Here's a partial listing, arranged alphabetically by author, which this month includes new titles by V.C. Andrews, Jefferson Bass, Bill Crider, Linda Fairstein, Andrew M. Greeley, Robert B. Parker, T. Jefferson Parker, J.D. Robb, S. J. Rozan, Dana Stabenow, and Jacqueline Winspear, among many other wonderful and deserving offerings. You can also check out the links at the bottom for more, as they're far too numerous to list here.
V. C. Andrews: Delia's Gift (February 3, 2009). When Delia Yebarra's father-in-law blackmails her and a manipulative schemer orchestrates a fatal reunion with Delia's cousin Edward, can Delia recapture the innocence of her roots and make a bright future for her and her newborn son?
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon (February 19, 2009). The latest in the Aunt Dimity mysteries, in which Lori Shepherd races to save her dear village and risks her neck to keep a medieval revelry from ending in tragedy.
Deborah Turrell Atkison: Pleasing the Dead (February 10, 2009). Rich with Hawaiian folklore, Atkinson's fourth mystery to feature attorney Storm Kayama explores the dark side of paradise.
Jefferson Bass: Bones of Betrayal (February 3, 2009). The latest forensic thriller to feature Dr. Bill Brockton finds a frozen corpse found in a lake near the Oak Ridge, Tenn., nuclear research facility which turns out to be that of one of the leaders of the Manhattan Project. When the source of death, potent radioactive material the old man somehow ingested, poisons the local medical examiner, Brockton's inquiry takes on added urgency.
Meredith Cole: Posed for Murder (February 17, 2009). As photographer Lydia McKenzie's first one-woman show opens, the police
inform her that a friend was murdered. It seems a killer is using
Lydia's photos, which re-create actual murders, as he targets her
models. (Note: this was the winner of the St. Martin’s Minotaur/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition.)
Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant: Fed Up (February 3, 2009). Part-time student Chloe Carter is planning her best friend’s wedding, working for her parents—and glued to her chef boyfriend, Josh, as he competes to star in a new TV series. The premise: Josh hijacks unsuspecting grocery shoppers and prepares them gourmet dinners. Everything’s going great—until one shopper drops dead.
Bill Crider: Murder in Four Parts (February 17, 2009). When Sheriff Dan Rhodes is asked to join the Clearview Barbershop Chorus, he suspects that there's an ulterior motive, mainly because he can't sing a note. He's momentarily distracted by a rogue alligator on the loose, but shortly afterward, Lloyd Berry, the director of the chorus, is murdered.
David Dickinson: Death of a Pilgrim (February 1, 2009). 1905. A pilgrim is killed in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, and Lord Francis Powerscourt is summoned to investigate. More deaths plague pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, before Powerscourt solves the murders.
Earl Emerson: Cape Disappointment (February 24, 2009).Seattle private eye Thomas Black returns after more than a decade to the scene of a fatal airplane crash and must put together the shattered fragments of his life.
Linda Fairstein: Lethal Legacy (February 10, 2009). In the 11th legal thriller to feature ADA Alexandra Cooper of Manhattan's Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit, an investigation leads Alex and her team into the dark depths of the New York Public Library in search of stolen items that certain bibliophiles and antique map enthusiasts would kill for.
Kat Goldring: Murder by Ancient Design (February 1, 2009). After the Puritan ban on Christmas festivities, Restoration London is awash with excess between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night, but the two men found in Westminster Hall had not died from a surfeit of gluttony, but from poison.
Andrew M. Greeley: Irish Tweed (February 17, 2009). The latest tale featuring Nuala Anne McGrail, a fey, Irish-speaking woman blessed with the gift of second sight, and her husband and accomplice, Dermot Michael Coyne.
Peter May: Snakehead (February 10, 2009). Beijing detective Li Yan, now based at the Chinese embassy in Washington, is dispatched to find out how his fellow countrymen suffocated in a sealed refrigeration unit in southern Texas - only to find himself face to face with the woman who walked out of China, and his life, to return to the U.S.
Ian Morson: Falconer and the Ritual of Death (February 1, 2009). In this William Falconer Mystery set at Oxford University in 1271,when a body is found when old buildings are pulled down to make way for a new purpose-built college, Regent Master William Falconer is drawn into violent events where the past and the present collide with startling consequence.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Cat Playing Cupid (February 3, 2009). It took Joe Grey's human, Clyde, nearly forever to pop the question to Ryan Flannery, and what more romantic time to tie the knot than on Valentine's Day? But dark secrets from the past, uncovered by Joe and his feline pals, threaten to ruin the happy union.
Tamar Myers: Batter Off Dead (February 3, 2009). During a church breakfast, Minerva J. Jay, known for her prodigious appetite, slumps over after ingesting several stacks of pancakes. Police Chief Chris Ackerman wonders if the serving of the fatal flapjacks is a case of assault and batter.
Nick Oldham: Crunch Time (February 1, 2009). In the latest DCI Henry Christie Mystery, Christie leaps at the chance to go working undercover again, ingratiating himself with one of Londons top criminals, who has relocated to the north of England. But the last thing Henry needs in this dangerous situation is the appearance of a man bearing a fatal grudge that will jeopardize not only himself, but also his family.
Michael Palmer: The Second Opinion (February 17, 2009). In The Second Opinion, Michael Palmer has created a cat-and-mouse game where one woman must confront a conspiracy of doctors to uncover an evil practice that touches every single person who ever has a medical test.
Robert B. Parker: Night and Day (February 24, 2009). In the 8th Jesse Stone outing, Police Chief Jesse Stone has to deal with a tormented voyeur, dubbed "The Night Hawk," who gets bolder as time goes on, forcing his victims to strip at gunpoint, then photographing them at their most vulnerable. And according to the notes he’s sending to Jesse, he’s not satisfied to stop there.
T. Jefferson Parker: The Renegades (February 10, 2009). When out one night on a routine complaint, Deputy Sheriff Charlie Hood's car is gunned down, and caught in the fire is universally beloved County veteran Terry Laws. Now Hood must investigate the shooting and expose a twisted world of violence.
Cathy Pickens: Can't Never Tell (February 17, 2009). In this installment of the Southern Fried Mysteries featuring Avery Andrews, a Fourth of July carnival fright house isn't impressing Avery's 7-year-old niece Emma, until the leg falls off a mannequin posed with a chainsaw. Then even Emma recognizes the human leg bone protruding from the wizened limb.
J. D. Robb: Promises in Death (February 24, 2009). In the latest futuristic novel set in New York City of 2060, Lieutenant Eve Dallas faces down a cop killer.
David Roberts: No More Dying (February 1, 2009). February, 1939. Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne are invited to Clivenden in Buckinghamshire, renowned as the headquarters for those prepared to go to any lengths to avert war. Murder stalks the formal gardens as private and public passions come to a climax.
S. J. Rozan: The Shanghai Moon (February 3, 2009). S. J. Rozan returns to her award-winning, critically acclaimed, and much-loved characters Lydia Chin and Bill Smith in the first new novel in the series in seven years. Estranged for months from fellow P.I. Bill Smith, Chinese-American private investigator Lydia Chin is brought in by colleague and former mentor Joel Pilarsky to help with a case that crosses continents, cultures, and decades.
C. J. Sansom: Revelation (February 5, 2009). In the fourth Shardlake mystery, the year is 1543 and King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr. Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is working to defend a teenage boy, a religious fanatic who is being held in the infamous Bedlam hospital for the insane.
Dana Stabenow: Whisper to the Blood (February 17, 2009). Between two murders tied to a new gold mine and a series of attacks on snow mobilers up the Kanuyaq River, not to mention the still-open homicide of Park villain Louis Deem last year, part-time P.I. and newly elected chairman of the Niniltna Native Association Kate Shugak has her hands very much full.
Jacqueline Winspear: Among the Mad (February 17, 2009). It’s Christmas Eve 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the prime minister’s office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met—and the writer mentions Maisie by name.
For more of the new hardcover, trade paperback, and paperback releases (as well as reissues), check out the following sites from The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, Books N Bytes, San Diego's Mystery Books, Powells Books and the Bloodstained Bookshelf.