From The Booking Desk:

We are heading into the final month of the year and still the publishing industry is giving readers some quality stuff to wind up 2018. While you are shopping Cyber Monday today, why not order one of these new releases? And maybe a few to give as gifts along the way.

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Louise Penny – Kingdom of the Blind (Minotaur, Hardcover, $28.99, 11/27/2018)

BOLO Books Comments:

Her fans have waited patiently and this week they will be rewarded with the latest Three Pines mystery from the incomparable Louise Penny. The spoiler-free BOLO Books review of Kingdom of the Blind ran earlier this month, but honestly those who have read her need no further incentive to travel back to this tiny Canadian community – It’s always a family reunion.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder.

None of them had ever met the elderly woman.

The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional. But what if, Gamache begins to ask himself, she was perfectly sane?

When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing.

But it isn’t the only menace Gamache is facing.

The investigation into what happened six months ago―the events that led to his suspension―has dragged on, into the dead of winter. And while most of the opioids he allowed to slip through his hands, in order to bring down the cartels, have been retrieved, there is one devastating exception.

Enough narcotic to kill thousands has disappeared into inner city Montreal. With the deadly drug about to hit the streets, Gamache races for answers.

As he uses increasingly audacious, even desperate, measures to retrieve the drug, Armand Gamache begins to see his own blind spots. And the terrible things hiding there.

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Cathy Ace – Murder Knows No Season (Four Tails, Paperback, $14.99, 11/17/2018)

BOLO Books Comments:

Just as with her previous collection of novellas, Cathy Ace once again treats readers to visits with her popular series characters – Cait Morgan and the woman of the WISE Enquiries Agency. Setting each of the tales in a different season makes for a nice basis for the collection. Cathy Ace’s first stand-alone psychological suspense novel is coming early next year, but these tiny morsels will be perfect to entertain her fans as they wait.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

FOUR DELICIOUSLY DIFFERENT SHORT NOVELS, ONE FOR EACH SEASON OF THE YEAR

WINTER: The Corpse with Eight Faces – A Cait Morgan Mystery
Trapped in a snowbound lodge in the Canadian countryside, Cait is faced with a corpse, and a group of eight suspects. A classic closed-circle mystery featuring Cait Morgan.

SPRING: The Case of the Desperate Duchess – A WISE Enquiries Agency Mystery
Lady Jacintha Wraysbury calls in the WISE Enquiries Agency to hunt for a missing girl. Join the private investigators as they scour West London for a florist who’s in more danger than any of them imagine.

SUMMER: Out and About in a Boat – A standalone thriller
Meet an average Canadian family. Dad Dave takes his son and daughter for a weekend at a local lake. What could go wrong in just thirty hours? When there’s a dead body involved, quite a lot.

AUTUMN: The Fall – A DI Evan Glover Case
When a Welsh rugby legend’s body is found at the bottom of a cliff, the question ‘Did he jump, or was he pushed?’ is one of national significance. Sadly, DI Evan Glover’s inquiries reveal his hero might not have been the man he thought he was.

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Bryan Gruley – Bleak Harbor (Thomas & Mercer, Hardcover, $24.95, 12/01/2018)

BOLO Books Comments:

Bryan Gruley’s debut novel, Starvation Lake, is one of my most favorite suspense novels ever and it has been far too long since we have had a new book from him. Bleak Harbor does not disappoint. Gruley excels at telling tales in which vulnerable children are at risk – in this case, it is the autistic son of a prominent family. This is an author who is not afraid to go dark, so prepare yourself for a twisted domestic noir plot; but Bryan Gruley also knows how to craft vivid characters that readers truly care about, so do not be surprised when he manages to tug on those heart-strings as well.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

Summertime in Bleak Harbor means tourists, overpriced restaurants, and the Dragonfly Festival. One day before the much-awaited and equally chaotic celebration, Danny Peters, the youngest member of the family that founded the town five generations ago, disappears.

When Danny’s mother, Carey, and stepfather, Pete, receive a photo of their brilliant, autistic, and socially withdrawn son tied to a chair, they fear the worst. But there’s also more to the story. Someone is sending them ominous texts and emails filled with information no one else should have. Could the secrets they’ve kept hidden—even from one another—have led to Danny’s abduction?

As pressure from the kidnapper mounts, Carey and Pete must face their own ugly mistakes to find their son before he’s taken from them forever.