Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.

We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Here's what I got ~



The Night Watchman (Ray Quinn Series, Book 1) by Mark Mynheir (For Review & Blog Tour) ~~ Eleven months ago, Ray Quinn was a tough, quick-witted Orlando homicide detective at the top of his game–until a barrage of bullets ended his career…and his partner’s life.Now medically retired with a painful handicap, Ray battles the haunting guilt for his partner’s death. Numbing the pain with alcohol and attitude, Ray takes a job as a night watchman at a swanky Orlando condo.But when a pastor and an exotic dancer are found dead in one of the condos in an apparent murder-suicide, Ray can no longer linger in the shadows. The pastor’s sister is convinced her brother was framed and begs Ray to take on an impossible case–to challenge the evidence and clear her brother’s name. Ray reluctantly pulls the threads of this supposedly dead-end case only to unravel a murder investigation so deep that it threatens to turn the Orlando political landscape upside down and transform old friends into new enemies. As Ray chases down leads and interrogates suspects, someone is watching his every move, someone determined to keep him from ever finding out the truth–at any cost.

Killer Cuts: A Dead-End Job Mystery by Elaine Viets ~ Helen Hawthorne’s latest dead-end job is in Miguel Angel’s Fort Lauderdale hair salon, where a trim can cost as much as a car payment and a blowout can wipe you out. But when one of the salon’s most famous clients, gossip blogger and cable-TV show host Kingman “King” Oden is murdered at his own wedding, things get a little hairy and King becomes the prime suspect. To save her boss—and her job— Helen is determined to find the murderer. When she finds herself the target of threatening notes, it’s more imperative than ever that she figure out who at the wedding was dressed to kill.

Death Loves a Messy Desk (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) by Mary Jane Maffini ~ Nothing makes Charlotte Adams happier than freeing people from clutter—and she boasts a waiting list of sloppy clients. Her free time has been taken up solving fatally untidy cases. Her latest task: a woman has hired her to organize a coworker’s hopelessly cluttered desk. But when the miss behind the mess goes missing, workplace tempers rise. Now, Charlotte must open a brand-new folder—one she hopes won’t be filed under M for murder.

The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse: A Cats in Trouble Mystery by Leann Sweeney ~ Jill’s quiet life is shattered when her house is broken into and her Abyssinian, Syrah, goes missing. Jill’s convinced her kitty’s been catnapped. But when her cat-crime-solving leads her to a murdered body, suddenly all paws are pointing to Jill. Soon, Jill discovers that Syrah isn’t the only purebred who’s been stolen. Now she has to find these furry felines before they all become the prey of a cold-blooded killer—and she ends up nabbed for a crime..

With a Twist (Berkley Sensation) by Deirdre Martin ~ Natalie Bocuse is a waitress at her sister’s French bistro in Brooklyn, yet she dreams of managing a chic restaurant in Manhattan. Among the regulars is Quinn O’Brian, a reporter known for breaking stories—and hearts. When he offers Natalie a job at his parents’ Irish pub in Manhattan, she jumps at the chance to be one step closer to her dream. But Quinn will need the luck of the Irish to charm Natalie and write a happy ending to his own love story.

Final Curtain (Polly Pepper Mysteries) by R.T.) Richard Tyler Jordan ~ Polly Pepper, the legendary superstar of television's golden age, is finally back in the entertainment headlines. She's landed the title role in a new production of the musical "Mame", and though it's off-off-off-off Broadway (Glendale, California, actually), Polly's bank account - and her ego - need the job. There's one minor detour, though: on the second day of rehearsals, wunderkind director Karen Richards turns up dead. Of course Polly's nose for news needs to know, and though Karen was well liked, it seems some last-minute casting changes did her in. Sadly, Polly's Suspect No. 1 is her new friend and co-star Sharon Fletcher. Sharon was the last person seen with the deceased director...and her Emmy matches the dent in Karen's head. The more Polly sniffs, the surer she is that Sharon didn't haul off and bash Karen with her Emmy. But the evidence is mounting, and it'll take all of Polly's wits to save the jailed soap star from a murder rap...and a starring role in a real-life drama tentatively entitled "Framed!"

Curse of the Kissing Cousins (A Where Are They Now? Mystery) by Toni L. P. Kelner ~ Boston freelance reporter Tilda Harper writes articles about former stage and screen stars—and where they’ve crash-landed. But when someone starts murdering the cast from the TV show Kissing Cousins, and the actress who played Tilda’s favorite character, Mercy, vanishes, Tilda must find her before a killer cancels her contract once and for all.

While My Pretty One Knits by Anne Canadeo ~ The Black Sheep Knitters -- Maggie, Lucy, Dana, Suzanne, and Phoebe -- meet once a week without fail, sharing the varied and colorful skeins of their lives as much as knitting tips, recipes, and small-town gossip, and creating an intricate, durable pattern of friendship. Now a shocking murder has peaceful Plum Harbor, Massachusetts, in knots -- and the Black Sheep women must herd together to protect one of their own from a scandalous frame-up.Maggie Messina, beloved owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, is thrilled to be hosting a workshop for one of her former students, now a celebrity in the knitting world. But the celebration is upstaged when Amanda Goran, the owner of the rival Knitting Nest, is found dead in her shop on the other side of town.Maggie had reasons to dislike Amanda, a thorn in her side ever since Maggie's shop surpassed Amanda's in popularity. Then again, it wasn't hard to dislike Amanda -- the contentious woman, whose marriage was on the rocks, seemed to specialize in causing misery all over town. But the pointed evidence has a detective casting a suspicious eye on Maggie. She may be a whiz at knitting, but can she keep the police from needling her before her shop, her reputation, and her circle of friends become unraveled?

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes (Sisterchicks Series #8) by Robin Jones Gunn (For review & Blog Tour) ~ A multi-tasking mama, Summer Finley has found ways to handle whatever life throws at her with grace and a grin. Until now, that is. An “abnormal” medical test result sends Summer into an emotional tailspin and prompts her to fulfill a life-long dream of “meeting” her best friend and pen pal since fourth grade, Noelle Van Zandt, face-to-face. Their blissful week together in the Netherlands finds Summer and Noelle floating down a canal in Amsterdam, visiting Corrie Ten Boom’s Hiding Place, sipping decadent Dutch cocoa in Delft, and bobbing merrily along through a sea of brilliant, spring-fresh tulips. Each day takes them further from midlife anxiety and closer to trusting God in deeper ways. When Summer finally confides in Noelle about the abnormal test results, Summer’s honesty prompts Noelle to share a long-held heartache. The two friends find they both needed to be together more than either of them realized. Could it be this adventure was tucked away in God’s imagination long before Summer bought her ticket to fly to the land of merry tulips and kalomping wooden shoes?

Where the Dead Lay by David Levien (ARC) ~ After the sudden disappearance of two high-priced detectives, former Indianapolis cop Frank Behr—the brooding private investigator introduced in David Levien’s nationally acclaimed novel City of the Sun—is pulled into a case that is harrowing, relentless, and, ultimately, personal. Early in the dark, Indianapolis morning, Frank Behr’s friend and mentor is murdered—with no motive and no trace of evidence left behind. Behr, a quiet, mountainous former cop, thirsts for answers and retaliation. But before he can make headway in the dead-end investigation, an exclusive private firm approaches him with a delicate proposition: two of its detectives have gone missing, and the firm wants Behr to find out what happened to them. Prodded to take the case by his old boss—the Indianapolis chief of police who holds the strings to Frank’s possible return to the force—Behr accepts. The search for the missing detectives takes Behr into the recesses of Indianapolis’s underworld, a place rife with brutality and vice—and a stark contrast to the city’s gentle public image. As Behr calls on old street contacts and his hard-boiled investigative skills, he is led deeper into a twisted society of organized crime and an unknown landscape of “pea-shake” houses—low-rent, transient gambling rings staged in condemned buildings around the city. Unexpectedly, Behr uncovers a shocking thread connecting the missing detectives to his friend’s brutal murder, and, in the process, Behr is forced to confront an ominous, deadly new breed of crime family.Introduced in City of the Sun, Frank Behr instantly attracted critical attention and a devoted fan base, and Where the Dead Lay places Behr on a broader, edgier stage. This extraordinary crime novel stands with the best of Michael Connelly and Lee Child, featuring a brilliantly drawn, ruthless criminal family whom readers will not soon forget, and showcasing the immense talents of David Levien.