New Releases I’m Excited About: Mid 2020 Mystery & Suspense Fiction

Hi friends! It’s that time again when I look at my overflowing TBR bookcases (yes, bookcases. plural. and let’s not speak of the Kindle backlog) and then I look at all the delicious new books coming out this season …. and I resign myself to blissfully abandoning all hope of ever catching up! lol. Today we’re looking at my personal favorite category – Mid 2020 Mystery & Suspense New Releases.

Here is the schedule of posts for the week so you can zero in on your fave genre!

Wednesday: Contemporary Fiction (non-Amish & non-suspense)
Thursday: Historical Fiction (non-Amish & non-suspense)
(oops… ran out of time on Friday lol)
TODAY: Mystery/Suspense
Today: Amish Fiction
Sunday: Speculative/Youth
Sunday: Non-Fiction

In my continued quest to streamline these posts and make them less overwhelming for me and for you too (because, sweet mercy, that’s a lot of covers and links in one place lol), I’m only selecting a few I’m most giddy about to spotlight here. (Yep still laughing at my lack of ‘narrowing down’ skills lol)

Then, I’ll also include a link to my Goodreads shelf with ALL the books coming out in 2020 in this genre. The shelves will stay up until next year. AND I’ll also include links to all the May 2020 releases and June 2020 releases and July 2020 releases and August 2020 releases, each in their own list. You can also keep up with 2020’s new books as I learn about them by bookmarking the ‘2020 Releases‘ page on my blog menu & checking it each month!

books i’ve already read and loved

spotlight on titles i’m most giddy about

(could also be realistically subtitled, ‘My TBR Pile Surrenders’)

UNTRACEABLE EVIDENCE
Sharee Stover
Love Inspired Suspense / May 1, 2020

Someone’s after a deadly weapon… and only she can stop them. It’s undercover ATF agent Randee Jareau’s job to make sure the government’s 3-D printed “ghost gun” doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. So when someone goes after scientist Ace Steele, she must protect him…before she loses the undetectable weapon and its creator. But with a mole inside Ace’s company and everyone a suspect, this assignment could become Randee’s last.

STANDOFF
(Natchez Trace Park Rangers #1)
Patricia Bradley
Revell / May 5, 2020

Brooke Danvers wants to learn the truth about her father’s suspicious death, but she’ll need the help of Luke Fereday–a National Park Ranger and her ex-boyfriend. Keeping Brooke safe will take all of Luke’s skills, and falling in love with her will only complicate matters.

THE MISCHIEF THIEF
(Rose & Thorne #1)
Johnnie Alexander
Misty Willow Books / May 6, 2020

For con artist Chaney Rose, life hasn’t been easy. In desperate need of cash, she readily accepts a gig from an unethical attorney to recover Mischief, a stolen racehorse. Hunting for clues, she breaks into the suspected thief’s home only to be caught—with a few pilfered items in her pockets—by the police detective who’s tailing her.  By-the-book Adam Thorne was fired from his church ministry because of his father’s involvement with the valuable racehorse. He arrives home to find a detective arresting the young woman who broke into his house. In a burst of Les Miserables-inspired charity, he claims he gave Chaney the stolen items.  Adam needs Chaney’s help to find his father who has disappeared along with Mischief. But when Chaney learns that Mischief’s owner intends to kill the horse, she needs Adam’s help to expose the cruel plan before it’s too late.

NO FILTER
(Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery #1)
Heather Day Gilbert
WoodHaven Press / May 26, 2020

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java…and where murder sometimes pays a visit. Fed up with her go-nowhere job, newly single Macy Hatfield moves back to her small hometown in West Virginia. She joins forces with her brother Bo in his crazy new venture—the Barks & Beans Cafe, which caters to dog lovers and coffee drinkers alike. When a golf instructor is murdered at the nearby spiritual center, Macy winds up adopting his Great Dane. Just after Macy finds a mysterious message sewn under the dog’s collar, her Dane is dognapped. She launches into a relentless search for her newfound canine friend, but along the way, she digs up a cruel and confident killer.

MASQUERADE AT MIDDLETON ABBEY
Abigail Wilson
Thomas Nelson / May 26, 2020

When the widowed Lord Torrington agreed to spy for the crown, he never planned to impersonate a highwayman, let alone rob the wrong carriage. Stranded on the road with an unconscious young woman, he is forced to propose marriage to protect his identity, as well as his dangerous mission. Trapped by not only the duty to her country but her limited options, Miss Elizabeth Cantrell and her illegitimate son are whisked away to Middlecrest Abbey by none other than the elder brother of her son’s absent father. She is met by Torrington’s beautiful grown daughters, a vicious murderer, and an urgent hunt for the missing intelligence that could turn the war with France. Afraid of what Lord Torrington might do if he learns of her son’s true identity, Elizabeth must remain one step ahead of her fragile heart, her uncertain future, and the relentless mystery person bent on her new family’s ruin.

THE GREEN DRESS
(True Colors series)
Liz Tolsma
Barbour Books / June 1, 2020

In Boston, 1886, Harriet Peters commissions Sarah Jane Robinson to make her a new dress. Both widows are struggling to make ends meet, and they strike up a quick friendship. Harriet feels sorry for Sarah Jane, who has suffered so much loss in her life. But Harriet’s friend, Dr. Michael Wheaton, has concerns that death seems to follow Sarah Jane in mysterious ways Still, Harriet can’t imagine any deceit in her friend, who she comforts through the deaths of her daughter and nephew. Will Harriet’s trusting nature lead to her own demise as a persistent stomachache starts to plague her?

DEADLY CONNECTION
(True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn #3)
Lenora Worth
Love Inspired Suspense / June 1, 2020

On her way to question US Marshal Emmett Gage about a DNA match that implicates his relative in a cold case and a recent murder, Officer Belle Montera’s attacked. Now she and her K-9 partner must team up with Emmett to find his cousin and the person after Belle. But can they figure out who’s targeting her without becoming murder victims themselves?

SECRETS RESURFACED
(Roughwater Ranch Cowboys #4)
Lenora Worth
Love Inspired Suspense / June 1, 2020

When new evidence surfaces about a tragic boating accident that put her ex-boyfriend’s father in prison, private investigator Dory Winslow’s determined to look into it. But now someone’s dead set on silencing her. And working with Chad Jaggert—the father of her secret child—may be the only way to survive the treacherous truth about the tragedy that once tore them apart.

DEAD SILENCE
Robin Caroll
Shiloh Run Press / June 1, 2020

Elise Carmichael is a court sign language interpreter who reads lips all the time. As a widow with a young son who is deaf, lip reading is simply second nature, until the day she reads the lips of someone on the phone discussing an attempt to be made on a senator’s life—a senator who just happens to be her mother-in-law. Before she can decide what she needs to do, she receives the information that her son is rushed to the ER and she must leave. Then she later sees the news report that her mother-in-law has been shot and killed. But when she comes forward, her life, as well as her son’s life, may now be in the crosshairs of the assassin.

THE HEART OF A HERO
(Global Search and Rescue #2)
Susan May Warren
Revell / June 2, 2020

Rescuing Aria Sinclair is just what former SEAL Jake Silver needs in order to redeem his past mistakes. Keeping her distance from Jake is what Aria needs to protect her heart. As a hurricane turns paradise into peril, they must save themselves and others in this story of second chances and survival–and the cost of both.

DEAD EVEN
(Truth Seekers #6)
Susan Sleeman
Edge of Your Seat Books, Inc. / June 3, 2020

When Maya Glass–the Veritas Center’s toxicology/controlled substances expert–goes to check on her scientist friend after a cryptic phone message, Maya stumbles upon her worst nightmare. A deadly toxin has been released, her friend’s assistant has died in his secluded island lab, and her friend is missing. Worse yet, Maya is exposed to the deadly botulism toxin and she needs help. Fast. Problem is, the only person she can think of with the right contacts is her former love and FBI Agent Hunter Lane.

CLOSER THAN SHE KNOWS
Kelly Irvin
Thomas Nelson / June 9, 2020

Teagan O’Rourke has always loved murder mysteries. In her job as a court reporter, she has written official records for dozens of real-life murders. She’s slapped evidence stickers on crime scene photos. She’s listened to hours of chilling testimony. But she’s never known the smell of death. And she never thought she might be a victim. Until now.  A young police officer is murdered just inches away from her, and then a man calling himself a serial killer starts leaving Teagan notes, signing each with the name of a different murderer from her favorite mystery novels. Panicked, Teagan turns to her friend Max Kennedy. Max longs for more than friendship with Teagan, but he fears she’ll never trust someone with a past like his. He wonders how much of God’s “tough love” he can take before he gives up on love completely. And he wonders if he’ll be able to keep Teagan alive long enough to find out.

THE CRUSHING DEPTHS
(Coastal Guardians #2)
Dani Pettrey
Bethany House / June 30, 2020

When an accident claims the life of an oil-rig worker off the North Carolina coast, Coast Guard investigators Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers are sent to take the case. But mounting evidence shows the death may not have been an accident at all, and they find themselves racing to discover the killer’s identity before he eliminates the threat they pose.

MURDER IN WAITING
(Tourist Trap Mysteries #11)
Lynn Cahoon
Lyrical Press / June 30, 2020

At Coffee, Books, & More, Jill’s the boss. But as Amy’s maid-of-honor, she can barely keep up with marching orders—and now she’s in charge of organizing an epic bachelorette! Adding to Jill’s party-planning panic, the South Cove Heritage Society just unceremoniously dumped her historic landmark bid. While vying proposals rush in from a loaded land developer and a pushy travel guide company, Jill finds an unexpected ally in Heritage Society expert, Frank Gleason. But their happy union is cut short when Frank is mowed down in a suspicious hit-and-run. With Amy’s big day on the horizon, Jill vows to catch the killer before she has to catch a bouquet.

DON’T KEEP SILENT
(Uncommon Justice #3)
Elizabeth Goddard
Revell / June 30, 2020

Investigative reporter Reagan Burke will go anywhere and do anything to find her missing sister-in-law, even if it means facing Liam McKade, a man who almost lost his life saving hers. Their search grows darker and more treacherous, bringing them full circle when the past danger they both tried to flee catches up to them.

RELATIVE SILENCE
Carrie Stuart Parks
Thomas Nelson / July 14, 2020

Fifteen years ago Piper Boone’s only child died in a boating accident, and Piper’s almost perfect life came to an end too. After living through a divorce and losing her job, she retreats to Curlew Island and her childhood home—a secluded mansion for the politically powerful Boone family, who are practically American royalty. But Piper’s desire to become a recluse is shattered when a mass shooter opens fire and kills three women at a café where Piper is having lunch. The crisis puts her family in the spotlight by dredging up rumors of the so-called Curlew Island Curse, which whispers say has taken the lives of several members of the Boone family, including Piper’s father and sister. Forensic artist Tucker Landry also survives the shooting and is tasked with the job of sketching a portrait of the shooter with Piper. They forge a bond over their shared love of movies and tragic pasts. But when police discover a connection between the shooting and two more murders on Curlew Island, they face a more terrible lineup of suspects than they could have imagined: Piper’s family.

ICED OVER
(Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery #2)
Heather Day Gilbert
WoodHaven Press / July 27, 2020

Black Friday turns fatal when an armored security truck hits an icy patch and runs over an embankment near the cafe. With one driver dead and the other in a coma, police are baffled by the discovery that $500,000 is missing from the truck’s cache. When strangers show up at Barks & Beans asking nosy questions about a young cafe employee, Macy’s mama bear instincts kick in. She can’t ignore what her gut is telling her—that things aren’t all they seem on the surface—and with a little help from her brother, Bo, and her Great Dane, Coal, Macy follows up on a few leads of her own. But if the ruthless thief beats her to the stash, the thin ice she’s been skating on might just crack.

THE BLACK MIDNIGHT
(True Colors series)
Kathleen Y’Barbo
Barbour Books / August 1, 2020

Could a series of murders in London in 1889 be related to unsolved murders in Austin, Texas, 1884? Queen Victoria wants to know and asks her granddaughter—who left the queen’s good graces by going off to America to become a Pinkerton agent—to quietly look for any connection. The catch is the queen doesn’t want her to do it alone. Alice Anne must find her former Pinkerton agent partner—now an attorney in Austin—and enlist him in the hunt. As the pair get closer to finding their suspect, their lives become endangered, but they refuse to be intimidated. Can this case be solved?

MINUTES TO DIE
(Homeland Heroes #2)
Susan Sleeman
Bethany House / August 4, 2020

It’s the intel every agent fears–terrorists have been smuggled into the country, intent on unleashing the most deadly attack since 9/11. With the threat imminent, FBI Agent Kiley Dawson and ICE Agent Evan Bowers are charged with taking down this terrorist cell. The only problem is Kiley blames Evan for the death of her former partner, and she can barely be in a room with him. But with millions of lives on the line, she has no choice. If it wasn’t for a bad call Evan made, Kiley’s former partner would still be alive, and Evan has to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. When he starts falling for her, the agent’s death seems an impossible obstacle–but it’s also the last thing he needs to think about. As the terrorist plot targets Kiley’s family, the two are pushed to the breaking point in a race to save countless lives.

ACCEPTABLE RISK
(Danger Never Sleeps #2)
Lynette Eason
Revell / August 4, 2020

Sarah Denning is a military journalist with the Army in the Middle East when her convoy is attacked and she’s taken hostage. When former Army Ranger Gavin Black is asked by his old unit commander–Sarah’s imposing father–to plan an extremely risky rescue, he reluctantly agrees and successfully executes it. Back in the US, Sarah is livid when she’s discharged on a false psychiatric evaluation and vows to return to the Army. Until she learns of her brother’s suicide. Unable to believe her brother would do such a thing, she puts her plans on hold and enlists Gavin to help her discover the truth. What they uncover may be the biggest story of Sarah’s career–if she can survive long enough to write it.

CHECKED OUT FOR MURDER
(Haunted Library #4)
Allison Brook
Crooked Lane Books / August 11, 2020

Daphne Marriott strolls into Clover Ridge and informs librarian Carrie Singleton that she’s a psychic. But had she foreseen what fate awaited her, Daphne would have steered clear of the quaint Connecticut town. Evelyn, the library ghost, tells Carrie that there’s more to Daphne than she lets on. Still, Daphne proves a welcome distraction when Carrie’s overbearing mother hits town. Mom’s much younger husband, Tom, is in a movie that’s lensing locally, and she’s there to keep an eye on him: Tom’s costar, sultry Ilana Reingold, is also his ex-fiancee, and there’s no denying the chemistry is still there. Soon after mingling with the moviemakers at a meet-and-greet, Daphne is found dead. Carrie and Evelyn investigate, assisted by bushy-tailed library cat Smoky Joe. But the suspect list could overflow the library shelves.

KILLER KUNG PAO
(Noodle Shop Mystery #6)
Vivien Chien
St. Martin’s Press / August 25, 2020

Lana Lee is feeling stressed. Between updating her family’s Chinese restaurant, the Ho-Lee Noodle House, orchestrating a weekend long sidewalk sale for her restaurant and the other businesses in the Asia Village, and lending a sympathetic ear to just about everyone in her orbit, she’s beat. Unfortunately, things are about to get even crazier for poor, overworked Lana. June Yi, co-owner of Yi’s Tea and Bakery, has never been known for having a good-natured disposition, and those that deal with her tend never to cross her. But she meets her match when she rear-ends mahjong player Mildred Mao in the parking lot of Asia Village. Mildred is not only as nasty as June, but she also happens to be a little sue-crazy. When June refuses to pay up just the way Meredith demands, she threatens her with a lawsuit that could end up jeopardizing the Yi’s bakery business. So when Mildred is found dead at the beauty salon, no one needs three guesses to come up with June’s name, but June’s twin Shirley insists on her sister’s innocence. Enter: Lana Lee. 

want to add these to your lists too?

To see ALL 2020 Mystery & Suspense New Releases so far (including last season)…

goodreads 2020 new releases – mystery & suspense

Or if you’d rather see all the new releases by each separate month…

Books i want to read that aren’t on Goodreads yet

High Noon by Vannetta Chapman (June)
Security Breach by Vannetta Chapman (July)

my fave covers?

What about you? Which Mid 2020 Mystery & Suspense New Releases did you add from my Goodreads shelf to yours? Which covers are your favorites?

If you don’t see your book mentioned here or in my goodreads/amazon lists, I apologize! It’s impossible to keep up with all the books LOL! Please feel free to leave your release info for Christian / clean fiction in the comments.