When Augusta "Gus" Monet learns that her great-grandmother has passed away, she feels sad knowing she has no living relatives left, even if she had no great love for the lady herself.  Although the bitter old woman took in 8-year-old Gus after her mother died in a car accident, the crone had little use for children, and immediately sent her ward off to boarding school.  At 20, Gus has become a lonely grifter, following her con artist boyfriend around from city to city and mark to mark.  The inheritance of her great-grandmother's house in Ottawa represents a chance for Gus to make a clean start, sans loser boyfriend.  Without telling him, she goes "home" and takes up residence in a dilapidated house with a loyal mutt named Levi.  

As Gus explores her new digs, she comes across a box of old case files that belonged to her police detective mother.  She remembers her mom spending hours poring over these same papers and photographs, obsessing over the wrongdoings of Kep Halladay, a powerful, small-town senator whose guilt she was desperate to prove.  When Gus starts studying them for herself, she becomes just as caught up in the mystery, just as eager to bring the missing senator—whom she is sure is responsible for her mom's "accident" (among his many sins)—to justice.  Shannon Monet risked her reputation, her career, and eventually her life trying to take the man down.  Can Gus accomplish what her mother couldn't?  

Ignoring ominous "No Trespassing" signs, Gus hikes in to Elgin, the idyllic village where the Halladys once ruled supreme.  Abandoned in the wake of a toxic waste explosion, the place is now a ghost town, its charred streets and storefronts spooky in their post-apocalyptic emptiness.  As Gus explores the ruins, she comes to see that Elgin is not as unoccupied as it seems.  The secrets of the town's tortured past still linger in its poisoned air and someone will go to great lengths to make sure no one—especially not the too curious daughter of a nosy policewoman—sniffs them out.     

My library is open for limited browsing of a small, "curated" selection of books, one of which was Dark August, a debut novel by Katie Tallo.  I hadn't heard of it before but found the plot summary's mention of an abandoned town too intriguing to pass up.  While the setting captured my initial interest, the story sucked me in from word one.  Gus and Levi make an appealing duo and I definitely wanted to know what they were going to do next and how everything was going to turn out for them.  In addition, the plot of Dark August is complex and twisty, the setting is atmospheric and unique, and the vibe is tense and creepy.  How could I not be completely riveted by this well-crafted thriller?  While I did see a few of its plot curves coming, overall I found this novel an absorbing, satisfying read.  As you can imagine, Dark August is not the easiest, most uplifting book in the world, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  

(Readalikes:  A million titles should be coming to mind, but I'm drawing a blank.  You?)

It's Springtime and the town busybody of Harvest, Ohio, has come up with yet another brilliant scheme to lure tourists to the quaint little town.  For the Easter Days festival she's dreamed up, she wants Bailey King, resident chocolatier, to craft the world's largest Easter bunny—out of toffee.  And she needs it done yesterday.  Bailey reluctantly agrees.  Minutes after saying yes, she's stunned when a man keels over right in front of her.  Stephen Raber, a rabbit farmer who looks like an Amish Santa Claus, is dead of an apparent heart attack.

When Aiden Brody, Bailey's sheriff's deputy boyfriend, informs her that Stephen really died because he ate a piece of poisoned toffee, she's shocked all over again.  Everyone in town agrees that Stephen was a jolly, kind-hearted man.  Why would anyone want to murder him?  When a skittish young man surprises Bailey at home with a plea to find Stephen's killer—and a bunny—she knows it's time to channel her inner Nancy Drew once again.  The Amish are mistrustful of the police, but they seem to believe in Bailey's detecting skills.  She doesn't want to let them down.  

With a giant bunny to craft, a real-life rabbit to watch, and a murder to solve, Bailey's got a lot on her plate.  Can she figure out who used Stephen's notorious sweet tooth against him?  Or will she become the next victim of someone with sour intentions?  

The books in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series by Amanda Flower always make me smile.  They're light, fun, and entertaining, and honestly, that's all I want sometimes!  Sure, they're far-fetched, even silly, but when I'm looking for a diverting read, this is where I turn.  Toxic Toffee, the fourth installment, is just as enjoyable as its predecessors.  It features the usual likable characters, interesting English/Amish dynamics, and an intriguing enough mystery.  I was introduced to at least one facet of Amish life that I wasn't familiar with and found very intriguing (I won't tell you what to avoid spoilers).  While I noticed a couple of inconsistencies in the plot/writing, they weren't enough to deter me from enjoying Toxic Toffee.  It made for a fun, frothy read in between heavier books.  Given my taste for these sweet, clean mysteries, you won't be surprised to find out that I already have the next installment out from the library.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other books in the series, including Assaulted Caramel, Lethal Licorice, and Premeditated Peppermint as well as cozy mysteries by Vivien Chien, Ellie Alexander, Eve Calder, Kylie Logan, etc.)

As much as I love reading books by my favorite authors, I also enjoy discovering new writers, so I always try to mix it up.  Case in point:  in 2020, just over half of the 191 books I read were by authors whose work I had never tried before.  Although not all of them turned out to be winners for me, I did find a number of new authors that I liked and definitely want to read more from.  Since today's Top Ten Tuesday is all about those discoveries, I'll share ten of mine in just a sec.

Edit:  After crafting this whole post, I realized I made a similar TTT list back in July that included several of these authors.  Oops.  I'm too lazy to change out the duplicates.  Sorry!

First, though, I want to encourage you to join in the TTT fun.  All you have to do is buzz on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read some quick instruction, make your own list, then spend some happy hours clicking around the book blogosphere.  It's a great way to spread the love around our fabulous community while getting great reading recommendations at the same time.   

1.  Riley Sager—creepy adult mysteries/thrillers

Book(s) read in 2020:  The Last Time I Lied; Lock Every Door 

2.  Nic Stone—YA and middle-grade contemporary, featuring Black characters

Book(s) read in 2020:  Clean Getaway

3.  Julie Lee—middle-grade historical, featuring Korean characters

Book(s) read in 2020:  Brother's Keeper (debut)

4.  Alyssa Maxwell—adult historical mysteries

Book(s) read in 2020:  Murder at the Breakers

Book(s) read since:  Murder at Marble House

5.  Janae Marks—middle-grade contemporary, featuring Black characters

Book(s) read in 2020:  From the Desk of Zoe Washington (debut)

6.  Aida Salazar—middle-grade contemporary and historical, featuring Latinx characters

Book(s) read in 2020:  Land of the Cranes 

7.  Dusti Bowling—middle-grade contemporary and mystery

Book(s) read in 2020:  The Canyon's Edge

Book(s) read since:  Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

8.  Diane Chamberlain—adult historical and contemporary 

Book(s) read in 2020:  Big Lies in a Small Town; Necessary Lies; and The Stolen Marriage

9.  Tea Cooper—adult historical and historical romance, set in Australia

Book(s) read in 2020:  The Woman in the Green Dress

10.  Ben Oliver—YA sci-fi and dystopian

Book(s) read in 2020:  The Loop (debut)

There you have it, ten new authors I found in 2020.  Have you read any of them?  Which new authors did you discover in 2020?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.