Dying on the vine

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Elaine Flinn

Elizabeth Porter was a top-of-the-lineManhattan antiques dealer until her ex-husband and his lover's flagrantly criminal scam left her reputation in tatters. Now, using a new name, Molly Doyle, she's starting over a continent away in a rundown antiques shop in cozy Carmel, California. Molly is determined to make the best of it. But the early antiques bird sometimes gets more than the worm, and one prompt arrival places her at a murder site with a corpse in her arms. After she turns up at a second seemingly unrelated death, the abrasive new police chief considers Molly the prime suspect. Now the only way to clear her name is for Molly to find her own path to a killer, which will leave her either exonerated ... or dead.

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Jonathan Kellerman

"Even with all his years of experience, LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis knows there are crimes his skill and savvy cannot solve alone. That's when he calls on brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware to read between the lines, where the darkest motives lurk. And if ever the good doctor's insight is needed, it's at the scene of a murder as baffling as it is brutal. There's no spilled blood, no evidence of a struggle, and, thanks to the victim's missing face and hands, no immediate means of identification. And no telling why the disfigured corpse of a stranger has appeared in an upscale L.A. family's home. Chet Corvin, his wife, and their two teenage children are certain the John Doe is unknown to them. And yet their cooperation seems oddly guarded. But even the Corvins' thin response is more than Milo and Alex can elicit from their creepy next-door neighbor--a notorious cartoonist with a warped sense of humor and a seriously antisocial attitude. As the investigation ensues, it becomes clear that this well-to-do suburban enclave has its share of curious eyes, suspicious minds, and loose lips. And as Milo tightens the screws on potential persons of interest--and Alex tries to breach the barriers that guard their deepest secrets--a strangling web of corrupted love, cold-blooded greed, and shattered trust is exposed. Though the grass may be greener on these privileged streets, there's enough dirt below the surface to bury a multitude of sins. Including the deadliest. -- "An affluent family returns home from Sunday dinner only to find the murdered and brutalized corpse of a total stranger in their house. This baffling, twisted tale tests Alex and Milo to their intellectual and emotional limits"--

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Alan Russell

Michael Gideon and his police dog partner investigate a crucifiction. "When LAPD detective Michael Gideon and his police-dog partner Sirius are assigned to tithe Special Cases Unit (SCU), Gideon knows their work lives will be anything but ordinary. SCO gets the cases no one else wants, the unusual and bizarre crimes that need special handling and special investigators. When a high-school student is found crucified in a local park, Gideon and Sirius must face up to the gruesome tableau and the motivation behind the murder. Complicating matters is a nightmare from their past, the scars of a terrible fire that nearly cost them their lives. The blaze left Gideon ravaged by PTSD-and yet somehow imbued him with an eerie prescience that gives him unusual insights in the crimes he investigates"--P. [4] of cover.

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Robert Thibaudeau

Suzie et son père Louis se remettent à peine de leur mission précédente qu'un certain Nicéphore Quichotte interrompt brutalement le repas qu'ils savourent tranquillement à la terrasse d'un restaurant pour les prier d'enquêter sur Gaston Grospiron. Depuis que ce prospecteur immobilier sans scrupules a racheté la majorité des maisons de la Petite Bourgade pour les louer, les incendies se multiplient dans le quartier. Nicéphore soupçonne l'homme d'affaires d'être à l'origine de ces tragédies, qui lui permettraient de remplacer les vieilles demeures par des appartements modernes et plus rentables. Or, les citoyens n'osent se mouiller, de peur des représailles, et les policiers refusent de bouger, faute de preuves. Le père et la fille acceptent de mener leur enquête et deviennent bientôt la cible des criminels, qui tentent notamment de les décourager de poursuivre leurs investigations par un attentat à la voiture piégée. Mais c'est sans compter sur le courage du tandem, qui découvre bientôt que Grospiron semble avoir des alliés haut placés ... -- Une trame légère multipliant revirements peu crédibles et scènes d'action sensationnalistes à la sauce hollywoodienne. [SDM].