How many of these have you read?

• Wild Inferno by Sandi Ault (Berkley Prime Crime)

Ault smoothly blends a murder mystery plot with Native American lore in this impressive sequel to her debut, Wild Indigo.

• Lie Down with the Devil by Linda Barnes (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Boston PI Carlotta Carlyle suspects her mob-associated fiancé of infidelity after he disappears in this utterly compelling 12th outing.

• Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart (Morrow)

A ghost turns sleuth in this intriguing first in a new series by veteran Hart, who's won Agatha, Anthony and Macavity awards.

• The Private Patient by P.D. James (Knopf)

Adam Dalgliesh, the charismatic police commander, investigates a private plastic surgery clinic after the murder of a patient in what fans will hope is not his last case.

• The Messengers of Death: A Mystery in Provence by Pierre Magnan, trans. from the French by Patricia Clancy (St. Martin's Minotaur)

French author Magnan blends elegant clue-laying and deft characterizations that strike to the core of human frailties in his second mystery set in Provence.

• Death's Half Acre by Margaret Maron (Grand Central)

Corruption and murder stalk rural Colleton County, N.C., in Maron's outstanding 14th mystery to feature Judge Deborah Knott and her extended family.

• Salt River by James Sallis (Walker)

Poetic prose and the richly described rural Southern backdrop lift Sallis's sublime third novel to feature philosophical sheriff John Turner.

• Fear of Landing by David Waltner-Toews (Poisoned Pen)

Set in the repressive Indonesia of the early 1980s, this compelling debut introduces an unlikely detective, a Canadian veterinarian.

• The Calling  by Inger Ash Wolfe (Harcourt)

In this bracingly original mystery set in rural Ontario, a middle-aged female police inspector investigates the murder of an elderly cancer patient.

Well, I haven't read any of them!  I have Death's Half Acre, tho.  I think I am a little surprised at the list.......

I haven't read any of them either, though I have read other books by some of the authors. But that would be typical for me...I am usually several years behind on reading what's "hot and popular" and there are very few series I'm caught up with enough to read this year's book when it comes out.

Cheryl

I have read Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart. Of the remaining authors, I have certainly heard of Linda Barnes, P.D. James and Margaret Maron but haven't (ducking head in shame) read any of their works. I am unfamiliar with the other authors--Ault, Magnan, Sallis, Waltner-Toews and Wolfe.

Wow, I haven't read any of these either!!  I always read Hart and Barnes, but like Cheryl, I am behind on these newer ones.  I knew I was behind on Barnes, but didn't even have the Hart on my list!  How did I miss that!  Shameful!  The others I either don't typically read or I haven't heard of them either.  Now I'll have to check them out!  Just what I don't need--new authors!

Sharon

Reading "Death's Half Acre" now. Margaret Maron a favorite of mine. Good to see her on the list.

Margaret Maron is one of my favorites, too, but Death's Half Acre is the only one on the list I've read.