Newsletter
Fall 2001
In this issue:
Author Appearances
New Northwest Releases
Staff Notes
What We've Been Reading
Some Other Fall Releases
Now In Paperback
New from the UK
Sherlockiana
A Joke From Erin
Reissues of Note
Things of Interest
Author Appearances
Sat., Sept. 8, noon, Curt Colbert signs Rat City.
Mon., Sept. 10, noon, Tess Gerritsen signs The Surgeon
Fri., Sept. 14, noon, Kinky Friedman signs Steppin' on a Rainbow
Fri., Oct. 12, noon, Greg Rucka signs Critical Space
Fri., Oct. 19, noon, Glen David Gold signs Carter Beats the Devil
Sat., Oct.
20, noon, Phillip Margolin signs The
Associate.
Mon., Oct.
22, noon, Peter Robinson
signs Aftermath
Thurs., Oct 25, noon, a powerhouse twin bill:
Robert Ferrigno signs Flinch and Lawrence Block signs Hope to Die
Sat., Oct. 27, noon, Burl Barer signs Head Shot
T. F. Banks, The Thief Taker (Oct., Delacorte hc, 23.95). Henry Morton is a thief-taker, paid to investigate crimes as part of the Bow Street Runners, London's first police force. His current case takes him out of the slums, where he normally hunts, after a dead man is discovered in the house of an English lord. Debut by a Vancouver, BC author. Signing?
Burl Barer Head Shot (Oct., Pinnacle pbo, 6.50). One body with no head, one body with no face: the true story of the most gruesome double murder in Tacoma, WA, history. Signing.
Jim Brown, 24/7 (Oct., Ballantine hc, 24.95). On a small Caribbean island, a reality show is hijacked by CONTROL, a voice that says all are infected with a deadly disease and viewers will vote for which contestants survive each day. Now--what will they do to curry support from the viewers? Debut thriller from an Oregon journalist.
Curt Colbert, Rat City (Oct., Uglytown tpo, 15.00). In late-1940s Seattle, Big Ed wanted PI Jake Rossiter dead. Rossiter wanted to know two things: just who is Big Ed and why the grudge? A first novel with a pulp-noir voice and historically accurate Seattle locales. Signing.
Mary Daheim, The Alpine Nemesis (Oct., Ballantine pbo, 6.99). An old Alpine family feud flares up and soon Emma Lord is in the thick of it. Signing.
Robert Ferrigno, Flinch (Oct., Pantheon hc, 24.00). LA columnist Jimmy Gage receives a letter signed by the Eggman, a serial killer responsible for 6 unsolved murders. The police think he's pulling a hoax. A year later, Gage discovers crime-scene photos in his brother's possession. Is it part of some edgy game that they've been playing since they were kids, or is it something more menacing? Signing.
Kay Hooper, Touching Evil (Sept., Bantam pbo, 6.99). Seattle cop Maggie Scott is known for her talent for getting accounts from witnesses, and her skills are put to the test when a serial rapist begins to terrorize the city.
Elizabeth Lowell, Tell Me No Lies (Sept., Mira hc, 19.95). Smuggling of priceless Chinese artifacts into the US is about to cause an international crisis, and two people - an expert in Chinese art and an ex-CIA agent - hold the keys. WA author.
Phillip Margolin, The Associate (Sept., Harper hc, 26.00). After taking the blame when a huge case goes bad, a young Portland attorney digs back into the case to clear his name—and someone doesn't want that done. Signing.
Deborah Morgan, Death is a Cabaret(Oct., Berkley pbo, 5.99). Retired FBI agent and Seattle resident Jeff Talbot’s haunting of yard sales for antiques leads him into finding trouble instead of treasures. Debut series by the partner-in-crime of Loren Estleman. Signing.
Candace Robb, The Cross-Legged Knight (Nov., Heinemann hc, UK 1st, approx. 31.00). In the 8th Owen Archer mystery, the one-eyed spy must investigate the death of a young midwife in a townhouse belonging to the Bishop of Winchester. Signed copies will be available.
Greg Rucka, Critical Space
(Oct., Bantam hc, 23.95). While
protecting a client, body-guard-for-hire Atticus
Kodiak is approached by a woman with whom he has tangled in the past, and who
requests protection—and she's the most dangerous woman in the world…Fans
of Dennis Lehane will want to know that Lehane has called Rucka "a
refreshingly bold talent." Signing.
Ann Rule, Every Breath You Take (Oct., Free Press hc, 25.00). After years of deceit, scams and deviancy, Sheila Blackthorne left her husband, though he continued to monitor her life. She told her sister that if anything ever happened to her, "please have Ann Rule write the book." And she has. Signing.
Andrew Vachss, Pain Management (Sept., Knopf hc, 24.95). Waiting out the heat after a failed attempt on his life, Burke is scratching out a living in the Pacific Northwest. Tracking down a runaway, he encounters a criminal group dedicated to supplying adequate drugs for those suffering chronic pain. Signing?
Now in Paperback
D. W. Buffa, The Prosecution (Nov., Ballantine, 6.99).
Carola Dunn, Murder on the Flying Dutchman (Nov., Kensington, 5.99).
Ken Goddard, Outer Perimeter (Nov., Ballantine, 6.99).
Richard Hoyt, Vivienne (Nov., Tor, 6.99).
Jayne Ann Krentz, Lost and Found (Oct., Jove, 7.99).
E. L. Larkin, Hear Me Die (Sept., Worldwide, 5.99) second; Die and Die (Nov., Worldwide, 5.99) third; Dead Men Die (Dec., Worldwide, 5.99) 4th Deary Jones.
Dana Stabenow, Nothing Gold Can Stay (Sept., Signet, 6.99).
John Straley, Cold Water Burning (Nov., Bantam, 6.50).
Kate Wilhelm, The Deepest Water (Sept., Mira, 6.50).
Larry Brooks, Pressure Point—Dec.
Carola Dunn & Daisy Dalrymple—Feb.
Jayne Ann Krentz, Smoke in Mirrors—Jan.
Christopher Lane, A Deadly Quiet—Dec.
As you may know from your recent visits to the shop, we've had construction going on around us since the beginning of July. Above us, where there had been Sophie's Flowers, a Seattle's Best Coffee is going in. You may ask if Seattle needs another coffee joint, and all we can say is that we didn't have one on that particular corner.
The impact on us has been enormous. To make the space ADA accessible, we were asked to empty our backrooms - where we do the shipping and stash our overstock and where Sandy does her bookkeeping magic, and things done back there had to be split up and moved to other areas of the building - they've had to rip out the ceiling in our backroom so that they could put in a new entry way. The noise and dust and irritations have been a distraction to us and to you, but - by the time you're reading this - it should all be over.
What we hope to get out of it (besides a return to sanity) is that SBC is agreeable to us having author events up there. NYC publicists love having their authors do readings, and this may help us to get more authors, bigger name authors, and that will benefit us all.
So accept our apologies for the distracted way we've been acting this Summer. We appreciate your patience and hope that better things will come of it all.
-----JB
The construction chaos has made this a short section, but here are a few recommendations:
BOOKS I'VE RECENTLY ENJOYED
The Songcatcher, by Sharyn McCrumb. The latest of her "ballad" novels is lyrical in every sense of the word. It's really not a mystery, but wonderful anyway.
Cons, Scams & Grifts, by Joe Gores. The title sounds like short stories but it's a novel, with repo-men and Gypsies from the earlier 32 Cadillacs. Great fun!
Dirt, by Sean Doolittle. I grew up in a funeral home myself, so trust me when I say this guy knows more about funeral homes -- good and bad -- than most authors who write about them. A slightly off-the-wall story, respectfully told.
Hope to Die, by Lawrence Block. See page 3.
---Bill Farley
A GREAT DEBUT, AND AN OFF-BEAT CLASSIC
Open Season, by C. J. Box (July, Putnam hc, 23.95). Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett has problems: off-season hunters, poachers, and now the dead man on his woodpile. The strength of this debut novel is in its characters, and the strong forward motion of its plot. I'm hoping there will be many more Joe Picketts to come.
The Green Man, by Kingsley Amis (Academy Chicago tp, 12.00). When I got bumped upstairs with our overstock because of the construction mess, I (literally) stumbled over this intriguing volume, which had been on my TBR list for a couple of decades. Well, it was worth the wait: I think a certain amount of maturity is necessary to appreciate the acerbic charm of the alcoholic misanthrope through whose (distorted?) eyes these strange goings-on are seen. The Green Man is an English pub dating from the Middle Ages, and innkeeper Maurice Allington may have ghosts to deal with, in addition to health problems and a complicated family and love life.
--Sandy Goodrick
Often, books arrive in such a flood that we don't get them read in time for the appropriate newsletter--you've heard that old song before. Here are two that I've just read and enjoyed:
The Huntsman by Whitney Terrell is (like another river book that I liked very much, Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter) so much more than a story of a killer, or a victim or a sleuth. It is about the people of the area, the relatively tiny world they inhabit and, in this case, the racial divides between them. This is a sharply drawn book that eloquently captures the complicated social strata of Kansas City.
Hostage by Robert Crais is another of what he calls "big books," meaning more complex, more dense than his earlier Elvis Cole books. The plot is many-faceted, the characters richly sculpted, and the story ever evolving. As in the best crime stories, he kept surprising me and therefore delighting me. With it, he joins the ranks of Connelly, Lehane, O'Connell and Ellroy.
---- JB Dickey
Jeff Abbott, A Kiss Gone Bad (Sept., Onyx pbo, 6.99). A new Texas Gulf thriller by the author of the Agatha Award-winning Jordan Poteet series.
J. L. Abramo, Catching Water in a Net (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 22.95). Winner of the 2000 St. Martin's Press/PI Writers of America contest introduces us to San Fran peeper Jake Diamond—the classic kind of eye who is a careless dresser, a slob and has all the kinds of lowlife friends a shamus needs, like jailbirds, mobsters and cops.
Mary Jo Adamson, The Elusive Voice (Sept., Signet pbo, 6.50). 2nd set in 1800s Boston.
Susan Wittig Albert, Bloodroot (Oct., Berkley hc, 22.95. A Mississippi plantation contains haunting and dangerous family secrets. Signed Copies will be Available. In pb, Mistletoe Man (Oct., Berkley 6.99).
Bruce Alexander, Smuggler's Moon (Nov., Putnam hc, 24.95). In the 8th with the blind Magistrate Sir John Fielding, he travels to the South coast to investigate a fellow magistrate who is suspected of being involved with smugglers.
Donna Andrews, Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). While selling her crafts at a celebration of the British surrender at Yorktown, trying to please her mother-in-law and acting as head of the anachronism police for the re-enactment, Meg Langslow adds catching a killer to her duties. Karen recommends this series.
Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity: Detective (Oct., Viking hc, 22.95). Nobody cared for Prunella “Pruneface” Hooper, but hers is the first murder in Finch since 1872, and Lori agrees to investigate. Karen recommends this series.
David Baldacci, Last Man Standing (Nov., Warner hc, 26.95). FBI swat leader Web London lost his entire hostage rescue team to a vicious killer. Haunted by their deaths, he seeks their killer, only to find he is being hunted as well.
Stephanie Barron, Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House (Nov., Bantam hc, 23.95). 6th Jane Austen mystery, in which she joins her brother Frank in Southampton.
Nancy Bartholomew, Strip Poker (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). 4th comic case with Florida's exotic dancer Sierra Lavotini.
Nancy Bell, Biggie and the Quincy Ghost (Sept., St. Martin's hc, 22.95). Biggie and the gang find trouble in a neighboring town—was that really a ghost that was heard, or the murderer?
Carol Lea Benjamin, The Long Good Boy (Oct., Walker hc, 23.95). Rachel and Dash must find out who is murdering the transvestite hookers who already struggle to survive on the streets of Greenwich Village. In the process, she must turn a dachsund into a cat burglar! In pb, Lady Vanishes (Oct., Walker, 8.95).
Laurien Berenson, Once Bitten (Sept., Kensington hc, 22.00). 8th Melanie Travis has her looking for the killer of her sister's wedding planner.
Sally Beauman, Rebecca’s Tale (Oct., Morrow hc, 25.00). The story of Rebecca de Winter continues…
Ruth Birmingham, Blue Plate Special (Sept., Berkley pbo, 5.99). 4th in the Edgar-winning series with Atlanta PI Sunny Childs.
Eleanor Taylor Bland, Whispers in the Dark (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 23.95).9th with Chicago cop Marti MacAlister (announced earlier, but postponed to Nov.).
Lawrence Block, Hope to Die (Nov., Morrow hc, 25.00). Matthew Scudder tracks the vile murderer of a wealthy and cultured Upper West Side couple. Signing.
Stephen Booth, Dancing with the Virgins (Nov., Scribner hc, 24.00). Sequel to the acclaimed Black Dog, with Northern England detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry. In pb, Black Dog (Nov., Pocket, 6.99). Karen recommends.
Rhys Bowen, Murphy's Law (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 22.95). Fleeing her native Ireland after being framed for murder, Molly Murphy arrives in NYC only to be the suspect in another death. First in a new, 19th century series by the author of the Constable Evans books.
Sandra Brown, Envy (Sept., Warner hc, 25.95). An author's plot of treachery is recognized as truth by the former friend who put the author into a wheelchair. Now that man must stop the author and the publication of the book to save his secret.
Carol Higgins Clark, Fleeced (Oct., Scribner hc, 25.00). Regan Reilly is called by an old friend to help find a cache of diamonds that were to be donated to a sale to save the club.
Margaret Coel, The Thunder Keeper (Sept., Berkley hc, 22.95). A supposed suicide and a hit-and-run accident might be murder--what on the Wind River Reservation could be worth murder?
Gabriel Cohen, Red Hook (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). A case takes homicide cop Jack Leightner back to the heart of Red Hook, the Brooklyn community of his troubled childhood, his family's history and the terrible secrets from his past. Debut.
Patricia Cornwell, Isle of Dogs (Oct., Putnam hc, 26.95). Another comic romp with Judy Hammer and Andy Brazil. Postponed from June.
Bill Crider, A Romantic Way to Die (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 22.95). Sheriff Dan Rhodes is up to his ears in writers, agents and suspects investigating a murder at a romance writer's convention. In pb, A Ghost of a Chance (Sept., Worldwide, 5.99).
James Crumley, The Final Country (Oct., Mysterious Press hc, 24.95). Milo is back in Texas, running the bar of his dreams, and helping a woman look for the guy who raped and killed her sister. Soon, of course, he's in over his head and needs help from a strange group which includes Sughrue. The action moves dusty Mexico to icy Montana.
Jeanne M. Dams, To Perish in Penzance (Nov., Walker hc, 23.95). Latest with amateur detective Dorothy Martin.
S. V. Date, Deep Water (Oct., Putnam hc, 23.95). The “ideal” planned community of Serenity, FL - the pride of the late theme park wizard Waldo Whipple - is falling apart under Waldo’s successors. When a reporter begins to poke around, well, expect the best in razor-wire satire. And more Florida hilarity in pb, Speed Week (Oct., Berkley, 5.99).
Nelson DeMille, Up Country (Oct., Warner hc, 26.95). Paul Brenner (The General's Daughter) returns to investigate a murder that happened 30 years ago--in Viet Nam.
Wayne Dundee, Flesh and Blood So Cheap (Sept., Design Image tpo, 15.95). IL PI Joe Hannibal returns to action, investigating a murder at an idyllic WI summer resort.
Linda Fairstein, The Deadhouse (Sept., Scribner hc, 25.00). During the Holiday season, ADA Alexandra Cooper investigates the death of a poli-sci professor discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft. In her pocket was an enigmatic note-- "The Deadhouse."
Sharon Fiffer, Killer Stuff (Sept., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Jane Wheel's life has fallen apart, so she's begun a new pursuit in suburban Chicago: searching garage sales, for collectibles like Bakelite buttons and McCoy pottery—killer stuff. When her next-door neighbor is found murdered, Jane investigates. Debut.
Vince Flynn, Separation of Power (Oct., Pocket hc, 25.00). CIA top counter-terrorism operative Mitch Rapp returns as the Middle East teeters on the brink of war. In pb, The Third Option(Sept., Pocket, 7.99), Rapp's debut. Favorite author of Susan's.
Kinky Friedman, Steppin’ On a Rainbow (Sept., Simon & Schuster hc, 23.00.) One of the Kinkster’s sidemen has vanished while walking on a Hawaiian beach and who better than himself to look into the puzzle? In pb, Mile High Club (Sept., Pocket, 13.00).
Signing. And, not to be missed, Kinky Friedman's Guide to Texas Etiquette: or How to Get to Heaven or Hell Without Going Through Dallas-Fort Worth (Oct., Harper tpo, 22.95). Need we explain?
Jim Fusilli, Closing Time (Sept., Putnam hc, 23.95). Terry Orr is a novice PI in NYC. During a midnight run, he helps a badly beaten cabbie and, two days later, witnesses a bloody explosion at an art gallery. These events propel him to try to learn the skills of a private investigator, applying them to his life in general - to recover from the death of his wife and infant son.
Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, Bitter Sugar (Nov., Morrow hc, 24.00). 6th with Cuban-American PI Lupe Solano.
Lisa Gardner, The Next Accident (Aug., Bantam hc, 23.95). A PI and an FBI agent look into the "accidental" death of the Fed's daughter.
Julie Garwood, Mercy (Sept., Pocket hc, 25.00). An attorney visits New Orleans to get an award for work done with the Justice Department. Becoming ill, he's saved by a woman doctor in the crowd. Following her to her bayou clinic to thank her, he becomes involved as someone begins to harass her. In pb, Heartbreaker (Sept., Pocket, 7.99).
Tess Gerritsen, The Surgeon (Aug., Ballantine hc, 24.95). Physician Catherine Cordell was traumatized by a sadist rapist in Savannah, GA, but was able to shoot—and seemingly kill—her attacker before he killed and mutilated her. Now she is an ER trauma surgeon in Boston, and a serial killer with the same MO seems to be at work. Signing.
Glen David Gold, Carter Beats the Devil (Sept., Hyperion hc, 24.95). Erin says: "This is a beautiful, ambitious first novel: part murder mystery, part political thriller and an ode to the end of the age of vaudeville, as told through the fictionalized biography of an historical figure, magician Charles Carter. The story follows his life with open honesty, through times of comedy and tragedy. By the end of the first reading, my copy of this book was worn to nothing and I was sorely disappointed to be unable to invite the characters over for dinner." Signing.
Ann Granger, Shades of Murder (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). 13th Cotswolds mystery with Markby and Mitchell, a favorite series of Karen and Sandy.
Sarah Graves, Wreck the Halls (Nov., Bantam hc, 21.95). 5th--and first hardcover--in the Home Repair is Homicide series tests the Holiday Spirit for Jacobia Tiptree in Maine.
Annie Griffin, Tall, Dead and Handsome (Nov., Berkley pbo, 6.50). 5th mystery with 60-something sisters Hannah and Kiki, a smart and snappy series.
Martha Grimes, The Blue Last (Sept., Viking hc, 24.95). Richard Jury is asked to prove that the granddaughter of a brewing magnate is an imposter, and that the real girl died in a pub called the Blue Last during the Blitz.
Parnell Hall, Puzzled to Death (Oct., Bantam hc, 23.95). 3rd with the "Puzzle Lady" of Bakerhaven, Connecticut, Cora Felton. Cora is hosting a charity crossword puzzle tournament, nursing a huge hangover, and investigating the death of a celebrity contestant. Solve a cross-word puzzle and 3 murders! And now in pb, Last Puzzle & Testament (Sept., Bantam, 6.50). Signing?
Laurell K. Hamilton, Narcissus in Chains (Oct., Berkley hc, 22.95). Latest with Anita Blake, vampire hunter.
David Handler, The Cold Blue Blood (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). A NYC film critic and recent widower retreats to a private island off Connecticut and finds the estranged husband of his landlady in the vegetable garden—and finds himself drawn to the female detective who comes to investigate. First in a new series by the Edgar-winning author.
Charlaine Harris, Shakespeare's Counselor (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 22.95). Cleaning woman and karate expert Lily Bard attends a weekly group therapy session and finds out it can be murder.
Jonathan Harris, Seizing Amber (Oct., Sourcebooks hc, 22.00). Consisting of 129 mosaic panels of amber, the fabled Amber Room was stolen by the Nazis and vanished. Now, US intelligence agent Isaiah Hawkins hears that it is for sale and hopes to recover it and influence a Russian election.
Janis Harrison, Lilies That Fester (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Florist Bretta Solomon attends a florist's convention in nearby Branson, MO, and unearths murder.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Blood Sinister (Sept., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Det. Insp. Bill Slider has to put aside his own opinions about the victim—a journalist who made her reputation by attacking the police.
Ellen Hart, Dial M for Meatloaf (Nov., Ballantine pbo, 6.99). 6th tasty whodunit with food critic/hotelier Sophie Greenway.
Robin Hathaway, The Doctor and the Dead Man's Chest (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). 3rd whodunit with Dr. Fenimore and Mrs. Doyle.
Pete Hautman, Rag Man (Oct., Simon & Schuster hc, 23.00). Following his dream of being a clothing manufacturer, nice guy Mack MacWray learns the hard way that success in business is no problem...if you don't have a conscience. Favorite author of Bill's.
Steven Havill, Bag Limit (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). On the eve of his retirement, Sheriff Bill Gastner's car is rammed by a drunk teen who is then run over while running away. The next morning, Gastner is called to a crime scene—the teen's father had been murdered.
Mo Hayder, The Treatment (Aug., Doubleday hc, 23.95).
Behind the quiet façade of Brockwell Park, a residential suburb of London, lie dark secrets. Detective Jack Caffery is called to investigate when the brutally beaten and dehydrated bodies of a man and his wife are found on the grounds of their house—and their young son is missing. Sequel to her electrifying debut Birdman.
Peter J. Heck, Tom's Lawyer (Nov., Berkley pbo, 6.50). 6th with Mark Twain, sleuth. Sam's boyhood friend—and the role model for Huck Finn--is charged with murder.
Corson Hirschfeld, Too High (Sept., Forge hc, 25.95). Hawaiian archeologist digger Fitz travels to Kentucky for a reunion with a niece and cousin. When his cousin is murdered, he's the prime suspect and must dodge country cops, crazy kin, mountain militia and a shipment of 400 rattlesnakes that's gone awry.
Stephen Hunter, Pale Horse Coming (Nov., Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). In 1951 Arkansas, Earl Swagger goes looking for his friend Sam Vincent, who vanished while investigating a prison for violent black convicts. And you know Earl will set things right. Favorite author of JB's.
Susan Isaacs, Long Time No See(Sept., Harper hc, 26.00). Judith Singer, heroine of Compromising Positions, returns after 20 years, to face new comic chaos. Signing?
Bill James, Pay Days (Sept., Norton hc, 24.00). Harpur and Iles are trying to figure out if a fellow officer is taking bribes or doing some unauthorized undercover work. 17th in the series.
J. Robert Janes, Kaleidoscope(Nov., Soho hc, 22.00). Latest reissue (though 3rd in the series) of the St-Cyr/Kohler WWII series, set at Christmas of '42 in Provence.
Susanna Jones, The Earthquake Bird (Sept., Mysterious Press hc, 22.95). Lucy Fly is a young Englishwoman working as a translator in Tokyo, where she escapes her painful past with work and an intense affair with a secretive Japanese photographer. When Lucy befriends Lily, another young Brit, things unravel and Lucy is soon the chief suspect in a murder. Debut psychological suspense. Karen recommends.
Stuart Kaminsky, Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express (Oct., Mysterious Press hc, 24.95). Moscow Police Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov. And in pb, The Big Silence (Nov., St. Martin's, 6.99), in the Lieberman series.
Joseph Kanon, The Good German (Oct., Holt hc, 26.00). While covering the post-war Potsdam Conference, an American reporter searches for his German lover, a woman who vanished in the war, and stumbles on a murder of an American soldier whose body washes up on the lake's shore. Latest intrigue by the Edgar-winning author of Los Alamos.
H. R. F. Keating, Breaking and Entering (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Bombay's Insp. Ghote searches for a cat burglar, in the latest addition to this venerable series.
Toni L.P. Kelner, Mad as the Dickens (Nov., Kensington hc, 22.00) 7th sassy Southern whodunit with Laura Fleming. Holiday theme.
Rochelle Krich, Shadows of Sin (Oct., Morrow hc, 25.00). LAPD Det. Jessie Drake investigates the murder of three in a plastic surgery office.
Joe R. Lansdale, Captains Outrageous (Sept., Mysterious Press hc, 24.95). Hap and Leonard find trouble on a Caribbean cruise and in Mexico. Latest fun by the Edgar-winning author of The Bottoms (Sept., Mysterious Press, 13.95), and favorite author of Tammy and Erin.
Janet LaPierre, Keepers (Sept., Daniel & Daniel tpo, 12.95). Latest in the Port Silva series, this time with mother/daughter PI team Patience and Verity Mackellar.
Martha Lawrence, Ashes of Aries (Sept., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). 4th case for the psychic skills of PI Elizabeth Chase. In pb, Pisces Rising (Sept., St. Martin's, 6.50).
Laura Lippman, In a Strange City (Sept., Morrow hc, 24.00). PI Tess Monaghan is asked to unmask the annual visitor to Poe’s tomb. While the challenge intrigues her, should she really mess with a cherished tradition?
Mary Logue, Glare Ice (Nov., Walker hc, 23.95). 3rd with WI cop and single mother Claire Watkins, a series Tammy recommends as thoughtful and extraordinary. In pb, Dark Coulee (Oct., Worldwide, 5.99).
Michael Malone, First Lady (Sept., Sourcebook hc, 24.00). After 10 years, Malone returns to Hillston, NC, to Justin Savile and Cuddy Magnum who discover that they have a serial killer on their hands. Karen recommends this series.
Sujata Massey, The Bride’s Kimono (Sept., Harper hc, 25.00). 5th with antiques dealer Rei Shimura, who is asked by a DC museum to help transport valuable kimonos.
Archer Mayor, Tucker Peak (Nov., Mysterious Press hc, 23.95). In his 12th case, Joe Gunther investigates murder at a posh ski resort. And in pb, The Marble Mask (Nov., Warner, 6.99).
Ed McBain, Money, Money, Money (Sept., Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). 87th Precinct, postponed from an earlier date. And in pb, Ed McBain/Evan Hunter, Candyland (Sept., Pocket, 7.99).
Sam McCarver, The Case of the Ripper's Revenge (Nov., Signet pbo, 5.99). 2nd with professor/paranormal detective John Darnell, who teams up with George Bernard Shaw to track down a killer whose crimes are disturbingly like those of Jack the Ripper.
Val McDermid, Killing the Shadows (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Someone is killing crime writers whose characters are profilers, and academic psychologist Fiona Cameron is drawn into the case by her lover, thriller writer Kit Martin. In pb, A Place of Execution (Sept., St. Martin's, 6.99), an Edgar nominee from last year.
Leslie Meier, Wedding Day Murder (Nov., Kensington hc, 22.00). 9th Lucy Stone mystery, as she investigates the death of the groom.
Miriam Grace Monfredo, Brothers of Cain (Sept., Berkley hc, 22.95). In 1862, undercover agent Bronwen Lyr is working with her sister when they learn that their brother is due to be hanged as a prisoner of war. Can they save him?
Chris Mooney, World Without End (Nov., Pocket hc, 25.00). CIA team leader Steve Conway is tracking an industrial terrorist who has targeted a company developing a high-tech combat suit that renders the wearer invisible. In pb, Mooney's debut thriller, Deviant Ways (Nov., Pocket, 7.99), an Edgar nominee.
Magdalen Nabb, Property of Blood (Sept., Soho hc, 23.00. Marshal Guarnaccia is faced with a kidnapping and ransom for a lovely contessa. In pb, reissue of the first in the series with Florentine Marshal Guarnaccia, Death of an Englishman (Sept, Soho, 12.00). Karen is delighted to have a new book in this excellent series.
Robert B. Parker, Death in Paradise (Oct., Putnam hc, 23.95). 3rd Jesse Stone. And in pb, Perish Twice (Nov., Berkley, 7.99), with Sunny Randall.
Sara Paretsky, Total Recall (Sept., Delacorte hc, 25.95). V. I. Warshawski returns, with a case that has deep personal meaning for her. When a mysterious man whose name has frightening associations for her friend and mentor, Dr. Lotty Hershel, suddenly appears, V. I. undertakes an investigation that touches on recovered memory, Holocaust victims, and international corporate intrigue.
Owen Parry, Call Each River Jordan (Oct., Morrow hc, 25.00). Confidential agent Abel Jones is dispatched to the South to uncover the truth behind the massacre of 40 runaway slaves - and the Confederates want to help. And in pb, Shadows of Glory (Sept., Harper, 6.99). Wonderful series highly recommended by Bill, Karen and JB.
James Patterson,Violets Are Blue (Nov., Little Brown hc, 27.95). Alex Cross investigates the world of ritual role playing, and those who may have crossed the line between play and real.
Arturo Perez-Reverte, The Nautical Chart (Oct., Harcourt hc, 26.00). Tanger Soto, who works in the Naval Museum in Madrid, is obsessed with the Dei Glorio, a Jesuit ship sunk off the Southern coast of Spain in the 17th C. She will use her considerable manipulative skills with men and her expertise with maps and documents to find the shipwreck-- and will let nothing get in her way.
Anne Perry, Funeral in Blue (Oct., Ballantine hc, 25.00). Two women are found strangled in an artist’s studio, and one is the wife of Hester’s dear friend Dr. Beck. She and Monk investigate. And in pb, Slaves of Obsession (Oct., Ballantine, 7.50).
Gary Phillips, Shooter's Point (Oct., Kensington hc, 22.00). 2nd with Chainey, a 6-foot-tall ex-showgirl with looks, brains and a no-bulls**t attitude, who is looking into the murder of a friend--a woman boxer. Tammy highly recommends the first Chainey, now in pb, High Hand (Sept., Kensington, 5.99).
Ian Rankin, The Falls (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). After a student's strange disappearance, Insp. Rebus gets two leads: a carved wooden doll in a coffin, and an internet-based game. Ancient crimes and modern technologies intertwine as Rebus matches wits with a fiendish killer. In pb, Set in Darkness (Nov., St. Martin's, 6.99).
Ann Ripley, Harvest of Murder (Oct., Kensington hc, 22.00). 6th gardening mystery.
J. D. Robb, Seduction in Death (Sept., Berkley pbo, 7.99). 13th with Lt. Eve Dallas.
John Maddox Roberts, SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion (Sept., St. Martin's hc, 22.95). Visiting Caesar in Gaul, Decius is drafted into service—an army commander has been murdered.
Peter Robinson, Aftermath (Oct., Morrow hc, 25.00). Several girls disappear, and their bodies are discovered during a routine domestic disturbance call. Insp. Banks must figure it out. Signing. And in pb, Cold is the Grave (Sept., Avon, 6.99).
Richard Rosen, Dead Ball (Nov., Walker hc, 23.95). Harvey Blissberg—star of the Edgar-Winning Strike Three, You're Dead (Walker, 8.95) returns. Karen recommends.
Rebecca Rothenberg, The Tumbleweed Murders (Sept., Daniel & Daniel tpo, 12.95). 4th Claire Sharples,unfinished at the time of the author's death. The manuscript was finished by her good friend and fellow author Taffy Cannon.
James Sallis, Ghost of a Flea (Nov., Walker hc, 23.95). Latest and—perhaps--last of the terrific series with Lew Griffin, professor of literature and former New Orleans PI. In pb, a reissue of the first Griffin, A Long-legged Fly (Oct., Walker, 8.95).
Karin Slaughter, Blindsighted (Sept., Morrow hc, 25.00). In rural GA, pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton is involved with a serial rapist turned killer. A dark, tense debut.
Troy Soos, Island of Tears (Nov., Kensington hc, 23.00). On Jan.1, 1892, the first ship arrives at Ellis Island, and writer Marshall Webb finds himself involved in the disappearance of a young Dutch girl. A departure for the author noted for his historical baseball mysteries.
Jerry Stahl, Plainclothes Naked (Nov., Morrow hc, 25.00). A self-loathing ex-junkie detective, a sexy nurse who offs her infomercial-guru-husband with a Drano-laced bowl of Lucky Charms, and two cranked-up, moronic villains all chase a rumored incriminating photo of the President. Ellroy meets Hiaasen, they say.
Richard Stark, Firebreak (Nov., Mysterious Press hc, 23.95). Parker deals with assassins as he plots his next caper. In pb, The Mourner, the 4th Parker from '63, and The Score, the 5th from '64 (Sept. – Oct., Mysterious Press, 12.00). In Nov., (Mysterious Press, 12.95), Flashfire, the Parker from last year, the 19th. Wonderful, hard-bitten professional crime stories, recommended by Bill, JB & Karen, by an author otherwise known as Donald Westlake.
William Tapply, Past Tense (Oct., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Brady Coyne's girlfriend was once the victim of a stalker, who turns up again to harass her. When the stalker's body turns up, Brady and Evie are at the top of the list of suspects.
Charles Todd, Watchers of Time (Oct., Bantam hc, 24.95). Insp. Ian Rutledge investigates the death of a priest who attended the recent death of an honorable man. Was the priest killed during a robbery, or were darker motives behind it? 5th in this Edgar-nominated series set in post-WWI Britain, a series that has appeared three times on the list of New York Times Notable Books of the year.
Patricia Traxler, Blood (Sept., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Painter Norrie Blume accepts a prestigious fellowship. As new relationships become more complex, her paintings become more intense, and she becomes unsure which way the influences run. All she knows is that every part of her life has become more intense and disturbing.
Noreen Wald, Remembrance of Murders Past (Sept., Berkley pbo, 5.99). 4th with ghostwriter Jake O’Hara.
James Wilson, The Dark Clue (Nov., Atlantic hc, 25.00). Returning from the classical beginnings of the literature of mysteries, Walter Hartwright and Marion Halcombe—from Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White—search for the truths behind the murky past of famed painter J. M. W. Turner. An evocative and literary thriller, a debut novel by a noted non-fiction author. Karen, who is usually not impressed with modern sequels to classic novels, loved this one!
Robert Wilson, The Company of Strangers (Oct., Harcourt hc, 25.00). Lisbon, 1944: an Englishwoman works to find atomic secrets and a German attache works to save his country. [ A Small Death in Lisbon is scheduled to be out in pb in April '02...]
K.j.a. Wishnia, Red House (Nov., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). 4th in the Edgar-nominated series with Ecuadorian fireball Filomena Buscarsela, NYC PI.
Valerie Wolzien, Murder in the Forecast (Sept., Ballantine pbo, 6.99). 5th with contractor Josie Pidgeon.
Stuart
Woods, Orchid Blues
(Nov., Putnam hc, 24.95). Chief of Police Holly Baker and her trusty doberman Daisey return after their
introduction in Orchid Beach.
Simon Brett, The Body on the Beach (Sept., Berkley, 6.99).
Dianne Day, Beacon Street Burning (Nov., Bantam, 5.99).
Dick Francis, Shattered (Oct., Jove, 6.99).
Leslie Glass, Tracking Time (Sept., Signet, 6.99).
Carolyn Hart, Sugarplum Dead (Nov., Avon, 6.99).
Sparkle Hayter, The Chelsea Girl Murders (Nov., Penguin, 5.99)
Lynn Hightower, The Debt Collector (Nov., Dell, 6.99).
Brian Hodges, Wild Horses (Oct., Ballantine, 6.99). Tammy and JB recommend.
Jonnie Jacobs, Murder Among Strangers (Sept., Kensington, 5.99).
Jonathan Kellerman, Dr. Death (Sept., Ballantine, 7.99).
Peter Lovesey, The Vault (Oct., Soho, 12.00.) Insp. Diamond.
John LeCarre, The Constant Gardener (Nov., Pocket, 7.99).
Marianne Macdonald, Smoke Screen (Sept., Avon, 5.99).
Camille Minichino, The Beryllium Murder (Oct., Worldwide, 5.99).
Clare Munnings, Overnight Float (Sept., Penguin, 5.99). Sandy recommends.
Peter Moore Smith, Raveling (Sept., Warner, 6.99). Edgar nominee. Karen recommends.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy, Cat Spitting Mad (Nov., Avon, 6.50). Favorite series of Karen and Sandy.
Iain Pears, The Immaculate Deception (Nov., Pocket, 7.99). Sandy recommends.
Scott Phillips, The Ice Harvest (Oct., Ballantine, 12.00). An Edgar nominee, and a wonderfully nasty little noir – JB.
Gillian Roberts, Helen Hath No Fury (Oct., Ballantine, 6.99).
John Sandford, The Devil’s Code (Oct., Berkley, 7.99).
Steven Saylor, Last Seen in Massilia (Sept., St. Martin's, 6.50).
Jonathan Stone, The Heat of Lies (Oct., St. Martin's, 6.99). A Staff Favorite.
Coming this Winter
M. C. Beaton &Agatha Raisin—Dec.
and Hamish Macbeth—Jan.
Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie—Feb.
Jill Churchill, Grace & Favor – Dec.
Loren D. Estleman & Amos Walker—Feb.
Bill Fitzhugh, Fender Benders—Dec.
Dorothy Gilman, Kaleidoscope—Jan.
John Grisham, The Summons—Feb.
James W. Hall & Thorn—Jan.
Vicki Hendricks, Sky Blue—Feb.
Carl Hiaasen, Basket Case—Jan.
Reginald Hill & Pascoe and Dalziel—Jan.
Craig Holden, The Jazz Bird—Jan.
George Pelecanos, Hell to Pay—Feb.
Anne Perry & the Pitts—Feb.
Ruth Rendell, Adam and Eve and Pinch Me—Feb.
S. J. Rozan, Winter and Night—Feb.
Stephen White & Alan Gregory—Feb.
New from the UK
These release dates are when they come out in England, and they'll need some travel time before they reach us.
Rennie Airth, The Blood-Dimmed Tide. This sequel to
River of Darkness was originally scheduled for summer, but has been
postponed to early 2002, due, it is rumored, to the
author's being very late with the manuscript. For those who have already placed
orders, thanks for your patience.
Jon
Cleary, Yesterday's Shadow (Oct., HarperCollins UK, UK
1st, approx. 30.00). New Scobie
Malone mystery set in Australia. The detective must fend off a long-forgotten
girlfriend, the FBI, and the CIA as he tries to solve the murders of a cleaner
and the American Ambassador's wife, both of which took place in the same hotel
on the same night.
David Crackenthorpe, The Ravenglass Line (Sept., Headline tpo, UK 1st, approx. 20.00). Two brothers
fear that their inheritance will disappear when their mother comes under the
influence of a mysterious Hungarian. They have no idea what trouble they're in
for. This author is fairly new to us, but is widely acclaimed both by critics
and by our very knowledgeable customers.
John Harvey,
In a True Light (Oct., Heinemann, UK 1st, hc approx. 40.00; RandomHouse UK
pb, approx. 10.95). From the
author of the Charlie Resnick series, a novel that
takes Sloane, a painter/forger introduced in the ninth Resnick novel, from today's London, New York, and Tuscany to
the Greenwich Village of the 1950s. Limited number of signed hardcovers will be available.
Eoin McNamee, The
Blue Tango (July, Faber and Faber tp,
approx. 20.00) Dark Irish thriller recommended to us by John Connolly (Dark
Hollow, Killing Kind) when he was here recently.
Minette Walters, Acid Row (Oct.,
MacMillan UK, SIGNED UK 1sts approx. 40.00). A
young woman doctor finds herself trapped in a house with a man accused of
abducting a young girl--who may or may not be missing.
Some UK Books now
in paperback:
Lizbie Brown, Cat's Cradle
(Nov., Hodder & Stoughton pb, approx. 10.95). The 6th Bath mystery
with quilt shop owner Elizabeth and her investigator friend
Max.
Freeman Wills
Crofts: Status House in England has undertaken to reissue ALL the titles by
this classic author in paperback editions that we expect to price at 12.95. We
can't stock them all, but will be happy to order specific titles for
you.
Sylvian Hamilton, The Bone-Pedlar (Oct., Orion pb,
approx. 12.95) First in a series about ex-Crusader Sir Richard Straccan, who has become a dealer in holy relics--an
occupation that leads to the kidnapping of his daughter. This has received much
good buzz in the UK.
Lauren Henderson,
Pretty Boy (Sept., RandomHouse UK,
approx. 10.95) Sam Jones finds a body tied to the village Christmas tree and her
friend Tom cast in the role of chief suspect.
Carole Nelson Douglas, Chapel Noir (Oct., Forge hc, 25.95). When several young women are slaughtered in a posh Parisian bordello, Irene Adler is asked to make a "discreet" inquiry—and finds that the murders bear an unsettling similarity to recent crimes in London's Whitechapel district…
Loren D. Estleman, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes (Oct., iBooks, 12.00). Reissue in which Watson explains the true tale of terror.
Stephen Kendrick, Night Watch (Nov., Pantheon hc, 23.00). The murder of a priest on Christmas Day in 1902 brings about the meeting of Holmes and Father Brown.
Larry Millett, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance (Oct., Viking hc, 24.95). On the eve of President McKinley’s visit to Minneapolis, Shadwell Rafferty is drawn across the river by a gruesome crime. As the danger deepens, he’s joined by Holmes and Watson.
More Holmes for the Holidays, Greenberg, Lellenberg and Waugh, eds. (Oct., Berkley 13.00). Trade paperback of the second holiday anthology of new Holmesian short stories.
Murder in Baker Street: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes,ed. by Greenberg, Lellenberg and Stashower(Oct., Carroll & Graf hc, 25.00). Short Sherlockiana by the likes of Estleman, Hoch, Tremayne, Kaminsky, Wheat, Crider and Greenwood.
Barrie Roberts, Sherlock Holmes and the Railway Maniac (Nov., Allison & Busby, approx. 12.95). Unavailable for several years, this Holmes adventure is a welcome reissue. The author is a favorite of our Sherlockian customers.
The True Crime Files of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,Stephen Hines and Steven Womack, eds. (Oct., Berkley hc, 22.95). Doyle was involved with two actual murder cases, and published his observations about them at the time. Now, the editors return to the original source material to more fully explore the cases and how they fit into Doyle's life.
And a joke from Erin:
Q: What is Sherlock Holmes’ favorite tree?
A: A lemon tree, Watson.
Arthur Bahr, Certifiably Insane (Nov., Berkley 6.99). Edgar Award Nominee from '99 for Best First Novel.
Patricia Highsmith, The Blunderer and People Who Knock on the Door (Nov., Norton tp, 11.00 ea). Reissues of works from 1953 and 1983 by the author Graham Greene called "the poet of apprehension."
Peter Lovesey, The False Inspector Dew (Oct., Soho, 12.00). One of Bill's ALL TIME FAVORITES, a charming book of mistaken identity and mayhem aboard a trans-Atlantic voyage.
Peter O'Donnell, The Impossible Virgin (Nov., Souvenir Press, 11.95) and The Night of the Morningstar (Sept., Souvenir Press, 11.95). The 5th and 10th of this classic Modesty Blaise series.
Mark Twain, A Murder, A Mystery, and a Marriage (Sept., Norton tpo, 16.95). Originally written as a novelette that Twain planned to use to launch a writers competition, this work has recently resurfaced 125 years after it was written. Set in a small river town—much like his hometown of Hannibal, MO—a farmer's plans to marry off his daughter are interrupted by the discovery of an unconscious stranger in the snow.
Cornell Woolrich, Rear Window (Sept., iBooks, 12.00). Collection of shorter works, including the novella adapted by Hitchcock for his timeless movie.
Tony Hillerman, Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir (Oct., Harper hc, 26.00). Billed as “an affectionate and unvarnished recollection of one of America’s best-loved writers." Signing?
Walter Mosley, Futureland(Nov., Warner hc, 24.95). Nine interconnected stories set in the future. It's the United States, 2020-2040, and the ranks of the disenfranchised have swollen to a toxic level. Meet Ptolemy Bent, a child genius whose act of mercy lands him in a privatized prison…and Fera Jones, a boxer who gives up the ring for politics.
Michael Connelly, The Harry Bosch Novels (Oct., Little Brown hc, 16.95). The first three Bosch books in one omnibus volume.
Straight From the Fridge, Dad: a Dictionary of Hipster Slang, Max Decharne(Nov., Broadway tpo, 12.95). Righteous jive for all you weedheads, moochers, b-girls, gassers, triggermen, grifters and long-gone daddies.
Dashiell Hammett: a Daughter Remembers, Jo Hammett(Nov., Carroll & Graf, 30.00). For the first time, the great writer’s daughter tells her view of her father. A straightforward reminiscence with generous illustrations.
Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers, by Michael Baden & Marion Roach (Sept., Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). The authors take readers into the latest science being used to convict the guilty and free the innocent.
Carl Hiaasen, Paradise Screwed (Sept., Putnam hc, 25.95). Selected columns, in case you didn’t get enough in Kick Ass (Berkley, 13.95).
Natural Suspect, devised by William Bernhardt (Nov., Putnam hc, 23.95). A serial legal thriller in which each chapter is written by a different author (including Glass, Margolin, Scottoline, Lescroart, Meltzer and Hartzmark), but you have to guess which author wrote which chapter about a trial after an oil tycoon is bludgeoned to death.
The Mammoth Book of More Historical Whodunnits, ed. by Mike Ashley (Oct., Carroll & Graf tpo, 11.95). Three dozen writers, including Jecks, Todd, Gregory, Frazer and Tremayne, with new work.
The Sopranos: A Family History, by Alan Rucker (Sept., NAL tp, 20.00). Updated, full-color guide (includes the 3rd season) to this great saga.
SEATTLE MYSTERY BOOKSHOP NEWS is composed and produced by JB Dickey and Sandy Goodrick. The online version is brought to you by Susan Dennis.