All the Little Liars

August 1, 2016
Things are definitely looking up for Aurora Teagarden, last seen in 2003’s Poppy Done to Death, in bestseller Harris’s absorbing ninth mystery featuring the Lawrenceton, Ga., librarian. Aurora has a new husband, mystery writer Robin Crusoe, and a baby is on the way. Her 15-year-old half-brother, Phillip, has recently come to live with the newlyweds and has been settling nicely into his new life. So when Phillip and three of his friends disappear without a trace, Aurora is completely at a loss. After a fourth teen vanishes and another is found dead, Aurora and Robin, who decide that they can’t wait for the police to discover what happened to the youngsters, come up with their own plan to find them. Harris weaves a complex tale of difficult family dynamics that highlights the horrors of being a teenager. Aurora, a smart and witty protagonist, possesses all the Southern charm necessary to carry this entertaining series. 150,000 announced first printing; author tour. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary.

A Georgia librarian's first pregnancy is complicated by her brother's kidnapping.Just as Aurora Teagarden is ready to tell all the folks in Lawrenceton that she and brand-new husband Robin Crusoe are adding another new member to their family, Aurora's most recent addition, her half brother Phillip, disappears. It's not the first time the teenager has pulled a vanishing act. He first turned up on Roe's doorstep after running away from his California home (Night Shift, 2016), disgusted by his dad's infidelity. Now that he's finished a semester of state-sanctioned online instruction, he's looking forward eagerly to joining his friends Joss and Josh Finstermeyer at the local high school. So why would Phillip and the Finstermeyer twins just take off with 11-year-old Liza Scott in tow? As the worried parents, George and Beth Finstermeyer and Emily and Aubrey Scott, converge on Roe, she retreats home, uncharacteristically devoid of coping strategies. Local police detectives Cathy Trumble and Levon Suit are stymied, even when Joss and Josh's classmate Clayton Harrison also disappears. Discovering the body of Joss' girlfriend, Tammy Ribble, does little to spur the police onward, as the investigation lurches sluggishly toward its foreseeable conclusion.Reshelving periodicals would provide more joy than the latest adventure of Harris' plucky librarian, which provides scant detection and none of the domestic details series readers crave. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016
Librarian Aurora Teagarden and writer Robin Crusoe are settling in after their recent marriage and are thrilled to learn they are expecting their first child. Aurora's half-brother, 15-year-old Phillip, hitchhiked cross-country to escape his dysfunctional parents and is now living with them, making friends, and looking forward to starting school. However, Phillip is troubled about something, and before Aurora has a chance to talk to him, Phillip and his two good friends, twins Josh and Joss Finstermeyer, along with 11-year-old Liza Scott, disappear. Then another teen goes missing, and a friend of one of the missing is found dead. While law enforcement combs the area for the children, Aurora also investigates, finding that three of Liza's classmates were bullying her. Using this information, Aurora forms a theory about the disappearances and devises a scheme to rescue the children. Well-drawn characters and fast pacing draw the reader along as Aurora deals with the joy of her pregnancy together with fear for her half-brother's safety.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2016

Aurora Teagarden is on top of the world. Newly married to crime writer Robin Crusoe, she is pregnant with their first baby, happily working in her hometown library and excited to spend the holidays with her family, including her 15-year-old half brother Phillip, who hitchhiked across the country to live with her. The week before Christmas, however, Phillip and his friends go missing while on an innocent car ride. The situation turns dire when one of the teens is found dead and their car abandoned. Never one for sitting on the sidelines, Roe chases as many avenues as she can think of (while fighting morning sickness) to find her brother. VERDICT Harris's last Aurora Teagarden novel, Poppy Done to Death, was released over a decade ago; this ninth book jumps right back in to the story with ease. Fans can only hope that with the popularity of the Hallmark movies featuring Teagarden (currently there are two, corresponding to Books 1 and 2), Harris will continue to add to the series. [See Prepub Alert, 4/10/16; an October LibraryReads Pick.]--Jennifer Funk, McKendree Univ. Lib., Lebanon, IL

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2016

Jing-nan, who runs a dumpling stand in Taipei's busy night market, knows that Taiwan's Mid-Autumn Festival is all about family. But must he follow up on a request from his gangster uncle, Big Eye, to take his 16-year-old daughter, Mei-ling, away from the bad influence of her biker boyfriend? Well, yes, especially with two of Big Eye's thugs following along to make sure it happens. But Mei-ling has secrets that prove dangerous. Following Lin's successful Soho Crime debut, Ghost Month.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.