The Awkward Squad by Sophie Henaff was my favorite book of 2018! It introduces Captain Anne Capestan, recently returned to duty after a suspension by the Paris police for firing her weapon too much. When returning to her superior detective, he explains to her that she is not only welcome back - but she's getting her own squad. Turns out, though, her squad is full of the misfits and quirky officers that have all been sidelined in their various departments. There's Officer Merlot - a drunk, a best-selling crime author (think a female Castle) who wants to return to duty, one officer who has wrecked too many cars, and so on. When they're all assigned a hovel of an office as well as boxes of dead-end cold case files, they decide rather than to do what's expected of them, they'll actually try to do some real police work. And they do... enter a murder or two that still needs solving. I loved all these characters and relished every page of the sequel, Stick Together - out in April. Perfect for fans of quirky French humor or Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q series. - McKenna

When a murder echoing a fifteen-year-old cold case rocks the Southern town of Savannah, crime reporter Harper McClain risks everything to find the identity of this calculated killer in Christi Daugherty's new novel The Echo Killing.

British divorcee Penelope Kite decides to get away from it all and retire to the south of France, where she finds Le Chant d’Eau— The Song of Water—a stone farmhouse with a garden, swimming pool, and sweeping mountain vistas. She falls in love with the property and decides, with the help of a local realtor, to make an offer despite the property's title being tied up in something fishy. When she finds out the house is hers, she relocates quickly, eager to renovate and create her little slice of heaven. But when she finds a body floating in her swimming pool on her first morning, she knows she might be involved in something tricky. Fortunately, as a former staff member for a forensic pathologist, Penelope is no stranger to crime, and sets out to help the police in any way she can.... Perfect for fans of Peter Mayle, this mystery full of small-town politics, an evocative Provencal setting, and vibrant characters was an absolute bonbon of a first novel. I'm so happy to know this is the first in a new series  - I can't wait to read the next installment! - McKenna