To Kill a Mocking Girl

March 2, 2020
Quinn Caine, the 20-something heroine of this enjoyable series launch from Kincaid (The Wonder of You), has just returned from teaching abroad to Vienna, Va., to work as a bookbinder at the family bookstore. A lot has changed in her hometown. Her once rambunctious cousin, Elizabeth Anne Caine, is now Sister Daria, a nun in training, and her high school nemesis, Trisha Pemberley, is engaged to Scott Hauser, whom Quinn once dated briefly. One night, while walking Ruff Barker Ginsburg, her German shepherd, Quinn comes across Trisha’s body in the park. The police officer who responds to her call, also a newcomer to Vienna, Wyatt Reynolds, seems to have known the victim and regards Quinn with suspicion. When Quinn and Sister Daria begin to investigate, they discover that Trisha was at odds with her twin, Trina, over Trisha’s relationship with Wyatt, and that Trisha and Scott were hiding a secret. Meanwhile, Quinn reconnects with her secret crush, Aiden Harrington, now a police detective. Smooth prose, realistic characters, a budding romance, and not too much silliness make this cozy a winner. Tantalizing recipes round out the volume. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary.

March 15, 2020
A suspect in the murder of a mean girl pairs with her cousin, a nun-in-training, to dig deeper into the suburban Virginia landscape. Tricia Pemberley is not a nice girl. When bookbinder Quinn Caine runs into her soon after having returned to her hometown of Vienna, Virginia, Tricia reminds Quinn of how not nice she is by mocking Quinn's German shepherd, Ruff Barker Ginsburg, before bragging about her latest news. Yes, Tricia has finally won what she takes to be the long-standing battle between herself and Quinn over Scott Hauser, to whom she's become engaged. Since Quinn only went out with Scott once or twice and wasn't smitten, she doesn't really see herself as part of this narrative, but she gamely congratulates Tricia, not realizing it will be one of their last interactions. When Tricia is killed soon after, her equally evil twin, Trina, blames Quinn. The police, in need of a suspect, are more than happy to agree, and suddenly Tricia's life and death are majorly Quinn's problem. Quinn's ally and brother, Bash, is distracted by his own mission to win the love of his ex-girlfriend Rachel, whose parents are pushing her to date only nice Jewish boys who'll honor her religious heritage. Speaking of religion, Quinn's other ally is novice Sister Daria, whom Quinn previously knew as her firebrand cousin Elizabeth Anne Caine. Investigating Tricia's murder is one thing, but Quinn's even more curious about what drove her cousin to the convent. An interesting mashup of religions and their trappings sets this aside from other recipe-infused dog-companion cozies.

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April 15, 2020
After teaching English abroad for several years, Quinn Caine has returned to her hometown of Vienna, Virginia. Even as she works to build a book-restoration business at her parents' bookstore and establish herself as an adult, she is also thrust back into high-school drama by twin mean girls Tricia and Trina Pemberley, who are partners in a successful realty company. Quinn is lunching with her older brother, Sebastian, a firefighter, when Trish and her fianc�, whom Quinn briefly dated, arrive. Trish flaunts her engaged status, mocking Quinn's single state. That night, while walking her dog, Quinn hears a car peel off, then finds Trish's body and quickly becomes the prime suspect. The dreamy detective Aiden Harrington quizzes her about the scene at the restaurant, and Officer Wyatt Reynolds is ready to lock her up on the spot. But more is going on, as there was a similar mysterious death a few months earlier. First in a new series from a romance writer, this engaging cozy blends romance, or at least the potential for it, with revenge.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)