The Tiny Slice

“She’s struck by how easy it is to kill someone who doesn’t suspect anything…. What remains to be seen is how easy it is to get away with it. They have their story ready. They have been rehearsing.”

—From Getting Away With Murder by Shari Lapena (July 28)

Miss Marple Returns

Best-selling thriller writer Lucy Foley channels Agatha Christie, at the request of the legendary writer’s estate, in a new Miss Marple mystery, Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel (September 22), set in the Swiss Alps. Foley tells AARP she tried to capture the spirit of the author’s writing “without creating a paint-by-numbers carbon copy of the way Christie wrote.” Her addition? “Multiple points of view and a glamorous, escapist location. I really felt Miss Marple deserved another holiday! Why should Poirot have all the fun?”

Big (Little) Blockbusters

Liane Moriarty’s hotly anticipated sequel to Big Little Lies, titled Big Little Truths (August 25), is likely to create a splash after the success of the star-studded (Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon) HBO series based on that first bestseller. The main characters are now older (their kids are high schoolers, and Madeline has a bunion that, God forbid, may require sensible shoes). This time they’re drawn into a drama that follows the school principal receiving a severed finger in the mail.

Reviews

Furious Violet by Sarai Walker (July 28) In this tense thriller, Violet Shelley—a misanthropic, Mountain Dew–guzzling true crime author—is forever contending with the legacy of her late mother, a legendary poet who died when Violet, now 49, was a baby. When a stalker starts leaving creepy notes for Violet, calling her “Mother,” she sets out to find the culprit.

Not a Word by Linwood Barclay (August 25) Dark family secrets emerge after a man finds his father, a retired pharmaceutical exec, and a woman dead in their family home. It appears to be a murder-suicide, with his dad wielding the gun, but some things don’t add up. Who is this woman? And why is his mother acting strangely? Barclay, a pro, keeps the tale fast-paced and gripping.

The Shadow Friends by Tess Gerritsen (August 25) A lighter option, this is the third Martini Club mystery starring retired CIA operative Maggie Bird, Ingrid Slocum and pals. All fellow ex-spies wanting a quiet life in Maine, they’re drawn into international intrigue when Ingrid’s former lover and colleague resurfaces, along with threats from the past. —Christina Ianzito

Go to aarp.org/books for more reviews, author interviews and book talk.