{"title":"Contemporary Mystery","description":"\u003cp\u003eModern mysteries and detective fiction set in today's world. Fresh voices, current themes, and page-turning plots from authors like Louise Penny, Tana French, and Michael Connelly.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"butter-a-novel-of-food-and-murder","title":"Butter by Asako Yuzuki","description":"\u003cdiv data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\"\u003eAsako Yuzuki's \u003cem\u003eButter\u003c\/em\u003e is a darkly compelling novel that intertwines culinary obsession with true crime, following a journalist investigating a woman convicted of murdering lonely men she met through cooking classes. Through the lens of food and desire, Yuzuki explores themes of female agency, societal expectations, and the complex relationship between nourishment and control. The novel becomes a meditation on appetite in all its forms, both literal and metaphorical.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWHY WE PICKED IT:\u003c\/strong\u003e Because Yuzuki understands that food is never just food, it's power, seduction, and survival. This novel asks uncomfortable questions about female desire and the ways society punishes women who refuse to be modest in their appetites.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDETAILS:\u003c\/strong\u003e • Author: Asako Yuzuki • Publisher: Ecco Press • Format: Paperback \u0026amp; Hardcover\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Cedar Leaf Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44852523368492,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44852523401260,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0697\/2234\/1420\/files\/Screenshot_2025-10-13_at_10.48.12.png?v=1760366931"},{"product_id":"firekeepers-daughter","title":"The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\"\u003eCherie Dimaline's \u003cem\u003eEmpire of Wild\u003c\/em\u003e is a thriller blending Métis folklore with contemporary mystery, following Joan as she searches for her missing husband and discovers he's returned as a charismatic preacher with no memory of her. Through the rogarou legend and family secrets, Dimaline creates a story about love, colonization, and cultural memory. The novel becomes both page-turner and meditation on how stories keep us alive, proving that Indigenous horror traditions are as powerful as any Western ghost story and that some loves refuse to stay buried.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWHY WE PICKED IT:\u003c\/strong\u003e Because Dimaline uses Métis folklore to tell a story about love surviving impossible odds and cultural memory refusing erasure. 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They don't speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey's district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit--and her sister--before it's too late.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHY WE PICKED IT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters' childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDETAILS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAuthor: Liz Moore\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublisher: Riverhead Books\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublication date: December 1, 2020\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eISBN\/EAN: 0525540687 \/ 9780525540687\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShips direct from distributor in 3 to 7 business days\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Cedar Leaf Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45180777431084,"sku":"9780525540687","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0697\/2234\/1420\/files\/9780525540687.jpg?v=1767809251"},{"product_id":"we-begin-at-the-end","title":"We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinner of the Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel from the Crime Writers’ Association (UK)\u003cbr\u003eWinner for Best International Crime Fiction from Australian Crime Writers Association\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRight. Wrong. Life is lived somewhere in between.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWalk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow, thirty years later, Vincent is being released. And Duchess and Walk must face the trouble that comes with his return. 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But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he’s forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his brother: himself, and his own particular set of skills.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRoman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause everything burns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDETAILS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAuthor: S. A. 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The details of the crime are slow to surface because Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile his father, a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHY WE PICKED IT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Round House is a page-turning masterpiece—at once a powerful coming-of-age story, a mystery, and a tender, moving novel of family, history, and culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDETAILS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAuthor: Louise Erdrich\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublisher: Harper Perennial\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublication date: September 24, 2013\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eISBN-10: 0062065254\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShips direct from distributor in 3 to 7 business days\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Cedar Leaf Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45241346326572,"sku":"9780062065254","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0697\/2234\/1420\/files\/9780062065254.jpg?v=1769825489"},{"product_id":"murder-by-memory-dorothy-gentleman-1","title":"Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Dorothy Gentleman, 1)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBecky Chambers meets Miss Marple in this sci-fi ode to the cozy mystery, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA mind is a terrible thing to erase...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty's most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! 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Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor―and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting―knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work―and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTold through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, this novella is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take. 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Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook. As Ray navigates this double life, he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem. Can Ray avoid getting killed, save his cousin, and grab his share of the big score, all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs? \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHY WE PICKED IT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHarlem Shuffle's ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It's a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut mostly, it's a joy to read, another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDETAILS:\u003c\/strong\u003e • Author: Colson Whitehead • Publisher: Doubleday Books • Format: Hardcover • ISBN: 9780385545136 • Ships direct from distributor in 3–7 business days\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Cedar Leaf Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45280480231468,"sku":"9780385545136","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0697\/2234\/1420\/files\/9780385545136.jpg?v=1770920305"},{"product_id":"a-brief-history-of-seven-killings-booker-prize-winner-a-novel","title":"A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinner of the Booker Prize\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA “thrilling, ambitious . . . intense” (Los Angeles Times) novel that explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s, from the author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James combines brilliant storytelling with his unrivaled skills of characterization and meticulous eye for detail to forge an enthralling novel of dazzling ambition and scope.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn December 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert to ease political tensions in Kingston, seven gunmen stormed the singer’s house, machine guns blazing. The attack wounded Marley, his wife, and his manager, and injured several others. Little was officially released about the gunmen, but much has been whispered, gossiped and sung about in the streets of West Kingston. Rumors abound regarding the assassins’ fates, and there are suspicions  that the attack was politically motivated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Brief History of Seven Killings delves deep into that dangerous and unstable time in Jamaica’s history and beyond. James deftly chronicles the lives of a host of unforgettable characters – gunmen, drug dealers, one-night stands, CIA agents,  even ghosts – over the course of thirty years as they roam the streets of 1970s Kingston, dominate the crack houses of 1980s New York, and ultimately reemerge into the radically altered Jamaica of the 1990s. Along the way, they learn that evil does indeed cast long shadows, that justice and retribution are inextricably linked, and that no one can truly escape his fate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGripping and inventive, shocking and irresistible, A Brief History of Seven Killings is a mesmerizing modern classic of power, mystery, and insight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDETAILS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e • Author: Marlon James • Publisher: Riverhead Books • Format: Paperback • ISBN: 9781594633942 • Ships direct from distributor in 3–7 business days\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cedar Leaf Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45372923478060,"sku":"9781594633942","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0697\/2234\/1420\/files\/9781594633942.jpg?v=1773156961"},{"product_id":"wolf-hour-a-novel","title":"Wolf Hour by Jo Nesbø","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom “one of today’s most interesting thriller writers” (Lee Child) comes an immersive, propulsive novel in which a detective and a crime writer conduct parallel investigations, six years apart, into a series of puzzling murders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMinneapolis, Minnesota, 2016. When a small-time criminal and gun dealer is shot down in the street, all signs point to Tomas Gomez, a quiet man with a mysterious past—and deep connections to a notorious gang—who has seemingly vanished into thin air. Other murders soon follow, and it appears Gomez is only getting started. Meanwhile, Bob Oz, a down-and-out suspended police officer with a dubious past of his own, becomes fascinated by the case: he is obsessed with the notion of hunting down a serial killer who only he can understand, a killer with a story as tragic as his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMinneapolis, Minnesota, 2022. An enigmatic Norwegian man with ties to Minneapolis—a self-described crime writer—has traveled to the United States to research the Gomez case, in the hopes of writing a book about it. 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His novels are maddeningly addictive.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb-1 mt-2 whitespace-pre-line leading-relaxed first:mt-0\" data-sentry-component=\"P\" data-sentry-source-file=\"p.tsx\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDETAILS\u003c\/strong\u003e • Author: Jo Nesbø • Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group • Format: Hardcover\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Cedar Leaf Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45534108319788,"sku":"9780593803653","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0697\/2234\/1420\/files\/9780593803653.jpg?v=1778516717"}],"url":"https:\/\/cedarleafbooks.com\/collections\/contemporary-mystery.oembed","provider":"Cedar Leaf Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}