5 new mystery novels to stay up late reading

Janice Hallett presents readers with a unique challenge in “The Twyford Code” (Atria): The story is told entirely through transcripts of audio files. But don’t be daunted by the format; Hallett, author of “The Appeal,” is a deft storyteller, and her latest combines humor and pathos. Steven “Smithy” Smith is an endearingly self-aware ex-con obsessed by a children’s book by Edith Twyford. He believes that the book contains a secret code that leads to buried treasure. As he desperately works to crack the code, Smithy follows clues all around England and eventually finds himself in danger from other frantic treasure hunters and shadowy figures from his past. He also discovers some tragic, long-buried secrets about his family that help explain his criminal propensities. The madcap plot will keep readers in suspense until the final page.

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It’s been four years since Deborah Crombie published an installment of her best-selling series featuring Scotland Yard sleuths (and spouses) Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. Her new book, “A Killing of Innocents” (William Morrow), was worth the wait as Crombie once again showcases her ability to intertwine family drama with a gripping police procedural. As the book opens, a young doctor named Sasha Johnson is found stabbed in London’s Russell Square, and Duncan and his team must find the killer. The pressure builds when a second doctor, the man who supervised Sasha, is found stabbed several days later. Meanwhile, Gemma, chafing at her new desk job, is only too happy to do some off-hours undercover work for Duncan’s team. Against the grim backdrop of the murder investigation Crombie sets Duncan and Gemma’s generally happy but often-chaotic family life as the couple juggles solving crimes with raising three children. Crombie fans will welcome updates on Duncan, Gemma and other favorite characters, but “A Killing of Innocents” stands on its own for anyone new to the series.

In her debut novel, “The Golden Spoon” (Atria), Jessa Maxwell takes a classic detective fiction device — suspects all gathered in a country mansion — and blends it with the cutthroat competition of a baking show to produce a delectably fun mystery. Six finalists gather at a rural Vermont estate for Bake Week, an annual, nationally televised event where amateur bakers compete to win the “Golden Spoon.” Hosted by Betsy Martin, TV baker extraordinaire, at her family’s manor home, Bake Week is an American tradition. But everything seems a bit off this year, beginning with the fact that the producers have forced Betsy to take on Archie Morris, the lecherous star of another popular cooking show, as co-host. Meanwhile, someone is sabotaging this year’s competition: One baker’s sugar is substituted with salt, while another’s orange essence is replaced with gasoline. Tempers flare and one finalist angrily quits the show, but things really heat up when Archie is murdered — and everyone is a suspect.

Don’t worry, ‘Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone’ is a comedy

Harbinder Kaur is newly arrived in London, after being promoted to Metropolitan Police detective inspector, when she’s thrust into a high-profile case involving two murdered members of Parliament in Elly Griffiths’s engrossing “Bleeding Heart Yard” (Mariner). Both murdered men were in the same class at a posh school as teens and, interestingly, so was Cassie Fitzgerald, a police officer whom Harbinder supervises. As the investigation proceeds, it appears the murders may somehow be related to the tragic death of another classmate years ago. Griffiths really amps up the drama by telling her tale through three separate voices: Harbinder, Cassie and another former student, Anna Vance. The serpentine storyline allows Griffiths to fully explore the classmates’ past and present relationships — involving love, loss and betrayal — while Harbinder doggedly sifts through the connections to uncover the killer. First seen in Griffiths’s Edgar-winning “The Stranger Diaries,” Harbinder, a gay, Sikh woman, is a complicated, fascinating character.

Karen MacPherson is the former Children’s and Youth Services Coordinator at Takoma Park Maryland Library and lifelong mystery lover.