphia, residents of the exclusive gated community of Waldorf Pines find themselves -- and their secrets -- under the scrutiny of ex-FBI agent Gregor Demarkian, who's known as the Armenian-America Poirot. When Waldorf Pines' pool house burns down with two bodies inside, everyone thinks the victims must be recently missing Martha Heydreich and her pool-boy lover -- and that her rags-to-riches husband killed them. After DNA evidence proves both bodies were male, the local cops need help sorting out who the other man is and where Martha's gone. Twenty-seventh in a long-running series, Blood in the Water examines just how well we know our neighbors.

Historical Mystery. Cynical yet likeable German police detective Bernie Gunther reluctantly heads to Prague in September 1941. He's been ordered there by his boss, brutal Nazi mastermind Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich's throwing a lavish soiree for high-ranking Nazi party officials, but since he suspects one of them wants him dead, he's ordered Gunther to investigate. Before anything can come of Heydrich's personal worries, a young Nazi on his staff is found murdered in his locked guest room. What's going on and why? All will be revealed in "a surprising denouement worthy of Agatha Christie" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). This is the 8th Bernie Gunther book, all of which offer well-crafted, if dark, looks at WWII-era Europe.

Mystery. While checking lobster pots, an old fisherman pulls up the body of a young girl -- but she didn't drown accidentally. The murder hits a little too close to home for police detective Patrik Hedstrom -- he's the new father of a baby girl, and his wife, Erica, recently made friends with the dead girl's mother. As Patrik's investigation begins to uncover dark secrets from the past, the murder and its aftermath threaten to tear apart the resort town of Fjallbacka, Sweden. Meanwhile, there's trouble at home as Erica suffers from postpartum depression. This 3rd book to feature Patrik and Erica should interest readers who enjoy Scandinavian mysteries and novels about family dynamics.

Grace Wheaton, the curator and manager of Marshfield Manor, investigates the shooting of one guest and the murder of another, both of which could be linked to a rash of thefts at historical sites, before she is the next victim.

Historical Cozy. In July 1906, Beatrix Potter lives in England's bucolic Lake District and works on getting Hill Top Farm, which she purchased a year earlier, up and running again. In The Tale of Holly How, the 2nd in a series, she also must make time to solve the murder of a well-liked local shepherd, who's found dead in a field. Rita Mae Brown fans will find much to like here -- The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter offer a delightful blend of charming animals (who talk among themselves, not to humans), richly described settings, small-town intrigues, and a chaste but developing romance between Potter and her solicitor Will Heelis.

Cozy Mystery. In the Scottish Highlands, Constable Hamish Macbeth has his hands full of well-heeled suspects after someone fatally shoots a houseguest at the Halburton-Smythes estate, and it's discovered that everyone there had a reason for wanting the man out of the way. While searching for the killer, indefatigable Hamish, the only constable in his town, also works to win his true love, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, even though she's just announced her engagement to another man! Though Beaton's books aren't as sweet in tone as Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy series, fans of those books will appreciate the idealized village setting, rich cast of unique secondary characters, and ongoing dash of romance. Death of a Cad is the 2nd book featuring Hamish.

Mystery. When a retired and well-liked schoolteacher is shot through the heart with a bow and arrow, almost everyone in the small village of Three Pines thinks it must have been a hunting accident. But Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Canada's Sûreté du Québec discovers there's a murderer in the town's midst. In starred reviews, Booklist says that Louise Penny's award-winning debut novel is "a real gem of a book," and Kirkus Reviews calls it "stellar." Though her writing has a more serious tone, Penny offers a strong cast of series characters, an exploration of social issues, and a mix of humor and detection just as Rita Mae Brown does.