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THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE POISONED PROFESSOR
Dr. Gwen Griffith is no stranger to Dillynaidd, where she did her undergraduate degree. Now, having watched print journalism fade away, she sees no future for herself despite her star credentials, so she’s delighted to take up the offer from Dean Carolyn Montgomery, her old college friend, to return to the university. Upon her arrival, Ellis, her teaching assistant, escorts Gwen to her lovely faculty housing. Carolyn arranges a meet and greet with her fellow professors, all of whom seem happy to meet her—except Alice Rice, who expected to get her job. Soon after Gwen returns to her rooms, she hears a loud banging on the door, and when she opens it, Alice starts to say something and then falls on top of Gwen. When Gwen screams, Professor Rhys Davies arrives, but though they give Alice CPR, they can’t save her. She’s dead. The attractive Det. Gareth Jones seems suspicious of Gwen and questions if it was a natural death. As a long-time investigative reporter, Gwen is curious. So is Ellis, who wants to write a story that Gwen supports as a teaching exercise. Since Alice was mean to her students, the staff, and her fellow faculty members, the number of people who might have wanted her dead is overwhelming. As Gwen and Ellis take a deep dive into Alice’s past looking for clues, it’s clear that Det. Jones doesn’t approve, even though forensics has revealed that she was poisoned. When Gwen is followed and gets death threats, she knows she’s hit a nerve. Can she uncover the truth, and can her new friends help keep her alive?
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THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE POISONED PROFESSOR
Lucy Connelly
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RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2026
There are so many suspects it’s no wonder the denouement is a surprise in this pleasing series debut.
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An American journalist takes on the job of revamping the journalism department at the university in Dillynaidd, Wales.
Dr. Gwen Griffith is no stranger to Dillynaidd, where she did her undergraduate degree. Now, having watched print journalism fade away, she sees no future for herself despite her star credentials, so she’s delighted to take up the offer from Dean Carolyn Montgomery, her old college friend, to return to the university. Upon her arrival, Ellis, her teaching assistant, escorts Gwen to her lovely faculty housing. Carolyn arranges a meet and greet with her fellow professors, all of whom seem happy to meet her—except Alice Rice, who expected to get her job. Soon after Gwen returns to her rooms, she hears a loud banging on the door, and when she opens it, Alice starts to say something and then falls on top of Gwen. When Gwen screams, Professor Rhys Davies arrives, but though they give Alice CPR, they can’t save her. She’s dead. The attractive Det. Gareth Jones seems suspicious of Gwen and questions if it was a natural death. As a long-time investigative reporter, Gwen is curious. So is Ellis, who wants to write a story that Gwen supports as a teaching exercise. Since Alice was mean to her students, the staff, and her fellow faculty members, the number of people who might have wanted her dead is overwhelming. As Gwen and Ellis take a deep dive into Alice’s past looking for clues, it’s clear that Det. Jones doesn’t approve, even though forensics has revealed that she was poisoned. When Gwen is followed and gets death threats, she knows she’s hit a nerve. Can she uncover the truth, and can her new friends help keep her alive?
There are so many suspects it’s no wonder the denouement is a surprise in this pleasing series debut.
Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9798892424073
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crooked Lane
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
Categories:
MYSTERY & DETECTIVE |
COZY MYSTERY |
GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE
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New York Times Bestseller
STOLEN IN DEATH
J.D. Robb
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RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2026
The heroine’s 62nd appearance is a hit-or-miss mystery best suited for readers already invested in her complicated life.
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New York Times Bestseller
Lt. Eve Dallas is sucked into a murder that may well be overshadowed by another crime—and by the news that Roarke, her billionaire husband, is implicated in both felonies in an unexpected and troubling way.
Disturbed from her sleep, Aileen Carville arises to discover her wealthy husband, Nathan Barrister, coshed to death by a heavy amethyst from the collection of his late father, Zip Global founder Henry J. Barrister. His corpse is lying outside an open vault that everyone in the family insists they hadn’t known about until a couple of months ago, and it’s filled with priceless paintings and sculptures and jewels taken years ago from an A-list of museums, one of which—the Royal Suite, a legendary emerald setting—has evidently been stolen once again. The bombshell revelation that Henry must have commissioned the thefts himself leads to two questions—how did the thief who killed Nathan know about the vault and its contents, and what possessed Nathan’s wealthy father to steal and hide all these goodies in the first place?—that are much more interesting than whodunit, though only one of them will be satisfactorily answered. Another bombshell revelation follows: Roarke’s confession to Dallas that he stole the Royal Suite from London’s Tate Gallery when he was still a teenager, years before he turned away from a life of crime himself. Since Interpol is much more interested in the theft than the murder, there’s a real danger that they’ll decide Roarke was once again the thief. So, Dallas faces the double challenge of solving the crimes and keeping her beloved husband out of the frame.
The heroine’s 62nd appearance is a hit-or-miss mystery best suited for readers already invested in her complicated life.
Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414526
Page Count: 368
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
Categories:
MYSTERY & DETECTIVE |
DETECTIVES & PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS |
CRIME & LEGAL THRILLER
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RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020
Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.
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Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.
[...]