June Publications

In Monica Ferris's Embroidered Truths: A Needlecraft Mystery, the ninth entry in this winning cozy series (after 2004's Crewel Yule), needlework shop owner Betsy Devonshire comes to the rescue of her friend and employee, Godwin, when Godwin is accused of killing his obnoxious and controlling lover, John. As always, Ferris sprinkles a generous helping of knitting and cross-stitch tips throughout. Agent, Nancy Yost. (Berkley Prime Crime, $23.95 288p ISBN 0-425-20301-8)

When the owner of an upscale L.A. boutique catering to the slightly anorexic winds up dead with an imitation Jimmy Choo stiletto to the jugular, freelance writer Jaine Austen must prove sweet salesgirl Becky innocent of the crime by tracking down the real killer. Cozy fans will find Laura Levine's Shoes to Die For: A Jaine Austen Mystery, the fourth installment in the series (after 2004's Killer Blonde), the ideal beach read. Agent, Evan Marshall. (Kensington, $22 240p ISBN 0-7582-0781-6)

Australian author Kerry Greenwood succeeds brilliantly at capturing the drama behind the scenes of a theatrical production in her 1920s-era whodunit, Ruddy Gore: A Phryne Fisher Mystery, in which her series heroine must solve not one but two murders that occur on stage during a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore. A bonus is the subplot detailing how Phryne met her longtime Chinese paramour, Lin Chung. (Poisoned Pen, $24.95 216p ISBN 1-59058-118-0)

In Murder at Midnight, Marshall Cook's bland second Monona Quinn mystery (after 2003's Murder Over Easy), Mitchell, Wis., newspaper editor Quinn finds Father O'Bannon with his throat slit in the sacristy of his parish church. The author offers lots of angles that might explain how even a "good" man like O'Bannon might rouse plenty of enmity, but the parts never quite come together into a compelling whole. (Bleak House [www.bleakhousebooks.com], $19.95 240p ISBN 1-932557-06-7)

Insp. Robert Colbeck and his sidekick, Sergeant Leeming, investigate the murder of a hangman in Edward Marston's The Excursion Train, the second book in the prolific British author's Inspector Colbeck series (after 2004's The Railway Detective). While neither characterization nor plot is especially noteworthy, railroad buffs should appreciate this Victorian-era thriller. (Allison & Busby, $25.95 288p ISBN 0-7490-8392-1)