'The Orphanmaster' by Jean Zimmerman

( June 20, 2012 )

Release date: June 19, 2012

Why to throw it in your beach bag: Set in 1663 in New Amsterdam -- the place we currently know as Manhattan -- "The Orphanmaster" is a good old-fashioned mystery set against the backdrop of the colonial struggle with England. Orphans begin to go missing, and everyone is a suspect as a 22-year-old woman and a handsome British spy (seriously) set out to solve the tale. There's romance, espionage, accusations of witchcraft -- all the trappings of a great historical page-turner.

-- Carina Adly MacKenzie, Zap2it