CAMILLE MINICHINO
Mayhem in Miniature
writing as MARGARET GRACE
(Penguin, $6.99 paperback original)

You'd think the world of tiny country cottages and cozy room boxes would be trouble-free. Not so for Geraldine and Maddie, her 10-year-old granddaughter. This is their second adventure, following the series opener, Murder in Miniature. Gerry and Maddy are busy with room boxes for the Mary Todd Lincoln ball. When one of Gerry's students in a senior crafts class is accused of murder, Gerry and Maddie are drawn into the investigation. Besides Gerry's family, the cast of characters includes residents of a retirement home -- all a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. Camille Minichino is best known for her series of Periodic Table Mysteries.

PRISCILLA ROYAL
Forsaken Soul
(Poisoned Pen, $24.95)

"Set in the summer of 1273, Royal's excellent fifth historical (after 2007's Justice for the Damned) finds Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal beset by various problems: the local villagers disapprove of the nightly consultations Eleanor's difficult new anchoress has been conducting; the wife of her friend Crowner Ralf has recently died in childbirth, leaving him with an infant daughter; and she continues to struggle with her attraction to Brother Thomas, a monk... Against an authentic backdrop of medieval life and lore, Royal once again brings alive characters who are true to their period yet exhibit emotions and feelings that 21st-century readers will recognize as their own," said Publishers Weekly.


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