The wisteria is in bloom in NC and Auntie M is happy Spring is finally here. Along with Sping comes many new releases in paperback. Here are few of the top ones for your reading pleasure:


Maggie McConnon brings us the second in her Belfast McGrath Mysteries with Bel of the Brawl.

The gourmet chef is now working at her parent’s Irish wedding venue, handling the catering after a tough leap from her NY job. The weddings are a family affair, with her brothers in the band, performing everything from the BeeGees to Irish reels.

But the loss of Bel’s best friend in high school still haunts her. Amy Mitchell went missing after a party on a small isle in the center of the town’s rive,r and was never seen again. At the end of the debut in the series, Wedding Bel Blues, Amy’s backpack surfaced in the river. At the opening of book two, the investigation in her case has been reopened, and no one is more interested in finding out what really happened than Bel.

Haunted by her friend’s disappearance, feeling she’s dead, Bel decides to ask the groom of the current wedding to help out, as he’s a private detective. Only things don’t go according to plan, and right in the middle of the reception, the groom is found dead in the ladies room. There will be issues of undocumented workers and missing money from her parents safe, too.

Filled with humor and intrigue, a delicious sequel.

Bernard Minier’s Insp. Servaz series is one of Auntie M’s favorites, and his newest is now out in paperback and ebook. Don’t Turn Out the Lights brings him into the case of Christine Steinmeier, a radio presenter whose life is turned inside out with mysterious happenings, kicked off by a letter from someone blaming her for her suicide.

With someone determined to undermine her job, her love life, and even her pet, Christine comes to the attention of Servaz, who is recovering from his own trauma, who has received a key to the hotel room of young woman driven to suicide. Complicated and riveting.

Also new in paperback is Daniel Silva’s masterful Gabriel Allon spy novel, Black Widow. His timely story revolves around ISIS, who detonate a bomb in Paris’ traditionally Jewish Marais district, right as Allon is poised to take over as chief of Israel’s intelligence.

Filled with intrigue in a powerful story, Allon’s final operation will be to find and take down the man responsible before he can strike again. A captivating thriller.


A stunner when it debuted, Spencer Kope’s Collecting the Dead introduces Steps Craig, a member of the FBI’s Special Tracking Unit who has a most unusual talent: he can sense places people have been and routes they’ve taken, even if they’ve touched an item.

Pulling on his own experience as a crime analyst, Kope’s story centers on tracking the Sad Face Killer, as he hopes to find him before he strikes again. And just maybe, he’ll find victims the killer has taken who might still be alive. Tightly plotted, with enough twists and turns to keep readers up at night, they will be drawn to Steps Craig.


Carolyn Haines’ Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries have a devoted cozy following. Now in paperback is Rock-A-Bye Bones, where the discovery of a baby left on her doorstep leads the private eye to search for the newborn’s mother.

Enlisting her partner, Tinkie Richmond, after having the little girl checked out at the hospital, the two soon figure out the mother was fleeing for her life. Sarah must follow the woman’s last movements to find out who has put her life in jeopardy so badly she’s given up her child. With appearances by the ghostly Jitty, and a wide dose of humor, Sarah is over-the-top fun.