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Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
Harriet Vane’s Oxford reunion is shadowed by a rash of bizarre pranks and malicious mischief that include beautifully worded death threats, burnt effigies and vicious poison-pen letters, and Harriet finds herself and Lord Peter Wimsey challenged by an elusive set of clues.
Aunt Dimity’s Death by Nancy Atherton
Summoned from her latest dreadful temp job by her lawyers, Lori Shephard discovers that Aunt Dimity–her mother’s favorite bedtime story heroine–was a real person who has left her millions and the challenge to solve an eerie mystery.
Stealing Mona Lisa by Carson Morton
Entreated by a beautiful new client to steal the Mona Lisa, art forger Eduardo de Valfierno and a sophisticated band of con artists encounter such challenges as a relentless police inspector and a dangerous flood, in a story inspired by the 1911 theft from the Louvre.
The Case of the Missing Books: a mobile library mystery by Ian Sansom
Israel Armstrong is a passionate soul, lured to Ireland by the promise of an exciting new career. Alas, the job that awaits him is not quite what he had in mind. Still, Israel is not one to dwell on disappointment, as he prepares to drive a mobile library around a small, damp Irish town. After all, the scenery is lovely, the people are charming–but where are the books? The rolling library’s 15,000 volumes have mysteriously gone missing, and it’s up to Israel to discover who would steal them . . . and why.
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
Robert Blair was about to knock off from a slow day at his law firm when the phone rang. It was Marion Sharpe on the line, a local woman of quiet disposition who lived with her mother at their decrepit country house, The Franchise. It appeared that she was in some serious trouble: Miss Sharpe and her mother were accused of brutally kidnapping a demure young woman named Betty Kane. Miss Kane’s claims seemed highly unlikely, even to Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, until she described her prison — the attic room with its cracked window, the kitchen, and the old trunks — which sounded remarkably like The Franchise. Yet Marion Sharpe claimed the Kane girl had never been there, let alone been held captive for an entire month! Not believing Betty Kane’s story, Solicitor Blair takes up the case and, in a dazzling feat of amateur detective work, solves the unbelievable mystery that stumped even Inspector Grant.
Get Real by Donald Westlake
When a TV producer convinces John Dortmunder and his merry gang to do a reality show that captures their next score, Dortmunder hatches an ingenious plan to outwit viewers glued to their television sets and end the shoot with money in his pockets.
A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton
Left alone in chilly Lochdubh, Scotland, while his family spends Christmas in Florida, Constable Hamish Macbeth copes with a missing cat and the disappearance of a town’s holiday tree and decorations, while searching for a way to make a little girl’s Christmas dreams come true.
The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
Almost twenty-five years after the infamous art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum–still the largest unsolved art theft in history–one of the stolen Degas paintings is delivered to the Boston studio of a young artist. Claire Roth has entered into a Faustian bargain with a powerful gallery owner by agreeing to forge the Degas in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But as she begins her work, she starts to suspect that this long-missing masterpiece–the very one that had been hanging at the Gardner for one hundred years–may itself be a forgery.
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can’t afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather’s fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise. Then with the international Tchaikovsky Competition-the Olympics of classical music-fast approaching, his prized family heirloom is stolen. Ray is determined to get it back. But now his family and the descendants of the man who once enslaved Ray’s great-grandfather are each claiming that the violin belongs to them. With the odds stacked against him and the pressure mounting, will Ray ever see his beloved violin again?
The Motion Picture Teller by Colin Cotterill
Supot, a postman with the Royal Thai Postal Service, hates his job. The only bright light in his life is watching classic movies with his best friend, Ali, the owner of a video store. These cinephiles adore the charisma of the old Western stars and bemoan the state of modern Thai cinema-until a mysterious cassette, entitled Bangkok 2010, arrives at Ali’s store. It’s the most brilliant Thai movie they’ve ever seen. But nobody else has ever heard of the movie, the director, the actors, or any of the crew. Supot journeys deep into the Thai countryside and discovers a curse around the motion picture. But does that mean its story can never be told?
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
Fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora evacuate their London home for a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the Aberdeen family in a charming stone cottage, Hazel distracts her younger sister with a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place called Whisperwood. When Flora suddenly vanishes after playing near the banks of the River Thames, Hazel is shattered, blaming herself for her sister’s disappearance. Twenty years later, Hazel is back in London working at a cozy rare bookstore when she unwraps a package containing a picture book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the storybook world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to her beloved sister’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that Flora is still alive after all these years?
Greenglass House by Kate Milford
It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House — and themselves. (This one is a middle-grade book, but it would appeal to anyone who enjoys a cozy, wintertime mystery!)
To find more great books go to our book recommendation page and browse book lists created by the librarians at Robbins.