It’s springtime in the village of St. Denis in the French province of Dordogne. Flowers bloom, the church choir rehearses for Easter, corks pop from wine bottles, the outdoor market displays delicious treats . . . and the dead body of a nude woman drifts lazily down the river in an abandoned rowboat.

Here’s where Benoît “Bruno” Courrèges enters—or should we say ambles—into Martin Walker’s latest mystery novel featuring the popular village Chief of Police.

The Devil’s Cave marks the fifth entry in the Bruno crime series, which contains village adventures both culinary and murderous. A sunny village atmosphere stands in sharp contrast to murky goings-on, and Bruno seems equally at home pursuing criminal activities in this deceptively rustic setting as he does cooking in his small farmhouse kitchen, whipping up a mouth-watering meal of smoked ham, white asparagus and new potatoes with dandelion buds sautéed in butter.

The French countryside gets a little bit darker in the newest mystery starring Bruno, Chief of Police.

The relaxed yet resolute detective enjoys sharing a glass of wine with his friends, horseback riding, feeding his chickens, maneuvering between girlfriends and cooking gourmet repasts, but he proves just as adept when he takes charge of the gruesome crime scene, where the floating body is surrounded by black candles and marked by crude symbols indicating a connection to the black arts. Bruno is soon called upon to explore the “Devil’s Cave,” a local tourist attraction containing caverns, an underground river and a silent, dark lake, where the trappings of a strange occult Mass are discovered, seemingly connected to the woman on the river.

Complications ensue as well-heeled visitors descend on the town as part of a group hoping to develop a “vacation village” near St. Denis. At the same time, relatives surface who may be connected to the estate of the aging, comatose local resident known to all as the Red Countess, whose infamous activities date back to the French Resistance during World War II. A local case of domestic abuse is followed by a second death that appears to be an accident. All these separate occurrences initiate an investigation that leads Bruno to a common thread that weaves them all together, and to a dark and exciting dénouement set deep underground.

The Devil’s Cave brings to life a pastoral setting where the gourmet menu is as spicy as the sex, and where readers can share in the timeless beauty of the French countryside, laced with a little murder.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read a 7 questions interview with Martin Walker for The Devil's Cave.

What would moody, modern private investigator Claire DeWitt say to the plucky girl detectives of the past, like Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew? Not much, if Sara Gran’s second Claire DeWitt mystery is any indication. Claire has little patience for perky. She just wants to solve her case and doesn’t need to be nice. So sometimes, she’s not. With Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway, novelist Sara Gran returns to the brilliant and twisted mind of her sarcastic sleuth as she stalks the streets of San Francisco on a murder case with personal meaning. Paul Casablancas, an old flame Claire never quite got over, has been murdered. Claire needs to know who did it and why.

A masochistic drug addict with a readiness to raid any medicine cabinet, Claire is an unlikely hero. And yet, she’s astonishingly thorough in gathering evidence. No clue is too small for Claire, and you’d better give her the details. What did you have for breakfast the morning of the murder? Cereal. What kind? Lucky Charms. Claire duly notes this on the back of an envelope, or in the stacks of paper scraps taking over her apartment. Her unconventional detective work, based on the writings of fictional detective Jacques Silette, relies on following every hunch. This method leads Claire on a fascinating journey as she consults Buddhist lamas, comic book collectors and punk rock musicians in her quest for answers.

Gran keeps Claire on the move both in her present-day murder case and in flashbacks to a parallel story of a missing friend in 1980s Brooklyn. The combination adds richness to Claire’s character by showing us her early days as a detective. It also keeps the tension high, as there are two mysteries to solve at once. As we get to know young Claire, her tough façade begins to fade, and we see the vulnerable girl who first fell in love with Paul. We feel for her as she draws closer to the dramatic final moments of the guitarist’s tumultuous life.

Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway is not a cozy, teatime mystery, but a gritty, realistic look at grief and the search for truth. Sara Gran has created an unforgettable character that readers will surely follow into her next adventure.

Author Lori Roy’s 2011 debut novel, Bent Road, was an Edgar Award winner. In her new novel, Until She Comes Home, Roy has created a tour-de-force of mood and suspense, where old habits and new realities collide in a drama played out in a gritty and memorable urban setting.

If language can be delicate and brutal at the same time, this is what Roy achieves in a beautifully written, dark exploration of fears both real and imagined, of old ways facing upheaval. The author’s stunning word pictures convey the air and mood almost of a fairy tale or fable—strange, laden with foreboding, dark around the edges where it may initially seem clear.

Detroit in 1958, a city on the verge of cataclysmic change, contains fading factory neighborhoods filled with close-knit families of a solid ethnic white. Families struggle to cope with the impending loss of livelihoods and the first inklings of ethnic diversity. Faced with facts both inevitable and unwelcome, the women of Alder Avenue respond according to their individual private inner fears and circumstances.

Racial tensions crackle like summer lightning when a mentally challenged 22-year-old white woman disappears, seemingly at her front gate, shortly after a local African-American woman is brutally murdered. Glass shards litter the street; the wheels of a baby carriage squeal disconcertingly on the pavement. A red-handled hammer disappears. Homemade carrot cake fills the stomachs of the husbands and the time of the women as the search continues for the missing girl. Children both born and unborn figure large, and terrible events can happen, unspoken and untold, behind closed doors up and down Alder Avenue.

Roy perfectly evokes these immaculately clad and mannered women, right down to their de rigueur white gloves and appropriate hats, all in contrast to the gritty realities assaulting their well-ordered lives. During the course of the book, readers are asked to encounter, and maneuver, the often stark differences between perception and reality that course through the pages.

In this book, small descriptions are never “fill”: each adds a layer to the developing story, as events assault and then change our minds and the action unfolds in a changing kaleidoscope. Roy has contributed a challenging, thoughtful and riveting story. Seeing the marvels she can create with words, we can only hope she’ll continue to share her talent with readers.

First-time author Robert Galbraith has added a singular new voice to the genre of crime fiction with his engaging debut novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling, which keeps the form of a classic mystery while introducing Detective Cormoran B. Strike, a private investigator straight out of today with a personality as offbeat as his name.

The story gains its considerable traction through two developing characters: the enthusiastic and curious Robin, a just-engaged young lady who signs on as a temp for Strike and begins to show her investigatory mettle; and Strike himself, whose rather frayed and shambling exterior hides a steady, methodical temperament and an “incurable habit of thoroughness.” He’s got a talent for remarking the details that others have passed over.

Not too far in the past, Strike was a special investigator with the military police in Afghanistan, where he lost part of a leg to a land mine. He was also engaged to a rich, beautiful and volatile woman, but the relationship ended in a hail of temper and thrown objects. Now, Strike sleeps on a cot in his office with his prosthetic leg, a stack of unpaid bills and one remaining client.

Strike receives a burst of luck when he unexpectedly gains a new case: John Bristow, a well-to-do lawyer who can pay in advance (critical for Strike), wants proof that his sister Lula, a high-living and famous model, did not jump to her death but was pushed off the third-floor balcony of her penthouse apartment. The case was closed three months earlier and her death ruled a suicide, but Bristow’s convinced that the police have failed to follow up on all the leads, and he wants Strike to find the person responsible for Lula’s death.

This engrossing story boasts a fascinating cast of fast-track suspects both repellent and attractive. Most are Lula’s compatriots, full-of-themselves celebs and hangers-on with a knack for drugs, disaster and evasion. Front and center are Somé, Lula’s exclusive designer; Evan, a temperamental boyfriend fond of wearing a wolf mask; and Deeby Macc, a streetwise rapper with chutzpah. Then there’s the couple on the second floor of Lula’s exclusive building, one of whom claims Lula was not alone just prior to her fatal plunge. Add to this list the elusive Rochelle, a homeless woman with a connection to Lula, and the result is a page-turner featuring an uncommon hero with faces both contemporary and retro.

Editor's Note: Months after this review was assigned and published, it was revealed that "Robert Galbraith" is a pseudonym for best-selling author J.K. Rowling. More details here.