The Lost Girls by Allison Brennan is the 11th book in the Lucy Kincaid series, where two missing girls and an abandoned baby lead to a seedy underworld of human trafficking. 

In a small Texas town, a recently—and reluctantly—retired priest discovers a baby beneath a statue of St. Elizabeth on the grounds of Our Lady of Sorrows Church. The infant is no more than a day old, and already her very existence points toward something dark and ugly. For she is wrapped in a bloody shirt on which the message “Trust no one” has been scrawled in blood, and Siobhan Walsh—a crusading photojournalist looking for two young women with the help of Father Sebastian—is convinced the baby’s mother is one of the “lost girls.” She knows that the baby’s mother would not have abandoned her child except in the direst circumstance, and her efforts to find out what might have happened leads her to a jail cell in a little Texas town between San Antonio and Laredo.

And that’s where FBI agents Noah Armstrong and Lucy Kincaid come in. Lucy’s engaged to the brother of the man Siobhan relies on to help keep her safe, a security specialist named Kane Rogan, who is always advising her not to get involved in “causes.” Siobhan doesn’t want to face her attraction to Kane—it’s complicated—and Lucy completely understands. When she thinks about being with Sean Rogan, when she just utters the word “husband” aloud, it fills her with anxiety and ambivalence. 

[Read Katherine Tomlinson's review of The Lost Girls...]

These are some of the more interesting, weird, and crazy true crime related stories from the past week (08/13/17 - 08/19/17):

• Costumed Characters Charged With Shopflifting At Walmart


• Man Gets 6 Years For Firing Gun While Taking Selfie


• Wife, mistress help police bust man for stealing and cheating


• Man accused of committing sex act in Louisville park blames groundhog


• Boat Distressed Call Lands Huge Marijuana


• Bear breaks into SUV, takes joyride on Colorado street


• FBI arrests suspected 'Blues Bandit' wanted in 8 bank robberies


• Resident comes home to find that a mystery intruder had cleaned apartment

What happens when the quest for justice pits you against your own partner? 

Try and make amends this week's Pick Your Poison—where we create a cocktail inspired by a recently published mystery, thriller, or crime novel—the “Rosé & DiNunzio” cocktail, inspired by Lisa Scottoline's fifth Rosato & DiNunzio novel, Exposed!

[Check out the recipe below!]

Read this exclusive guest post from Adam Walker Phillips, then make sure to sign in and comment below for a chance to win a copy of The Silent Second!

Human Resources and private detection were never meant to be a good match.

The basic premise for a new kind of amateur sleuth was to throw a disaffected corporate cog—someone searching for a meaning in a job that has none—into the heart of a murder mystery where he might very well find that purpose in life. When I was refining the premise further to a specific job within a company, Human Resources became the clear choice. What better job to personify disillusionment and existential crisis than the person watching over all the disillusioned people undergoing existential crises in their meaningless jobs? 

[Read more from Adam Walker Phillips!]

Darkansas by Jarret Middleton is a dark, compelling novel of country noir about a family with a secret past and a curse several generations old.

Rural or country noir can be one of the most heartfelt and entertaining crime subgenres when done by capable authors such as Daniel Woodrell and David Joy. Now, Jarret Middleton’s extraordinary new novel, Darkansas, has placed its author in that distinguished group. Dark, bizarre, and steeped in the culture of the Ozarks, Darkansas is a hybrid narrative that inhabits the interstitial space between crime, horror, literary fiction, and mystery. 

Jordan Bayne is an ex-con eking out a life working as a musician and living in a small, filthy room in San Antonio, Texas. He is a haunted man who’s constantly in trouble and always on the run, sometimes from things he can’t put his finger on. He’s also condemned to live in the shadow of his brother, Malcolm, who works in the insurance business and has never been in trouble, and his father, Walker, a man who’s a legend in the music business. When Malcolm comes back home to the Ozarks to get married, the two brothers and their father are thrown into a maelstrom of repressed emotions and dark family history that threatens to not only derail the festivities but also end in death.

[Read Gabino Iglesias's review of Darkansas...]

No Good Deed by Allison Brennan is the tenth Lucy Kincaid novel, where the FBI agent must stop a corrupt former DEA agent who is out for revenge.

Allison Brennan’s tenth Lucy Kincaid novel, No Good Deed, starts out with a bang—well, machine-gun fire. Well, a villainy internal monologue and then machine-gun fire. Followed by an explosion. As one does. 

FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid is hot on the trail of corrupt former DEA Agent Nicole Rollins, recently escaped from her prison transport in the above-mentioned blaze of glory. A church school bus full of children and one active bomb provide the perfect distraction for her getaway. Kincaid suspects bombing and body count are a smoke screen for a far more sinister plot. When a former FBI agent with ties to a previous case is murdered and Kincaid’s fiancé’s brother vanishes, Lucy is more certain than ever that Rollins is gunning for her.

[Read Meghan Harker's review of No Good Deed...]

Here is another story where a couple of lame-brain crooks did something just plain stupid. This time, we take to the seven seas to follow a couple of marijuana smugglers who ran into some mechanical problems with their boat.

According to a report by CNN, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that they arrested two people and seized 1,200 pounds of marijuana after receiving a distress call while out on patrol off the shores of San Diego.

According to the reports, two boat flares were spotted by two different patrols at around 10:45 p.m. After reaching the boat in distress and learning of the shipment, the crew transferred the huge bundles of pot to a Coast Guard ship and towed the seized boat to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection dock.

In 2015, with the launch of the first season of Daredevil, Marvel television and Netflix began building their own corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since then, they’ve delivered a steady bit of payout as fans got to meet compelling characters like the title character of Daredevil, blind lawyer turned costumed vigilante Matt Murdock; superpowered P.I. Jessica Jones; and the bulletproof hero of Harlem, Luke Cage. (They also met the fairly underwhelming Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist, but the less said about his show, the better, in my opinion.)

Now, they’re set to deliver the ultimate fan payoff with the release of The Defenders—an eight-episode Netflix series that brings together the title characters and supporting casts from the previous Marvel Netflix shows for an Avengers-style team up. Early buzz is saying The Defenders series is as good as—and perhaps even better—than Netflix’s previous Marvel endeavors (and in the case of Iron Fist ... way, way better). So it’s a good chance these episodes will go quickly and leave viewers wanting more.

But you won't have to wait for Netflix to release Season 2. Marvel Comics has plenty of fascinating titles featuring the group as well as several individual stories of each of the Defenders. In this article, we’ll take a look at those books and tell you how to get caught up on them.

[Catch up with The Defenders!]

Best Intentions by Erika Raskin is a captivating domestic suspense novel that weaves together high-stakes hospital politics, the pressures of family life, and the consequences of trying to do the right thing, particularly in a city with a history as fraught as Richmond's.

Erika Raskin’s sophomore effort, Best Intentions, is a fast-paced, chilling story about family, motherhood, and the failure of a marriage. The novel begins at the end and at the beginning. It’s a first-person narrative told by Marti Trailor, and the first thing we know about her is she’s entangled in a murder trial. The second thing we know about her is that she’s the loving mother of three children and the wife of a successful OB-GYN in Richmond, Virginia. What we don’t know is the full truth, which lies between the two narratives as the story unfolds. We’re going from future to past in one timeline and from past to future in the other. 

It may sound confusing, but it isn’t. As these two stories are told by Marti in parallel, there’s a sense of foreboding because we don’t yet know what happened at the point where these two timelines connect. It’s a beautifully executed plot device that is extremely effective because of the stark contrast between the two. In one timeline, we know Marti has been accused of murder. In the other, she’s a loving mother and frustrated wife. Completely relatable to the core as she constantly worries about the attractive young nurses at her husband’s job, among other things. Marti is an extremely likable character, and I found her humor despite her troubles endearing:

[Read Ardi Alspach's review of Best Intentions...]

Read David Handler's exclusive guest post about why he included his sidekick dog Lulu in his acclaimed Stewart Hoag mystery series, then make sure to sign in and comment below for a chance to win a copy of the long-awaited return of Hoagy and Lulu in The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes!

I confess. I never intended to give a sidekick to Stewart Hoag, that major American novelist turned major burn-out case turned preeminent ghostwriter of celebrity memoirs. And I definitely never planned to give him a sidekick with short legs, long ears, and a taste for 9Lives mackerel for cats and very strange basset hounds.

This was back in 1985 when I was a very young writer. After I’d drafted the first 50 pages of the first Hoagy novel, The Man Who Died Laughing, I sent them to my agent, the late Roberta Pryor. It was my first stab at crime fiction, and I was hungry for feedback. Roberta kindly gave me hers: she hated it. Thought that Hoagy was a bitter, dislikeable loser. “No one will spend their hard-earned money on this,” she informed me. “They can already get it at home for free.”

[Read more from David Handler!]

Best Laid Plans by Allison Brennan is the ninth book in the Lucy Kincaid series, where the newly minted FBI agent must help uncover a far-reaching conspiracy run by a ruthless killer who will do anything to get what he wants—and kill anyone who gets in his way.

On the surface, Lucy Kincaid’s story is a classic survivor’s tale. After a brutal event, survivor meets love interest, love interest helps survivor overcome the emotional baggage, survivor is “fixed,” and they ride off into the sunset. Happily ever after, right?  

It is a popular but, to be honest, predictable and inauthentic story arc. 

Except in Best Laid Plans, there is no happily ever after and Lucy is no normal damsel. As a highly-trained FBI agent, she can save herself (and the reader from the contrived damsel in distress/survivor storyline, thankfully). 

Best Laid Plans is a masterful blend of complex characters with real histories and emotional baggage that both makes sense and makes for a great story. You don’t overcome a tragedy in 400 pages or a 30-minute sitcom episode, and neither do Brennan’s characters. For Lucy, healing is and continues to be an ongoing process. This feels real and authentic. Her strengths and hang-ups caused by her past create a dynamic, highly relatable character who feels a bit like an old college friend I haven’t seen in a few years—meaning I understand her past but still have plenty to learn about what makes her tick. 

[Read Danielle Antosz's review of Best Laid Plans...]

In 2005, the world searched for Natalee Holloway. Now, twelve years later, her father is hoping for some closure.

On Wednesday, Dave Holloway and Private Investigator T.J. Ward announced on TODAY the discovery of human remains that are being DNA tested to confirm if they are Natalee's. This is the first major lead to the case since Holloway’s disappearance in 2005. After graduating high school in Alabama, the 18-year-old Holloway and her friends traveled to Aruba—a Dutch island in the Caribbean—on vacation. When she failed to show up for her return flight on May 30, the search began. 

According to TODAY: 

An informant known as “Gabriel” put Ward and Holloway in contact with a man they claim had direct knowledge of Natalee's disappearance.

“We have a person who states he was directly involved with Joran van der Sloot in disposing of Natalee's remains,'' Holloway said. ”I thought, you know, there may be something to this."

Follow the investigation leading up to the discovery this Saturday on Oxygen’s new series The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

Watch the trailer for The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway:

Laurel Inwood has a lot on her plate with the 130th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty giving the tourist-starved town of Hubbard, Ohio, a reason to throw a week-long celebration to try to draw in more. As the chef of her adoptive Aunt Sophie's Terminal at the Tracks restaurant—and, more importantly, as the mastermind behind the semi-regular ethnic cuisine initiative meant to elevate the eatery from greasy spoon to healthy and innovative dining—Laurel is cooking up a French menu to dovetail neatly with the festivities. Aunt Sophie isn't the hugest help, but her friend Raquel Arnaud—long-time French expatriate and now herb farmer with her own estate just out of town—is more than happy to contribute both recipes and ingredients.

[Recipe and pictures included below!]

GIFnotes: Giving you the basic plot summary of an upcoming book with the help of the Graphics Interchange Format.

This week, take a visual tour of Charlaine Harris's 10th Aurora Teagarden Mystery, Sleep Like a Baby!

[Like CliffsNotes, but more fun...]

Dead Heat by Allison Brennan is the eighth Lucy Kincaid novel, where Agent Kincaid must risk her life and her career to try and bring down a crime lord's empire.

It’s San Antonio, Texas, and it’s hot—but the weather isn’t the only thing heating up. An operation is underway to round up known felons and give them what many believe they have coming to them: justice. Cold, sharp, and mean. Operation Heatwave sees more than 150 police officers and federal agents working together. They intend to serve active warrants to the violent criminals at large. 

FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid of the Violent Crimes Squad is delighted to have been chosen to participate and contribute to bringing these people in and neutralizing their web of criminal activities. Her partner is Ryan Quiroz. A Houston cop prior to joining the FBI, he reminds Agent Kincaid of her hot-headed and arrogant brother. But Quiroz is sharp and popular, and she knows she can learn a lot from him. 

The two are after the Sanchez brothers, Jaime and George. Armed and dangerous, they are believed to be staying with their sister. When the team pulls up to the Sanchez sister’s house with warrants, they find her, some young children, and George, who is climbing out of the back window. He doesn’t get far. 

[Read Dirk Robertson's review of Dead Heat...]

Every Wednesday, we here at Criminal Element will put together a list of Staff Picks of the books that published the day before—sharing the ones that we are looking forward to reading the most!

Rosato & DiNunzio. Rizzoli & Isles. New Lisa Scottoline and Tess Gerritsen novels highlight a great week of books! See what else we're reading:

[See this week's Top 5...]

Dog Dish of Doom by E. J. Copperman is the first book in the new Agent to the Paws series.

Take a visual tour of Dog Dish of Doom with GIFnotes!

Show business is in Kay Powell’s blood. Her parents (Jay and El) were successful Catskill performers back in the day, and when she was a kid, she had her own spot in the show—a bit called “Oh Kay” where she sang and danced. Opting out of the limelight, she headed for college to play around with organic chemistry and history classes before heading for law school. Now, she’s a theatrical agent specializing in animal actors because they’re much easier to deal with than humans. (Her company logo is a cat playing Hamlet that she privately thinks looks more like Donald Trump’s toupee has grown arms.)

Unfortunately, even though her clients are a delight, she still has to deal with their people. Tent Barclay—owner of Kay’s client Bruno, a talented mutt up for the role of “Sandy” in a new production of Annie—is the kind of person Kay would happily ignore if she could.

[Read Katherine Tomlinson's review of Dog Dish of Doom...]