Annotated lists of paperback originals selected on the basis of good reviews and/or the author's popularity. The books cover the range of sub-genres - noir, cozies, thrillers, historical, amateur sleuths, police procedurals, P.I. novels, etc.

Titles are listed by approximate date of publication. Annotations are from Advance, the Ingram Book Magazine - unless otherwise noted.

December

November

October

September

Blue Plate Special
by Birmingham, Ruth
ISBN: 0425181863 $ 5.99
The Edgar Award-winning series featuring Atlanta P.I. Sunny Childs continues with a tale of dinner-hour death. A gun-toting teen holding up the Blind Pig Diner takes Sunny and other diners hostage, but claims his innocence in the murder of a woman whose body lies on the diner's floor. It's up to Sunny to investigate what looks like a clean-cut case of murder before time runs out.

Prepared for Murder: A Culinary Murder
by Lamalle, Cecile
ISBN: 0446610283 $ 6.50
As Chef Charly Poisson prowls through buttercups for nettles to make his spring tonic, he discovers the thawed remains of a murdered man. Was the victim, identified as a philandering local, killed by an irate husband? He knows he should leave it to the police, but that's before Charly gets a taste of a culinary supplier whose additive-heavy shrimp are so fresh they bounce. To investigate this fishy outfit, Charly will have to leave his cozy kitchen--and face a killer's ire.

A Deadly Arrangement: Happiness, Harmony and Homicide
by Osborne, Denise
ISBN: 0425181847 $ 5.99
The first in a new mystery series introduces feng shui practitioner Salome Waterhouse, who can spot a bad vibe a mile away. Even before inheriting her grandfather's mansion, she knew it had bad energy. She chooses to rent it out, but before she has a chance to apply her feng shui principles, she finds her renter, artist Palmer Fordham, dead--and Salome becomes the prime suspect. Includes tips on how to use feng shui.

A Tax Deductible Death
by Terreri, Malinda
ISBN: 0425181839 $ 5.99
A new mystery series brings together the two sure things in life: death and taxes. Stockbroker-sleuth Maggie Connor's clients keep dying and her twerpy boss wants her gone. So when the bills for her parents' condo come in, the death of her wealthiest client becomes a cloud with $3 million of silver lining. But her client was murdered. Now Maggie's got to keep one step ahead of the law, especially when IRS Agent Tim Gallen starts asking questions.

Remembrance of Murders Past
by Wald, Noreen
ISBN: 0425181855 $ 5.99
When ghostwriter Jake O'Hara's mother witnesses the murder of a parish priest, she becomes the killer's prime target. Now it's up to Jake to solve the crime and keep her mother out of harm's way.

Murder in the Forecast
by Wolzien, Valerie
ISBN: 044900631x $ 6.99
Hired to remodel the grandest old house on Cape May Island, contractor Josie Pigeon figures her summer is made. But before she can lift a hammer, she finds her new employer, a wealthy New Yorker, murdered on the premises with a strip of drop cloth twisted around his neck. When Hurricane Agatha sweeps away both the house and the body, Josie pursues the truth and tries to nail down a killer.

August

Sketches with Wolves
by Fiedler, Jacqueline
ISBN: 0671015605 $ 6.99
Wildlife artist Caroline Canfield arrives at Wolf Prairie to observe wolves in their natural habitat, and to meet friends from an online chat group. But her discovery of a dead body, the apparent victim of a wolf attack, dampens Caroline's good spirits--especially when no one believes what she's found. Stranded at the preserve by a blizzard as the body count rises, Caroline finds herself on thin ice with a killer in deadly pursuit.

All Signs Point to Murder
by Goldring, Kat
ISBN: 0425180298 $ 5.99
The first in a new series introduces schoolteacher Willi Gallagher in the strange town of Nickleberry. Willi overhears two students whispering about witchcraft and murder while in the school library, but, of course, Willi can't jump to conclusions. It's not until one of her students is found dead that the town starts listening--and Willi must sift through clues to put the rumors, and the killer, to rest.

The Jewel of the North
by King, Peter
ISBN:0451203836 $ 5.99
This first title in a new mystery series features author Jack London (The Call of the Wild) as a sleuth during his early days as a struggling writer living on San Francisco's Barbary Coast. Jack is called on by the mayor when two saloon hall girls, who arrived together on board the same ship from Alaska, The Jewel of the North, are found murdered.

Death is in the Air
by Kingsbury, Kate
ISBN: 0452180948 $ 5.99
When a German pilot escapes into the woods near Manor House, Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton insists that the pilot is nothing more than a harmless, frightened young boy. But when a local girl is found murdered the very day the pilot disappears, Elizabeth is in the thick of a murderous muddle, combing for clues and searching for answers.

Nightmare in Shining Armor
by Myers, Tamar
ISBN:038081191x $ 6.50
Antique store owner Abigail Timberlake's Halloween costume party is a success--but the only reveler she's glad to see leave is Tweetie Timberlake, the unfaithful wife of Abby's ex, Buford. Finding an unfamiliar suit of armor in her Den of Antiquity shop, Abby discovers the dead body of Tweetie stuffed inside, setting Abby on the trail of a vicious and vindictive chain-mail murderer.

Company of Thieves
by Roscoe, Gil
ISBN: Kensington $ 6.99
Former grifter Warren Allison now has an honest job, cash in the bank, and a loving girlfriend. His whole future is ahead of him, until a shady woman from his past offers him the con of a lifetime. But Warren is about to learn the hard way that in the international, high-stakes game of greed and lies, the winner takes all, the losers get taken, and no one is who they appear to be.

Occasion of Revenge
by Talley, Marcia
ISBN: 0440235200 $ 5.99
When Hannah Ives's father unexpectedly proposes to a female con artist who has already buried three husbands, no one in the family is happy about it. But before long, the unlucky would-be bride is found dead in the bathtub. Could someone have enjoyed an occasion of revenge?

Foreign Body
by Taylor, Kathleen
ISBN: 0380812053 $ 6.99
Tory Bauer is now co-owner of the only caf in Delphi, South Dakota. When a young Swedish member of a traveling international chorale dies in one of the booths, leaving a suicide note claiming the Reverend Clay Deibert drove her to it, Tory knows that Clay, her cousin, is clean. But when a dead body winds up in Clay's closet, Tory realizes clearing his name will be harder than she thought.

July

Death of a Songbird
by Goff, Christine L.
ISBN: 0425180441 $ 5.99
Lark Drummond's luxury hotel is packed with hundreds of birding convention-goers. When Lark accompanies fellow birdwatcher Rachel Stanhope one afternoon, their outing turns ugly when Lark witnesses the murder of her business partner through her spotting scope. With help from the other members of their birdwatching group, Lark and Rachel set out to find the killer.

Repair to Her Grave
by Graves, Sarah
ISBN: 0553582259 $ 5.99
While remodeling her Eastport, Maine, home, Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree is drawn into a century-old mystery when grad student Jonathan Raines appears on her doorstep claiming to be researching the disappearance of a musician and his cursed violin, which local legend says is hidden in Jake's house. When Jonathan disappears, Jake must solve both mysteries before history repeats itself.

Lie Like a Rug
by Murray, Donna
ISBN: 0312978979 $ 6.50
Ginger Barnes is shocked to discover that one of her beloved childhood neighbors, Charlie Finnemeyer, is on trial for forging a priceless colonial rug--and to learn that the expert witnesses against him are mysteriously dying. Now, it will take all of Gin's savvy to gather this case's slender threads in hand if she is to trap one exceptionally crafty, ruthless killer.

Bad Medicine
by Proulx, Suzanne
ISBN: 0449007073 $ 6.99
In her third mystery novel, Denver hospital risk manager Victoria Lucci discovers that an armed man is loose in the hospital. Vicky finds the crazed gunman, who has taken a group in the maternity ward hostage, including a young woman about to deliver her baby. What Vicky does in the next six hours will make all the difference between who lives and who dies.

June

Mama Cracks a Mask of Innocence
by Deloach, Nora
ISBN: 0553577247 $ 5.99
When Brenda Long met her end in Otis, South Carolina, no one was surprised. She'd made a lot of enemies in her short, greedy life. It's up to Candi Covington, also-known-as Mama, and her daughter, Simone, to find the lethal roots of not only Brenda's killing, but of a mystery and a murder no one dreamed existed.

Ruthless Game
by Girard, Danielle
ISBN: 0451409914 $ 6.99
Rookie cop Alex Kincaid awakens in her car in an unfamiliar area, with no memory of how she got there. The next day, her first call takes her to the same area where a man has been brutally killed--and Alex finds herself the main suspect in his murder. As she races to clear her name, she's haunted by memories of a 30-year old crime that marks her as the killer's next target.

Mrs Malory and the Lilies That Fester
by Holt, Hazel
ISBN: 0451203542 $ 5.99
In a small town like Taviscombe, England, everyone knows everything about everyone. So when the unsavory Gordon Masefield is murdered, word of mouth spreads like fire--and brings out the worst in people. Locals point their fingers at Sheila Malory's future daughter-in-law. Now, Mrs. Malory must find who really killed Gordon.

The Weeping Woman
by Killian, Michael
ISBN: 0425180018 $ 5.99
Kicking off a new mystery series, set in the roaring 1920s, this installment introduces Bedford Green, a man-about-town who rubs elbows with famous personalities of the Jazz Age, dabbles in art dealing--and solves a few crimes. With help from Hemingway and Zelda Fitzgerald, Green and his assistant, Sloane, search for a girl who vanished in Paris.

Better Off Dead: Casey Jones
by Munger, Katy
ISBN:0380800649 $ 5.99
A woman who survived an attack is devastated by her attacker's acquittal and the anonymous threats she's receiving. She asks unlicensed P.I. Casey Jones to go undercover at Duke University. Guarded by her boyfriend and friends, Casey tracks down a murderer who's using the campus as his personal hunting grounds.

Innkeeping with Murder
by Myers, Tim
ISBN:0425180026 $ 5.99
A new mystery series kicks off with this introduction to sleuth Alex Winston, Hatteras West Inn and Lighthouse Innkeeper in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. One of Alex's guests is found dead at the top of the lighthouse. Apparently the climb killed him--or was it something else? Alex must act fast to solve the mystery and capture the culprit before his next guest checks out.

Black Delta Night: Rachel Porter
by Speart, Jessica
ISBN: 0380810417 $ 5.99
Banished to a case in Tennessee, U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer Rachel Porter poses as a corrupt agent to investigate illegal poaching for Delta Gold--caviar from the endangered Mississippi River paddlefish. Her investigation reveal secrets and murder.

May

The Pearl Harbor Murders
by Collins, Max Allan
ISBN: 0425179435 $ 6.99
Many believe a war with Japan is unavoidable, but world-famous author Edgar Rice Burroughs is too busy basking in the Hawaiian sun to take stock in rumors. That is until he finds a young Japanese-American singer, murdered on the beach. Soon the island is abuzz with speculation, but before Burroughs can figure out who silenced her, a bomb decimates Pearl Harbor.

Dying to Be Murdered
by Fitzwater, Judy
ISBN: 0449006409 $ 6.50
Society matron Mary Bedford Ashton hires Jennifer to live in her historic mansion for a week and record everything that happens, believing this will prove her impending death to be murder. During her stay, Jennifer encounters a sinister housekeeper, threatening notes, a bloodstained bed--and her own bedroom door which locks only from the outside. It's a case to die for--and Jennifer may do just that.

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
by Sherman, Beth
ISBN: 0380816059 $ 5.99
The Jersey coast community of Oceanside Heights shudders at the newest fad among its teenagers: devil worship. Despite rumors that Old Scratch himself has appeared, the kids' late-night antics seem more ditsy than dangerous. But when ghostwriter Anne Hardaway happens upon the corpse of a young, would-be witch, Anne is pulled into an eerie world of black magic.

A Witness Above
by Straka, Andy
ISBN: 0451202945 $ 5.99
While hunting with his red-tailed hawk, Charlottesville P.I. Frank Pavlicek finds the body of a teenage boy in an area Frank and his teenage daughter, Nicole, recently visited. But what Frank finds in the boy's wallet disturbs him: Nicole's phone number, which links her to the crime. When Nicole lands in jail a few days later, Frank's past comes back to haunt him.

April

Who Killed Mona Lisa?
by Bugge, Carole
ISBN: 0425179192 $ 5.99
Mystery editor Claire Rawlings and her 12-year-old sidekick Meredith visit a New England inn to visit Claire's new boyfriend. A surprise snowstorm forces Claire and Meredith to entertain themselves. But a tradition at the inn of guests anonymously writing down their deepest secrets for other guests to read lead Claire and Meredith to investigate murder.

Crime Brulee
by Fairbanks, Nancy
ISBN: 0425179184 $ 5.99
In the first title from a new culinary crime series, forty-something food writer Carolyn Blue gets a taste of New Orleans cookery and crime. When a friend of hers goes missing, Carolyn turns sleuth to search for answers--a trail that leads right into an alligator swamp. Includes over a dozen recipes.

Dim Sum Dead: Madeline Bean
by Farmer, Jerrilyn
ISBN: 0380817187 $ 5.99
In Hollywood, an old Chinese game, mah-jongg, is an obsession, and caterer Madeline Bean and her partner Wesley Wescott plan a gonzo Chinese New Year banquet. But no one expects to find one of the players dead. Meanwhile, precious objects, including an antique mah-jongg set, are discovered in the historic mansion Wesley is restoring.

Blood on the Vine
by Fletcher, Jessica/Donald Bain
ISBN: 0451202759 $ 5.99
Bestselling author Jessica Fletcher travels to the Napa Valley for research, and invites her old friend, Scotland Yard detective George Sutherland, to join her. What they find there is an old Hollywood friend of Jessica's dead from an apparent suicide--and a vintage crop of enemies who suggest to Jessica that something's rotten in wine country.

Deat Rides an Ill Wind
by Grilley, Kate
ISBN: 0425179303 $ 5.99
As Hurricane Gilda beats down on the island of St. Chris in the Virgin Islands, Kelly Ryan has her hands full as her tropical home is heavily damaged, and the body of a homeless woman turns up floating in the bay.

Up in Smoke
by Lonsdale, Harry Paul
ISBN: 0380803003 $ 5.99
Ex-New York homicide cop Nicholas Chase runs The Happy Smoking Ground, a cigar store in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A controversial author/publisher who came to sign books in Nick's store dies in his hotel, the apparent victim of a smoking-in-bed mishap. Nick can't help suspect the "accident" is a smoke screen for murder. Now Nick is lighting out on a hunt for an assassin.

When the Fax Lady Sings
by O'Kane, Leslie
ISBN: 0449005682 $ 6.50
Dress rehearsal for the PTA fundraiser becomes chaos as one of seven identical clowns on stage pulls out a gun and shoots director Corrinne Buldock. Molly Masters, also dressed as a clown, is stunned to witness the killing. Molly learns Corrinne had just confessed to a sexual involvement with a student. Soon, Molly knows more school secrets, and more than enough to send a desperate killer into action.

Murder of a Sweet Old Lady
by Swanson, Denise
ISBN: 0451202724 $ 5.99
This second title in the Scumble River mystery series begins with the death of school psychologist Skye Denison's beloved grandmother, found dead in her bed. An autopsy proves she was murdered, and Skye is determined to find out who could have done the deadly deed.

Killer Riches
by West, Chassie
ISBN: 0061043915 $ 5.99
Leigh Ann Warren is ready for a new life. Then her phone rings, and a threatening voice sends her world into chaos. The lives of two innocent people are at stake, including the woman who raised her. Suddenly, Leigh Ann's tangled roots are dragging her back to the small African American community where her past's most lethal secrets are hidden.

Dying Voices
by Wilson, Laura
ISBN: 0553582828 $ 5.99
In 1976, Dodie Blackstone's mother, Susan, the wife of a multimillionaire, was kidnapped by a radical group of Britain, and was never seen again. Twenty years later, Susan's body is found--dead less than 48 hours. Dodie's return to her family estate brings more confusion than answers as she confronts a legacy of secrets and lies that shakes her trust.

March

Murder Can Upset Your Mother
by Eichler, Selma
ISBN: 0451202511 $ 5.99
Philanthropist Miriam Webster left a chilling message on Desiree's answering machine that someone was trying to kill her. After Miriam is found dead, Desiree is hired to find out who could murder such a do-gooder. But she discovers that the real Miriam was a far cry from her image, and everyone had reason to want her gone for good. Includes another of Desiree's recipes.

 Murder Past Due
by Meredith, D.R.
ISBN: 0425178005 $ 5.99
The Murder by the Yard book group has been going strong for six months, and Megan Clark is eager to increase membership. For fun and publicity, she and Dr. Ryan Stevens conduct tours of famous Amarillo murder sites. The Gorman estate witnessed the strangling of a young bride and suicide of her husband--a case that was never solved. The family urges the group to reopen the case.

A Mischief in the Snow
by Miles, Margaret
ISBN: 0553582887 $ 5.99
When Alexander Godwin is discovered murdered after Bracebridge's annual winter celebration, Charlotte Willett and Richard Longfellow wonder if his death is connected to his activities on Boar Island, where he'd been the only villager to call upon the island's two residents. Charlotte and Richard unravel a tangled web of secrets haunting the town for years.

February

Rode Hard, Put Away Dead
by Browing, Sinclair
ISBN: 0553583271 $ 5.99
Trade Ellis's P.I. practice is as dry as the desert, until bull rider J.B. Calendar marries older heiress Abigail Van Thiessen. When she's killed on a romantic horseback ride with J.B., the cops suspect foul play. J.B. hires Trade to prove him innocent. Trade discovers another murder in town the same time Abby died--and suddenly her investigation comes to the very deadliest of ends.

The Killing Maze
by Cole, David
ISBN: 0061013951 $ 6.50
Laura Winslow came to Tucson, hoping her past would never find her. Now working as a high-tech cyber-sleuth for Miguel Zepeda, an aging P.I. who lives on a reservation, she hides within the Internet. But when Miguel disappears, Laura investigates an alleged fraud within a small drug company. With no clue of her boss's whereabouts, she is dragged into a maze of gangs, scams, and murder.

Miss Zukas Shelves the Evidence
by Dereske, Jo
ISBN: 0380804743 $ 5.99
A corpse found in Helma Zuskas's neighbor's garden interrupts the librarian's long-overdue meeting of the children of her beau, Police Chief Wayne Gallant. When the Chief's investigation causes him a nearly fatal fall from a cliff, and an incriminating library book is discovered at the scene, Helma and her bohemian friend Ruth have to get to the bottom of this murderous mess.

The Mother Tongue
by Holbrook, Teri
ISBN: 0553577190 $ 5.99
Returning to her Georgia hometown, Gale Grayson sees the community altered by outsiders studying the area's most isolated residents who have their own dialect. When three men are murdered, shocking truths about people whose roots go back for generations are revealed. Gale must find out the secret before someone tries to silence her for good.

Unsigned
by Kaewert, Julie
ISBN: 0553582194 $ 5.99
The rare public appearance of bestselling author McKinley Montague was to highlight the grand opening of London's newest superbookstore. But Montague is killed, and publisher Alex Plumlee is disturbed when he's told Montague's own publishers had him murdered to boost sales. Alex wonders if Montague's death was just the opening chapter in London's deadliest literary season.

A Bicycle Built for Murder
by Kingsbury, Kate
ISBN: 0425178560 $ 5.99
In World War II England, residents of Sitting Marsh depend on Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton, lady of the Manor House, to take care of things -- from sorting out local gossip to solving the occasional murder. When a teenage girl's body is found below a cliff, villagers call it an accident, but the girl's mother and Elizabeth think it was murder. First installment in a new series.

The Fourth Wall
by Saulner, Beth
ISBN: 0446609986 $ 6.99
After a near-fatal encounter with a serial killer, reporter Alex Bernier is assigned to cover efforts to rescue a vaudeville theater in Gabriel, New York. But when it is torn down, the body of a young actress who vanished in 1926 is found. As Alex delves into the long-buried mystery, someone is killing the people who tried to save the theater, and is more than willing to add Alex to his list.

Vanishing Point
by Van Geison, Judith
ISBN: 0451202406 $ 5.99
Thirty-five years after the writer embarked on a camping trip in Utah's Slickrock Canyon, archivist Claire Reynier finds herself drawn into literature's most elusive mystery. A search for Vail's journal leads Claire to a case of cold-blooded murder -- linked to a devoted fan determined to keep the mystery of Vail's vanishing buried forever.

Killing Gifts by Woodworth, Deborah
ISBN: 0380804263 $ 5.99
In the summerhouse of the Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts, the dead body of a woman of "dubious reputation" sits at a table in an evening gown. A frantic call goes out to Kentucky, begging Eldress Rose Callahan to brave the Depression winter cold and come East to solve this crime. Sister Rose and her friend Gennie Malone race to unmask a killer who may be mad enough to keep on killing.

January

Delilah Doolittle and the Canine Chorus
by Guiver, Patricia
ISBN: Berkley $ 5.99
Delilah Doolittle heads to Vegas to investigate the death of her husband, Roger, murdered two years ago during a performance of the Canine Chorus. The only clues she has are some stray documents Roger left behind, an ostrich egg, and a boa-wearing Pekingese. Now Delilah has to retrace her husband's steps to find a connection.

Silent as the Hunter
by Lane, Christopher
ISBN: 0380816253 $ 6.50
In the ancient tradition, 97-year-old Aana Clearwater opened her door to greet a masked reveler during the yearly whale hunting festival in Barrow, Alaska, only to be savagely assaulted. Then she disappeared. Inupiat police officer Raymond Attla knows he must get to the bottom of the old woman's probable abduction and possible murder quickly and quietly.

The Sea Hath Spoken
by Lewis, Stephen
ISBN: Berkley $ 5.99
Midwife Catherine Williams senses trouble when Roger Whitcomb and his sister Jane, both Quakers, arrive in Newbury seeking sanctuary from religious persecution. But strangers are not welcome, especially when their arrival is heralded by the drowning death of a sailor from their ship. Even Catherine finds herself suspicious of them, but when Roger is killed, Catherine is compelled to find out the truth.

Dead of Winter
Author: Parrsh, P.J.
Publisher: Pinnacle $ 6.99 (paper) ISBN: 0786011890
In the quaint town of Loon Lake, Michigan, a killer is taking his vengeance. One by one, the bodies are found, brutally executed with coded death cards beside each corpse -- the signature of a psychopath. Detective Louis Kincaid had come north looking for refuge to forget the horrors of his past. But now he's landed in the middle of an investigation that's more than a mystery.

A Confederacy of Crime: New Stories of Southern Style

by Shankman, Sarah (ed)
ISBN: 0451202198 $ 6.99
Twelve esteemed and award-winning authors were asked to write a story about the South as long as there was a crime in it. This collection with contributions by such authors as Jeffrey Deaver, Bret Lott, Margaret Maron, and others expose the shrewdest characters, cleverest crimes, and darkest secrets of the deep South.

The Dying Ground

by Tramble, Nichelle
ISBN: 03757565317 $ 13.95
Set in 1989, Maceo Redfield, a former rising baseball star and current college dropout, is told his best friend from childhood, Billy Crane, has been murdered. As Maceo tries to learn more about Billy's murder, he's pulled more and more into Billy's world.

Murder and the Mad Hatter
by Wilson, Barbara Jaye
ISBN: 0380803577 $ 5.99
When slimy talent agent Lemon B. Crenshaw entangles milliner Brenda in a legal bind, she decides to get even by stealing Lemmy's beloved bra collection. During the course of the crime, Brenda hears what she later discovers was the thud of a dead body hitting the floor above. Bra-napper Brenda needs the support of her Village cronies to find a killer before she is busted for murder!

Death at a Discount

by Wolzien, Valerie
ISBN: 0449006301 $ 6.50
All of her friends knew Amanda Worth wouldn't be caught dead in a discount store. But she was -- in a dressing room with a Hermes scarf knotted murderously around her neck. What could have possibly lured Amanda to the outlet mall? Susan Henshaw shops around for the answer and discovers the seven deadly sins are alive and kicking in suburban Connecticut.

Godchild
by Zandri, Vincent
ISBN: 0440226228 $ 6.99
P.I. Jack "Keeper" Marconi had lost everything -- his wife, reputation, and almost his life. Now he's managed to rebuild his world and everything is falling into place. Until he sees the black Buick that killed his wife, and he's offered an investigation job he can't refuse. Now Keeper is south of the border, trying to save a woman whose story could ruin many lives -- but can save his.