July 4th reminds me that we’re in the middle of summer. It doesn’t matter that I’m a glass-half-full type personality, bells and whistles are going off in my head and telling me to get every last minute of enjoyment I possibly can out of the remaining days of summer. Fall is knocking on my door with the daily grind of school, work, and responsibilities.
With that in mind, I have some must reads for you to sneak into your library before the summer gets away from you.
What are the chances of receiving a love letter and an engagement ring for a perfect stranger, only to see that same woman murdered the very next day?
It’s 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She’s surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fill her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to "Gertrude." Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the last people to see Gertrude alive . . . and the first to see her dead.
What follows is an intoxicating cocktail of stalking, blackmail, Jell-O salads, and champagne secrets, all served along the rocky Maine coastline. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has a secret. And (strangely) everyone has a boat. But who is willing to kiss and tell? As the body count rises and the danger nears, why does Billie feel like she’s more than just a side character? After yearning to be in the action for so long, would it be terribly unladylike to have some fun of her own?
A love letter to uncivilized behavior, Etiquette for Lovers and Killers blends mystery and romance into a witty, twisty, murderous delight that aches for better manners.
Mystery Cozy | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Penguin Press, On Sale: July 1, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9780593719633 / eISBN: 9780593719657]
A Maya and Sandra Mystery #5
At their twenty-fifth high school reunion in Portland, Maine, P.I. partners and moms Maya Kendrick and Sandra Wallage must figure out which of their former classmates should have been voted most likely to kill . . .
After all these years, Maya and Sandra have mixed feelings about seeing their high school classmates, but in one sense the evening promises to be something of a red carpet event. A shy wallflower in school, Alyssa Turner has blossomed into an Oscar-nominated actress—and she’s coming to the reunion.
To their surprise, before the event, Alyssa contacts Maya and Sandra. She’s going to be playing a private eye and would like to hear about their experiences. When they meet, she confides she was bullied in school by cheerleader Tawny Bryce and her mean girls’ clique while also having a huge crush on Tawny’s boyfriend, the star quarterback.
When Tawny’s body is discovered the night of the reunion behind the bleachers, the spotlight is on Alyssa. She turns to Maya and Sandra to find the real killer. But is she as innocent as she seems—or turning in another Oscar-worthy performance?
Mystery Cozy [Kensington Cozies, On Sale: July 1, 2025, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9781496752871 / eISBN: 9781496752888]
Aloha Lagoon Mysteries #25
From USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns comes a deadly dance in paradise!
After a brief brush with Hollywood and fame, Carrie Jorgenson is happy to be back in her adopted hometown of Aloha Lagoon, Hawaii, serving up pineapples and poi to her beloved regular customers and vacationing tourists alike at the Loco Moco Café. She's once again surrounded by good friends, her fur baby Benny, and reunited with her true love, Keanu.
But all is not perfect in paradise.
Shortly after Carrie's happy homecoming, Keanu’s gorgeous ex-girlfriend, Tammy, shows up for the Aloha Lagoon’s weekly luau, ready to hula dance her way into everyone’s hearts. Carrie can’t help but feel a little intimidated by her graceful moves and obvious charm. However, when Tammy collapses at the end of her dance, things go from awkward to awful. Suddenly the luau is a crime scene and everyone is a suspect in the death of the hula girl. To make matters worse, Tammy was holding a secret over Keanu’s head, which shoots him straight to the top of the suspect list. Carrie will need to stay cool, stand by her man, and prove his innocence before their lives erupt like a volcano!
Delicious Hawaiian recipes included!
Mystery Culinary | Mystery Cozy [Gemma Halliday Publishing, On Sale: June 10, 2025, e-Book , / eISBN: 9798224272990]
One of America’s iconic thriller heroes recruits his lasting love, Margo Lane, and his great-great-granddaughter, Maddy Gomes, to join an international investigation.
For over 150 years, Lamont Cranston, and his alter ego, The Shadow, has possessed an array of mental and physical powers: scientific skills, shape-shifting ability, and mind control.
When a series of deadly natural disasters strike the planet, immediately set out to identify who’s responsible…
A disgruntled graduate student? The power-hungry president of the Americas? Or could it be Shiwan Khan, the Shadow’s fiercest enemy?
The Shadow’s latest adventure is also his, Maddy’s, and Margo’s most dangerous. Triumph or perish, they’ll rise or fall...together.
Science Fiction | Thriller Crime | Action [Little, Brown and Company, On Sale: June 24, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9781538721957 / eISBN: 9781538721971]
Until next month when Elise Byrant joins us, get cozy and read on!
Kym Roberts writes by day and is a pro-surfer in her dreams by night. Her humor is often raunchy, her jokes are often bad, but her hunger for a story keeps the adventures coming fast. Experience the thrill & catch the wave of passion, mystery, and suspense with her on her website, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
Her debut historical romance novel in The Scandalous Sisters series, THE RUINED DUCHESS released in April under the pseudonym Helene Matheson. Watch for her second book in the series, THE REBELLIOUS COUNTESS, August 12, 2025!
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