In Armstrong's A Stranger in Town, Det. Casey Duncan learns that off-the-grid Rockton may be cashiered (50,000-copy first printing). Award-winning YA fiction author Cosimano's first adult novel, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, features a struggling suspense writer mistaken as a serial killer (100,000-copy first printing). In Finch's An Extravagant Death, Victorian-era sleuth Sir Charles Lennox takes his first trip to America (100,000-copy first printing). In Harper's The Survivors, Kieran Elliot returns to his coastal hometown and relives a childhood tragedy (125,000-copy first printing). Harrod-Eagles's Cruel as the Grave has Bill Slider doubting that a fitness trainer was killed by his girlfriend. Ide's Smoke marks the return of Isaiah Quintabe, the Sherlock Holmes of South Central Los Angeles. Mosley's Blood Grove puts popular protagonist Easy Rawlins front and center again (40,000-copy first printing). In Robb's Faithless in Death, Lt. Eve Dallas wonders if an angry lover really did kill sculptor Ariel Byrd (750,000-copy first printing). Todd's A Fatal Lie, Inspector Ian Rutledge seeks the identity of a stranger who tumbled from a Welsh aqueduct. Westerson's Spiteful Bones has Crispin Guest, London's famed Tracker, untangle the mystery around a bound skeleton found in a manor wall.

Finlay Donovan is a divorced mother of two preschoolers and author of romantic suspense novels who is perennially strapped for cash. She's meeting her agent at the local Panera when she notices a woman staring at her, taking in the knife and duct tape in her bag on the floor, remnants of the morning's adventures with her kids cutting their own hair and getting into mischief. Later, Finn finds a note from the woman, offering her $50,000 to kill her husband because "I want him gone." It doesn't take long for Finn to learn why Patricia Mickler wants her husband dead. Finn finds Harris Mickler in a bar, he attempts to slip a roofie in her drink, and she sees incriminating photos on his cell phone. Things get even more complicated when Harris's dead body turns up in Finn's garage and she receives another note asking her to off a scuzzy character. VERDICT Readers can pick up YA author Cosimano's (Seasons of the Storm) fun adult debut and put it down again without losing the story. Adults and high school readers will enjoy this breezy romp.—Beth Bland, Milwaukee

This amusing series launch from YA author Cosimano (Seasons of the Storm), her adult debut, has a pleasingly absurd premise. Wronged wife Patricia Mickler overhears Finlay Donovan, a down-and-out romantic suspense novelist, talking about her next book with her agent in a suburban Virginia sandwich shop. Mistaking Finlay for a killer for hire, Patricia offers the author $50,000 to kill her no-good husband, Harris. The money is just what Finlay needs to deal with her ex, who's trying to renegotiate their custody agreement. Of course, Finlay has no intention of actually killing Harris, but fate intervenes—and when she witnesses Harris attempting to drug a woman in a bar, Finlay is launched into a screwball mystery involving Russian gangsters, more angry wives, and a disturbingly attractive police detective. Finlay's antics require a suspension of disbelief that some readers may find difficult to sustain, and others may be troubled by seeing issues such as date rape and revenge porn handled with such a light hand. But those willing to enter into the spirit of Finlay's world should enjoy this romp from a skilled comic writer. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary. (Feb.)