This column was submitted by Evangeline Cessna, Local History Librarian at the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library.

Rhys Bowen’s latest featuring retired detective Molly Murphy Sullivan is titled “Silent as the Grave.” Molly Murphy Sullivan is taking care of her two children and her newborn in New York while her husband, Daniel, is away working in Washington. Her dear friend, Ryan O’Hara, is shooting a movie with a real plot and actors, so he invites Molly and the children to visit the set and experience all the excitement. One of the actresses is fired and Molly’s adopted daughter, Bridie, is asked to step in and do the scene. She’s a natural, but Molly is apprehensive about leaving her alone on set, but her good friends Sid and Gus offer to chaperone Bridie while she is working. The movie industry is still experimenting with the best way to get special effects, but soon those effects began to malfunction. No one is hurt at first, but the effects turn deadly, Molly suspects sabotage and she is invited to go undercover on set to investigate. Can she uncover the culprit before someone else falls victim to this film war?

A. Jance continues her series featuring Ali Reynolds with her latest called “Overkill.” Ali Reynolds’s mother, Edie Larson, often stuck her nose into other people’s business and her father claimed she was “Edie-ing it.” Turns out that Ali is a chip off her mom’s old block. She accepted the charges on a collect call from an inmate in the King County Jail in Seattle, Washington and learns that the caller is none other than her husband’s ex-wife, Clarice Brewster. She’s in jail on suspicion of stabbing her current husband to death in their marital bed. Ali’s husband, B. Simpson, is not thrilled to hear the news. After all, before Clarice and Chuck had the affair, Chuck had been B.’s best friend and business partner. B. wants to have nothing to do with Clarice’s current difficulties and is determined to stay out of it. Unfortunately, Ali can’t resist getting involved.

“Dead Money” is the latest from Jakob Kerr. Mackenzie Clyde is the unofficial “problem solver” for the most ruthless venture capitalist in Silicon Valley and she is used to playing for high stakes. Even if none of those tech-bro millions she’s good at corralling ever make it into her pockets. The CEO of tech’s hottest startup has just been murdered, leaving behind billions in “dead money” frozen in his will. Mackenzie’s boss is the company’s chief investor and is less than impressed with the police’s investigation, so he asks her to investigate and resolve things fast. After all, his money is tied up until the killer is identified. For Mackenzie, it’s an opportunity and she is more than willing to seize it. She’s used to being underestimated and that’s how she likes it.

“The Housemaid’s Secret” is the latest in Freida McFadden’s Housemaid series. When you have terrible secrets to keep, it’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about the past. Millie is back, still working as a maid, and still struggling for finances. She is in a steady relationship with Brock, a lawyer who doesn’t know anything about her past. She doesn’t really love Brock, but with Enzo out of the picture, he’ll do. Millie loses her current housekeeping job, but gets a call from Douglas Garrick, a wealthy tech specialist. He wants Millie to clean and cook, but on one stipulation: she is NOT to interact with his wife Wendy, who is ill. As Millie is desperate for a job, she agrees. However, things are not as they seem, and Millie finds herself in a pickle; risk her job by helping Wendy, or go against her conscience by ignoring what’s happening?

Finally, we have “Lethal Prey” by John Sandford. Twenty years ago, Doris Grandfelt was stabbed to death and her body dumped in a group of trees along the edge of a park eight miles east of St. Paul, Minnesota. Though her twin sister, Lara, was persistent with her calls to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the killer was never found. Now, Lara has been diagnosed with breast cancer and she is determined to find Doris’s killer once and for all. She uploads the entire investigative file onto every true crime site she can find and offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. Dozens of true crime bloggers turn up looking for both new evidence and “likes.” Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review anything that might turn up a new lead. One of the bloggers actually locates the murder weapon and Lucas and Virgil begin to piece together details about the killer’s identity. The killer is lurking in plain site and staying one step ahead of the investigation thanks to the true crime bloggers putting every clue online. As the harrowing truths of Doris’s past come to light, Lucas and Virgil realize they are putting themselves in harm’s way.