M. C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride

Agatha Raisin's ex-husband James has become engaged to a beautiful young woman and Agatha has been kindly invited to the wedding. This is a difficult pill to swallow, so to take her mind off it Agatha begins a flirtation with Sylvan, a Frenchman she met at James's engagement party. She also decides to holiday in Istanbul, where unfortunately she bumps into James and his fiancee, not once but twice - convincing him she is stalking them. So when the bride is murdered on her wedding day, naturally Agatha is Suspect Number One - though the situation is turned on its head when the mother of the victim engages Agatha to take on the case of her murdered daughter.

Ruth Rendell
The Monster in the Box

Veterinary surgeon Clara Benning is young and intelligent, but practically a recluse. Disfigured by a childhood accident, she lives alone and shies away from human contact wherever possible. But when a man dies following a supposed snake bite, Clara's expertise is needed. She's chilled to learn that the victim's post mortem shows a higher concentration of venom than could ever be found in a single snake. The killer must be human. Assisted by her softly spoken neighbour and an eccentric reptile expert, Clara unravels sinister links to a barbaric ancient ritual, an abandoned house and a 50-year-old tragedy that left the survivors fiercely secretive. Then the village's inventive attacker strikes again.

Paul Sturgis is a retired banker manager who lives alone in a dark little flat. He walks alone and dines alone, seeking out and taking pleasure in small exchanges with strangers. His only relative, and only acquaintance. is a widowed cousin by marriage, whom he visits on Sunday afternoons. Trying to make sense of his current solitary state, and fearing that his destiny may be to die among strangers, Sturgis trawls through memories of his failed relationships and finds himself longing for companionship. But then a chance encounter with a recently divorced and demanding younger woman - shakes up his routine. When an old girlfriend appears on the scene, Sturgis is forced to make a decision about how (and with whom) he wants to spend the rest of his days.