The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves

 Another well-written Vera Stanhope mystery. Driving home in a fierce snowstorm, Vera finds an abandoned vehicle and inside it an abandoned baby. Recognizing that she is close to the family estate of her estranged relatives, she descends upon them to get shelter and t0 c0ntact her team for help. Soon she is caught up in a mystery about the dead mother and puzzling about who is the baby's father. Her team spreads out to interview many, in an attempt to discover significant connections to explain why first one, then a second murder occurs in this small rural enclave. DC Holly plays a more forceful role in this story which is a nice update for her character.

The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths

I have enjoyed every previous book by Elly Griffiths and her latest one is no exception. Her skill with descriptions of settings and character development is always so evident. Forensic Archaeologist, Dr. Ruth Galloway works to unearth the story for why three skeletons of young women are found where a creepy jailed murderer requested she dig to find two. The Fens, a marshy region in England becomes an important element in the story as the mythology of Lantern Men with their mysterious, luring light unfolds and builds up tension. Interlaced as always with the mystery is the complexity of daily life for Dr. Galloway and her group of family and friends which adds depth to the narrative. As a reader, I was fully engaged by this book, and recommend it highly.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

This is a powerful historical fiction that reveals a likely largely unknown resistance effort carried on in Southern France in the Vichy area, at first a free zone from German occupancy but then the Germans take over this area as well. Residents are hiding Jewish children, a few people skillfully forge identification papers, others are transporting Jews to Switzerland. These brave resistors put their lives in danger to try to protect and rescue victims of the German genocide. The main character, a young Jewish woman who flees Paris with her mother after the French Police arrest her father, originally intended to get herself and her mother to Switzerland but the local resistance movement recruits her because of her skill in document forgery to help others. The story told in two time periods when the main character is an older woman who takes off to Berlin to take care of something important to her, and as the young person who lives in constant danger as she works around the clock to produce vital documentation. The narrative is well written, drawing the reader into the scary time of resistance, imparting both the fear and the dedication these people embraced as they resisted the Germans and even some French citizens who often for greed supported the German occupiers.