Mark of the lion by Suzanne M. Arruda

The siren queen : an Ursula Blanchard mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's court by Fiona Buckley

Dangerous practice by Clare Curzon

Beacon Street mourning : a Freemont Jones mystery by Dianne Day

Mystery Series

A stolen season : an Alex McKnight novel by Steve Hamilton

American detective by Loren D. Estleman

Better than sex a mystery featuring Anneke Haagen by Susan Holtzer

Concrete hero : a Ben Perkins mystery by Rob Kantner

Fictitious sleuths in their newest novels

A spoonful of poison by M.C. Beaton

A cat named Brat : an Alice Nestleton mystery by Lydia Adamson

Tomb of the golden bird by Elizabeth Peters

Borderline by Nevada Barr

Murder mystery fiction

1930s

The Maltese falcon by Dashiell Hammett

Peril at end house by Agatha Christie

Murder in the Oval Office by Elliott Roosevelt

Night over water by Ken Follett

1940s

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy

A cat in the wings : an Alice Nestleton mystery by Lydia Adamson

Only the cat knows by Marian Babson

High country by Nevada Barr

Agatha Raisin and the case of the curious curate by M.C. Beaton

1930s

The Maltese falcon by Dashiell Hammett

Fer-de-lance : a Nero Wolfe mystery by Rex Stout ; introduction by Loren D. Estleman

1940s

The postman always rings twice by James M. Cain

Hand in glove by Ngaio Marsh

1950s

Cop hater by Ed McBain

A cat named Brat : an Alice Nestleton mystery by Lydia Adamson

The Darling Dahlias and the cucumber tree by Susan Wittig Albert

Lie down with the devil by Linda Barnes

Restored to death by Nancy Bell

Salt River : a novel by James Sallis

A darker shade of crimson : an Ivy League mystery by Pamela Thomas-Graham

Of blood and sorrow : a Tamara Hayle mystery by Valerie Wilson Wesley

Strange bedfellows : a Charlotte Justice novel by Paula L. Woods

Vote Now! National Public Radio’s recent request that readers submit the names of what they believe are “the most pulse-quickening and suspenseful novels ever” apparently generated a list of more than 600 thrilling works. “A panel of experts then combined audience preference with their own judgment to narrow that list down to a manageable roster of some 200 favorites,” according to an NPR press release. You’re now invited to choose just 10 books from that list, with the goal being to narrow its count down to 100 titles.

Vote for your favorites. The poll will remain open until Monday, July 26, with the “100 last books standing” to be revealed on Monday, August 2. A printable list of the choices is available.

Dance at the slaughterhouse (Men in scarlet aprons) : a Matthew Scudder crime novel by Lawrence Block

The delicate storm by Giles Blunt

Cimarron rose by a novel by James Lee Burke

Bones : an Irene Kelly mystery by Jan Burke

Historical mysteries have become increasingly popular in the last decade. If you are a fan of historical fiction, and historical mystery stories in particular, you've read many of the well-known authors of this sub-genre: Steven Saylor, Anne Perry, Eliot Pattison, I. J. Parker, Lindsey Davis, John Maddox Robert, Margaret Frazer, and the list goes on, but have you read the works of:

Nefertiti: the book of the dead by Nick Drake

Critique of criminal reason by Michael Gregorio

The fifth servant by Kenneth Wishnia

Thirteenth night : a medieval mystery by Alan Gordon

A test of wills by Charles Todd

Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

Dateline April 28, 1930: Nancy Drew, Girl Detective debuts. 80 years later Nancy is still fighting crime, still bringing in the bad guys. More importantly serving as a strong, feminine role-model for thousands of girls. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, and Oprah Winfrey are fans of Carolyn Keene's creation. Nancy Drew novels have been published in 25 languages and over 200 million copies worldwide have been sold.

Haley Randolph has an expensive habit: designer handbags. Her passion for purses has put a huge strain on her credit card balance. After she loses her accounting job in L.A. under a black cloud of suspicion, she takes a part-time job during the holiday season at a department store. And to her horror, not a designer label in sight. But soon after she’s hired, Haley finds a corpse in a closet. She turns to the handsome Ty Cameron to help her solve the case and clear her name. Join the Busy Moms Book Club discussion on Thursday, May 20 at 11:00AM in the Children's Library Purple Room.

Looking for something new to read? Check out these recently released Mysteries:

The Crossing Places: A Ruth Galloway Mystery by Elly Griffiths

Smasher by Keith Raffel

Devil's Trill by Gerald Elias

In the Blood by Fay Sampson

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan

Britain’s Crime Writers’ Association has announced that Scottish novelist Val McDermid is “the recipient of this year’s prestigious CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, which honours outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing." Ms. McDermid began writing in 1987 when Report for Murder was released and over the years has won numerous writing awards for her mystery stories.

Janet Rudolph of Mystery Fanfare announced her picks for Best Mysteries of 2009. Her number one choice: Dog On It by Stephen Quinn.

New York lawyer-turned-novelist Joseph Teller has won the 2009 Nero Award for his novel The Tenth Case (Mira). That announcement came during the annual Black Orchid Weekend, hosted in New York City by the Nero Wolfe fan organization, The Wolfe Pack. The other two crime novels in contention were The Dark Tide, by Andrew Gross (HarperCollins), and The Fault Tree, by Louise Ure (Minotaur Books).

Fans of Denise Mina or Minette Walters should try:

• Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell
• A Perfect Evil by Alex Kava
• Judgment Calls by Alafair Burke
• Detective Inspector Huss by Helen Tursten
• Echoes of Lies by Jo Bannister
• Dead Wrong by Mariah Stewart
• Death's Autograph by Marianne MacDonald
• Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman