SEATTLE MYSTERY BOOKSHOP

SPRING 2007 NEWSLETTER

117 Cherry St. Seattle, WA  98104

OPEN 10-5 Mon – Sat, 12-5 Sun

Bill Farley, Founder/ JB Dickey, Owner/ Tammy Domike, Manager

Sandy Goodrick/Fran Fuller/Janine Wilson/ Gretchen Brevoort

staff@seattlemystery.com        206-587-5737       www.seattlemystery.com

cops ~ private eyes ~ legal thrillers ~ suspense ~ espionage ~ true crime ~ reference

 

     We’re always tinkering with the layout of the newsletter, trying to organize it so that similar types are together. But it is beginning to feel fractured to us, with too many sections. Let us know how it feels to you.

     And, in case you haven’t heard, we now have a shop blog. You can click to it from our website. On the menu at the left is “Our Blog”. You can read various postings and look through our two photo albums.

 the Crew

 

           New from the Northwest

 

New from the Northwest

Greg Bear, Quantico (April, Vanguard hc, 24.95). In the next decade, home-grown terrorism has faught law enforcement to a standstill and the graduating FBI class may be the last as the political pressure to win the War On Terror reaches a shrill volume. Three Quantico grads are after a bio-terrorists and the case seems complex beyond their abilities. Something different from the multi-awardwinning, and local, science fiction author. Signing?

Bill Cameron, Lost Dog (April, Midnight Ink tpo, 13.95). Debut from a Portland writer. Peter McKrail is out of work and trying to overcome his kleptomania. When he stumbles upon a body, he lands on the news and becomes a handy patsy for the killers. Signing.

Stella Cameron, Target (April, Mira pbo, 7.99). Nearly 20 years after the mass suicide of a cult, 3 siblings are forced out of hiding in a small bayou town. Signing.

Caroline Carver, Beneath the Snow (April, Orion pbo, 9.99). In the midst of a bad snowstorm in the Alaskan town of Lake’s Edge, a young research scientist vanishes. Her sister flies in from England to help in the search. As soon as she arrives, she becomes aware that her sister was causing problems for some powerful interests. 

Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union (May, Harper hc, 26.95). Postponed from April ’06: It's an historical fact that FDR proposed that Alaska be the homeland for the Jews instead of Israel, and this mystery takes place in what that Alaska might have been: Det. Meyer Landsman works the case of a heroin-addicted chess prodigy found dead in Meyer's run-down building. Signed Copies Available.

Mary Daheim, The Alpine Scandal (Mar., Ballantine hc, 23.95). A series of obituaries raises flags since they’ve been sent by the “deceased”. Soon he is dead for certain. Signing. In paper, The Alpine Recluse (April, Ballantine, 6.99).

Jo Dereske, Catalogue of Death (April, Avon pbo, 6.99). 10th with the inquisitive librarian Wilhelmina Zukas. When a blinding blizzard brings Bellehaven to its knees, the disaster is compounded by an explosion at the new library site, killing the library's benefactor, Franklin Harrington.  The surviving Harringtons are more inclined to build pricy condos on the land.  The library director, Miss May Apple Moon, charges Helma to convince the dead man's dysfunctional familly to honor Franklin's wishes. Delving too deeply into Harrington affairs could be fatal to the curious. Signing.

Ashna Graves, Death Pans Out (Mar., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). A journalist spends time at her uncle’s Eastern Oregon mine, recovering from surgery. As she gains strength, her reporter’s skills take hold and she’s soon walking around the area, talking to the locals and asking general questions. Someone is clearly not interested in questions being answered.

Nicola Griffith, Always (April, Riverhead hc, 26.95). Aud Torvingen returns! In her third appearance, security expert Aud is teaching a self-defense class and doing an occasional investigation. Her carefully polished emotional walls are wearing and her latest case begins to evolve into something more, something dangerous on many levels. Aud’s first book, Blue Place (Harper,13.95) is on JB’s list for one of the best books of the 1990’s. Nicola is a brilliant writer and Aud is a great and damaged heroine. Signing.

Michael Gruber, The Book of Air and Shadows (April, Morrow hc, 24.95). An intellectual property lawyer is drawn into the dangerous nexus of a murdered Shakespearean scholar, a missing manuscript, a ruinous fire in an antiquarian bookshop and an encrypted map. Signing. In paper, Night of the Jaguar (April, Harper, 7.99), last of the Jimmy Paz trilogy.

Sue Henry, The Refuge (April, NAL hc, 23.95). Off the road and in Hawaii to help a friend pack for a move, Maxie begins to suspect something sinister is going on. Her friend has been whispering into the phone and someone has been trying to break into the house. Signing? In paper, The Tooth of Time (April, Signet, 6.99).

Lisa Jackson, Absolute Fear (April, Kensington hc, 19.95). The institutional chills from Shiver (Mar., Zebra, 7.99) continue their haunting ripple.

Mark Lindquist, The King of Methlehem (May, Simon & Schuster hc, 23.00). Veteran Det. Wyatt James tracks a powerful meth dealer as he moves through drugs’ damaged landscape in the population South of Seattle. A searing crime novel by a former Pierce County prosecutor and life-long Washington State resident. Signing.

Patrick F. McManus, Avalanche (Mar., Simon & Schuster hc, 24.00). An avalanche strands Sheriff Bo Tully at the West Branch Lodge while he’s there about a missing person case. Things get worse when he finds out that an old flame is there without her husband – oh, and there’s a murder, too. Signed Copies Available.

Gregg Olsen, A Wicked Snow (Mar., Pinnacle pbo, 6.99). The local true crime writer and expert on female killers turns to fiction: Hannah Griffin is a CSI investigator who lost her mother 20 years ago in a fire on the family farm. The killer was never found. Now he appears to be back and Hannah gets a chilling message – “Your Mom Called”. Signing.

Liz Osborne, Masquerade (April, 5 Star hc, 25.95). Debut by a local writer. When a Congressman dies in her hospital, Patient Relations Manager Robyn Kelly looks into the circumstances. The politician had many enemies and some of them may be co-workers. Signing.

Amanda Quick, The River Knows (April, Putnam hc, 24.95). Two young Victorians, a man and a woman who couldn’t possibly be attracted to one another, unite to find the secrets of a prominent man who troubles them both. Signing. In paper, Second Sight (April, Jove, 7.99).

Ann Rule, Too Late to Say Goodbye (April, Free Press hc, 26.00). A doctor’s wife in Atlanta is found dead, apparently a suicide by gunshot. Detectives later learn that another woman in the doctor’s past died the same way – also ruled a suicide. Seattle true-crime maven Ann Rule unravels the details. Signing.

E.C. Sheedy, Without A Word (Mar., Brava tpo, 14.00). A woman becomes the guardian of a murdered friend’s daughter. Someone else seeks custody. British Columbia.

 

Now in Paperback

Daniel Kalla, Rage Therapy (May, Forge, 7.99).

Elizabeth Lowell, The Wrong Hostage (May, Avon, 7.99).

John J. Nance, Orbit (April, Pocket, 7.99). JB recommends.

Sharan Newman, Heresy (Mar., Tor, 6.99). 8th in her medieval France series from 2002, first time in paperback.

 

Mysterious Youth

Ridley Pearson, The Kingdom Keepers: Disneyland After Dark (May, Disney, 8.99).

 

     Coming This Summer

Mary Daheim & the Bed & Breakfast, Aug.

Aaron Elkins & Gideon Oliver, June

J.A. Jance & Beaumont, July

Elizabeth Lowell, Innocent as Sin, June

Ridley Pearson, Killer Weekend, July

Kat Richardson & Harper Blaine, Aug.

 

                         New from the Rest

 

Peter Abrahams, Nerve Damage (Mar., Morrow hc, 24.95). Roy Valois never got over the death of his wife 15 years ago. Now facing his own death, he resolves to solve the mysteries of the helicopter crash that took her from him.

Susan Wittig Albert, Spanish Dagger (April, Berkley hc, 23.95). 15th China Bayles. In paper, Bleeding Hearts (April, Berkley, 6.99).

Lori Andrews, The Silent Assassin (May, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Geneticist Dr. Alexandra Blake is involved in a delicate diplomatic event. US GIs brought home skulls from Viet Nam and the remains are to be turned over at a ceremony in DC. In paper, Sequence (April, St. Martin’s, 6.99). Fran recommends.

David Baldacci, Killer Genius (May, Warner hc, 26.99). Former agents investigate a murder at a retreat for scientific geniuses.

Alex Barclay, Dark House (May, Delacorte hc, 23.00). American debut by a young Irish writer who rose to the top of the UK bestseller lists. After a terribly, bloody end to a case, NYC Det Joe Lucchesi takes his family to Ireland to escape it all. There he is soon drawn into the disappearance of a young woman who had been dating his son.

Linwood Barclay, Stone Rain (May, Bantam pbo, 6.99). 4th comic mystery with Zach Walker.

Robert Barnard, A Fall from Grace (May, Scribner hc, 24.00). Det. Insp. Charlie Pearce and his wife Felicity are surprised when her father moves to their quiet town. The old man is a notorious braggart who it appears has a thing for younger women. Rumors of scandalous acts give way to rumors of something more criminal. While they don’t like the old geezer, they can’t believe the rumors splash Felicity as well.

Cynthia Baxter, Right from the Gecko (April, Bantam pbo, 6.99). Veterinarian Jessica Popper looks into the death of a reporter at a Hawaiian hotel. 5th in the series.

Benjamin Black, Christine Falls (Mar., Holt hc, 25.00). First in a series with Dublin pathologist Quirke under a pen name by John Banville. After finding his brother-in-law altering a casefile, Quirke looks closer at the case and begins to suspect tampering with the corpse as well. His reluctant investigation will take him to the secret and well-guarded heights of the Church in Ireland and Boston.

Cara Black, Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (Mar., Soho hc, 23.00). Parisian PI Aimee Leduc finds herself caring for an abandoned infant as she tries to finish other work. By the time she finds the mother, much violence has taken place and Aimee is taken to the tunnels beneath the Seine. In paper, Murder in Montmartre (Mar., Soho, 12.00), the 6th in this popular series. Signed Copies Available while they last.

Stephen Booth, The Dead Place (May, Bantam hc, 25.00). The 6th of his books with DC Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry to be published in the US. Cooper investigates Derbyshire’s first reported case of bodysnatching while Fry believes a phone prankster is not harmless. Soon they will understand that they’re both dealing with the strange world of those who dispose of the dead.

Rhys Bowen, In Dublin’s Fair City (Mar., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 5th with 1903 PI Molly Murphy. In paper, Oh Danny Boy (Mar., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

C.J. Box, Free Fire (May, Putnam hc, 24.95). Having lost his badge, Joe Pickett is mending fences on his father-in-laws ranch when the Governor calls with a favor: a killer recently walked free from four murders committed in a slice of Yellowstone Park that is under the legal jurisdiction of no one. The Governor will return Joe’s badge if he investigates the murder. Sandy HIGHLY recommends. Signing. In paper, In Plain Sight (May, Berkley, 7.99).

Emily Brightwell, Mrs. Jeffries and the Best Laid Plans (May, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 22nd in this Victorian series with the perceptive housekeeper.

Rita Mae Brown, Puss ‘n Cahoots (Mar., Bantam hc, 25.00). 15th Mrs. Murphy. In paper, Sour Puss (Mar., Bantam, 7.50).

Ken Bruen, Priest (Mar., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 5th with Irish cop Jack Taylor. The beheading of a priest horrifies even the most hardened.  In paper, The Dramatist (Mar., St. Martin’s, 12.95).

Gwendolyn Butler, Dread Murder (April, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Maj. Mearns receives a large package. In it are a pair of legs. This is just the first of such deliveries. The Major and Sgt. Denny resolve to find out who has killed a fellow soldier. Author of 31 mysteries with John Coffin. This is the second with Maj. Mearns. The prolific Ms. Butler also wrote as Jennie Melville.

Dorothy Cannell, Withering Heights (April, St. Martin’s hc, 22.95). 12th Ellie Haskell, whose cousin Ariel asks her to look into some strange goings-on in her Gothic mansion on the Yorkshire moor. Signed Copies Available.

Alexa Carr (aka Jenny Siler!), An Accidental American (Mar., Random House tpo, 9.95).  When a past lover is shown to be a terrorist, a woman living quietly in France is asked to help find him in Lisbon. Not willing to be a snitch and not trusting the US agent who confronts her, she heads to Portugal to find the truth. Violence erupts. Favorite author of Tammy and JB’s.

Lee Child, Bad Luck and Trouble (May, Bantam hc, 26.00). Old friends of Jack Reacher are dying as someone targets those Reacher trusted and worked with most closely. And we know Reacher won’t stand idly by. Year in and year out, Lee’s books are among our top sellers and always on our staff lists of Best of the Year.  Deservedly so since his books are so damn great. Haven’t read him? Better get started! Signing. In paper, The Hard Way (April, Dell, 7.99). All Staff Recommendation!

Laura Childs, Dragonwell Dead (Mar., Berkley hc, 23.95). 8th in the Tea Shop Mystery. In paper, Blood Orange Brewing (Mar., Berkley, 6.99).

Jill Churchill, The Accidental Florist (Mar., Morrow hc, 23.95). Jane Jeffry’s own wedding is interrupted when someone dies in the self-defense class that the groom requests her to attend. 16th in the series.

Jane K. Cleland, Deadly Appraisal (April, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 2nd with antiques appraiser Josie Prescott. Signing.

Harlan Coben, The Woods (May, Dutton hc, 26.95). The sister of a New Jersey prosecutor was one of four girls who vanished from a campground 20 years ago. A new murder stirs up the older case as some think the victim could be one of the four. Signed Copies Available. In paper, Promise Me (Mar., Signet, 9.99), his latest Myron.

Max Allan Collins, A Killing in Comics (May, Berkley tpo, 14.00). A mystery novel with illustrations by Terry Beatty. In 1948, ex-burlesque headliner Maggie Starr runs her late husband’s newspaper syndicate. They make a fortune distributing the Wonder Guy comic strip. But the strip’s publisher has been murdered and there is no shortage of suspects for Maggie’s stepson and troubleshooter to investigate. See also Historical.

Nancy Collins, Acts of Violets (Mar., Signet pbo, 6.99). 5th in the witty flower shop series.

Michael Connelly, The Overlook (May, Little Brown hc, 21.99). First book edition of a 12 part serialized story from The New York Times Magazine. Now on the elite Homicide Squad, Bosch’s first case has national implications; the murdered doctor had access to radioactive material that had been stolen shortly before the murder. The FBI and Rachel Walling enter the picture. We’re promised that the book will have 25% more to the story than appeared in the magazine installments. Signing.

John Connolly, The Unquiet (May, Atria hc, 25.95). PI Charlie Parker is boxed in between his search for a missing psychiatrist who is accused of harming children under his care and a killer focused on revenge for those acts. A third force rears its ugly head – those who want the truth buried at any cost. Signing by a staff favorite.

Susan Rogers Cooper, Vegas Nerve (Mar., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 8th with Sheriff Milt Kovak.

David Corbett, Blood of Paradise (Mar., Ballantine tpo, 9.95). In El Salvador, US bodyguard Jude McManus is contacted by his late father’s Chicago PD partner. The man had fled the States years before when mob contacts had been arrested and he now draws on Jude’s feelings for help. Jude thinks he can help and not become involved – but he’s wrong. Signed Copies Available. JB highly recommends this author.

Susan Conant & Jessica Conant-Park, Simmer Down (Mar., Berkley hc, 22.95). Chloe Carter’s boyfriend is set to open a new restaurant in Boston when the owner of a trendy club is bludgeoned to death at the opening.

David Downing, Zoo Station (May, Soho hc, 23.00). In 1939 Berlin, British journalist John Russell has been there for a decade but is reluctant to flee the approaching war and the pall it casts over everything. His investigative pieces might get him deported anyway, but he doesn’t want to leave his son or his starlet girlfriend. Favors he does bring him under the eye of battling intelligence agencies, endangering him further.

Anthony Eglin, The Amazon Lily (April, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 3rd in the English Garden mystery series. In paper, The Lost Garden (Mar., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

Loren D. Estleman, American Detective (April, Forge hc, 24.95). 19th Amos Walker, the best US private eye series currently being written. A request from a former Tigers pitcher sends Walker into a police stakeout and then into a case of loan sharks, casino owners, crooked cops and murder. Signed Copies Available.

Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain, Coffee, Tea or Murder? (April, Signet pbo, 6.99). The in-joke here is that Bain was the actual author of Coffee, Tea or Me?, the stewardess book from the ‘60s.

Joanne Fluke, Key Lime Pie Murder (Mar., Kensington hc, 22.00). 9th culinary mystery with Hannah Swensen. Signing. In paper, Cherry Cheesecake Murder (Feb., Kensington, 6.99).

Christopher Fowler, White Corridor (May, Bantam hc, 24.00). 5th in the quirky puzzles of Arthur Bryant and John May, investigators for London’s Peculiar Crimes Unit. On their way to a Spiritualists convention, the pair are stranded by a blizzard. They quickly come to realize that a killer is amongst the other motorists.

Earlene Fowler, Tumbling Blocks (May, Berkley hc, 24.95). 13th in the quilting series with Bennie Harper. In paper, The Saddlemaker’s Wife (May, Berkley, 7.99).

Stephen Frey, The Fourth Order (May, Ballantine hc, 24.95). The CFO of a DC energy company unwittingly steps into a noose when he pursues the takeover of a global information company that is being used by various intelligence agencies as a pawn.

Shelley Freydont, The Sudoku Murder (May, Carroll & Graf hc, 24.95). The head of a puzzle museum is found murdered. A member of the Institute of Theoretical Mathematics and a master puzzle-solver, Katie McDonald has returned to her New Hampshire hometown and finds herself the new proprietor of the museum. The dead man was her mentor and she resolves to crack this case.

Mark Frost, The Second Objective (May, Hyperion hc, 24.95). Based on historical fact: As WWII winds to a close, Nazi commando Otto Skorzeny – the man who rescued Mussolini – is sent on a mission with two points: the first is that a group of German soldiers will land behind Allied lines, pass themselves off as Americans and cause chaos; the second is more secret, and more sinister.

Christine Goff, Death Shoots a Birdie (Mar., Berkley pbo, 7.99). 5th in this bird watching mystery series.

Lee Goldberg, Diagnosis Murder: The Last Word (May, Signet pbo, 6.99). 8th novel based on the popular TV show.

Jane Haddam, Glass Houses (April, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 22nd with the retired head of the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit Gregor Demarkian.

James W. Hall, Magic City (Mar., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95, Signed Copies 25.95). In 1964, a B&W photo was taken during a prize fight in Miami. Something shown in that photo is leading to murders in today’s Florida and when those crimes come near Thorn, a price will be exacted. How could something so simple, a picture that is 40 years old, cause so much pain and bloodshed? Thorn will find out. A favorite writer, and person, of JB and Tammy’s.

Lyn Hamilton, The Chinese Alchemist (April, Berkley hc, 23.95). 11th with antiques dealer Lara McClintoch who is working to find an 8th C. Tang Dynasty box rumored to hold an alchemist’s recipe.

Charlaine Harris, All Together Dead (May, Ace hc, 24.95). In her 7th book, Louisiana’s Sookie Stackhouse is dealing with a new man – he’s a handful, being a shape-shifter, you know – as well as a planned vampire summit. Signing? An HBO series based on these books is set to air next Fall/Winter. In paper, Definitely Dead (April, Ace, 7.99), Sookie. Also in paper, Sweet and Deadly (Mar., Berkley, 7.99). The author’s first book from 1980, about a murder in a small town and the local reporter who is caught up in the investigation.

Carolyn Hart, Set Sail for Murder (April, Morrow hc, 23.95). Henrie O returns for her 7th adventure. In paper, Dead Days of Summer (April, Avon, 6.99).

Honor Hartman, On the Slam (May, Signet pbo, 6.99). 1st in a new series of Bridge Club mysteries by an ‘established mystery author’ who lives in Houston where this series is set.

Richard Hawke, Cold Day in Hell (Mar., Random House hc, 24.95). A media circus surrounds the trial of a TV personality accused of murdering two women. When a third is attacked across the street from where his girlfriend lives, NYC PI Fritz Malone becomes involved. In paper, Speak of the Devil, the 1st Fritz (Feb., Ballantine, 7.99), by this pseudonym of Tim Cockey.

Vicki Hendricks, Cruel Poetry (May, Serpent’s Tail tpo, 14.95). Two people are infatuated with Renata, a stunning young woman who has sex for money and thrills. One is a professor who is endangering his career and marriage, the other is a young writer who spies on Renata from her room next door. Both want to be Renata’s one true love and, in Vicki’s Noir World, you know it will end badly for them all. Signing. A reissue of note: Miami Purity (Busted Flush, 15.00). A staff all-time favorite from 1995, a steamy, erotic thriller that will forever change how you view drycleaners. A modern noir classic.

Joan Hess, Damsels in Distress (April, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 16th with Arkansas bookseller Claire Malloy. Signed Copies Available.

Reginald Hill, Death Comes for the Fat Man (Mar., Harper hc, 24.95). Critically injured in a blast, Dalziel lies in a hospital bed. DCI Pascoe launches a hunt for those responsible. Clues point to a shadowy group called The Templars, and he begins to suspect that they’re getting help from his department. 24th in this popular series. Signed Copies Available.

Susan Hill, The Various Haunts of Men (April, Overlook hc, 24.95). A woman vanishes into fog on a hill known for its tranquility. The police are not alarmed. But then others disappear on the hill – a young girl, an old man, and a dog – and the coppers must act. Something is terribly wrong in this quiet cathedral town. First in a new series with DCI Simon Serrailler by a much-awarded writer.

Tami Hoag, The Alibi Man (April, Bantam hc, 26.00). Trouble finds a former narcotics detective when she discovers the body of a co-worker. Ties lead the case to the Russian Mob. In paper, Prior Bad Acts (Mar., Bantam, 7.99).

David Housewright, Dead Boyfriends (May, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 4th with unlicensed PI Rushmore McKenzie.

Roberta Isleib, Deadly Advice (Mar., Berkley pbo, 6.99). Author of the golf mystery series begins a new series: Dr. Rebecca Butterman is a psychologist and writes an online advice column. She investigates when a neighbor is said to have committed suicide.

Craig Johnson, Kindness Goes Unpunished (Mar., Viking hc, 23.95). Traveling to Philadelphia with his friend Henry Standing Bear, Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire hunts for those who attacked his daughter, a lawyer who had been caught up in political shenanigans. Signed Copies Available. In paper, Death Without Company (Mar., Penguin, 14.00).

Marshall Karp Blood Thirsty, (Mar.,Macadam Cage hc, 26.00).

This hilariously dark sequel to The Rabbit Factory reminded me of the early wise-cracking dialogue of Robert Crais. Barry Gerber, a hated and powerful man in Hollywood has been found ‘exsanguished’ and left in a garbage can, effectively dashing the hopes of Detectives Lomax and Biggs dreams to have their big case made into a movie. Det. Lomax's father, Big Jim Lomax, is an old-time Hollywood teamster who's meddling almost foils their chances of solving the murders that continue to eliminate Hollywood bad boys. Lomax and Biggs have to navigate their way through Tinseltown secrets and double-crosses to get to the bottom of the murders.

Signing? Tammy HIGHLY recommends.

Jonathan Kellerman, Obsession (April, Ballantine hc, 26.95). 15 years ago, Dr. Alex Delaware helped a young girl who was abandoned by her mother and raised by her aunt. She’s become haunted by her aunt’s final words, words that could be taken as a deathbed confession of murder. In paper, Gone (April, Ballantine, 7.99). Gretchen recommends.

Jerry Kennealy, Jigsaw (April, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Start of a new series by the author of the Nick Polo mysteries. Entertainment critic Carroll Quint is the only connection between three murders. All were friends of his and the killer has been e-mailing him clues from old Hitchcock movies that point to the next victim. A thoroughly Hollywood story – Quint’s mother, a former starlet, helps with clues of her own.

Matthew Klein, Con Ed (Mar., Warner hc, 23.99). Once one of the planet’s greatest con men, Kip Largo is out of prison and trying to live legally. A beautiful woman approaches him to get money out of her billionaire husband because she won’t get anything out of him in a divorce. Kip declines. But when his son informs him that he’s in hock to the Russian Mob and needs Kips help, the woman’s offer takes on a different luster. Signed Copies Available.

Mary Kruger, Knit Fast, Die Young (May, Pocket pbo, 6.99). 2nd mystery with yarn shop owner Ariadne Evans, set in a cozy Massachusetts town.

Victoria Laurie, What’s a Ghoul to Do? (April, Signet pbo, 6.99). First in a new series with ghost hunter M.J. Holliday.

Joyce and Jim Lavene, Poisoned Petals (May, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 3rd garden mystery.

Marc Lecard, Vinnie’s Head (Mar., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Johnnie LoDuco is such a small-time hood that it is amazing anyone knows who he is. He and his childhood buddy Vinnie McClusky-Schmidt pull off a lucrative credit card scam and think they’re set for life. But fishing one day, Johnnie snags his chum’s head and things go downhill from there. Eveyone is after him and Vinnie’s head. Too bad Johnnie can’t quite remember which cooler he stashed it in… Debut, dark laughs.

Elmore Leonard, Up in Honey’s Room (May, Morrow hc, 25.95). US Marshall Carl Webster – The Hot Kid (Harper, 9.99) – returns, hunting an escaped Nazi prisoner of war. Unknown to him, he’s stumbled into a nest of the bad guys operating in Detroit. If that wasn’t enough, the wife of one of them has taken a shine to him. In paper, The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard (May, Harper, 15.95).

Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know (Mar., Morrow hc, 24.95). Stand-alone thriller about a woman claiming to be one of the

girls who were kidnapped 20 years ago but never found. DNA test disprove it but she knows things only one of the girls

would know. Signed Copies Available. In paper, No Good Deeds (Mar., Harper, 7.99). Tess Monaghan.

Lisa Lutz, The Spellman Files (Mar., Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). Debut comic private eye novel about a young woman, Izzy Spellman, who works in her odd-ball family’s investigation business. The publisher promotes this as “if Nancy Drew went to work for the Royal Tenenbaums”.

Nancy Martin, A Crazy Little Thing Called Death (Mar., NAL hc, 21.95). 6TH with the sophisticated snoops, the Blackbird Sisters. Signing. In paper, Have Your Cake and Kill Him Too (Mar., Signet, 6.99).

Charles McCarry, Christopher’s Ghosts (May, Overlook hc, 25.00). Paul Christopher’s past comes alive as a former Nazi attempts to wipe out the last living witnesses to a pre-war atrocity. As the Cold War begins, the past war won’t let go. In paper, Tears of Autumn (Mar., Overlook, 13.95), the 2nd book from 1974. And a reissue of note, Second Sight (April, Overlook hc, 24.95). 7th in the Paul Christopher books, from 1991.

Chris McKinney, The Tattoo (April, Soho tpo, 14.00). A new arrival in a Hawaiian prison looks to be a tough-case to his cellmate, the prison tattoo artist. The new guy asks for a tattoo and tells his life story as the book and the inking unfold. It is a hard journey through the Hawaiian-Korean underworld and the young man’s pride is his own downfall. “Life in Hawaii, sunny side down.”

Adrian McKinty, The Bloomsday Dead (Mar., Scribner hc, 24.00). End of the Dead trilogy: Michael Forsythe is held at gunpoint by goons while taking a phone call: back in Dublin, Bridget’s daughter has been kidnapped and, unless he agrees to come back to look for her, the goons will shoot.

Neil McMahon, Lone Creek (April, Harper hc, 24.95). A hand on a Montana ranch discovers the buried carcasses of two horses. He’s always felt that something was odd about the new owners of the spread and this just adds to his suspicions. Signing?

Mark Mills, The Savage Garden (May, Putnam hc, 24.95). A Cambridge scholar is assigned to write about a famed Italian garden. While there, he begins to suspect that the garden’s design is meant to point to the means and motive of a murder.

David Morrell, Scavenger (Mar., Vanguard hc, 24.95). A powerful and evil figure, the Game Master, sends Frank Balenger (Creeper, CDS, 7.99) on a high-tech scavenger hunt for a century old time capsule. Failure means death for someone important to Frank.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy, Cat Pay the Devil (Mar., Morrow hc, 24.95). 12th Joe Grey mystery.

Tim Myers, A Mold for Murder (April, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 3rd in the soap making series.

Linda Palmer, Diss of Death (May, Berkley pbo, 7.99). 4th with soap writer Morgan Typer.

T. Jefferson Parker, Storm Runners (Mar., Morrow hc, 25.95). Matt Stromsoe hit bottom after an explosion that was meant for him killed his family. His life reassembled, he’s got a job with a friend’s private security firm. Hired to protect a local TV personality, he discovers that her private life is the source of the problem. Recommended by Janine.

James Patterson, The 6th Nanny (May, Little Brown hc, 27.99). The Women’s Murder Club, co-written with Maxine Paetro.

Joanne Pence, The Da Vinci Cook (Mar., Avon pbo, 6.99). 14th culinary mystery with chef and sleuth Angie Amalfi.

Cathy Pickens, Hog Wild (Mar., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 3rd with South Carolina attorney Avery Andrews.

Ann Purser, Secrets on Saturday (April, Berkley pbo, 6.99). Lois is cleaning a house that a newcomer is claiming to have inherited. The problem is the previous owner was known to not have relatives.

Ian Rankin, The Naming of the Dead (April, Little Brown hc, 24.99). Rebus is being kept far from a international conference

of leaders by his superiors. While manning a small Edinburgh station, he’s called to a castle where someone has fallen to their death. Was it an accident, a suicide? Whatever it was, those guarding he delegates want it kept quiet. Signing.

Ben Rehder, Gun Shy (May, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 5th comic mystery set in Blanco County, TX.

J.D. Rhoades, Safe and Sound (April, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 3rd with Carolina bounty hunter Jack Keller. A young girl is missing and her father has gone AWOL from the elite Delta Force center. Is the father involved or after the kidnapper himself? Janine recommends this series.

David Rosenfelt, Play Dead (May, Warner hc, 24.99). In his 6th book, New Jersey attorney and wiseacre, Andy Carpenter

saves a yellow lab from death and ends up trying to re-open a murder case in which he’ll have to call the dog into court as a

witness. In paper, Dead Center (May, Warner, 6.99). A wonderful, funny series.

John Sandford, Invisible Prey (May, Putnam hc, 26.95). Lucas Davenport’s suspicions are aroused by the murders of two

women in a wealthy neighborhood. Little was taken to justify

killing the women, but there must be something else – and the something else is waiting and expecting him.

Jonathan Santlofer, Anatomy of Fear (April, Morrow hc, 24.95). A successful NYC Police artist seems to run into his evil doppelganger – a killer draftsman. Before the cop can get closer, the killer begins to turn his fellow cops against him.

Stephen Santogrossi, A Stranger Lies There (April, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Winner of the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic First Novel Award. The body of a young man on a couple’s lawn has them puzzled until they look back twenty years to when the woman was an addict and the man put someone in prison with his testimony. Is that man now out and after revenge? But who is the dead man on the grass?

Michele Scott, Silenced by Syrah (Mar., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 3rd Wine Lover’s mystery.

Lisa Scottoline, Daddy’s Girl (Mar., Harper hc, 25.95). At a prison riot, law professor Natalie Greco hears the last words of a dying inmate. Her carefully balanced and safe life will vanish as others vie to find out those last words. Signed Copies Available.

Maggie Sefton, A Killer Stitch (May, Berkley hc, 21.95). 4th in the popular knitting series and 1st to be published in hardcover. 

Barbara Seranella, Deadman’s Switch (April, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Sadly, her last book. Charlotte Lyon has built a lucrative career in “crisis management”. Her latest case is to help a rail company whose derailment killed the engineer and a movie celebrity. She’s just the gal for the job.

Gerald Seymour, Rat Run (Mar., Overlook hc, 24.95). The London drug world sees new pressures: a soldier stripped of his ranks by charges of cowardice seeks justice for an elderly woman attacked by addicts and the drug lord is asked to smuggle a terrorist into the country by his Mid-East contacts. In paper, Traitor’s Kiss (Mar., Overlook, 13.95). Janine recommends this author.

Sarah Shaber, Shell Game (Mar., St. Martin’s hc, 22.95). 5th with author and forensic historian Simon Shaw.

Rick Shefchik, Amen Corner (Mar., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). While on medical leave from the Minneapolis police, Sam Skarda arrives at the Masters to find one of the rules committee members has been murdered. Troubles pile on and the Augusta club asks Skarda to work the case to protect the club’s privacy.

Mitch Silver, In Secret Service (May, Touchstone hc, 25.00). Debut thriller. A woman travels to Scotland to take possession of her dead grandfather’s deposit box. All it contains is an unpublished manuscript from Ian Fleming detailing his WWII espionage exploits. Though more than half a century old, someone still wants to kill to keep his secrets.

Denise Swanson, Murder of a Botoxed Blonde (April, Signet pbo, 6.99). 9th with Scumble River school psychologist Skye Denison.

William G. Tapply, Gray Ghost (Mar., St. Martin’s, 23.95). 2nd with Stoney Calhoun, angler and amnesiac.

Heather Terrell, The Chrysalis (May, Ballantine hc, 21.95). Mara Coyne is a Manhattan lawyer defending a major auction house against charges of selling Nazi art. The piece in question has a violent past and has caused numerous lives much damage. Debut novel of international intrigue and art history. 

Aimee & David Thurlo, Turquoise Girl (April, Forge hc, 23.95). Ella Clah.

Elaine Viets, Murder with Reservations (May, NAL hc, 21.95). 6th in the Dead-End Job series.

Jill Paton Walsh, The Bad Quarto (Mar., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 4th with the inquisitive college nurse Imogen Quy. An on-campus death has Shakespearean ties.

Heather Webber, Trouble in Bloom (May, Avon pbo, 6.99). 4th with garden landscaper Nina Quinn.

Donald E. Westlake, What’s So Funny? (April, Warner hc, 24.99). Dortmunder and his gang are on the trail of a priceless chess set, a jewel encrusted gift from the last Csar.

Randy Wayne White, Hunter’s Moon (Mar., Putnam hc, 24.95). Saving a former US President from assassination has huge repercussions for Doc Ford. Signed Copies Available. In paper, Dark Light (Mar., Berkley, 7.99). And a reissue of note: Cuban Death-Lift (April, Signet, 6.99). 3rd of the Randy Stryker reissues, this Dusky MacMorgan was originally