I didn’t do the July Treasures in My Closet post because I was in New York, and didn’t have time ahead of time. But, one of my readers, Cindy, asked if I would still post it. It was a compliment to be asked, especially when Cindy said I post some titles here that she doesn’t see elsewhere. Thank you. So, here’s Part 1 of the Treasures in My Closet, July’s forthcoming books. Once again, I’m splitting it into two days.

We all know I don’t have time to read all the books I have, but I can highlight them. But, I’m going to put a slight twist on it, starting now. I’m going to lead off with the one or two books that I’m most looking forward to reading. I always enjoy surprises, so I’ll always find something unexpected to appreciate. But, the highlighted title will often be from a favorite author. I have a highly anticipated crime novel in both Part 1 and Part 2.

So, here’s my personal pick for today, Linda Castillo’s After the Storm. I’m a big fan of the Kate Burkholder series. When a tornado tears through Painters Mill and unearths human remains, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder has to identify bones. When evidence shows the death was no accident, Kate finds herself plunged into a thirty-year-old case that takes her back into the Amish community to which she once belonged. (Release date is July 14.)

Now, on to the other titles. The late Leighton Gage, author of the intriguing Mario Silva crime novels set in Brazil, probably would have appreciated Juliana Barbassa’s Dancing with the Devil in the City of God: Rio de Janeiro on the Brink. The award-winning journalist turns her eye on Rio, a city “ravaged by inflation, drug wars, corrupt leaders, and dying neighborhoods”, but now preparing for the world stage with the 2016 Olympic Games. The book introduces the reader to a city of extremes, and the people who make up that city. (Release date is July 28.)

Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One, returns with Armada, “at once a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming-of-age adventure, and an alien-invasion take like nothing you’ve ever read before.” Zack Lightman wishes the real world was more like the fictional ones he escapes to. But, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality, until the day he sees the flying saucer. But, that UFO seems to be right out of a popular game, and millions of gamers across the world will be needed to actually protect the Earth from alien invaders. But, even as Zack and the other gamers scramble to prepare, he can’t help thinking the scenario seems a little familiar. (Release date is July 14.)

In P.T. Deutermann’s Cold Frame, an American government official dies suddenly in a restaurant, but the coroner cannot determine the cause of death. When a second bureaucrat dies, D.C. detective Av Smith discovers they were both members of a secret committee known only as DMX. As he digs deeper, Smith finds himself the target of a plot that reaches into the darkest areas of the government. (Release date is July 14.)

I love the sound of Wendy Sand Eckel’s cozy debut, Murder at Barclay Meadow. After Rosalie Hart’s world is upended by her husband’s confession of an affair, she exiles herself to her late aunt’s farmhouse on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Everything at Barclay Meadow is in disrepair. And, then Rosalie finds a body floating in her marsh grasses. Despite the declaration that the death is an accident, Rosalie is unconvinced. Together with her friends in her creative writing class, Rosalie decides to find out the truth. (Release date is July 28.)

Open Grave is Kjell Ericsson’s sixth book to be published in the U.S. In the latest Ann Lindell crime novel set in Sweden, an aging professor has been awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine. The news causes problems in his otherwise quiet neighborhood, and eventually Police inspector Ann Lindell becomes involved in the case that transports her back into her own past. (Release date is July 14.)

There’s already been a lot of buzz about Lissa Evans’ novel, Crooked Heart. This black comedy set in World War II England tells of the unlikely alliance between a small-time con artist and a ten-year-old orphan evacuee who wants in on her plans. (Release date is July 28.)

Nadia Hashimi, author of the bestseller The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, now brings us When the Moon is Low. When the Taliban rises to power in Afghanistan, Fereiba, a schoolteacher, is forced to flee with her three children, hoping to seek refuge with her sister’s family in London. The harrowing journey turns her family into desperate refugees. And, then in a busy market in Athens, Fereiba’s teenage son becomes separated from the rest of the family. Separately, mother and son cross border after border, trying to find a place where they can be a family again. (Release date is July 21.)

A Study in Death is Anna Lee Huber’s fourth Lady Darby mystery. Lady Kiera Darby is finally engaged, but her sister’s plans to make the wedding the event of the season drive her to escape. She accepts a commission to paint the portrait of Lady Drummond, a woman whose brusque treatment by her husband reminds Kiera of the torment caused by her own late husband. When she finds Lady Drummond prostrate on the floor, everyone is satisfied with calling it a natural death, except Lady Darby. (Release date is July 7.)

Benjamin Johncock’s debut novel, The Last Pilot, explores the inner life of Jim Harrison, a test pilot in the U.S. Air Force, scheduled to participate in Project Mercury. But, when his wife learns she’s pregnant with their long-awaited baby, he turns down the chance in order to become a father. But, his life as a father and pilot grinds to a halt when his daughter dies at the age of two. The devastated man throws himself into his work, and, when the next opportunity comes along, he takes it, without consulting his wife. As Harrison trains to become an astronaut, his daughter’s death takes a greater toll than he ever expected. (Release date is July 7.)

The back cover of Kevin P. Keating’s novel, The Captive Condition, says it delves “into the deepest recesses of the human capacity for evil”. A seemingly idyllic Midwestern college town turns out to be a nexus of horror. When Emily Ryan is found drowned in the family pool, pumped full of barbiturates and alcohol, a series of events with terrible consequences ensues. Guilt, anguish, criminal activities, and retribution for evil deeds. All of these take place in a town that buzzes into decadent life after sundown. (Release date is July 7.)

Victoria Laurie’s latest Psychic Eye mystery is Sense of Deception. Abby Cooper senses a convicted killer is innocent, but she’ll need hard evidence to save the woman before it’s too late. When Abby is tossed into jail for contempt of court by a ticked-off judge, she meets a woman facing a much more serious sentence. Skylar Miller faces the death penalty for the murder, and everyone believes she’s guilty, except Abby, who sets out to prove otherwise. (Release date is July 7.)

I know I already mentioned Patrick Lee’s Sam Dryden novel Signal somewhere or another. The action-thriller takes ex-Special Forces Op Dryden into a battle against the deadliest enemies he’s ever faced. And every innocent life he saves put millions more in danger. (Release date is July 7.)

But I haven’t mentioned Peter Lovesey’s latest Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond Investigation, Down Among the Dead Men. The fifteenth installment in the series has a full cast of characters and “Lovesey’s signature masterful plotting”. Follow Diamond as he stumbles into a complicated web of disappearances in a Sussex town on the southeast coast of England. (Release date is July 7.)

And, follow me again tomorrow when I lead off the second part of July Treasures in My Closet with a crime novel by one of my favorite authors. In the meantime, what did you see here that’s worth following?