SEATTLE MYSTERY BOOKSHOP

2006 FALL NEWSLETTER

117 Cherry St. Seattle, WA  98104

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

 

 

 

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 Toussaint, hoping for a new start. But he’s haunted by the faces of two murdered women, and a troubled past has left him marked. Signing. In paper, A Grave Mistake (Oct., Mira, 7.99).

Michael Collins, Death of a Writer (Sept., Bloomsbury hc, 24.95). While he’s recovering from a suicide attempt, a professor’s novel is discovered and published and gives him the fame that had always eluded him. Suddenly, the fame becomes hollow. A murder in the book is seen to be very similar to an old, unsolved crime. A detective is assigned to look for a link. Signing. Tammy recommends. In paper, The Resurrectionists  (Oct., Penguin, 14.00).

Michael Dibdin, Back to Bologna (Sept., Vintage tpo, 12.95). Aurelio Zen investigates when an industrialist is found murdered – shot and stabbed with a Parmesan knife. Besides his shady business dealings, he also owned the local football team. Zen, seeking a break from his girlfriend, is happy to travel and probe the murder but is quickly drawn into a bizarre mix of characters and events: a mysterious immigrant, the city’s most incompetent PI, a student of semiotics and the accusations of a postmodern professor that a celebrity chef is a fraud. Signed Copies Available.

Carola Dunn, Gunpowder Plot (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). During a visit to a country home for a Guy Fawkes celebration, Daisy Dalrymple’s host is found dead by his own hand, and another guest has been murdered. Was it murder/suicide or something more nefarious? Signing. In paper, Fall of a Philanderer  (Dec., Kensington, 6.99).

Yasmine Galenorn, Witchling (Oct., Berkley hc, 6.99). First in a trilogy about three sisters, half-human, half-faerie, all sexy and savvy – who run the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Signing.

Daniel Kalla, Rage Therapy (Oct., Forge hc, 24.95). A prominent Seattle psychiatrist is brutally murdered and there are plenty of suspects – he specialized in anger management issues. The author is an internationally known bestselling writer, who is also an emergency room doctor in Vancouver, BC.

Larry Karp, The Ragtime Kid (Nov., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). A white teenage piano whiz heads to Sedalia, MO, to learn ragtime from Scott Joplin. Once there, he’s enveloped in a world that is new and strange and dangerous. A murder points toward the composer and the boy is determined to find the truth. Signing.

Kate Kingsbury, Slay Bells (Nov., Berkley tpo, 13.00). The second Holiday Pennyfoot Hotel special. The Jolly Old Man is found dead.

Ron Lovell, Searching for Murder (Sept., Penman Press tpo, 15.00). In his 5^th appearance, Oregon professor Thomas Martindale is involved in a search for a new university president when murder interrupts the process. Signing.

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 Everett, WA, Commonwealth has blocked access from the outside in hopes of avoiding the spreading disease. When infected soldiers wander up, terrible choices, moral dilemmas and murders seem unavoidable.

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 Vancouver, BC, where the author lives. 3^rd in the series.

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., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). The Portland writer returns after a long absence. Psychologist Brian Hanson is skeptical when a patient is said to have killed himself. There have been a string of other such deaths and Hanson suspects something else is going on, perhaps directed by officials. Signing.

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. 9^th in this Eugene legal series. In paper, The Price of Silence (Aug., Mira, 6.99). Fran recommends this series.

M.J. Zellnik, A Death at the Rose Paperworks (Oct., Midnight Ink tpo, 13.95). In their second book set in 1890s Portland, Libby Seale is working as a seamstress for the wealthy Rose family. Someone is trying to kill her employer. Libby teams with reporter Peter Eberle to find the fiend. Signing. Murder at the Portland Variety (Midnight Ink, 13.95) was the first by this brother and sister team.

 

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., Soho, 12.00). JB & Bill recommend this series.

 

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, Stone City (Sept., Busted Flush tp, 18.00). Introduction by Phil Margolin, this is considered to be one of the finest prison novels ever written, from 1990. Tough, unrelenting and gritty, praised by the likes of Bruen, Pelecanos, Deaver and Lescroart. Signing.

 

 

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 Lake Washington houseboat, so she investigates. 2^nd by a local librarian. Signing.

Karen Karbo, Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs (Oct., Bloomsbury hc, 16.95). 2^nd with the teen detective who tackles jewelry smuggling. In paper, Minerva Clark Gets a Clue (Oct., Bloomsbury, 6.95). Portland OR, author.

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 Spree, Jan.

Ann Rule, Too Late to Say Goodbye, Jan.

Dana Stabenow & Kate Shugak, Jan.   

 

 

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 Edinburgh for their arts festival. Witnessing what appears to be road rage, he’s unwillingly pulled into the case as it expands. Signing?

Deb Baker, Dolled Up for Murder (Oct., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 1^st in a collectable doll series.

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 London anticipating the publication of her first novel. A disgraced beauty is murdered and the social world is abuzz.

Mitchell Bartoy, The Devil’s Only Friend (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). In the Spring of ’44, as Detroit is recovers from recent race riots and copes with the stress of the War, ex-cop Pete Caudill is trying to find a place for himself. When a distant relative is murdered, he’s asked to investigate and the trail of blood leads to a powerful auto family.

Will Beall, L.A. Rex (Sept., Riverhead hc, 24.95). This debut novel by a long-time LA street cop is hard and uncomfortable. It is an uncompromising portrait of gang and police, and its tough and raw writing connect you to the cops – a veteran and his young partner, a recruit with a secret past. Gretchen recommends.

M.C. Beaton, Love Lies and Liquor (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 22.95). 17^th with Agatha Raisin. In paper, as Marion Chesney, Sick of Shadows (Nov., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

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). 10^th with NYC PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull Dashiell.

James R. Benn, Billy Boyle (Aug., Soho hc, 23.00). A young Boston Cop, promoted to detective as WWII breaks out, finds himself working as Eisenhower’s personal investigator, a job that takes him to England and Norway and pulls him into a war he was hoping to avoid. Much, much more than a mystery. Janine and Bill recommends.

Laurien Berenson, Chow Down (Sept., Kensington hc, 22.00). 13^th 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). 1^st 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 Hemlock Falls series will make appearances in this new series.

Gail Bowen, The Endless Knott (Sept., McClelland & Stewart hc, 22.95). 10^th 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., Bloomsbury hc, 24.95). In 1976, an English woman made a surprising admission: 40 years ago, she was sent to the West as a spy and everything about her life since has been a carefully constructed lie. 30 years have now passed and her daughter seeks the man who trained her mother, wanting answers.

Steve Brewer, Monkey Man (Oct., Intrigue hc, 24.00). 7^th with Albuquerque PI Bubba Mabry. How’d that monkey in the zoo get that gun in the first place? Signing.

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 London. Someone begins to send clippings of her old cases to the papers. Why? Tammy recommends 6^th Lamentation (Penguin, 14.00).

Rita Mae Brown, The Hounds and the Fury (Oct., Ballantine hc, 24.95). In the 5^th 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., Soho hc, 22.00). Det. Jack Yu grew up in NYC’s Chinatown and is now the only “native” cop who understands the area. A string of rapes and the murder of an elderly and respected community leader have made that understanding more difficult. He’s forced to seek help from those with whom he grew up. Debut novel by NYC native who still lives there, working a security director.

James Church, A Corpse in the Koryo (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Debut thriller by a “former Western intelligence officer with decades of experience in Asia”: North Korean Insp. O is a survivor in his country’s state security system. A new case will test all that he is.

Margaret Coel, The Drowning Man (Sept., Berkley hc, 23.95). A valuable, sacred petrography is stolen. 11^th in the Wind River Reservation series. Signed Copies Available? In paper, Eye of the Wolf (Sept., Berkley, 7.99).

Susan Conant, Gaits of Heaven (Oct., Berkley hc, 22.95). 17^th Dog Lover’s mystery.

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). 9^th with Santa Cruz vet Gail McCarthy.

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., Avon pbo, 6.99). 3^rd cozy with the reluctant psycic and her grandmother, a kindly witch.

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 Nebraska cop finds out just how far he is willing to go “to serve and protect”. Noir fun.

James D. Doss, Stone Butterfly (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 11th with Colorado rancher and investigator Charlie Moon. 

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). 3^rd 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). 2^nd with Alexandra Barnaby. Signed Copies Available. AND How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author (Sept., Griffin tpo, 13.95). How she does what she does, aimed for the aspiring bestselling author., AND Thanksgiving (Nov., Harper pbo, 7.99), a retooled Loveswept romance from 1988.

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., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Comic mystery debut. Dek Elstrom was once a resident of an elite gated community in Chicago, but scandal drummed him out of “respectable” society. He’s now living in the turret of his grandfather’s castle, pining for his ex-wife. When someone sends extortion letters to his former neighbors – and blows up one of the ugly mansionettes – he investigates.

Brian Freeman, Stripped (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). In the sequel to his Edgar nominated debut, Immoral (St. Martin’s, 6.99), Det. Stride investigates a couple of crimes on the Vegas strip. Not only do they become linked, they’re also linked to an old crime from the lurid past. Fran recommends both. Elizabeth George, What Came Before He Shot Her (Oct., Harper hc, 26.95). In a stand-alone novel, the wife of a high-ranking Scotland Yard official is murdered on her doorstep. The novel looks into what led up to her death. Fran recommends. Signed Copies Available.

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 Maine, some inmates escape from a prison after their doctor is murdered and they’re framed. This is no ordinary prison: it houses the CIA’s former elite killers who were deranged by their services, drugged and jailed to keep them silent. Now they’re out, their meds are wearing off and they want to know who is behind it all. At times funny, at times very sad, but always politically current and always on the mark. JB recommends.  

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., Berkley hc, 23.95). Her first short story collection, including a new Anita Blake tale.

Steve Hamilton, A Stolen Season (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 22.95). Alex McKnight helps rescue some men whose boat runs aground on the 4^th of July. All are dazed and taken to hospitals. Alex is wrong when he thinks that’s the end of it.

Charlaine Harris, Grave Surprise (Nov., Berkley hc, 23.95). Harper Connelly is back in her second book, demonstrating her talent for seeing the last moments of the recently dead for a college class. In paper, Grave Sight (Nov., Berkley, 7.99).

Lee Harris, The Cinco de Mayo Murder (Sept., Ballantine pbo, 6.99). 17^th 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 Venice. In paper, Sacred Cut (Sept., Dell, 6.99).

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., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 17^th in the classically cozy British series, a favorite of customers and our bookkeeper Sandy.

Maddy Hunter, G’Day to Die (Oct., Pocket pbo, 6.99). 5^th with travel guide Emily Andrews, this time downunder.

Greg Hurwitz, Last Shot (Aug., Morrow hc, 24.95). Dep. US Marshall Tim Rackley deals with an evil mirror of himself – a former marine as capable as he is.

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 Nashville. Includes cameos by their series characters.

Alice Kimberly, The Ghost and the Dead Man’s Library (Sept., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 3^rd in the Haunted Bookshop series.

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). 9^th 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). 3^rd with Solomon vs. Lord. Janine recommends this series.

Hailey Lind, Shooting Gallery (Oct., Signet pbo, 6.99). 2^nd 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 Israel and the Palestinians. Before agreements can be signed, a kidnapping threatens to undermine it all. Is it possible to resolve the kidnapping without negating the peace? In paper, The Sisters (Sept., Penguin, 14.00), his 8^th thriller, from 1986. Janine highly recommends this author.

T.J. MacGregor, Cold as Death (Oct., Kensington pbo, 6.99). 5^th in the Tango Key series with psychic Mira Morales.

Barry Maitland, No Trace (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 8^th in the series with Brock and Kolla, who investigate a string of kidnappings of young girls. Leads point back to their London neighborhood of bohemian artists.

Henning Mankell, The Man Who Smiled (Sept., New Press hc, 24.95). 4^th of the Kurt Wallender books, published for the first time in the US. Originally published in 1994.

Sujata Massey, Girl in a Box (Sept., Harper hc, 23.95). Rei Shimura accepts a freelance job with a US agency to go undercover in a huge Tokyo department store and eavesdrop on all the conversations she can. Signed Copies Available. In paper, The Typhoon Lover (Sept., Harper, 13.95).

Amanda Matestsky, Murder on a Hot Tin Roof (Nov., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 4^th with reporter/mystery novelist Paige Turner.

Claire Matturro, Bone Valley (Nov., Morrow hc, 23.95). 3^rd with Sarasota lawyer Lilly Cleary.

Peter May, Extraordinary People (Nov., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). A famed and respected teacher vanished from Paris a decade ago. A Scotsman accepts a bet to find out what happened to the man.

Archer Mayor, The Second Mouse (Oct., Mysterious Press hc, 24.99). Vermont cop Joe Gunther is bothered by a supposed suicide and by the fact that his friend, the Medical Examiner, is so willing to close the case. In paper, St. Alban’s Fire (Oct., Warner, 6.99).

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 Jefferson all come into play in DC, along with something called The Book of Fate.

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 Paris’ aunt demands help. Paris and Fearless Jones go looking. In paper, Cinnamon Kiss (Sept., Warner, 7.50), Easy Rawlins.

Beverle Graves Myers, Cruel Music (Sept., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). In the 3^rd operatic mystery set in 1700s Italy, Tino Amato is forced into papal politics to try to get his brother released from bogus smuggling charges. In paper, Painted Veil (Sept., Poisoned Pen, 14.95).

Reggie Nadelson, Red Hook (Oct., Walker hc, 23.95). Set to leave for his honeymoon, Artie Cohen is drawn into the investigation of his friend Sid McKay’s murder. Secrets from Sid’s past send Artie across NYC at the time of a national political convention when information can be and is easily twisted into propaganda. In paper, Disturbed Earth (Sept., Walker, 13.95). A favorite series of Tammy’s and JB’s.

Karen E. Olson, Secondhand Smoke (Sept., Mysterious Press hc, 22.99). Crime reporter Annie Seymour returns to investigate the fire that left a favorite New Haven restaurant in ruins. Who is the woman who died in the blaze and where is the eatery’s owner? In paper, Sacred Cows (Sept., Warner, 6.99).

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). 16^th 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., Berkley, 7.99). Spencer #33.

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). 3^rd with Seymour, the Scotland Yard CID investigator detailed to the Foreign Office. In 1913 Athens, problems abound for the new Prime Minister as Europe edges toward war.

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., Berkley pbo, 6.99). House cleaner Lois Meade opens a branch in a neighboring town and finds murder to clean up after there, too. Imagine that!

Robert J. Randisi, Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). When the Rat Pack is in Vegas filming Ocean’s 11, Dino is receiving threatening letters. A casino pit boss is put on the case.

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). 10^th in this gardening series, this one set in Hawaii. In paper, Summer Garden Murder (Oct., Kensington, 6.99).

J.D. Robb, Born in Death (Nov., Putnam hc, 24.95). 23^rd with NYC cop Eve Dallas.

Laura Jo Rowland, The Red Chrysanthemum (Nov., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Sano Ichiro’s growing reputation as a samurai sleuth puts him and his family in treacherous danger. In paper, The Assassin’s Touch (Nov., St. Martin’s, 6.99), 10^th and 11^th set in late 1600s Japan.

Jed Rubenfeld, The Interpretation of Murder (Sept., Holt hc, 26.00). Based on the historical fact of Freud’s only visit to the US in 1909: The day after he arrives in NYC, a horrible murder occurs. The next day, another socialite barely escapes the same killer. As she remembers nothing of the attack, her doctors call on Freud to help get answers.

Anna Salter, Truth Catcher (Oct., Pegasus hc, 24.00). Forensic psychologist Breeze Copens is in Seattle to interview an armed robber. Copens is particularly good at her job because she has the ability – or curse – of seeing the truth. She’s seeing a young girl in a blue dress when the prisoner talks but he isn’t saying anything about her.

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 3^rd book, San Antonio cop Dan Reles is stuck in a morass of politics, evangelical fanatics and the oil bidness. Into this mix is added the murder of a former child star. In paper, Body Scissors (Sept., Penguin, 14.00).

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, Unsafe Harbor (Oct., Avon pbo, 6.99). 9^th with US Fish & Wildlife agent Rachel Porter. Her latest case takes her back to her native state of New York.

Julia Spencer-Fleming, All Mortal Flesh (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 22.95). Chief van Alstyne believes and hopes that his feelings for Rev. Clare Fergusson are well hidden. But when his wife is murdered in their own home, the State Police investigate and everything is opened to the light. 5^th in this much praised and award-winning series. Signed Copies Available.

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, Black Maps (Vintage, 7.99) won the Shamus award for Best First Private Eye Novel.

Richard Stark, Ask the Parrot (Nov., Mysterious Press hc, 23.99). Parker is aided in his narrow escape from a bank heist by a recluse in the woods. This guy asks only that Parker help him with his own plan – one that is dubious and dangerous but potentially very profitable. One of the all-time great hardboiled series from the creative mind of Donald Westlake. Bill and JB recommend.

Jason Starr, Out Cold (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 22.95). Once, two young guys were rivals on their high school baseball team, both headed for the Major Leagues. One hurt his arm and ended up a house painter, the other made it and made his millions. The big leaguer is headed home to Brooklyn for a big party. Unknown to him, his former rival is having a hot affair with his fiancée and an explosive situation is brewing.

Duane Swierczynski, The Blonde (Nov., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Some harmless flirting in an airport bar is anything but when the blonde leans over to tell Jack that she’s poisoned his drink and, if he wants the antidote, he’s got to protect her. Overnight he’ll deal with a determined assassin, a pair of strange crime-scene cleaners and other lunatics. In paper, The Wheelman (Nov., Griffin, 12.95). Janine recommends both highly.

Robert Tanenbaum, Counterplay (Sept., Atria hc, 26.00). Continuing on from the cliffhanger of Fury (Aug., Pocket, 7.99), Butch Karp and family are trying to hide from escaped madman Andrew Kane. What no one realizes is that Kane aims to link up with a terrorist group to attack NYC.

William G. Tapply, Out Cold (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Boston lawyer Brady Coyne finds a dead teenager in his backyard. 22^nd in the series.

Sarah Stewart Taylor, Still as Death (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Art historian Sweeney St. George looks for answers when a piece of Egyptian jewelry vanishes from a Harvard art museum.

Peter Tremayne, Master of Souls (Nov., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 15^th Medieval Irish mystery with Sister Fidelma. In paper, The Leper’s Ball (Nov., Picador, 12.95).

Margaret Truman, Murder at the Opera (Oct., Ballantine hc, 24.95). 14^th in the Capital Crimes landmark series. In paper, Murder at the Washington Tribune (Nov, Ballantine, 7.50).

Frederick Turner, Redemption (Nov., Harcourt hc, 24.00). In 1913, Storyville is raw and fertile. Ex-city cop Francis Muldoon is working for the district’s boss, keeping the peace. He’s drawn into a rivalry over a dance hall singer, a shooting and the inevitable mess.

Scott Turow, Limitations (Nov., Picador tpo, 13.00). Kindle Co. Judge George Mason has been a judge for over a decade but a new case before him has shaken him and made him question justice and the law. Why has this one case unsettled him so? Serialized in The New York Times Magazine, first book appearance.

Robert James Waller, The Long Night of Winchell Dear (Nov., Crown hc, 21.00). Winchell was a very successful professional gambler, so successful that he’s retired to a remote ranch, seeing few. While in that life, he’d developed radar for danger and his radar now tells him it’s coming to his ranch.

Joseph Wambaugh, Hollywood Station (Nov., Little Brown hc, 24.99). A group of oddball cops deals with strange events that will gel into a twisted, horrific and astonishing case consisting of Russians, diamonds, counterfeiting and grenades. Just another day on the job in the City of Angels.

Robert Ward, Four Kinds of Rain (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 22.95). An influential writer returns to form with a noir novel: a psychiatrist is tired of always being the good guy and doing the right thing. One of his patients gives him a chance; the man’s a delusional paranoid, claims to have a priceless mask and the doctor finds out he’s right. A series of deadly mistakes shows the doctor he was wrong to cross the line. Signed Copies Available. In paper, Red Baker (Sept., St. Martin’s, 12.95), the 1985 winner of PEN West prize for Best Novel.

Livia J. Washburn, A Peach of a Murder (Oct., Signet pbo, 6.99). 1^st in a new culinary series, with baking recipes. “Being a murder suspect is the pits.”

F. Paul Wilson, Harbingers (Sept., Forge hc, 24.95). 8^th Repairman Jack. In paper, Infernal (Sept., Tor, 7.99), the 7^th.

Mark Winegardner, The Godfather’s Revenge (Nov., Putnam hc, 25.95). In another new Corleone novel sanctioned by the Puzo estate, organized crime and politics collide as the family becomes involved in a plot against a pair of brothers at the highest level of the national government.

Don Winslow, The Winter of Frankie Machine (Sept., Knopf hc, 24.00). Frank Machianno is a treasured member of the San Diego waterfront – surfer, runner of a bait shack, odd-job taker – who just happens to have once been the most feared Mob hitman on the West Coast. A favor from a local boss sucks him into the undertow of his past world. Signing we hope. Reissued in paper – FINALLY – one of the all-time staff favorites, The Death and Life of Bobby Z (Sept., Vintage, 13.00).

Jacqueline Winspear, Messenger of Truth (Sept., Holt hc, 24.00). In her 4^th book, Maisie Dobbs looks into the death of a WWI veteran who has become a controversial artist. The man’s sister doesn’t believe that his falling to his death was accidental and calls on her schoolmate, Miss Dobbs, for help. Signing.

Brian Wiprud, Sleep with the Fishes (Sept., Dell “pbo”, 6.99). The comic writer’s first book, originally self-published as a trade paperback and not widely available: in the witness protection program, a Mob snitch finds living the simple life with the average folk ain’t so easy.

Qiu Xiaolong, A Case of Two Cities (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Shanghai’s Insp. Chen is directed to investigate corruption in a case with ties to the US. He must travel here to follow leads. Favorite author of Sandy’s.

 

Now in Paperback

Donna Andrews, Delete All Suspects (Sept., Berkley, 6.99).

Sarah Andrews, Dead Dry (Sept., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

Jill Churchill, Who’s Sorry Now? (Nov., Avon, 6.99). Grace &  Favor.

Tom Corcoran, Air Dance Iguana (Nov., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

James Crumley, The Right Madness (Sept., Viking, 14.00).

Sarah Graves, Nail Biter, (Nov., Bantam, 6.99).

Martha Grimes, Belle Ruin (Sept., NAL, 14.00).

Reginald Hill, The Stranger House (Sept., Avon, 7.99).

Greg Iles, Turning Angel (Nov., Pocket, 9.99).

P.D. James, The Lighthouse (Oct., Vintage, 13.95). Dalgliesh.

Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian (Oct., Back Bay, 15.99). Fran recommends.

Elmore Leonard, The Hot Kid (Sept., Harper, 9.99).

Ed McBain, Fiddlers (Aug., Harcourt, 14.00). The last 87^th Precinct.

Magdalen Nabb, The Innocent (Oct., Soho, 12.00).

Anne Perry, Angels in the Gloom (Oct., Ballantine, 13.95).

Douglas Preston, Tyrannosaur Canyon (Sept., Forge, 7.99).

Ben Rehder, Guilt Trip (Oct., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

James Sallis, Drive (Aug., Harcourt, 13.00). Janine and JB recommend.

Jonathan Santlofer, The Killing Art (Nov., Harper, 7.99).

Theresa Schwegel, Officer Down (Nov., St. Martin’s, 6.99). 2006 Best First Edgar Winner.

 

Coming this Winter

Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity Goes West, Feb.

Thomas H. Cook, The Cloud of Unknowing, Jan.

Deborah Crombie, Water Like Stone, Feb. (this is the long-postponed book).

Tim Dorsey & Serge Storm, Feb.

David Fulmer, The Dying Crapshooter’s Blues, Jan.

Robert Goddard, Sight Unseen, Jan.

Brian Haig & Sean Drummond, Jan.

John Harvey, Ash & Bone, Dec.

Steve Hockensmith, On the Wrong Track, Feb.

Chuck Hogan, The Killing Moon, Jan.

Jesse Kellerman, Trouble, Jan.

William Landay, The Strangler, Feb.

Joe R. Lansdale, Lost Echoes, Feb.

Peter May, The Fourth Sacrifice, Feb.

Val McDermid, The Grave Tattoo, Feb.

Carol O’Connell, Find Me, Jan.

S.J. Rozan, In This Rain, Jan.

Theresa Schwegal, Probable Cause, Dec.

Charles Todd & Insp. Rutledge, Jan.

 

 

From Overseas

Pierre Frei, Berlin (Nov., Atlantic Monthly hc, 24.00). Just weeks after WWII ends, the body of a beautiful blonde is found in the American sector of the Berlin subway. A US military cop teams with a German cop to investigate what is assumed to be an isolated murder. That is quickly shown to be wishful thinking.  Janine recommends.

Michael Gregorio, Critique of Criminal Reason (Nov., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). It is the dawn of the Enlightenment, criminal justice is beginning to be viewed as a science but Napolean’s spies still spread chaos. A string of murders in Konigsberg is a puzzle. Could the murders be some political plot against the King or simply crimes of an individual? Det. Hanno Stiffeniis hopes his mentor, the newly famous Immanuel Kant, will help him find the truth. The author is a professor of philosophy in Italy.

Arnaldur Indridason, Silence of the Grave (Oct., St. Martin’s hc, 22.95). A body that has clearly been buried for decades is unearthed in Reykjavik by construction. Insp. Erlendur and his fellow investigators try to find answers. Sequel to the Gold-Dagger-winning Jar City (Oct., Picador, 14.00). Both won the Nordic Crime novel award. Both recommended by Janine.

Mari Jungstedt, Unseen (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Debut mystery by a Swedish writer. As the tourist season of Midsummer gears up, a woman and her dog are found murdered, her husband the suspect. Insp. Anders Knutas is then confronted with a second, identical killing.

Richard Kunzman, Bloody Harvests (Nov., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). South African Dets. Mason and Tshabalala investigate the mutilation of a child. Is this the work of a serial killer or something else, something tied to the mythology and superstitions of the African forests? Nominated for the British Crime Writers’ 2005 Creasey Memorial Award.

Guillermo Martinez, The Oxford Murders (Nov., Penguin, 13.00). An Argentinian mathematics student and a professor try to decipher a series of notes that hold strange symbols that are tied to a string of murders. A bestseller around the world.

Paco Ignatio Taibo II and Subcomandante Marcos, The Uncomfortable Dead (Sept., Akashic tpo, 15.95). The two noted Mexicans take alternate chapters to spin an uproarious murder mystery. An odd but charming mountain man is sent into Mexico City to find a killer. There, Hector Belascorian Shayne is already pursuing the fiend. AND,

Paco Ignatio Taibo II, The Shadow of the Shadow (Oct., Cinco Puntos tpo, 13.95). From 1992. As four men play dominos in a hotel lobby in 1922, they witness strange events and believe some conspiracy is involved.

      From England

Alys Clare, Heart of Ice (Oct., Trafalgar hc, 24.95). 9^th in this medieval series with Abbess Helewise and French knight Josse d’Acquin. In paper, Girl in a Red Tunic (Nov., Trafalgar, 9.99), the 8^th.

Susanna Gregory, The Tarnished Chalice (Sept., Trafalgar hc, 24.95). 12^th with 14^th C. Cambridge physician and forensic sleuth Matthew Bartholomew.

Quintin Jardine, Dead and Buried (Oct., Trafalgar hc, 24.95). 16^th with Edinburgh Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner. In paper, For the Death of Me (Sept., Trafalgar, 9.99). his 9^th with PI Oz Blackstone.

Simon Kernick, A Good Day to Die (Sept., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Returning to London after a friend is gunned down, Dennis Milne no longer has the badge to make the investigation “legal”. None of his former colleagues know he’s there, but someone seems to. Janine recommends this series.

Bernard Knight, The Elixir of Death (Aug., Trafalgar hc, 24.95).  10^th with 12^th C. coroner Sir John de Wolfe.

Edward Marston, The Railway Viaduct (Aug., Alison & Busby hc, 25.95). 3^rd set on the great 19^th C. railways of Europe with DI Robert Colbeck. In paper, The Excursion Train (Aug., Allison & Busby, 6.95).

V.I. McDermid, Star Struck, the 6^th with Manchester PI Kate Brannigan book, released in the US for the first time, from 1998, and Blue Genes, the 5^th from 1996 (Oct., Bywater tpo, 13.95 ea). All of the Brannigans will be available from this publisher and at the same price.

Martyn Waites, Mary’s Prayer (Nov., Pegasus tpo, 13.95). The first book with journalist Stephen Larkin, from 1997. He’s sent to cover a gangland funeral. Tammy highly recommends this hardboiled writer.

The Sword of Shame, The Medieval Murderers (Oct., Trafalgar tpo, 14.95). Second by this merry band of writers – Jecks, Gregory, Knight, Morson, Gooden and Beaufort – in a mystery spanning time and using the skills of all of their series detectives.

     In paper

Michael Bond, Monsieur Pamplemous Hits the Headlines (Sept., Allison & Busby, 9.95).

Michael Jecks, The Death Ship of Dartmouth (Nov., Trafalgar, 9.99).

Alana Knight, Dangerous Pursuits (Sept., Allison & Busby, 9.9.5).

Phil Rickman, The Smile of a Ghost (Nov., Trafalgar, 8.99).

Priscilla Masters, Wings Over the Watcher (Oct., Allison & Busby, 9.95).

Cath Staincliffe, Hit & Run (Nov., Allison & Busby, 9.95).

 

Sherlockiana

David Pirie, The Dark Water  (Aug., Pegasus hc, 25.00). The young Arthur Conan Doyle joins forces with his mentor Dr. Bell to unravel a number of mysteries.

Nick Rennison, Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography (Nov., Atlantic Monthly hc, 24.00). The Great Detective’s life story, as if he wrote it himself. Questions long posed are answered: how did a college drop-out turn himself into the world’s greatest investigator, when did he first know of Professor Moriarty, how he alone unmasked Jack the Ripper, and where he went after the fight at the Reichenbach Falls. Facts known, unknown and never even suspected.

 

Mysterious Youth

Bruce Hale, Key Lardo (Oct., Harcourt hc, 14.00). 12^th with Chet Gecko.

Adam Rex, Frankenstein Builds a Sandwich (Aug., Harcourt hc, 16.00) The author pays homage to childhood’s favorite monster movies & illustrators in 19 rollicking poems and paintings. Staff Favorite!

Lemony Snicket, The End (Oct., Harper hc, 12.99). 13^th and final installment. Who will win, the Baudelaires or Count Olaf? All good things must end. What about bad things?

 

Small Mystery Presses

     Bitter Lemon

Gianrico Carafiglio, A Walk in the Dark (Aug., 14.95). Guido Guerrieri is the only lawyer who will help a young woman who accuses the son of a powerful judge of assault.

Friedrich Glauser, Fever (Nov., 14.95). The deaths of two young women from a supposed gas leak leads Sgt. Studer into a puzzle made up of a dead geologist, a murky Moroccan oil deal, politicians and their minions.

     Bleak House Books

See also Collections

Mark Coggins, Candy from Strangers (Oct., hc, 23.95). In his 3^rd book, PI August Riordan knows candy from strangers is dangerous for big girls – girls with web-cams and screen names and fans who want something for their candy.

Tony Spinosa, Hose Monkey (Oct., hc, 23.95). Pseudonym of Reed Coleman. A quiet and lonely man with a violent past he doesn’t even try to live down, will not tolerate the murder of a young man happening at his workplace.

Europa Editions

Massino Carlotto, Death’s Dark Abyss (Oct., 14.95). A desperate drama of guilt and revenge. Years after the crime, a killer is set to be released from prison. The man whose wife and child were killed is out for justice after a long wait.

Elena Ferrante, Troubling Love (Sept., 14.95). A mystery of mothers and daughters set in Naples. After her mother’s sudden and suspicious death, Delia sets out to learn about her final days. She will learn disturbing facts not only about her mother, but about her family as a whole.

     Felony & Mayhem

Tony Broadbent, Spectres in the Smoke (Oct., 14.95). 2^nd with cat-burglar Jethro,

Edmund Crispen, Swan Song (Oct., 14.95) From 1945, the 4^th sleuth Gervase Fen.

Nicolas Freeling, Because of the Cats (Aug., 14.95). The 2^nd with Dutch Insp. Van der Valk, from 1963.

Caroline Graham, Murder at Madingly Grange (Oct., 14.95). Her 3^rd mystery, from 1990.

Carolyn Hougan, Shooting in the Dark (Oct., 14.95). A 1984 thriller set in Amsterdam during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, by half of the team that writes as “John Case”.

Elizabeth Ironside, The Accomplice (Oct., 14.95). Skeleton in the garden, from 1995.

Barbara Nadel, Belshazzar’s Daughter (Oct., 14.95). 1^st with Istanbul’s Insp. Ikmen, from 1999.

Barbara Paul, The Fourth Wall (Aug., 14.95). Crime on Broadway, a theatrical thriller from 1979.

Sheila Radley, Death in the Morning (Aug., 14.95) The 1st Insp. Quantrill, in small village England, from 1981. Aka Death and the Maiden.

     Hard Case Crime

David Dodge, The Last Match (Oct., 6.99). A never-before published book by the author of To Catch a Thief: A chase across continents as the cops are after a con man, and so is a gorgeous heiress who believes she can reform him.

Pete Hamill, The Guns of Heaven (Sept., 6.99). First published in 1984. An American reporter agrees to carry an envelope back to NYC for a mysterious IRA leader. Huge mistake.

John Lange, Grave Descend (Nov., 6.99). Originally published in 1970 and a finalist for the Edgar for Best Paperback Original. A salvage diver is in over his head when he’s hired to explore the wreck of a yacht that exploded near Jamaica. We don’t think it is a secret that John Lange was an early pen name for Michael Crichton. The Lange books are all tight, neat thrillers.

     Rue Morgue

Glyn Carr, The Youth Hostel Murders (Oct., 14.95).  From 1953. While on vacation with his wife, actor-manager Abercrombie Lewker appears to be the only one who suspects murder when the body of a young female climber is found at the bottom of a crag. Beliefs in evil spirits, and art missing since WWII are in the mix.

Clyde B. Clason, Green Shiver (Sept., 14.95). The author’s last mystery, from 1941. Professor of Roman History Theocritus Lucius Westborough investigates the theft of a valuable piece of jade jewelry.

Kelly Roos, Sailor, Take Warning (Aug., 14.95). 4^th “sparkling comedy of manners”, from 1944. The Troys investigate when the “perfect crime” happens to a member of the Knickerbocker Yachting Club at the Central Park boat lake.

Margaret Scherf, The Diplomat and the Gold Piano (Nov., 14.95). The Bryces are hired to decorate the apartment of an African UN ambassador. No one, however, understands where the gold piano came from. 4^th and last in this series, from 1963.

 

Collections

These Guns for Hire, J.A. Konrath, ed. (Oct., Bleakhouse hc, 27.95). 30 new stories concerning one of the oldest professions – hired killers – by a long list of names. Some of them are: Block, Morrell, Doolittle, Wiprud, Coleman, Krueger, Bruen and the long missing – and missed – Rob Kantner. Bill says some great stories here.

Miami Noir, Les Standiford, ed. (Nov., Akashic tpo, 15.95). New stories by 17 Floridians, including James W. Hall, Vicki Hendricks, and Tom Corcoran.

Uncertain Ending: The World’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery Stories, Otto Penzler, ed. (Nov., Pegasus hc, 23.00). The most baffling mystery stories ever written, from the ranks of the greatest – Bradbury, Twain, Huxley, Ellin, Dahl, Kersh and others.

Reissues of Note

Lawrence Block, The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart (Nov., Harper, 7.99). 7^th in the humorous Burglar series, a favorite of Bill’s.

Fredric Brown, Here Comes a Candle (Aug., Millipede Press, 14.00). From 1950. A man, haunted by childhood trauma, is involved with a rackateer and two very different women. An Edgar winner for his first Am & Em mystery, this will be his first reissue in years.

Ruth Dudley Edwards, Carnage on the Committee (Oct., Poisoned Pen, 14.95). 10^th in one of Sandy’s favorite series – satirical British – from 2004.

David Handler, The Man who Died Laughing/The Man who Lived by Night (Sept., Busted Flush hc, 26.00, tp, 18.00). With a new introduction by the author, here are the first two with comic Stewart Hoag, a celebrity ghostwriter who has a neurotic basset hound named Lulu. Original cover art by writer Colin Cotterill (who will be signing his own mysteries in Oct.!).

Charles McCarry, The Secret Lovers (Nov., Overlook hc, 24.95). 3^rd in the outstanding Paul Christopher espionage series, originally published in 1977.

Randy Wayne White, The Deep Six (Oct., Signet, 6.99). Published in 1981 as by Randy Stryker, his second with Dusky MacMorgan. New intro by RWW.

 

Special Interest

Daniel Stashower, The Beautiful Cigar Girl (Oct., Dutton hc, 25.95). An account of the murder case that would become the basis for Poe’s The Murder of Marie Roget. In 1841, the body of the 20 year-old cigar girl was found, a crime that rocked NYC, and what very well may have been America’s first media circus erupted as every lurid detail, rumor and innuendo was printed. Despite great pressure from all sides, the immense police investigation failed to solve the crime. A year later, Poe hoped to solve the case and laid the groundwork for the all the detective stories to come.

Bloodlines: A Horse Racing Anthology, Maggie Estep and Jason Starr, eds. (Sept., Vintage tpo, 14.95). Essays and fiction from 19 authors, including Lee Child, Laura Lippman, Joe R. Lansdale, and Jane Smiley.

The Secret Life of Houdini, William Kalush and Larry Sloman (Oct., Atria hc, 27.95). Using newly released archives, the authors tell a story about the great magician, his secret life as a spy for the US and England and the possible plots to stop his activities.

Simon Read, In the Dark: The True Story of the Blackout Ripper (Nov., Berkley pbo, 7.99). True Crime from WWII: during the Blitz, while terror dropped from Nazi bombers, 1942 Londoners had another terror to face – during a five day period, The Blackout Ripper crimes were like nothing seen since Jack. Only a mistake stopped the murders and revealed the killer’s shocking identity.

Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder, Mark Nelson and Sarah  Bayliss (Oct., Bulfinch hc, 35.00). A visual retrospective of the famous “unsolved” murder – photos from the crime and reproductions of surreal artworks that can be seen in a different light when matched to the crime and vice versa. And, of course, their explanation for the bizarre nature of the crime.

Crime Wave: The Filmgoers’ Guide to the Great Crime Movies, Howard Hughes (Oct., Picador tpo, 22.95). Covering movies about gangsters, heists, vigilante, murder, noir, blaxploitation and cops, the influential and famous, with cast lists, production notes, background details and b & w photos.

Dylan Schaffer, Life Death & Bialys (Sept., Bloomsbury hc, 24.95). One of our favorite new mystery authors gives us a memoir of his reconciliation with his father. After having left his children with their crazy mother 30 years ago, Flip Schaffer contacts his son and asks him to join him in an intensive baking class. Neither of them knew a thing about baking.

Peter Falk, Just One More Thing (Sept., Carroll& Graf hc, 25.95). Memoir of an acting life, taking its title from perhaps his most well-known role, Lt. Columbo.

Susan Wittig Albert, China Bayle’s Book of Days (Oct., Berkley tpo, 14.00). 365 ways and celebrations of herbs – their myths and magic.

The Cat Who…Reunion Cookbook, Julie Murphy and Sally Abney Stempinski, eds. (Oct., Berkley hc, 23.95). A collection of over 200 new recipes inspired by the Braun series.

Mystery Muses: 100 Classics That Inspire Today’s Mystery Writers, Jim Huang & Austin Ungar, eds. (Nov., Crum Creek Press tpo, 15.00). From Rob Kantner on Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado to Michael Koryta on Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane by way of Harley Jane Kozak citing Katherine Neville’s The Eight, and Ann Granger citing Ngaio Marsh (Scales of Justice), 100 contemporary authors (PNW contributors: Aaron Elkins, Carola Dunn, Sharan Newman and Candace Robb) deliver an essay on a book that significantly influenced them. A list of books that would inspire us, as readers, as well.

 

Holiday Books

Sugarplums and Scandal (Nov., Avon pbo, 6.99). A group of holiday stories based on the idea of a seasonal miracle by Mary Daheim, Lori Avocato, Dana Cameron and others.

Emily Brightwell, Mrs. Jeffries and the Silent Knight (Oct., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 20^th in this Victorian series.

Mary Higgins and Carol Higgins Clark, Santa Cruise (Nov., Scribner hc, 22.00). A holiday cruise aboard a liner turns deadly, spoiling someone’s Christmas.

Iris Crawford, A Catered Christmas (Oct., Kensington, 6.99). 3^rd in the series, with holiday recipies.

Kinky Friedman, The Christmas Pig (Nov., Simon & Schuster hc, 19.95). Who else to turn to for a heartwarming holiday tale than the future governor of Texas?

Chris Grabenstein, Slay Ride (Nov., Carroll & Graf hc, 25.95). Just before Christmas, a simple ride to the airport becomes a nightmare. When the businessman complains to the car service, he becomes the target of the fired driver, a lunatic in a Santa suit who is set on vengeance. ‘Tis the season for dark laughs and serious, seasonal silliness.

Margaret Maron, Corpus Christmas (Nov., Warner, 6.99). Her 6^th Sigrid Harald book, originally published in 1989, and out of print for years.

Kasey Michaels, High Heels and Holidays (Nov., Kensington tpo, 14.00). 5^th with mystery writer Maggie Kelly.

Anne Perry, A Christmas Secret (Nov., Ballantine hc, 16.95). 4^th holiday mystery.