Spring 2008
Hours: 10-5 Mon – Sat, 12-5 Sun
Bill Farley, Founder / JB Dickey, Owner
Tammy Domike, Manager /Fran Fuller,
Bookkeeper
Janine Wilson, Bookseller / Gretchen Brevoort,
Co-op
Marie Ary-Almojuela
staff@seattlemystery.com 206-587-5737 www.seattlemystery.com
cops — private eyes — courtroom –
thrillers — suspense — espionage — true crime — reference
New from the Northwest
Marc
Acito, Attack of the
Theatre People (April,
Broadway tpo, 11.95). Aspiring actor Edward Zanni has just been kicked out of
drama school for being too “jazz” in 1986’s NYC. He takes gigs as party motivator
and stealth guest to make ends meet. At one of the corporate parties, he meets
Megan
Chance, The
Spiritualist (May,
Three Rivers Press tpo, 14.95). Evelyn Atherton’s husband is found murdered on
a cold NYC morning in 1856. She’s the prime suspect, having ‘married up’ in
society. To clear her name, she undertakes an investigation into his last days.
That leads her into the murky world of séances and the charismatic spiritualist
Michel Jourdain.
Jo
Dereske, Index
to Murder (May,
William
Dietrich, The
Rosetta Key (April,
Harper hc, 25.95). As Bonaparte begins his invasion of the
Christina
Dodd, Thigh High (Mar., Signet pbo, 7.99). A handsome
investigator looks for two women who are robbing banks while wearing Mardi Gras
masks.
Elizabeth George, Careless in Red (May, Harper hc, 26.95). Thomas Lynley has left Scotland Yard and
gone home to
Michael
Gruber, The
Forgery of Venus (April,
Morrow hc, 24.95). A talented young painter needs more money than he can make
selling his own work. His son is ill, his wife distant, and he needs more money
to make his family whole. He accepts the job of restoring a fresco, which
becomes more of a recreation. This goes well and leads to another job, a
commission that reeks of Faust. Signing.
In paper, The Book of Air and Shadows
(Mar., Harper, 14.95). Tammy,
Fran and Gretchen recommend.
Sue
Henry, Degrees of
Separation
(April,
Obsidian hc, 23.95). Believing her knee injury has healed, musher Jessie Arnold
is back on the sled, training for the upcoming Iditarod. On the trail one day,
she hits a bump that has never been there before – a body in the snow. In
paper, The Refuge (Mar., Obsidian, 6.99), her 3rd
Maxie. Signing.
Lisa
Jackson, Lost
Souls (April, Kensington hc,
22.00). A young woman wants to be a true crime writer. She enrolls in a
Daniel
Kalla, Cold Plague (April, Forge hc, 24.95). Powerful, worldwide forces are arrayed
against a World Health official who sees the recent discovery of an ancient and
pristine water in the Antarctic as a way to stop a marauding disease. The cabal
has its own plans for the miraculous discovery. In paper, Blood Lies (Mar., Forge,
7.99).
Steve
Martini, Shadow
of Power (April,
Morrow hc, 26.95). Paul Madriani takes the case of a young man charged with
murdering a legal scholar who stayed in the spotlight with a constant flow of
controversy. The scholar’s latest book had claimed the Constitution and
writings by
Gregg
Olsen, A Cold
Dark Place (April, Kensington
pbo, 6.99). At their remote
Amanda
Quick, The
Third Circle (April, Putnam hc,
24.95). The Arcane Society sends mesmerist Thaddeus Ware to secure a valuable
and dangerous crystal. Leona Hewitt beats him to it. She must be careful; Ware
is said to be able to control the mind of a young woman and rob her of her
virtue without her knowing it. The crystal is a key to an elite and mysterious
group, the
John
Straley, The Big
Both Ways (May,
Graphic Arts Center hc, 25.95, tp 16.95). After a 7 year wait, a new mystery
from
Allen
Wyler, Deadly
Errors (May,
Tor pbo, 7.99). A brain surgeon raises concerns with the hospital’s new
computerized records system after experienced medical personnel have made a
series of fatal mistakes with patients. With millions of dollars at stake, his
concerns are not well received and threats are soon coming at him. Signing.
Now in
Paperback
Diana
Abu-Jaber,
Origin (May,
Norton, 13.95).
Greg
Bear,
Michael
Chabon, The
Yiddish Policemen’s Union (May,
Harper, 15.95). Tammy HIGHLY recommends.
Nicola
Griffith, Always (April, Riverhead, 15.00). High Staff Recommendation!
Mark
Lindquist, The King of Methlehem (May, Simon & Schuster, 13.00). Tammy
and Fran recommend.
Elizabeth
Lowell, Innocent as Sin (May,
Patrick
McManus, Avalanche (Mar., Simon & Schuster, 14.00).
Mysterious
Youth
Ridley
Pearson, Steel
Trapp: The Challenge (Mar.,
Hyperion hc, 16.99). Steven “Steel” Trapp is headed to the National Science
Competition aboard a train when he begins to notice strange things going on.
And once he notices things, he remembers them. The Feds are already on the case
characters from Cut and Run (2006,
Hyperion, 7.99)] and notice his interest. The trouble is, so have the bad guys.
Coming This
Summer
Stella
Cameron,
Mary
Daheim, Vi
Aaron
Elkins & Gideon Oliver, July
J.A. Jance & Joanna Brady, Aug.
Mike Lawson,
House Rules,
June
Elizabeth
Lowell, Blue Smoke
and Murder,
June
Phillip
Margolin,
Executive Priviledge,
June
Ridley
Pearson & Sheriff Walt Fleming, Aug.
Kat
Richardson, Underground,
Aug.
Kate
Wilhelm & Barbara Holloway, Aug.
Entries
in Blue do not appear in the printed version of
our newsletter.
New from the Rest
Peter Abrahams, Delusion (April, Morrow hc, 24.95). 20 years ago, a woman’s testimony helped
to put a man in prison and introduced her to her future husband, the detective
on the case. New evidence frees that man. Could she have been that wrong? In
paper, Nerve Damage (April, Harper, 7.99).
Susan
Wittig Albert, Nightshade
(April,
Ace
Atkins,
Sarah Atwell, Through a Glass, Deadly (Mar.,
Deb Baker, Dolly Departed (Mar.,
David
Baldacci, The
Whole Truth (April, Grand Central
hc, 26.99). A set of individuals collide, all while doing their jobs: a defense contractor has sent his henchmen to drum up
trouble and get some business, a shadowy man travels the world for a secretive
multi-national intelligence agency squelching trouble, and a woman reporter
searches for a big story to get her back into the top tier of her profession. For
all of them to get what they want and need, someone will have to suffer. In
paper, Simple
Genius (April, Vision, 9.99).
Nevada
Barr, Winter
Study (April, Putnam hc, 24.95).
Sent to Upper Michigan to study wolves before their reintroduction to the
Lorna
Barrett, Murder is Binding (April,
Anthony
Bidulka, Sundowner
Ubuntu (April, Insomniac Press
tpo, 15.95). In his 5th case, Russell Quant is hired to find a son
missing for 20 years. His search will take him from the Canadian prairies to
the African savannahs and he’ll be faced with bringing back a man who doesn’t
wish to return.
C.J.
Box, Blood
Trail (May, Putnam hc, 24.95).
During elk season in the
Andrew Britton, The Invisible (Mar., Kensington
hc, 24.00). International intrigue, but no plot provided.
Jim
Butcher, Small
Favor (April,
Roc hc, 23.95). 10th in the Dresden Files series. Harry’s marker of
an old debt is called by a powerful woman and he can in no way refuse her
request.
Dorothy
Cannell, Goodbye,
Ms. Chips (April,
Alex
Carr, The Prince of
Bagram Prison (Mar.,
Mortalis tpo, 13.95). Arabic specialist and Army reservist Katherine Caldwell
is called back to duty and given the task of finding a Moroccan boy who claims to
have seen a high-level terrorist in
Cassandra Chan, Trick of the Mind (April,
Laura
Childs, The
Silver Needle Murder (Mar.,
Carol Higgins Clark, Zapped (April, Scribner hc, 24.00). Newlywed
Regan Reilly makes an awful discovery while remodeling her new apartment.
Mary Higgins Clark, Where Are You Now (Mar., Simon & Schuster hc, 25.95).
A woman’s search into a family tragedy will put her in danger. In paper, I Heard That Song Before (Mar., Pocket, 7.99).
Jane
K. Cleland, Antiques
to Die For (April,
Harlan
Coben, Hold
Tight (April, Dutton hc, 26.95).
Parents are drawn into a nightmarish web of surveillance after one teen commits
suicide. One set of parents finds an alarming message on their son’s computer
that seems to support a ruling of suicide while the mother of the dead boy
finds a photo on his computer that seems to implicate the other family’s
son. In paper, The Woods (April,
Signet, 9.99).
Max
Allan Collins, Strip
for Murder (May,
Julie
Compton, Tell No
Lies (May,
Susan Conant & Jessica Conant-Park, Turn Up the Heat (Mar.,
Patricia Cornwell, The Front (May, Putnam hc, 22.95). 2nd with the At Risk gang.
Cleo
Coyle, French
Pressed (April,
Laura Crum, Chasing Cans (Mar., Perseverance
Press tpo, 14.95). 10th with equine vet Gail McCarthy.
Hannah Dennison, A Vicky Hill Exclusive (Mar.,
Michael Allen Dymmoch, MIA (April,
Selma
Eichler, Murder
Can Crash Your Party (May,
Obsidian pbo, 6.99). 15th with full-figured PI Desiree Shapiro.
Loren D. Estleman, Frames (May,
Forge hc, 23.95). A new, soft-boiled series steeped in
Linda
Fairstein, Killer
Heat (Mar.,
Doubleday hc, 26.00). ADA Alex Cooper barely walks out of one court victory
when she’s sent out to stop another killer – one who is leaving the bodies of
young women on the islands that surround the big one of
Jerrilyn
Farmer, Desperately
Seeking Sushi (Mar., Morrow hc,
23.95). Postponed from Mar., 2007. Maddie Bean looks into the
death of two obnoxious brothers who were trying to buy the building into which
she’s just moved.
Joy Fielding, Charley’s Web (Mar.,
Atria hc, 24.95).
Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain, Murder She Wrote: Murder
on Parade (April, Obsidian hc,
19.95). 29th with mystery writer Fletcher who, once again, stumbles
into a murder case, this time at a 4th of July celebration in Maine.
Bill
Floyd, The
Killer’s Wife (Mar.,
Joanne
Fluke, Carrot
Cake Murder (Mar., Kensington
hc, 22.00). Baker Hannah Swenson gets involved with her business partner’s
family reunion. The unexpected Uncle Gus is the surprise troublemaker. Signing.
Jeffrey
Ford, The
Shadow Year (Mar., Morrow hc,
25.95). In a
Melissa Glazer, The Cracked Pot (May,
Ed Gorman, Sleeping Dogs (April,
Andrew Gross, The Dark Tide (Mar.,
Morrow hc, 25.95). A series of events shatters a woman’s perfect life: her husband
is lost in a spectacular attack on Grand Central Station; a hit and run death
in her home town in Connecticut leaves a clue that connects it to her husband;
and two men visit her home, claiming that her husband’s investment business had
a massive amount of their money and they want it back now.
Jane
Haddam, Cheating
at Solitaire (April,
Parnell Hall, The Sudoku Puzzle Murders (April,
Charlaine
Harris, From
Dead to Worse (May, Ace hc, 24.95).
8th with Sookie Stackhouse. In paper, All Together Dead (April,
Ace, 7.99).
Colin
Harrison, The
Finder (April, FSG hc, 25.00). A
young Chinese woman has been stealing the secrets of NYC’s powerful people and
corporations. When the problem is discovered, she lams it. A former lover has recently returned to the
Carolyn
Hart, Death
Walked In (April, Morrow hc, 23.95).
18th in one of Fran’s all-time favorite series – the Death on Demand
books with bookstore owner Annie Darling. A stolen coin collection, strange
phone calls and, of course, murder. In
paper, Set Sail for Murder (April, Harper, 6.99).
Betty Hechtman, Hooked on Murder (May,
Joan
Hess, Mummy Dearest
(April,
David
Housewright, Madman
on a Drum (May,
Joshilyn
Jackson, The
Girl Who Stopped Swimming (Mar.,
Grand Central hc, 23.99).
Iris
Johansen, Quicksand
(April,
Joan Johnston, A Stranger’s Game (Mar.,
Pocket hc, 25.00). In
Andrea Kane, Twisted (April, Morrow
hc, 23.95). Start of a new series with former FBI special agent Sloane Burbank.
Jesse
Kellerman, Stop
(April, Putnam hc, 24.95). A young
art dealer thinks he’s found the treasure trove he’s needed to make his name.
Ethan Muller finds a life-time of work in a decaying NYC slum and the artist, Victor
Cracke, has disappeared. One moral question is to whom does the work belong and
can Muller legally display it. When he does, the cops show up; the drawings,
they think, are evidence of crimes from Cracke’s past.
Jonathan
Kellerman, Compulsion
(Mar., Ballantine hc, 26.95). 22nd
with psychologist Alex Delaware. In paper, Obsession
(Mar., Ballantine, 9.99).
Jerry Kennealy, Still Shot (April,
Diana Killian, Corpse Pose (April,
Alice Kimberly, The Ghost and the Femme Fatale (May,
Dean Koontz, Odd Hours (May, Bantam
hc, 27.00). 4th with Odd Thomas, a favorite series of Janine’s.
Victoria Laurie, Demons Are a Ghoul’s Best Friend (Mar., Obsidian pbo, 6.99). 2nd
with ghost hunter and PI M.M. Holliday.
Joyce and Jim Lavene, Perfect Poison (May,
Peter Leonard, Quiver (May,
David
Levien, City
of the Sun (Mar., Doubleday hc,
24.95). Debut by a
Pam Lewis, The Perfect Family (April,
Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). Outsiders view the prominent
Laura
Lippman, Another
Thing to Fall (Mar., Morrow hc,
24.95). In her tenth book, Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan looks for a needle in a haystack;
a movie production company is in town and a killer is amongst the personnel.
Where else could it be as difficult to find a criminal as in the midst of a
group of people who are professionals at hiding their true nature? In paper, What the Dead Know (Mar., Harper, 7.99). Signing.
Chuck
Logan, South of
Lisa
Lutz, Curse of the
Spellmans (Mar.,
Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). Izzy Spellman has just been arrested – for the
fourth time – and her lawyer and family are concerned that she may lose her
private eye license. That would be bad for her and bad for the family business.
Signing. Fran and Janine HIGHLY recommend
these funny books.
Mary Jane Maffini, The Cluttered Corpse (April,
Nancy Martin, Murder Melts in Your Mouth (Mar., Obsidian hc, 22.95). 7th
Blackbird Sisters mystery. During
Michele Martinez, Notorious (Mar., Morrow hc, 24.95). NYC federal prosecutor Melanie Vargas is
the only witness to the murder of a lawyer – the defense attorney for the
famous rapper she’s about to take to trial.
G.A.
McKevett, Poisoned
Tarts (May, Kensington hc,
22.00). Plus-sized PI Savannah Reid deals with a
Jennifer
McMahon,
Neil McMahon, Dead Silver (May, Harper
hc, 24.95). A silver mine, a cache of photos, earrings and a double homicide
figure into a case for
Charlie
Newton, Calumet
City (Mar., Touchstone tpo, 14.00). A
decorated
Katherine
Hall Page, The
Body in the Gallery (May, Morrow
hc, 23.95). 17th mystery with caterer and sleuth Faith Fairchild.
Neil S. Plakcy, Mahu Fire (April, Alyson
tpo, 14.95). What starts as a shooting quickly escalates into something bigger,
taking Honolulu Det. Kimo Kanpa’aka into a religious cult that violently
opposes same-sex marriage.
Louise
Penny, The Cruelest
Month (Mar.,
Terri Persons, Blind Rage (May,
Doubleday hc, 24.95). In her second story, FBI agent Bernadette Saint Clare
finds a string of suicides by young women in the Twin Cities to be suspicious.
In paper, Blind Spot (April,
Jodi Picoult, Change of Heart (Mar.,
Atria hc, 26.95). Two adults find themselves at a crossroads: a woman who had
lived a charmed life faces a parent’s worst nightmare while a career criminal
finds himself with a chance to redeem himself.
Rhonda Pollero, Knock ‘Em Dead (Mar.,
Kensington hc, 19.95). 2nd with Floridian paralegal Finley Anderson
Tanner and a light mix of sex, shopping and murder.
Richard
Price, Lush Life
(Mar., FSG hc, 26.00). Two New
Yorkers, surprised to find themselves nearing middle age and going nowhere
despite their dreams and talk, are pulled into a crack in the veneer of
Ben
Rehder, Holy
Moly (May,
Christopher
Rice, Blind
Fall (Mar., Scribner hc, 26.00).
A mistake caused a military man dishonor and disgrace and ended his promising
career. He now travels to the home of his former superior in hopes of redeeming
himself. On arrival, he finds the man murdered and his lover leaving the scene.
Neither knows what happened but both know they must help each other to find the
answer.
Fran Rizer, Hey Diddle Diddle, the Corpse and the Fiddle (Mar.,
Natalie M. Roberts, Pointe and Shoot (May,
Karen Rose, Scream for Me (May,
Grand Central hc, 16.99). Hardcover debut from this romantic suspense writer.
Special Agent Daniel Vartanian hunts a cleaver serial killer.
John Sandford, Phantom Prey (May,
Putnam hc, 26.95). 18th Lucas Davenport. In paper, Invisible Prey (May,
Mary
Saums, Mighty
Old Bones (Mar.,
John
Shannon, The
Devils of Bakersfield (April,
Pegasus hc, 25.00). PI Jack Liffey and his daughter Maeve move out of LA for
the calmer climes of
James Sheehan, The Law of Second Chances (Mar.,
Sharon Short, Tie Dyed and Dead (Mar.,
Harper pbo, 6.99). 6th in the Stain-Busting series with laundromat
owner Josie Toadfern.
Steven
Sidor, The
Mirror’s Edge (April,
Sheldon Siegel, Judgment Day (May,
MacAdam Cage hc, 26.00). Ex-spouses Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez work to stop
the execution of a former mob lawyer convicted of a triple murder in a
Domenic
Stansberry, The
Ancient Rain (April,
Richard
Stark, Dirty
Money (April, Grand Central hc,
23.99). Some time has passed since Parker and his gang escaped from the armored
car heist with their freedom but not the money. They plan to fix that problem
now. In paper, as Donald E. Westlake, What’s So
Funny? (Mar., Grand Central,
7.99), Dortmunder. Bill recommends them all.
Wendy
Corsi Staub, Dying
Breath (May, Zebra pbo, 6.99).
The calm and playfulness of a
Mariah Stewart,
Denise
Swanson, Murder
of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry (April,
Obsidian pbo, 6.99). 10th in the
Robert
Tanenbaum, Escape
(May, Vanguard hc, 25.95). 20th
with Butch Karp. The insanity of the insanity defense.
Steven
M. Thomas, Criminal
Paradise (Mar., Ballantine hc,
24.95). Debut thriller involving the redemption of a professional thief. During
the course of the hold-up of a steakjoint, Robert Rivers and his partner take a
locked box out of the safe, along with the cash. Inside, they find a stash of
$100 bills and the photograph of a young girl. She haunts Rivers and when he
searches for answers, he finds evidence of crimes far worse than his own. Signing.
Lisa
Unger, Black
Out (May, Shaye Arehart hc,
23.00). A woman’s perfect life unravels as she begins to see demons from her
past around her on the beach, and memories once blotted out due to a
dissociative state emerge. Gretchen recommends. In paper, Sliver
of Truth, (Mar., Three Rivers,
13.95).
Elaine
Viets, Clubbed
to Death (May, Obsidian hc,
21.95). 7th in the Dead-End Job series. Helen’s latest gig is with
the complaint department at a country club. In paper, Murder with Reservations (May,
Obsidian, 6.99).
Kathryn R. Wall, The Mercy Oak (May,
Joseph
Wambaugh, Hollywood
Crows (May, Little Brown hc,
26.99). Two cops get caught in the web a femme fatale, Margo Aziz. To them,
she’s a helpless socialite in the middle of a nasty divorce from her shady
nightclub-owner husband. She’s far more devious than they suspect. The problem
is, she’s not the only one scheming.
Randy
Wayne White, Black
Widow (Mar., Putnam hc, 24.95).
Doc Ford agrees to act as go-between when his goddaughter’s bachelorette party
leads to blackmail. In paper, Hunter’s
Moon (Mar.,
Stephen
White, Dead
Time (Mar., Dutton hc, 25.95).
Alan Gregory is swamped by mothers and children; while trying to establish a
new family, his ex-wife asks for his help. In paper, Dry Ice (Mar., Signet,
9.99).
Inger
Wolfe, The
Calling (May, Harcourt hc,
24.00). Small town policewoman Hazel Micallef is 61, recently divorced, tired
and aching and heading toward retirement. The brutal murder of a terminally ill
woman sets the town on edge and worse is coming their way. Hazel has to pull
everything and everyone together to end the horrors. Pseudonym of ‘a prominent
North American literary novelist’ says the condescending publisher’s catalog.
Stuart Wood, Santa Fe Dead (April,
Putnam hc, 25.95).
Elizabeth
Zelvin, Death
Will Get You Sober (April,
Now in Paperback
Edna Buchanan, Love Kills (April,
Pocket, 7.99).
Sean
Chercover, Big
City Bad Blood (Mar., Harper,
7.99). Janine recommends.
Lee
Child, Bad
Luck and Trouble (April, Dell,
7.99). All Staff recommendation – as usual.
John
Connolly, The Unquiet (April, Pocket, 7.99). Charlie Parker. Janine and Fran recommend.
Carol
Nelson Douglas, Cat in a Red Hot Rage (Mar., Forge, 6.99).
Barry
Eisler, Requiem
for an Assassin (May, Onyx,
7.99). Janine recommends.
Joseph
Finder, Power Play (Mar.,
Earlene
Fowler, Tumbling
Blocks (May,
Stephen Frey, The Successor (Mar., Ballantine, 7.99).
Carol
Goodman, The Sonnet Lover, (Mar., Ballantine, 13.95).
Robert
Greer, The Fourth
Perspective (May,
Frog Ltd, 14.95).
Laurell K. Hamilton, The Harlequin (May, Jove, 7.99).
Tami Hoag, The Alibi Man (Mar.,
Bantam, 7.99).
Linda Howard, Up Close and Personal (May,
Ballantine, 7.99).
Craig
Johnson, Kindness
Goes Unpunished (Mar.,
Penguin, 14.00).
Marshall
Karp,
Bloodthirsty (April, MacAdam
Cage, 14.00).
Christine Kling, Wreckers’ Key (Mar.,
Ballantine, 6.99).
Mark Lecard, Vinnie’s Head (Mar.,
Elmore
Leonard, Up in
Honey’s Room (May, Harper,
9.99).
Laura Levine, Death by Pantyhose (May, Kensington, 6.99).
Val McDermid, The Grave Tattoo (May