Bonereapers: A Dinah Pelerin Mystery

Matthews’s engaging third Dinah Pelerin mystery (after 2011’s Bet Your Bones) takes the anthropologist–cum–amateur sleuth to the frozen Norwegian tundra on a junket to deposit valued American agricultural specimens in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (aka the “Doomsday Vault”), an international repository of millions of seed varieties. Among the American politicians and business moguls on the trip is U.S. Sen. Colt Sheridan, “fat-cat wheat farmer and presidential hopeful,” with personal baggage he’d rather keep under wraps. Sheridan’s campaign is backed by Jake Mahler, a big deal agribusiness CEO, who has his own agenda. Fritjoe Eftevang, a Norwegian activist journalist with a grudge, can torpedo both men’s plans. If the bleak arctic winter isn’t enough to chill Dinah to the bone, a couple of murders and an attempt on her life put the icing on that cake. Just the right amount of character development and plot twists will please cozy fans. Agent: Helen Zimmermann, Helen Zimmermann Literary Agency. (June)