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‘Murder at Haven’s Rock’ by Kelley Armstrong is the start of a new series

/ Pamela Kramer

Fans of Kelley Armstrong’s “Rockton” series will be delighted with the publication of “Murder at Haven’s Rock,” the first book in the sequel series, with many familiar characters. Those of us who read all seven books in that series were heartbroken when the final Rockton book came out last year with the news that the town, a haven for those fleeing society and threats to their safety, was shutting down. Throughout that series, we learned about the tension between those who managed the town, its inhabitants, and the town’s sheriff, Eric Dalton and his wife Casey Duncan.

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‘Sleep No More’ is the first in a new paranormal trilogy by Jayne Ann Krentz

/ Pamela Kramer

We know what we are going to get when we read a romance/mystery by Jayne Ann Krentz, and her newest novel in a new trilogy, “Sleep No More,” doesn’t disappoint. Krentz is the master at writing suspenseful mysteries that, at their core, are also very much about attraction and romance. We keep reading her novels because of the way she brings new characters, new situations, and new mystery into each new piece.

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‘Every Missing Girl’ is the second thriller in the ‘Kendall Beck’ series by Leanne Kale Sparks

/ Pamela Kramer

The action starts on the very first page in “Every Missing Girl,” the second thriller in the “Kendall Beck” series by Leanne Kale Sparks. Main character Kendall Beck is an FBI agent in Colorado who works with missing children, tracking them down and trying to uncover child trafficking rings. It’s pretty horrifying work, and in this case, her good friend, detective Adam Taylor, has a personal reason for trying to solve a missing child case. His own niece, Frankie, has disappeared. Making it even more personal, the disappearance happened right after a kid’s hockey game that Frankie played in and they attended.

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‘Whale Done’ by Stuart Gibbs is yet another brilliant middle grade addition to the FunJunngle series

/ Pamela Kramer

If there were an award for best first sentence ever in a novel (and maybe there is), Stuart Gibbs deserves it for the beginning of “Whale Done”: “I would never have seen the whale explode if a kangaroo hadn’t burned down my house.” I’m embarrassed to admit that this eighth book is the first I’ve read in the very popular FunJungle series. I’m always hesitant to jump in and start reading in the middle of a series, but I should have learned with his Spy School novels, which I started reading several books into the series, that Gibbs always provides enough backstory that there’s no need to start at the beginning.

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‘City Spies: City of the Dead’ by James Ponti continues the thrilling series that middle grade readers (and older fans) will really enjoy

/ Pamela Kramer

The “City Spies” series showcases James Ponti’s impressive writing style, and the latest entry in the series, “City of the Dead,” is no exception. Ponti jumps in with fast-paced action almost immediately. After a brief foray into the past, when the most famous tomb, that of the boy king, Tutankhamen, was found by a 12-year-old Egyptian boy, we jump into the present day as a group of kids is attempting to break into the British Museum.

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‘The House at the End of the World’ by Dean Koontz is another tale of science-gone-wrong thriller

/ Pamela Kramer

Dean Koontz is a complex writer, so his books are complex as well, featuring the best of humanity as well as the worst. In “House at the End of the World,” Koontz continues his much repeated theme about a valiant individual fighting against the government and/or a science experiment gone wrong. Here we meet a woman, Katie, who has retreated from society because of a horrific wrong done to her. She and her peaceful way of life on her isolated island are threatened by a mysterious entity that escaped from a government laboratory which threatens not just Katie, but the world as we know it.

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‘Lie to Her’ by Melinda Leigh is another satisfying murder mystery in the ‘Bree Taggert’ series

/ Pamela Kramer

While the mysteries in Melinda Leigh’s “Bree Taggert” series all work as stand alone novels, those who start the series with the latest addition, “Lie to Her,” will miss out on some great backstories which are shared in the previous novels. Such readers will still enjoy the twists and turns that Bree Taggert, the female sheriff in a rural upstate New York county, must unravel in her search for a serial killer. But those who have read the previous five books will understand why Bree is living in this rural area and raising her sister’s two children. They will have met Matt, Bree’s boyfriend, and Dana, Bree’s former partner from the police force. And they will understand the backstory regarding Bree’s former fear of dogs. She has overcome that fear and now has a rescue dog of her own.

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‘Seventeen: Last Man Standing’ by John Brownlow is filled with thrilling, nonstop action

/ Pamela Kramer

In “Seventeen: Last Man Standing,” author John Brownlow creates an assassin whose exploits are legendary, whose skill is apparently unsurpassed, and who explains the tricks of his trade to us as we follow his latest assignment in Berlin. It’s what happens after that job that forms the basis for the action that is so engaging and strangely touching we can’t put the book down.

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‘Killer Story’ by Matt Witten is a brilliant look at journalism, ethics, and blind determination to get the story

/ Pamela Kramer

While journalists are finding it more and more difficult to obtain employment that is financially secure, in these turbulent times, broadcasting the truth about our world and politics is perhaps even more crucial than ever. In “Killer Story,” author Matt Witten explores that subject through the eyes of Petra Kovach, a journalist who has been laid off several times and who desperately wants to keep her current job. She also is obsessed with discovering the truth about the murder of a friend, Olivia, who was killed in her Harvard dorm room after becoming a celebrated right-wing You Tuber.

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‘Nine Liars’ by Maureen Johnson is another engrossing Stevie Bell mystery

/ Pamela Kramer

On the cover of Maureen Johnson’s latest Stevie Bell mystery, “Nine Liars,” are the words: When everyone lies, somebody dies. This little epigram becomes important in the story, and I am embarrassed to admit that I neglected to read those important words before finishing this twisty and cleverly crafted novel. Here Stevie is called upon to solve another cold case mystery—this one not even 30 years old and cold. Johnson’s setting are always an important part of her novels, and this one is no exception. The action mostly takes place at Merryweather, a large English country home belonging to a family with a minor title. There are diagrams of the house and the grounds at the start of the story, which help in picturing the action and events.

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