2006
FALL NEWSLETTER
206-587-5737 staff@seattlemystery.com
10-5 Mon. – Fri. / Noon – 5 Sun.
Bill Farley, founder/JB
Dickey, owner/Tammy Domike, mangager
Sandy Goodrick/Fran
Fuller/ Janine Wilson/Gretchen Brevoort
We add a new reviewer to our group.
Gretchen Brevoort is JB’s ‘partner in crime’. (Which means,
really, she’s co-owner.) She is in charge of our co-op advertising with
the publishers, sometimes working here in the shop and sometimes from home. You
might find her answering the phone or ringing up your books. She’s got broad
taste in books; in mysteries, she partial to forensics and psychology (Kathy
Reichs and Jonathan Kellerman are two of her “must reads”.
New from the Northwest
Nancy Bush, Electric Blue (Oct.,
Kensington hc, 19.95). Portland PI Jane Kelly is asked to help convince a
wealthy family’s patriarch that it is time to hand power to the next
generation. Before she can act, the man is found dead. Signing? In paper, Candy Apple Red (Sept.,
Kensington, 6.99).
Stella Cameron, A Marked Man (Nov., Mira
hc, 24.95).
A skilled surgeon opens practice in the small bayou town of
Michael Collins, Death of a Writer (Sept.,
Michael Dibdin, Back to
Carola Dunn, Gunpowder Plot (Sept.,
Yasmine Galenorn, Witchling (Oct.,
Daniel Kalla, Rage Therapy (Oct., Forge hc, 24.95). A prominent
Larry Karp, The Ragtime Kid (Nov.,
Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). A white teenage piano whiz heads to
Kate Kingsbury, Slay Bells (Nov.,
Ron Lovell, Searching for Murder (Sept.,
Penman Press tpo, 15.00). In his 5th appearance,
Thomas Mullen, The Last
Town on Earth (Sept., Random House hc, 23.95). Based
on historical accounts of small towns in the PNW that isolated themselves from contact with the outside world during the
1918 flu pandemic: outside
Linda L. Richards, Calculated Loss (Aug.,
Mira pbo, 6.99).
Former stockbroker Madeline Carter is suspicious when her ex-husband, a noted
chef, dies, supposedly by his own hand. She thinks there is more to it than
that. Set in
Kat Richardson, Greywalker (Oct.,
Roc tpo, 14.00).
An assault by a hood puts PI Harper Blaine into the hospital. When she awakens,
she finds that she sees and hears odd things. She is now a greywalker, someone who moves
between worlds, from ours into one where things do go bump in the night. Debut by a local author. Signing.
Ann Rule, No Regrets: Case Files, vol. 11 (Nov., Pocket pbo, 7.99).
Mark Schorr, Borderline (Sept.,
Jess Walter, The Zero (Oct., Regan hc, 25.95). Brian Remy has become dislodged from
himself in the aftermath of a terrorist attack: he’s got a self-inflicted
gunshot wound that he can’t remember, a gorgeous new girlfriend whose name he
doesn’t know and he’s been hired by some shadowy government agency to collect
loose papers from the site of the blast. He eventually begins to see that he
might find himself in the strewn documents. A dark comedy
from the 2006 Edgar Winner and staff favorite. Tammy highly recommends.
Signing. In paper, Citizen Vince (Aug., Regan, 14.95), the
aforementioned winner.
Kate Wilhelm, Sleight of Hand (Aug.,
Mira hc, 24.95).
Barbara Holloway is hired to defend a man accused by a childhood friend of
theft. Days later, the accuser is dead and the trouble deepens. 9th in this
M.J. Zellnik, A Death at the Rose Paperworks (Oct., Midnight Ink tpo, 13.95). In their second book
set in 1890s
Now in Paperback
William Deverell, April Fool (Oct., McClelland & Stewart, 7.95).
Greg Keizer, Midnight Plague (Sept., Signet,
7.99).
Martin Limon, The Door to Bitterness (Aug.,
Reissues of Note
Charlie Sheldon, Fat Chance (Aug., Felony
& Mayhem, 14.95). Originally published in 1991, this is a comic crime novel
about a dirty cop’s blackmailing routine, a one-night stand, and a group that fights
back. Signing.
Mitchell Smith,
Mysterious Youth
Linda John, Hannah West in Deep Water (Oct., Puffin tpo, 5.99). 12 year-old Hannah is a hip and
street smart adopted Seattlite. Someone starts to
make waves when she cares for a
Karen Karbo, Minerva Clark Goes to
the Dogs
(Oct.,
Ridley Pearson & Dave Barry, Escape from the Carnivale (Sept., Hyperion tpo, 9.99). 3rd
in their
Cynthia Rylant and G. Brian Karas, The Case of the
Desperate Duck: High Rise Private Eyes #8 (Nov., Harper tpo, 3.99).
Special Interest
Erik Larson, Thunderstruck (Oct,
Crown hc, 25.95).
Larson gives us another historical intersection where crime and social progress
met head on: as Dr. Crippen flees his crime in Edwardian London, Guglielmo Marconi struggles to perfect his wireless
communication device. Can this new invention be used to capture the murderer
who has escaped aboard an ocean liner? Signed Copies Available.
Skye Moody, Washed Up: The Curious Journeys of Flotsam and Jetsam (Sept., Sasquatch Books hc, 23.95).
Serious beachcombing competitions, underwater investigations remote beach
communities and all manner of that which washes up,
combines in an examination of what the ocean gives back to us. We know her as a
local mystery writer, but that is just one of her pursuits – writer,
photographer, sociological investigator, retired African bush guide. Signed Copies Available.
Coming This Winter
William Dietrich, Napoleon’s Pyramid, Feb.
Robert Dugoni, Damage Control, Feb.
Jayne Ann Krentz, White Lies, Jan.
Kevin O’Brien, Killing
Ann Rule, Too Late to Say Goodbye, Jan.
Dana Stabenow & Kate Shugak, Jan.
Underlined dates mean the book arrived earlier than
expected, earlier than their catalog dates.
New from the Rest
Kate Atkinson, One Good Turn (Oct.,
Little Brown hc, 24.99). Two years after retiring from the force (Case Histories, Little Brown, 13.95),
Jackson Brodie travels to
Deb Baker, Dolled Up for Murder (Oct.,
David Baldacci, The Collectors (Oct.,
Warner hc, 26.99).
Powerful people in DC are dying while a woman on the West Coast assembles a
crack team of con artists. Between these two strange occurrences stands The Camel Club (Sept., Warner, 7.99).
Linwood Barclay, Lone Wolf (Sept., Bantam
pbo, 6.99).
The clues from his father’s strange, sudden death lead Zack Walker to a
compound of whacked-out domestic terrorists. Janine recommends this funny
writer.
Stephanie Barron, Jane and the Barque of Frailty (Nov., Bantam hc, 24.00). Jane Austin is in
Mitchell Bartoy, The Devil’s Only
Friend (Oct.,
Will Beall, L.A. Rex (Sept., Riverhead hc, 24.95). This debut novel by a long-time
M.C. Beaton, Love Lies and Liquor (Sept.,
Simon Beckett, The
Chemistry of Death (Sept., Delacorte hc, 22.00). Dr. Hunter
was once a renowned forensic anthro-pologist. Now
hiding from his past in a remote English village, he is drawn out to help when
a string of brutal murders tears apart the community. Gretchen recommends.
Carol Lea Benjamin, The Hard Way (Oct,, Morrow hc,
23.95). 10th with NYC PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull Dashiell.
James R. Benn, Billy Boyle (Aug.,
Laurien Berenson, Chow Down (Sept.,
Kensington hc, 22.00). 13th with dog trainer and
sleuth Melanie Travis. In paper, Raining Cats and Dogs (Aug.,
Kensington, 6.99).
Claudia Bishop, The Case of
the Roasted Onion (Sept., Berkely
pbo, 6.99). 1st in a new series: in upstate NY, vet Austin McKenzie
and his wife have plenty to do tending to sick animals. Really, do they need
murder to contend with? Characters from her
Gail Bowen, The Endless Knott (Sept.,
McClelland & Stewart hc, 22.95). 10th with
Canadian TV reporter Joanna Kilbourn. A controversial book about adult
children of celebrities results in an attack on the author and a trial that
turns into a media circus. And then there is an even deadlier attack.
William Boyd, Restless (Sept.,
Steve Brewer, Monkey Man (Oct.,
Intrigue hc, 24.00). 7th with
William Brodrick, The
Gardens of the Dead (Sept.,
Viking hc, 24.95).
Father Anselm returns. An attorney is found dead of a heart attack with a smile
on her face, in a seedy section of
Rita Mae Brown, The Hounds
and the Fury
(Oct., Ballantine hc, 24.95). In the 5th in the foxhunting series. In paper, The Hunt Ball (Sept, Ballantine,
13.95).
Jan Burke, Kidnapped (Oct, Simon & Schuster hc, 24.00). Years ago, Irene’s
husband Frank Harriman investigated the murder of an artist and the disappearance
of his daughter. The son was convicted of the crime, but the girl was never
found. New evidence brings doubt on that case, and it is reopened. Signing. In paper, Bloodlines (Sept., Pocket, 7.99).
Henry Chang, Chinatown Beat (Nov.,
James Church, A Corpse in the Koryo (Oct.,
Margaret Coel, The
Drowning Man (Sept.,
Susan Conant, Gaits of Heaven (Oct.,
Michael Connelly, Echo Park (Oct.,
Little Brown hc, 26.99). Bosch’s latest case of the Open-Unsolved Unit is one that
defeated him in the past. A new case has links to that 1995 murder. When Harry
learns that he and his partner missed a vital clue back then that could have
prevented subsequent murders, his mission begins to crumble. JB
recommends.
John Connolly, The Book of Lost Things (Nov.,
Atria hc, 20.00).
While mourning his dead mother, a 12 year-old boy suddenly finds himself within the books of myths and fairytales that his
mother loved to read to him. He’ll have to grow up on his own. And Nocturnes (Oct., Atria tpo, 15.00) is being reissued with 5 new short stories.
Think of it as the director’s cut – you have to buy it again.
Michael Cox, The Meaning
of Night (Sept., Norton hc, 26.95). In Victorian
England, Edward Glyer has believed since childhood
that he’s destined for greatness and he will stop at nothing to achieve it. A
chance discovery confirms this and leads him through every strata of society,
toward an inevitable battle with poet and criminal Phoebus Raisnford
Daunt. Murder, deceit, lust and revenge. Signing?
Laura Crum, Moonblind (Aug.,
Perseverance Press tpo, 13.95). 9th with
Robert Daley, Pictures (Nov.,
Harcourt hc, 24.00). A private security firm is hired to find out who got
pictures that have caused a scandal for European royalty.
Shirley Damsgaard, The Trouble
with Witches (Aug.,
Nelson DeMille, Wildfire (Nov., Warner hc, 26.99). In the aftermath of
9/11, a group of high-ranking Americans plot revenge. At the same time, Det.
John Corey and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, get wind of a terrorist plot
that leads them to that same group of Americans. Just what is the target and
who is running the operation?
Sean Doolittle, The Cleanup (Nov., Dell
pbo, 6.99).
A
James D. Doss, Stone Butterfly (Sept.,
Susan Dunlap, A Single Eye (Nov.,
Carroll & Graf hc, 24.95). After a job goes wrong, stuntwoman Darcy Lott
is sent to a remote monastery to face her fears and to give the abbot a
message. Once there, she’s drawn into further danger. This
popular writer’s first novel since 1998.
Maggie Estep, Flamethrower (Sept.,
Three Rivers tpo, 14.00). 3rd with Ruby Murphy who once
again has a full plate: she’s been fired by the Coney Island museum, she’s
trying to find who the severed leg belongs to, she’s being stalked, and her
boyfriend has accused her of cheating on him… Janine recommends this series.
See also Special Interest.
Janet Evanovich, Motor Mouth (Oct.,
Harper hc, 26.95).
2nd with Alexandra Barnaby. Signed Copies Available.
AND How I Write:
Secrets of a Bestselling Author (Sept.,
Gillian Flynn, Sharp
Objects (Oct., Crown hc, 24.00). The murders of two
preteen girls, the most recent a year after the last, draws reporter Camille
Preaker back to her hometown. While there, she must deal with her bizarre
mother and half-sister, and try to put tragedies from her own youth aside. Memorable writing about damaged people. Gretchen & JB HIGHLY
recommend. JB says Debut Of The YEAR! Signing.
Vince Flynn, Act of Treason (Oct.,
Atria hc, 25.95).
Mitch Rapp is handed evidence that the recent presidential election, won after
a terrible attack, may have been crooked. In paper, Consent
to Kill (Aug., Pocket, 9.99).
Dick Francis, Under Orders (Oct.,
Putnam hc, 25.95).
A master returns: Sid Halley investigates the murder of three jockeys and
accusations of horse doping. Halley has appeared in three earlier books: Odds Against (1965, 7.50), Whip Hand (1979, Edgar Winner, Best
Novel, 7.50), and Come to Grief
(1995, Edgar Winner, Best Novel, 7.99).
Signed Copies Available!
Jack Fredrickson, A Safe Place for Dying (Nov.,
Brian Freeman, Stripped (Oct.,
Tess Gerritsen, The Mephisto Club (Sept., Ballantine hc, 24.95). A nasty murder leads Boston ME Isles
and Det. Rizzoli to psychologist O’Donnell and her ongoing battle with The Surgeon.
Joe Gores, Glass Tiger (Oct.,
Harcourt hc, 24.00). A retired government sniper is trying to live quietly
overseas. He’s brought back, against his will, to help an FBI agent stop the
assassination of the newly elected President by another former government
sniper. First new novel by the mystery grand master in five
years.
James Grady, Mad Dogs (Sept., Forge
hc, 24.95).
After too-long an absence, a new novel from a master of espionage and thrills (Six Days of the Condor and River of Darkness): In the woods of
Robert Greer, The Fourth Perspective (Oct.,
North Atlantic Books hc, 24.95). CJ Floyd has retired from the bail and
detective business, opening his Western antique and collectable shop. But a
mystery that leads back to the creation of the transcontinental railroad
beckons.
John Grisham, Untitled Thriller (Oct,
Doubleday hc, 28.95). The book is promoted in the publisher’s catalog without a
title and at a price that makes us blink, telling us is that it will be non-fiction
and “his most extraordinary legal thriller yet.”
Laurell K. Hamilton, Strange
Candy (Oct.,
Steve Hamilton, A Stolen
Season (Sept.,
Charlaine Harris, Grave Surprise (Nov.,
Lee Harris, The Cinco de Mayo Murder (Sept.,
Ballantine pbo, 6.99). 17th with former nun
Christine Bennett.
David Hewson, The Lizard’s Bite (Oct., Delacorte hc, 22.00). Deaths in a fire at a
glass factory draw the investigative attention of Roman detective Nic Costa, now exiled to
Carl Hiaasen, Nature
Girl (Nov.,
Knopf hc, 25.95).
No plot synopsis has been given – but does it matter? It’s a new Hiaasen, for cryinoutloud!
That’s enough for us.
Tony Hillerman, The Shape Shifter (Nov.,
Harper hc, 26.95).
Joe Leaphorn, retired from the force, is lured back by a break in one of his
last cases that was left unsolved.
Hazel Holt, Mrs. Malory and a Death in the Family (Nov.,
Maddy Hunter, G’Day to Die (Oct., Pocket
pbo, 6.99).
5th with travel guide Emily Andrews, this time downunder.
Greg Hurwitz, Last Shot (Aug.,
Morrow hc, 24.95). Dep.
Charlie Huston, A
Dangerous Man (Sept., Ballantine tpo, 12.95). Conclusion to the trilogy with reluctant hitman
Henry Thompson. Even as his skills are deteriorating, Henry is assigned
to bodyguard a rising baseball star, which takes Henry back to his youth when
he too was seen as “the next best thing”. Series recommended by Bill, Janine and JB.
John Katzenbach, The Wrong
Man (Sept., Ballantine hc, 25.95). Ashley
Freeman has taken up with the wrong man, a psycho who will not take no for an
answer. Her family is desperate to rid her of this stalker and takes extreme
steps.
Jonathan and Faye
Kellerman,
Capital Crimes (Nov., Ballantine hc, 24.95). Two cities, two
stories – San Fransisco and
Philip
Kerr, The One from the Other (Sept.,
Putnam hc, 26.95). Kerr’s Berlin Triology becomes a quartet: In 1949, PI Bernie Gunther has moved to
Alice Kimberly, The Ghost
and the Dead Man’s Library (Sept.,
Ken Kuhlken, The Do-Re-Mi (Nov., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). Amongst the
California Redwoods in 1972 is a wide assortment of characters, from the pot
growers to the hippies to the bikers. A musician, arriving at his brother’s
camp for a festival, sees him arrested for the murder of a cop’s relative.
Hickey, the guitarist, looks for the culprit. In paper, The Loud Audios (Nov., Poisoned Pen, 14.95), from 1991.
Janet LaPierre, Family Business (Aug., Perseverance Press tpo, 13.95). 9th
with Port Silva PIs Patience and Verity Mackellar.
John LeCarre, The Mission Song (Sept.,
Little Brown hc, 26.99). Young Bruno Salvador, of an Irish father and Congolese
mother, has needed someone to be a mentor. Mr. Anderson, of British
Intelligence seems to be just the man to guide him. Fluent in many African
languages, Bruno is indispensable as a translator of intercepted messages. He’s
given a plum assignment: travel to a remote island to overhear a conference of
warlords. What he hears puts him a great risk… but from what side is the risk
greater?
Dennis Lehane, Coronado (Aug.,
Morrow hc, 24.95).
In this collection, Lehane has gathered the best of his previously published
short stories and added a play. Signed Copies Available.
Paul Levine, Kill All the Lawyers (Sept.,
Bantam pbo, 6.99).
3rd with Solomon vs. Lord. Janine
recommends this series.
Hailey Lind, Shooting Gallery (Oct.,
Signet pbo, 6.99).
2nd art mystery with Annie Kincaid. An
artist is murdered at his exhibition opening and a Chagall painting has been
stolen. Sometimes one must use a thief to catch a thief… Signing?
Robert Littell, Vicious Circle (Sept., Overlook hc, 24.95). After decades of blood, a peace plan
has a chance to stop the fighting between
T.J. MacGregor, Cold as Death (Oct., Kensington pbo, 6.99). 5th in
the Tango Key series with psychic
Mira Morales.
Barry Maitland, No Trace (Oct.,
Henning Mankell, The Man Who
Smiled (Sept., New Press hc, 24.95). 4th of the Kurt Wallender books, published for the first
time in the
Sujata Massey, Girl in a Box (Sept.,
Harper hc, 23.95).
Rei Shimura accepts a freelance job with a
Amanda Matestsky, Murder
on a Hot Tin Roof (Nov.,
Claire Matturro,
Peter May, Extraordinary People (Nov.,
Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). A famed and respected teacher vanished from
Archer Mayor, The Second Mouse (Oct.,
Mysterious Press hc, 24.99).
Brad Meltzer, The Book of Fate (Sept.,
Warner hc, 25.99).
A lunatic assassin, a friend dead, a man disfigured and a 200 year old secret
code created by
Joe Meno, The Boy Detective
Fails (Aug., Akashic tpo,
14.95).
Now 30 having spent the last decade in a mental facility after his partner and
sister committed suicide, boy detective Billy Argo is in a world he doesn’t
recognize or understand. Joining with a pair of misfits, he decides to look
into his sister’s death and confront the greater mysteries of life. Signing?
Walter Mosley, Fear of the Dark (Sept.,
Little Brown hc, 25.99). Bookseller Paris Minton refuses to help his cousin
“Useless” Grant, trying to avoid the inevitable trouble that will follow.
Doesn’t matter – soon the young man is missing and
Beverle Graves Myers, Cruel
Music (Sept., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). In the 3rd
operatic mystery set in 1700s
Reggie Nadelson, Red Hook (Oct.,
Karen E. Olson, Secondhand Smoke (Sept.,
Mysterious Press hc, 22.99). Crime reporter Annie Seymour returns to
investigate the fire that left a favorite
Perri O’Shaughnessy, Keeper of the Keys (Oct.,
Delacorte hc, 25.00). A stand-alone thriller by the sisters: a woman’s
disappearance mystifies everyone – is it tied to her controlling husband or
something worse, from the past?
Katherine Hall Page, The Body in the Ivy (Nov.,
Morrow hc, 23.95).
16th with caterer Faith Fairchild.
Robert B. Parker, Hundred-Dollar Baby (Oct.,
Putnam hc, 24.95).
April Kyle has been Spenser’s client twice before (1982’s Ceremony and 1986’s Taming a
Seahorse, 7.99 ea.). Now a confident and lovely woman, she comes to him
again for help. Signed
Copies Available. In paper, School Days (Oct.,
James Patterson, Cross (Nov., Little
Brown hc, 27.99).
Years ago, Alex Cross’ wife was gunned down and the case was never solved. A
new case may have ties to that very personal event. In paper,
Mary Mary (Oct., Warner, 7.99).
Michael Pearce, A Dead Man in Athens (Oct.,
Carroll & Graf hc, 25.95). 3rd with
Seymour, the Scotland Yard CID investigator detailed to the Foreign Office.
In 1913
R. Poole-Carter, What Remains (Aug., Top
tpo, 14.95). Murder is investigated on a Post-Civil War plantation in 1865. Signing.
Martha Powers, Death Angel (Oct., Oceanview Press hc, 24.95). A couple struggles
with suspicion after their daughter is murdered. Signing.
Ann Purser, Fear on Friday (Sept.,
Robert J. Randisi, Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime (Oct.,
Ian Rankin, Bleeding Hearts (Nov.,
Little Brown hc, 24.99). Hit man Michael Weston’s latest job has gone bad quickly.
He suspects that he’s been set up for a fall. Years ago, a stray bullet killed
a young girl and a PI has been after him all this time. Was it him or someone
else? In paper, Blood
Hunt (Oct, Little Brown, 7.50).
Ann Ripley, Death in the Orchid Garden (Nov.,
Kensington hc, 22.00). 10th in this gardening series, this one set in
J.D. Robb, Born in Death (Nov.,
Putnam hc, 24.95).
23rd with NYC cop Eve Dallas.
Laura Jo Rowland, The Red Chrysanthemum (Nov.,
Jed Rubenfeld, The Interpretation of
Murder (Sept., Holt hc, 26.00). Based on the historical fact of Freud’s only visit to the
Anna Salter, Truth Catcher (Oct.,
Pegasus hc, 24.00). Forensic psychologist Breeze Copens
is in
Connie Shelton, Obsessions Can Be Murder (Oct.,
Intrigue hc, 24.00). Charlie Parker deals with an exploded house, a man with
lots of false identities, and big, big money.
Michael Simon, Little Faith (Aug.,
Viking hc, 23.95).
In his 3rd book,
Alexander McCall Smith, The Right Attitude to Rain (Sept.,
Pantheon hc, 21.95). The latest in the Sunday Philosophy Club series with Isabel Dalhousie. AND Dream Angus (Oct., Canongate
hc, 18.00). More myths from a master storyteller, this
time Celtic mythology of the God of dreams.
Jessica Speart,
Julia Spencer-Fleming, All Mortal Flesh (Oct.,
Peter Spiegelman, Red Cat (Feb., Knopf hc, 22.95). In his third book, PI John March is hired by a surprising client: his brother. Having turned his back on the family business of banking, March has been the family’s embarrassment. His brother is being stalked by a woman he met on the internet. Though their torrid affair was brief, she won’t leave him alone and, worse, seems to know everything about him. The first March, Bl