Historical Mystery. In 1650 Peru, in the midst of the Spanish Inquisition, the city of Potosí has been minting coins that are not pure silver--leading to an upcoming visit from the Grand Inquisitor. Meanwhile, at the local convent, a young girl is dead. Even though some call it suicide, Mother Maria Santa Hilda disagrees and--controversially--allows her to be buried in sacred ground. Now, in order to save her job and her life, the abbess must prove that the girl was murdered. If you love complex historical fiction and locked-room mysteries, you'll take a shine to this debut novel.

Mystery. Can murderers be rehabilitated? Alexandra Cantrell, a mafia princess, and her husband, Joshua, thought that they could be--and to that end they opened up Whisper Ridge, a sort of halfway house for parolees. But the estate sits abandoned now, and the Cantrells have been missing for 12 years. So why is Parker Harrison, a former Whisper Ridge resident, contacting Cleveland, Ohio, private investigator Lincoln Perry now? In this 4th outing, the answer to that question leads to many more as the already complicated case becomes even more so. Kirkus Reviews says that The Silent Hour has "feisty plotting and the most memorable prose since Chandler."

Mystery. Interested in learning more about Chicago, President Barack Obama's hometown? Let V.I. Warshawski show you around--as always in her outings, the toddlin' town is "vividly characterized, as are its politics and ethnic and cultural conflicts" (Booklist). In Hardball, the 14th book to feature V.I., she is hired to track down a man who disappeared 40 years ago, after the city's 1966 race riots. While working the case, V.I. unearths skeletons in the city's closet...and possibly in her own family's. If you're interested in more books in which the heroine is concerned with social issues, try Marcia Muller's well-done Sharon McCone novels.

Crime Novel. You'll be forgiven for wondering what in the world a book by Thomas Pynchon, the reclusive National Book Award-winning author of Gravity's Rainbow, is doing on a list of mysteries. But his latest fits the bill admirably. In 1960s California, marijuana-smoking detective Doc Sportello agrees to help an ex-girlfriend. It seems her real estate tycoon boyfriend is being set up by his wife and her lover, who want the billionaire out of their way. Can Doc get to the bottom of a tripped-out case that is more twisted than an in-progress tie-dye t-shirt? Library Journal calls Inherent Vice "brilliant" and says that "the resolution is as crisp as Doc is laid-back."

Mystery. Wealthy Paterson, New Jersey, lawyer Andy Carpenter doesn't have to work for a living--but he occasionally takes cases that interest him, and those usually involve dogs. In New Tricks, his "excellent" (Publishers Weekly) latest outing, Andy finds himself in possession of Waggy, an adorable Bernese Mountain puppy at the center of a dog custody case. Waggy's a fine dog, except that people around him seem to end up murdered. Newcomers as well as old fans (who'll enjoy seeing golden retriever Tara and girlfriend Laurie) will enjoy this 7th book in the Andy Carpenter series.

Cozy Mystery. Lori Shepherd is down on her luck--she's divorced, broke, and still grieving over her mother's death. To comfort herself, she has a stuffed bunny and her mother's "Aunt Dimity" stories--but Lori soon finds out from lawyers that the indomitable Dimity wasn't made-up like she'd assumed. Dimity was a rich English lady, recently deceased, and she's named Lori in her will--though strings are attached. Leaving Boston for the Cotswolds, Lori discovers that even though Dimity has died, she has not passed on. Readers who enjoy English villages and eccentric characters will relish this charming series, of which this is the 1st entry.

Historical Mystery. Ever wondered what happened to Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy? Pride and Prescience, the 1st in a series, has them turning sleuths! When Caroline Bingley, Elizabeth's former rival for Mr. Darcy's affections, becomes engaged to an American almost overnight and begins to act oddly (she's found wandering alone in an unsavory part of town at night), Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy investigate. Austenophiles who enjoy a bit of the supernatural will delight in this visit with old friends. If you'd like to see Jane Austen herself acting as detective, check out Stephanie Barron's mystery novels.

Mystery. Ute tribal investigator Charlie Moon deals with the murder of a woman who appears to have been mauled by a bear, even though she died in bed. Interference from the victim's two sisters, one of whom is a celebrity TV psychic (who was able to predict the death of a fan but not her sister), adds to his troubles. But with the help of his Aunt Daisy--an Ute shaman who gets some of her information from spirits--and his friend, police chief Scott Parris, Charlie searches for answers as more dead bodies appear. Fans of Native American detectives and witty mysteries should check out the Moon series; this is the 12th and The Shaman Sings is the 1st.

Paranormal Mystery. Though Charlaine Harris is best known as the author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels (which HBO's True Blood is based on), she also writes about another young Southern woman with supernatural talent. When Harper Connelly was 15 years old, she was struck by lightning--while she didn't die, she did gain the ability to locate dead people and "see" their last moments. Now she earns a living using her cadaver-finding skills, and aided by her stepbrother-manager Tolliver, she travels around the U.S. helping the living find answers. The 4th book to feature Harper, Grave Secret, is due out at the end of October.

Hardboiled Fiction. New York City private detective Joe Pitt is a vampire and a bit of a loner--he's not a member of a vampire gang, and his human girlfriend doesn't even know he's an immortal. In Already Dead, it's suggested that he find the missing teenage daughter of a prominent New York family (the patriarch knows leaders of a powerful vampire cult) and figure out who's spreading a zombie virus around the city. This "irresistible and fiendishly original take on the vampire myth" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is the violent 1st in a blood-soaked series that now numbers five (the latest, My Dead Body, was published earlier this month).