Where the Hurt Is (An Emmett Hardy Mystery Book 1)by Chris Kelsey

“Poignant and funny, studded with characters who haunt your imagination long after you’ve read the final page.” –Anne Hillerman, New York Times bestselling author of Cave of Bones

When everyone would prefer to look the other way, can one man cut through fear and prejudice to unmask a killer?

Oklahoma, 1965. Emmett Hardy is focused on drinking his failures away. And despite his general enthusiasm for the social reforms sweeping the country, the disillusioned police chief isn’t surprised by his community’s ongoing casual racism. But he’s still shocked when he discovers the body of a Black woman with a slashed throat dumped by the railroad tracks.

When the state authorities offer only a lazy investigation and arrest an unlikely suspect, Hardy puts down the bottle and swears to uncover the real murderer. But with resistance from his all-white neighbors and the clues leading to the small town’s most powerful citizen, the upstanding cop may be heading straight into danger.

Will Hardy’s unrelenting race to find the truth destroy his life?

Where the Hurt Is is the complex first book in the Emmett Hardy Mystery crime fiction series. If you like tortured heroes, tense twists, and authentic settings, then you’ll love Chris Kelsey’s poignant novel.

Grimm Up North: A Yorkshire Murder Mystery (DCI Harry Grimm Crime Thrillers 1)by David J. Gatward

Edinburgh has Rebus.
The Highlands have Logan.
Now Yorkshire has Grimm.

Welcome to Wensleydale, where the cheese is famous, the scenery beautiful, and the locals have murder on their minds …

Detective Chief Inspector Harry Grimm is forced to take leave from Bristol’s Major Investigations Team when his boss, tired of Harry chasing the ghost of his murderous father, sends him north on secondment.

Used to city life and high stress, Harry fears his life will now be spent handing out speeding tickets, finding lost sheep, and directing tourists. But when a local teenager runs away, Harry finds himself pulled into an investigation much worse than anyone could have ever expected.

The nicer the place, the darker the secrets. Wensleydale is beautiful, everyone is friendly and welcoming, and people just don’t get murdered … do they? A classic fish-out-of-water crime mystery set in the stunning and evocative scenery of Wensleydale in North Yorkshire.

Grimm up North is the terrific debut crime novel from award-winning author David J. Gatward. Perfect for fans of L. J. Ross, J. D. Kirk, Simon McCleave, Alex Smith, J. M. Dalgliesh, J. E. Mayhew, and J. R. Ellis.

Reclaiming Ryda (Once Upon a Duchy Book 2)by Rachel Rossano

Rydaria lives as a prisoner in a tower library. Captured as a child, her past is a mystery. Maintaining the literary treasures within her care, she studies the world through books that give her a glimpse of the freedom she craves.

A scribe by trade, Crispin has devoted the last three years of his life seeking the lost heir of Avalene. He travels to Worthenave’s famed library in hopes of finding the key. Instead, he discovers a new mystery, a beautiful librarian who is locked in with her books every night.

As the days pass, Crispin must choose. Rydaria’s precarious situation is deteriorating. Meanwhile, his duty demands he leave before the Duke of Worthenave uncovers his quest. Still, the scribe can’t bring himself to abandon the captive in the library tower, even if it costs him his mission.

Inspired by Rapunzel and East of the Sun West of the Moon