From Patricia

Blair, Annette. A Veiled Deception (Berkley, $7?), Jan, pbo. Answering her prof father's summons to salvage her sister's wedding in Mystic Falls, CT puts New York fashion designer Madeira Cutler back in FBI agent Nick's territory. Their binary relationship, now on, now off, stutters when her sister's rival dies, strangled by an antique wedding veil. Maddie discovers she has a gift for touching a fabric and seeing its former owners' history. She pursues the murderer while she opens a vintage clothing boutique to put her collection of antique clothes to good purpose. First in the Vintage Magic mystery series from the romance author of The Kitchen Witch, My Favorite Witch and the The Scot, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

Bonansinga, Jay. Perfect Victim (Pinnacle, $7), Dec, pbo. FBI profiler Ulysses Grove must leave the classroom in Quantico to stop the serial crimes of a predator who could have written the textbook he teaches. The trail leads Grove into an abandoned coal mine in Kentucky that requires all his talents to end the violence against women. Fourth in this flesh and blood profiler series: Twisted, Frozen Shattered ($ ).

Carlisle, Kate. Homicide in Hardcover (Obsidian, $7) Feb, pbo. Brooklyn Wainwright revives nearly dead books with her biblio restoration skills. Her irrascible, estranged mentor dies on the night he is to reveal a priceless copy of Goethe's Faust. A sexy British security op Derek finds her kneeling over the corpse. The museum hires her to complete the project which gives her access to clues to clear her name. And puts her under Derek's scrutiny. The humor and book lore in the first Bibliofile Mystery promise sophisticated page turners to come.

Halliday, Gemma. Mayhem in High Heels (Dorchester, $8) Jan, pbo. With her line of designer shoes gaining traction, Maddie Springer embarks on designing her small wedding to begin life with her dream come true guy, Jack Ramirez, LAPD. Her mother and the diva wedding planner don't do intimate. When the diva dies facedown in the buttercream, Maddie's friends pitch in for a do it yourself event with a side of murder solving. Ramirez ranks their skills on a par with Lucy and Ethel. Halliday populates the suspect list with the ex, a bridezilla client and the musician boyfriend. With a humorous slant on exertion and health food, this entry in the High Heels series uses a breezy delivery that pushes every fashion button. Spying in High Heels, Killer in High Heels, Undercover in High Heels ($7).

Kimberly, Alice (aka Cleo Coyle). The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion (Berkley, $7) Jan, pbo. Bookstore owner Penelope Thornton-McClure just wants to deliver an order to her faithful, reclusive customer. But she finds Miss Todd, victim of foul play, dead in her Victorian mansion. The prime suspect, their small Rhode Island town's mailman, will inherit the place in her new will. But when he moves in, supernatural manifestations cause him to hire ghosthunters who could exorcise Pen's partner in crime solving, the ghost of 1940's private eye, Jack Shepard. Terminating this team would deprive readers of a smart talking wise guy. And this time, a legal secretary can see Jack while Pen can only hear him. The same author writes the coffee house mysteries. The Ghost and the Femme Fatale ($7).

O'Brien, Kevin. Final Breath (Pinnacle, $7) Jan, pbo. TV reporter Sydney Jordan features one intriguing character a week in her segment. When her past guests start dying, she realizes her movers and shakers are targets for a serial killer. She must end the spree before she becomes the next to die. The speed of the plot builds the suspense O'Brien employs in every book. Among them are One Last Scream, The Last Victim, Make Them Cry and Watch Them Die.
If you'd like to meet this New York Times-bestselling author, Kevin O'Brien will be signing this title February 4 at 7 pm at The Poisoned Pen!