National Network for Equitable Library Service

Nadine Walsh's summer garden party is in full swing. The neighbors all have cocktails, the catered food is exquisite--everything's going according to plan. But Nadine--devoted wife, loving mother, and doting daughter--finds herself standing over a dead body in her basement while her guests clink glasses upstairs. What happened? How did it come to this?

Private investigator John Blacksad puts one of his nine lives on the line in this sizzling story of hot jazz and cold-blooded murder. Writer Juan Díaz Canales and artist Juanjo Guarnido join creative forces once again to deliver A Silent Hell, a grim tale of 1950s noir set against the colorful backdrop of New Orleans's fabled music scene. Hired to track down a missing pianist, Blacksad quickly finds himself in the midst of voodoo, drugs, the rollicking atmosphere of Mardi Gras, and the dark underbelly that it hides.

Mordecai Crow must solve a mysterious murder to clear his name in a world ravaged by its past. The secrets of the past have been lost. Knowledge is forbidden, the climate has run wild, and civilization has devolved into post-technological anarchy. In the midst of this wasteland, Mordecai Crow, a drifter in search of his long-lost parents, becomes embroiled in a murderous conspiracy when he seeks refuge in a fortress committed to preserving ancient knowledge. What secrets lie at the heart of its ancient walls? And how are they connected to Mordecai's mysterious past?

What wilderness seethes beneath the skin? Knowing your wild potential, is it possible to live a life both urban and urbane? 'Urbane' continues the stories of the people, human and otherwise, we met in 'Humane', Anna Marie Sewell's best-selling first novel (Stonehouse, 2020). Hazel LeSage and her lawyer friend Shanaya set out to find Hazel's ex-husband and renegotiate the terms of their divorce, in which Hazel unjustly lost her land. Exploring Hazel's former home, they stumble into a deadly conspiracy entangling the rural lands surrounding their home city of Amiskwaciy.

Going home is not always the best answer. Forced to leave behind her big city dreams, Merry Bell returns to Livingsky Saskatchewan to start over. Living with plenty of secrets, but no money, friends, or place to live during a prairie winter-all while trying to start her own PI business-proves to be more challenging than she imagined. With a first case that quickly turns more dangerous than it first appeared, Merry must deal with a dodgy client, the murder of the surgeon who performed her gender affirming surgery, and more than one mysterious stranger.

Meet Helen Thorpe. She's smart, preternaturally calm, deeply insightful and a freshly trained butler. On the day she is supposed to start her career as an unusually equanimous domestic professional serving one of the wealthiest families in the world, she is called back to a spiritual retreat where she used to work, the Yatra Institute, on one of British Columbia's gulf islands. The owner of the lodge, Helen's former employer Edna, has died while on a three-month silent self-retreat, leaving Helen instructions to settle her affairs.

The first book in a mystery series features three sleuthing sisters. One spring evening, three strange visitors arrive in the town of Covenly. Sisters Hildegurp, Yuckmina, and Glubbifer are hoping to start fresh with a new business: a pet store! Their first customer is nine-year-old Jessica Nibley, who has lost her pet goat and hopes the sisters can help track it down. But when the sisters discover a mangled note with missing pieces that suggests they aren't welcome in town, they suddenly have two mysteries to solve. Jessica and the sisters jump on a broomstick and fly off to investigate.

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate. I'm Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I'd killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it's a little more complicated than that. Have I killed someone? Yes. I have. Who was it? Let's get started. EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE. My brother. My stepsister. My wife. My father. My mother. My sister-in-law. My uncle.

When Jane Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she's looking for at Bertram's: a restored London hotel with traditional decor, impeccable service -- and an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Yet not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric guest makes his way to the airport on the wrong day ...

Charlie Wolfe vanishes from Tony Shepherd's high school graduation, leaving only a cryptic message asking for help. On his own, Tony must summon all the skills he's learned over the years to find his friend. He'll leave the safety of home and family to face off against old foes and uncover the truth of Charlie's disappearance. But things are more complicated and dangerous than he realizes, and he'll have to choose just how far he's willing to go to save his friend.