This Season’s Best Mysteries

Betrayed, by Lisa Scottoline
The thirteenth novel in Scottoline’s crackling Rosato & Associates series finds renegade lawyer Judy Carrier facing trouble both personally and professionally—and the two areas become completely intertwined when Iris, housekeeper and close friend of Judy’s Aunt Barb, is found dead under suspicious circumstances. Not only that, but Judy is navigating a rocky relationship with her live-in boyfriend, dealing with a best friend who is entirely wrapped up in wedding planning, and coping with a boss, Bennie Rosato, whom she’s pretty sure has it in for her. Things heat up when investigating Iris’s death brings Judy face to face with some of the most dangerous, desperate criminals she’s ever encountered.

The Monogram Murders, by Sophie Hannah
If Sherlock Holmes could return from the dead, it stands to reason that Hercule Poirot could, too. For the first time since the deaths of Poirot and his creator, Agatha Christie, Sophie Hannah returns the storied detective to life, skillfully paying homage to Christie’s voice without simply mimicking it. The year is 1929, and the setup is enticing: a young woman approaches Poirot and claims she will soon be killed. Poirot suspects there is a connection between this woman and the murders of three guests at a London hotel. Settle in for a well-wrought puzzler, folks.

The Golem of Hollywood, by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman
This formidable father-son duo has fashioned a tour de force mystery that reads like a psychological thriller crossed with a folktale. The Golem of Hollywood stars a burned-out detective, a dame who isn’t what she seems, a series of horrific murders, and an ancient monster of retribution. The storytelling is unique, following two tracks: the modern-day odyssey of detective Jacob Lev, and the origin story of the Golem, all the way back to the brothers Cain and Abel.

The Secret Place, by Tana French
In the fifth book of her Dublin Murder Squad series, French tackles one of life’s greatest mysteries: teenage girls. The Secret Place of St. Kilda’s School is a clearinghouse for anonymous gossip. But one day, instead of cliquish rumors, the board features the photo of a murdered boy with a caption reading “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” As Detectives Stephanie Moran and Antoinette Conway unravel the intricate webs of loyalty, rivalry, and friendship that bind the girls, they desperately try to stay the course and find the boy’s killer.

A New York Christmas, by Anne Perry
In 1904, Jemima Pitt, age 23, accompanies an acquaintance, Delphina Cardew, to New York City, where the aristocratic Delphina is set to marry into a wealthy New York family. However, Jemima senses something ominous behind the celebrations—particularly when the groom’s brother asks her to help him search for Delphina’s estranged mother to ensure that she does not show up at the wedding and cause a scandal. As she combs the streets of New York in search of answers, Jemima is unaware of how much danger she is in. Perry knows how to ratchet up the tension, and readers in search of a taut, perfectly paced holiday mystery novel need look no further.

Perfidia, by James Ellroy
When Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Los Angeles suddenly becomes hostile to its Japanese-American residents. In this tense atmosphere, a Japanese family is murdered, and a squad of memorable investigators gather to solve the crime. Ellroy’s prose is as tight and punchy as ever, and he maintains an urgent pace throughout this complex, layered narrative.

The Job, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
The third installment of the Fox and O’Hare series finds Nicholas Fox (the con man with oodles of charm) and Kate O’Hare (the tough-as-nails FBI agent) hopscotching across the world in an odd-couple crime-catching romp. This time they’re on the trail of the godfather of a drug-smuggling world empire—and they have no idea what he looks like. As they attempt to bring him down, they face the usual assortment of obstacles and meet an odd cast of characters, including a Somali pirate and a group of tough guys who take advice from a pickled head.

The Lost Key, by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison
In the sequel to last year’s The Final Cut, former Scotland Yarder Nicholas Drummond is now an FBI agent. And, proving there are no training wheels in American law enforcement, he finds himself almost immediately investigating a stabbing in Manhattan. It becomes clear that this is no run-of-the-mill killing, and that the victim, nominally a rare book dealer, may have led a double life. The disappearance of both of the victim’s grown children ups the ante and leads to the revelation of yet more surprises.

The Handsome Man’s Deluxe Cafe, by Alexander McCall Smith
In her impressive fifteenth outing as head of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Mma Ramotswe is having some struggles. On top of her normal load, she’s dealing with the loss of her partner, Grace Makutsi, who’s opened the titular cafe. Things don’t go as planned for either party. But Smith manages to keep things warm and cozy, as he always does, and the ladies are once again quite prepared to put a smile on the faces of their readers.
 

Moriarty, by Anthony Horowitz
What really happened after Sherlock Holmes and his arch nemesis, Professor Moriarty, took their deadly tumble over the Reichenbach Falls? From the author of the masterful Holmesian tribute The House of Silk, sanctioned by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, comes a twisted, thrilling new mystery that investigates both Watson’s account of the fatal plunge, and the aftershocks that shook the criminal world in the wake of Moriarty’s death.
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