Recommendations based on "A Fête Worse Than Death"

Balford-le-Nez is a dying seatown on the coast of Essex. But when a member of the town's small but growing Asian community, a Pakistani named Haytham Querashi, is found dead near its beach, his neck broken, sleepy Balford-le-Nez ignites. And working solo, without her long-time partner Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, Sergeant Barbara Havers must probe not only the mind of a murderer and a case very close to her own heart, but the terrible price people pay for deceiving others...and themselves.

"Kathryn and Colum are visiting on state business: Lord Henry Beauchamp is to receive the shadowy emissaries of Louis XI of France, on behalf of his own master, Edward of York, only recently triumphant over Lancastrian forces in the bloody, fratricidal War of the Roses. The Frenchmen claim to have the ultimate bargaining chip - but do they?" "It is a tense time for the kingdom; everything hinges on the meeting between Lord Henry and the French agents. Now murder stalks the land, and only Kathryn Swinbrooke can cut through the web of murder and deceit that seems to arrive with the Spider King's minions."--BOOK JACKET.

Sometimes perfection is worth killing for... The second gripping crime novel in an exciting new series. Ex-priest DI Frank Farrell finds himself on the trail of a vicious killer in rural Scotland. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Val McDermid. Each murder brings him one step closer to the perfect death. Ex-priest DI Farrell is called on to investigate a gruesome death in rural Scotland. All evidence points to suicide, except for one loose end: every light in the cottage was switched off. Why would he kill himself in the dark? The question sparks a murder investigation that leads to the mysterious Ivy House, home of 'The Collective', a sinister commune of artists who will do anything to keep their twisted secrets hidden. And when the remains of a young girl are uncovered on a barren stretch of coastline, Farrell realises that there is something rotten in this tight-knit community. Now he must track down a ruthless killer before another person dies, this time much closer to home...

Now on exhibition for a few days only, the strange, the wonderful, sights you have never beheld before - Burnham's Carnival, Including Mrs Anna Tufton, the Giantess. Matilda Hayward is determined to have a career, after all, it is 1888! While reporting for the Women's Journal newspaper, Matilda is sent to cover the visiting carnival and to interview Mrs Anna Tufton, a giantess. During the interview, the giantess slips a note to Matilda begging for help to her escape the show she is forced to do by her husband. But then the giantess's husband, along with the owner of the carnival, Mr Alfred E. Burnham, is murdered. The giantess is a likely suspect. Matilda enlists the help of her lawyer brother, Amos, to prove the giantess is no killer and to free her from a life of exploitation. But close family friend, Detective Thomas Ashdown - who might just have feelings for Matilda despite having known her since childhood - would prefer Matilda was nowhere near his murder case. There is mystery, danger, and love afoot!

Ten days to Christmas and Tracey Uphill, aged eight, hasn't come home from Sunday school. Her mother, a pretty young prostitute, is desperate. Enter Detective Inspector Jack Frost, sloppy, scruffy and insubordinate. To help him investigate the case of the missing child, Frost has been assigned a new sidekick, the Chief Constable's nephew. Fresh to provincial Denton in an oversmart suit, Detective Constable Clive Barnard is an easy target for Frost's withering satire. Assisted and annoyed by Barnard, Frost, complete with a store of tasteless anecdotes to fit every occasion, proceeds with the investigation in typically unorthodox style. After he's consulted a local witch, Dead Man's Hollow yields up a skeleton. Frost finds himself drawn into an unsolved crime from the past and risks not only his career, but also his life...

Sarah Kelling and her husband Max Bittershohn are back in a whimsical whodunit involving a ghost--a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. When a friend's classic car disappears and a gardener is found murdered, Sarah and Max untangle a tapestry of Renaissance clues to ferret out the killer.

Careful what you wish for! Graduating to a fully-fledged witch on my upcoming birthday should be a momentous occasion, but when a local hairdresser turns up dead, I know it's going to be one hell of a week. Saltwater Cove's resident infuriating fae looks like a good suspect for the murder, but insists she's innocent and reveals a huge secret too amazing to be a lie. But if she didn't do it... then who did? The murder triggers the return of a dark force... dark enough to send even the most experienced witches into panic mode. Harriet, Jordi and Tyler join me as I try to find the culprit, putting my magical abilities to the ultimate test. When the killer strikes even closer to home, I need to up my game if I'm going to keep evil at bay....or have I finally met my supernatural match? If you like witty witches, cheeky talking cats, and magical murder mysteries, then you'll love Polly Holmes' light-hearted Melting Pot Café series.

DEAD NEWS DAY Two months after an unlucky snowboarder vanished on the slopes above Alpine, his disappearance is old copy. Emma Lord, publisher of the Alpine Advocate, is back to writing about graduations and the latest outbreak of chicken pox-until the town's oldest family feud flares up, leaving three people dead, their bodies stowed in a meat freezer. The startling discovery of a fourth body sharing the victims' chilly repose launches Emma on the story of a lifetime. But as she races to scoop the upstart radio station with the late-breaking news, Emma unwittingly uncovers a shocking conspiracy that will change her life forever. . . . READ ALL ABOUT IT! The Alpine Advocate Novels by Mary Daheim BONUS FEATURE: "My Alpine" by Mary Daheim

"[Airth's] meticulously detailed procedural mysteries are beautifully written . . . well worth reading, and rereading." --Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Snowed in at a country manor, former Scotland Yard inspectors John Madden and Angus Sinclair find themselves trapped in the company of a murderer. On a trip into Winchester, former chief inspector Angus Sinclair learns of a tragedy that has taken place in the village he is staying in. Beloved church organist Greta Hartmann has slipped and fallen to her death in a shallow creek, and while investigations conclude it to be an accident, her friend and housemate, Vera, remains unconvinced. After learning that Greta was the widow of a prominent anti-Nazi German preacher, Sinclair meets with the distraught Vera, and he resolves to dig deeper into the story. His investigations lead him to the stately manor of Julia Lesage, where she lives with her devoted staff that includes her secretary, cook, and driver. Though confined to a wheelchair, Julia is an electrifying spirit with a sharp wit, and those who know her adore her. Among those who do, a gentleman with dubious business dealings is also staying at the house--and Julia appears to be in love with him. A blizzard hits, keeping Sinclair, and later Madden, on the grounds with little to do but analyze the case of Greta's death, until a murder takes place, and everyone becomes a suspect.

The wickedly entertaining new Jack Haldean mystery. The message consisted of one neatly typewritten line: I am killing you slowly. You are going to die. The Chessman. Isabelle Stanton and Sue Castradon always arranged the flowers in the village church on Fridays. But Sue was glad to escape the church that morning. She had rowed over breakfast with her husband Ned, who bitterly resented her association - however fleeting - with the handsome Simon Vardon. Sue didn't think things could get worse - until she opened the cupboard... When a mutilated corpse is discovered in the sleepy village of Croxton Ferriers, Jack Haldean finds an odd clue at the scene of the crime: a black marble chess knight with crystal eyes. Is murder just a game? It could be - to a killer who calls himself The Chessman.