DANA FREDSTI
Murder for Hire : The Peruvian Pigeon
(Yellowback Mysteries, $12.95, trade paperback original)

A trenchcoat and a fedora don't make a detective, and Connie Garrett couldn't agree more. She's the co-founder of Murder for Hire, an acting troupe that specializes in spoofing, not sleuthing. But when MFH performs at a sleepy coastal community's mystery gala celebrating the life and works of a famous hard-boiled mystery author and the bodies start stacking up, Connie finds herself on the case whether she likes it or not. Dana Fredsti is an ex-B movie actress with a background in theatrical sword-fighting. She was co-producer/writer/director for a mystery-oriented theatrical troupe based in San Diego. While no actual murders occurred during their performances, there were times when the actors and clients made the idea very tempting.

JESS LOUREY
August Moon
(Midnight Ink, $14.95, trade paperback original)

Mira James' fury over getting stood up by Johnny Leeson is hotter than the scorching summer heat in this fourth Murder-by-Month mystery. She's getting out of Battle Lake, Minnesota, "where the women are churchgoers, the men like to hunt, and the body count is above average." But before our sassy young heroine can hightail it back to Minneapolis to become a "cat-collecting, fist-shaking, asexual English professor," a high school cheerleader is found murdered. Kirkus called it an "amusing tale set in the town full of over-the-top zanies who've endeared themselves to the engaging Mira."