The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 12: New Books to Make Your Heart Race

by Deborah J. Benoit, Olivia Blacke, Michelle Chouinard, Julia Dahl, P. J. Nelson

Overview

Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? The twelfth edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of six can't-miss novels—either standalone or first in series—publishing Fall 2024 for free for easy sampling.

Standalone: In acclaimed author Julia Dahl's I Dreamed of Falling, the death of a young mother triggers an avalanche of secrets in a small Hudson Valley town.

First in Series: In Michelle Chouinard’s clever mystery The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco, the granddaughter of a serial killer shows readers another side of the beloved city.

First in Series: Olivia Blacke’s A New Lease on Death is a darkly funny supernatural mystery about an unlikely crime-solving duo that launches a commercial, unique, and genre-blending series, death is only the beginning.

First in Series: In Deborah J. Benoit’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut, The Gardener’s Plot, a woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plot's on opening day.

Standalone: A gripping new novel inspired by a real place and events from the author’s family, Trouble Island is the standalone suspense debut from historical mystery writer Sharon Short.

First in Series: P. J. Nelson’s Booked for Murder is an atmospheric southern cozy debut, where Madeline Brimley returns to the bookstore she inherited, discovering that small towns hold deadly secrets.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250369901
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/25/2024
Series:	The Minotaur Sampler , #12
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	180
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

This edition of The Minotaur Sampler includes the beginnings of novels from Deborah J. Benoit, Olivia Blacke, Michelle Chouinard, Julia Dahl, P. J. Nelson, and Sharon Short.
DEBORAH J. BENOIT was a legal secretary for 30 years before deciding to pursue more creative endeavors. Her debut novel, The Gardener’s Plot, won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition. Born and raised in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, there’s no place she’d rather call home, even in winter. Determined to never stop learning, Deborah loves sharing her knowledge of gardening, through articles she’s written, in person, and on social media. When not writing or digging up plots in her garden, she can be found working on her latest fiber arts project.
OLIVIA BLACKE (she/her) had her first encounter with a ghost when she was only five years old, but her first involvement with an active crime scene wasn't until much later, when she accidentally stepped into a chalk outline on a Manhattan sidewalk. Armed with a Criminology and Criminal Justice degree, she finally found a way to channel her love of the supernatural and passion for writing into darkly humorous supernatural mysteries. She is also the author of the Record Shop Mysteries and the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries. She still wants to be a unicorn when she grows up.
MICHELLE CHOUINARD is the author of the Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco mysteries, and under another name, the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of nine previous mysteries. Michelle has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Stanford University and was one of UC Merced’s founding faculty members. She lives in the Bay Area and enjoys caffeine in all forms, amateur genealogy, baking, and anything to do with Halloween or the zombie apocalypse.
Julia Dahl is the author of Conviction, Run You Down, and Invisible City, which was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, one of the Boston Globe’s Best Books of 2014, and has been translated into eight languages. A former reporter for CBS News and the New York Post, she now teaches journalism at NYU.
PJ NELSON is the pseudonym of an award-winning actor, dramatist, professor, and novelist (among other many other professions) who has done just about everything except run a bookstore. He lives in Decatur, Georgia.
SHARON SHORT is the author of fifteen published books. Her newest, Trouble Island, is historical suspense inspired by bootlegging and family history. Sharon is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest, for which she writes the column, “Level Up Your Writing (Life)” and teaches for Writer’s Digest University. She is also a three-time recipient of the Individual Excellence Award in Literary Arts from Ohio Arts Council and has been a John E. Nance Writer in Residence at Thurber House (Columbus, Ohio). Sharon currently serves as President of the Midwest Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. As Jess Montgomery, she writes the historical Kinship Mysteries set in the 1920s and inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff. When not writing, Sharon enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, swimming, and occasionally hiking.