The Minotaur Sampler Volume 1

Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? The first edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of four can't-miss novels—either standalone or first in series—publishing between January and March 2021 for free and easy sampling. First in Series: In Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano’s delivers a witty, fast-paced mystery following struggling suspense novelist and single mom Finlay Donovan, whose fiction treads dangerously close to the truth as she becomes tangled in real-life murder investigations... Standalone: In Alex Finlay's Every Last Fear, a family made infamous by a true crime documentary is found dead, leaving their surviving son to uncover the truth about their final days. Standalone: In The Lost Village, imagine The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense. First in Series: In Deep into the Dark, New York Times bestseller P. J. Tracy returns with a brand new series set in LA and featuring up-and-coming LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan and murder suspect Sam Easton.

Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? The fourth edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of six can't-miss novels--either standalone or first in series--publishing Winter 2022 for free for easy sampling. Standalone: From debut author Stacy Willingham comes a masterfully done, lyrical thriller that is certain to be the launch of an amazing career. A Flicker in the Dark is eerily compelling to the very last page. Standalone: From the author of Every Last Fear comes a breakneck new thriller about a pair of small-town murders fifteen years apart, and the one man whose life is inexplicably linked to both. Alex Finlay returns with The Night Shift. First in Series: Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in Under Lock & Skeleton Key, where Tempest Raj returns home to work at her father’s Secret Staircase Construction Company. Standalone: A heart-thumping novel that will shake you to your core, The Resting Place is a masterful novel of suspense and horror from international star Camilla Sten. Standalone: Extraordinarily tense and deliciously mysterious, Anna Downes’s The Shadow House follows one woman desperate to protect her children at any cost in a remote village retreat where not everything is as it seems. . . First in Series: Friday Night Lights meets Mare of Easttown in this small-town mystery about an unlikely private investigator searching for a missing waitress. Pay Dirt Road is the mesmerizing debut from the 2019 Tony Hillerman Prize recipient Samantha Jayne Allen.

Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? This free, third edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of four can't-miss novels--either standalone or first in series--publishing Fall 2021 for free for easy sampling. Standalone: Hannah Morrissey’s captivating mystery suspense debut, Hello, Transcriber, features a female police transcriber who goes beyond the limits to solve a harrowing case. Every night, while the street lamps shed the only light on Wisconsin's most crime-ridden city, police transcriber Hazel Greenlee listens as detectives divulge Black Harbor's gruesome secrets. Standalone: A father and daughter living in isolation in the remote Appalachian mountains must reckon with the ghosts of their past in this next feature, a mesmerizing novel of suspense. Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, Kimi Cunningham Grant’s These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all. Standalone: From a distance, NYU freshman Claudia Castro has it all. But when the rest of the school comes back from Spring Break, Claudia is missing. From the critically acclaimed author of Invisible City and Conviction, Julia Dahl’s The Missing Hours is a novel about obsession, privilege, and the explosive consequences of one violent act. Revival of the Series: Finish with a special collaboration between Wednesday Books and Minotaur Books: Enola Holmes is back! The nationally bestselling series and breakout Netflix sensation returns to beguile readers young and old in Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche.

Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? The fifth edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of eight can't-miss novels--either standalone or first in series--publishing Spring/Summer 2022 for free for easy sampling. Standalone: A gripping debut domestic suspense novel, Nora Murphy's The Favor explores with compassion and depth what can happen when women pushed to the limit take matters into their own hands. Standalone: Four friends head into the Icelandic highlands in the middle of winter. The first day they get caught in an unexpected snowstorm, and end up in an abandoned hunting lodge. Outside is a chilling new standalone thriller from Ragnar Jónasson. First in Series: Katharine Schellman's captivating Jazz age mystery series debut, Last Call at the Nightingale, beckons readers into a darkly glamorous speakeasy where music, liquor, and secrets flow. First in Series: James Byrne's The Gatekeeper introduces Dez Limerick - "a welcome blast of freshness"* and "the most exciting new character I've read in years"** -- in the most anticipated new thriller in years. First in Series: A Rip Through Time mixes romance, mystery, and fantasy with thrilling results. In this series debut from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, a modern-day homicide detective finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose. Standalone: The Things We Do in the Dark is the brilliant new thriller from Jennifer Hillier, the award-winning author of the breakout novels Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts - The secrets of the past come back around when a woman, long believed dead, turns up alive. First in Series: Mark Pryor's Die Around Sundown is the first entry in an exciting new mystery series set in World War II era Paris, where a detective is forced to solve a murder while protecting his own secrets. Standalone: From Sandie Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick The Other Woman, comes a gripping new domestic suspense novel. In The Blame Game, a psychologist working with victims of domestic abuse suddenly finds she may be being targeted herself: She knows she’s telling the truth. But the evidence says she’s lying.

It's murder most viral in this debut mystery by Olivia Blacke. Bayou transplant Odessa Dean has a lot to learn about life in Brooklyn. So far she's scored a rent free apartment in one of the nicest neighborhoods around by cat-sitting, and has a new job working at Untapped Books & Café. Hand-selling books and craft beers is easy for Odessa, but making new friends and learning how to ride the subway? Well, that might take her a little extra time. But things turn more sour than an IPA when the death of a fellow waitress goes viral, caught on camera in the background of a couple's flash-mob proposal video. Nothing about Bethany's death feels right to Odessa--neither her sudden departure mid-shift nor the clues that only Odessa seems to catch. As an up-and-coming YouTube star, Bethany had more than one viewer waiting for her to fall from grace. Determined to prove there's a killer on the loose, Odessa takes matters into her own hands. But can she pin down Bethany's killer before they take Odessa offline for good?

Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? This free, second edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of five can't-miss novels--either standalone or first in series--publishing Spring/Summer 2021 for easy sampling. Standalone: Delta Dawn is a photographer for New York City’s elite. Mary Dixie Carter’s debut, The Photographer, is a slyly observed suspenseful story of envy and obsession, told in the mesmerizing, irresistible voice of a character who will make you doubt that see is ever believing. Standalone: From Ragnar Jónasson, the award-winning author of the international bestselling Ari Thór series. A young woman seeks a new start in a secluded village where a small community is desperate to protect its secrets in The Girl Who Died. First in Series: Meet award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen’s new heroine, Detective Annalisa Vega, in Gone for Good. A cold case is heating up in Chicago, and with an ever-growing sense of déjà vu Annalisa must retrace the killer’s steps to her own childhood. First in Series: From Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver comes a historical series debut: A Peculiar Combination. This charming mystery, set in England during World War II, is filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit. Electra McDonnell is a safe cracker, and her latest job doesn’t go at all according to plan. First in Series: Finish with Brian Klingborg’s Thief of Souls. A brutal murder in a rural village in Northern China sends shockwaves all the way to Beijing but seemingly only Inspector Lu Fei, exiled to this tiny town, is interested in finding justice.

“High-energy . . . Finlay expands the puzzle and ratchets up the action.” —New York Times "This debut is gripping from the first bone-chilling line until the final page." —Newsweek One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2021: • Newsweek • CNN • E! Online • Goodreads • BuzzFeed • PopSugar • BookBub • Bibliofile • Mystery and Suspense A LibraryReads Selection — A Top Book Voted by Librarians for March 2021 An Indie Next Pick — A Top Book Voted by Independent Bookstores for March 2021 In one of the year’s most anticipated debut psychological thrillers, a family made infamous by a true crime documentary is found dead, leaving their surviving son to uncover the truth about their final days. “They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears. After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain—and they won’t tell Matt why. The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny—currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte—was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime. When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his parents and siblings, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison—putting his own life in peril—and forcing him to confront his every last fear. Told through multiple points-of-view and alternating between past and present, Alex Finlay's Every Last Fear is not only a page-turning thriller, it’s also a poignant story about a family managing heartbreak and tragedy, and living through a fame they never wanted.

Amateur sleuth Odessa Dean is about to discover the only thing harder than finding her way out of an escape room is finding an affordable apartment in Brooklyn in this sequel to Killer Content. Odessa Dean has made a home of Brooklyn. She has a fun job waiting tables at Untapped Books & Café and a new friend, Izzy, to explore the city with. When she's invited on a girls' day out escape room adventure, she jumps at the chance. It's all fun and games until the lights come on and they discover one of the girls bludgeoned to death... The only possible suspects are Odessa and the four other players that were locked in the escape room with the victim. She refuses to believe that one of them is responsible for the murder, despite what the clues indicate. In between shifts at the café, Odessa splits her time interviewing the murder suspects, updating the bookstore's social media accounts, and searching for the impossible--an affordable apartment in Brooklyn. But crime--and criminally high rent--waits for no woman. Can Odessa clear her and Izzy’s names before the police decide they're guilty?

Nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel! In 19th century Bombay, Captain Jim Agnihotri channels his idol, Sherlock Holmes, in Nev March’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut. In 1892, Bombay is the center of British India. Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lies in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, with little to do but re-read the tales of his idol, Sherlock Holmes, and browse the daily papers. The case that catches Captain Jim's attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university’s clock tower in broad daylight. Moved by Adi, the widower of one of the victims — his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide — Captain Jim approaches the Parsee family and is hired to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon. But in a land of divided loyalties, asking questions is dangerous. Captain Jim's investigation disturbs the shadows that seem to follow the Framji family and triggers an ominous chain of events. And when lively Lady Diana Framji joins the hunt for her sisters’ attackers, Captain Jim’s heart isn’t safe, either. Based on a true story, and set against the vibrant backdrop of colonial India, Nev March's Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning lyrical debut, Murder in Old Bombay, brings this tumultuous historical age to life.

Captain Jim Agnihotri and his new bride, Diana Framji, return in Nev March's Peril at the Exposition, the follow up to March's award-winning, Edgar finalist debut, Murder in Old Bombay. 1893: Newlyweds Captain Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji are settling into their new home in Boston, Massachusetts, having fled the strict social rules of British Bombay. It's a different life than what they left behind, but theirs is no ordinary marriage: Jim, now a detective at the Dupree Agency, is teaching Diana the art of deduction he’s learned from his idol, Sherlock Holmes. Everyone is talking about the preparations for the World's Fair in Chicago: the grandeur, the speculation, the trickery. Captain Jim will experience it first-hand: he's being sent to Chicago to investigate the murder of a man named Thomas Grewe. As Jim probes the underbelly of Chicago’s docks, warehouses, and taverns, he discovers deep social unrest and some deadly ambitions. When Jim goes missing, young Diana must venture to Chicago's treacherous streets to learn what happened. But who can she trust, when a single misstep could mean disaster? Award-winning author Nev March mesmerized readers with her Edgar finalist debut, Murder in Old Bombay. Now, in Peril at the Exposition, she wields her craft against the glittering landscape of the Gilded Age with spectacular results.