Seattle Mystery Bookshop

N e w s  l e t t e r

117 Cherry St. Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 587-5737

    e-mail:  staff@seattlemystery.com     WEBSITE:  seattlemystery.com

Bill Farley, Founder /J. B. Dickey, Owner/ Tammy Domike, Manager

  Sandy Goodrick / Erin O'Donnell / Cathie van Veen    

 

Spring 2003

 

 

 

AUTHOR APPEARANCES

 

Tues, Mar 4, noon, George P. Pelecanos signs Soul Circus.

Sat, Mar 8, noon, Earl Emerson signs Into the Inferno.

Sat, Mar 15, 2pm, Laurie R. King signs Keeping Watch.

Mon, Mar 17, noon, Jerrilyn Farmer signs Mumbo Gumbo.

Thurs Mar 20, noon, Susan Andersen signs Getting Lucky.

Fri, Mar 28, noon, Betty Webb signs Desert Wives.

Sat, Mar 29, noon, Sara Conway signs Daughters of Summer.

Tues, April 1, noon, Jess Walter signs Land of the Blind.

Thurs, April 3, noon, James Swain signs Sucker Bet.

Tues, April 8, noon, Phillip Margolin signs Ties that Bind, AND Chuck Logan signs Vapor Trail.

Sat, April 26, noon, Thomas W. Griffin signs Cube 6.

NEW FROM THE NORTHWEST

Susan Andersen, Getting Lucky (March, Avon pbo, 6.99). Passion, humor and romantic suspense (that’s all the catalog gives us). Seattle author. Signing.

D.W. Buffa, Star Witness (April, Putnam hc, 24.95). Attorney Joseph Antonelli takes on a big Hollywood case: the film industry’s most successful writer/director is on trial for murder—and claims his script for a re-imaging of Citizen Kane will prove his innocence.

Lowen Clausen, Second Watch (Signed, numbered and dated hc still available, 25.99; pb, March, Signet, 6.99). Katherine Murphy (First Avenue) is partnered with Officer Grace Stevens, patrolling the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. A sadistic murder leads them to be enlisted by the Sex Crimes Unit and sends them deep into the dark territory of human evil. Signing. We, the staff – as a group – give this book the HIGHEST recommendation possible. (First Avenue is also still available in hc, signed 1sts, 21.95, and pb, Signet, 6.99. The two hardcovers make a handsome set.)

Sara Conway, Daughters of Summer (Feb., Cumberland House hc, 22.95). Master Gruffyd, an arrogant merchant and an abusive husband, is found poisoned during Hexamshire’s summer fair in 1221, and Lord Godwin investigates. The author teaches history at a local community college. Signing.

Earl Emerson, Into the Inferno (March, Ballantine hc, 23.95). Seattle firefighter Jim Swope responds to a freeway accident—two trucks have collided on an icy roadway. Six months later, he wakes up with the first symptom of a strange disease that has hit the firefighters who were at the scene of the accident. He finds out he has a week to discover an antidote to the unknown poison before it kills him. Signing.

Lisa Jackson, The Night Before (March, Zebra pbo, 6.99). In Savannah, Caitlayn Bandeaux awakens with a splitting headache, covered in blood, hearing the news of her husband’s brutal murder. The cops want answers and she has none. Oregon author. Signing?

Stan Jones, Shaman Pass (May, Soho hc, 22.00). Alaska Native and State Trooper Nathan Active investigates the murder, in the village of his birth, of an Inupiat tribal elder. In paperback – finally, after a few years - White Sky, Black Ice (May, Soho, 13.00), the first Nathan Active.

Ron Lovell, Dead Whales Tell No Tales (April, Sunstone Press tpo, 18.95). During a conference of the International Whaling Commission at the Oregon Coast Marine Center, Professor Thomas Martindale gets involved when a former lover is accused of murder.

Phillip Margolin, Ties that Bind (March, Harper hc, 25.95). Lawyer Amanda Jaffe, still recovering from the events of Wild Justice, is on the trail of a secret fraternity of powerful men who may have just assassinated one of their members – a US senator set to be the next presidential candidate. Signing.

John J. Nance, Skyhook (April, Putnam hc, 25.95). Over the Gulf of Alaska, a computer program designed to help airliners in trouble goes awry. The designer suspects sabotage but has no idea how high up the treachery goes… Signing.

Kevin O’Brien, Watch Them Die (May, Kensington pb, 6.99. Three Seattle women have been murdered: different careers, different types, different methods. The only connection? Their killer. Signing?

"Amanda Quick" (a/k/a Jayne Ann Krentz), Late for the Wedding (April, Bantam hc, 24.95). A late night tryst leads Lavinia Lake and Tobias March into a hunt for a killer of wealthy older grooms. Signing.

Cynthia Rylant, The Case of the Fidgety Fox: The High-Rise Private Eyes #6 (April, Greenwillow hc, 14.99). For your young mystery readers. Ace crime solvers Bunny Brown and Jack Jones tackle another case. Seattle author.

Lono Waiwaiole, Wiley’s Lament (March, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Making ends meet by playing poker, Wiley is hanging by a thread on the edge of his own abyss, drifting through his life like a ghost. When his estranged daughter turns up dead in a cheap downtown Portland motel room, he’s forced to confront the life he leads and the life he abandoned. Fresh, gritty noir from a first time Northwest author. Signing?

Jess Walter, Land of the Blind (March, Harper hc, 24.95). Spokane Det. Caroline Mabry returns, with an odd case: a disoriented guy wearing an eye patch wants to confess to a crime. 19 hours later, he’s still writing, and she’s hooked by the case. Tammy says his descriptions of childhood cruelty and nerdiness are not to be missed. Signing.

Now in Paperback

Carola Dunn, Rattle His Bones (March, Kensington, 5.99).

Aaron Elkins, Turncoat (April, Harper, 7.50).

John J. Nance, Turbulence (March, Jove, 7.99).

Amanda Quick, Don’t Look Back (April, Bantam, 7.50).

John Reed, The Kingfisher’s Call (April, Sourcebooks, 14.00).

Susan Sloan, Act of God (March, Warner, 7.99).

Coming this Summer

Alafair Burke, Judgment Calls, July

Mary Daheim & Rennie and Judith, Aug

GM Ford & Corso and Meg, July

Sue Henry & Jessie Arnold, July

JA Jance & Joanna Brady, July

Skye Kathleen Moody & Venus Diamond, Aug

Greg Rucka, A Fistful of Rain, July

NEW FROM THE REST

Boris Akunin, The Winter Queen (May, Random House hc, 19.95). The newest member of Moscow’s CID division is sent to investigate why a talented young student from a wealthy family would shoot himself in a public garden. First US printing for a Russian author gaining a worldwide reputation.

Donna Andrews, Click Here for Murder (April, Berkley hc, 22.95). Turing Hopper suspects that whatever knowledge led to her computer lab colleague’s murder may mean trouble for her. In paper, You’ve Got Murder (April, Berkley, 6.50).

Jennifer Apodaca, Dying to Meet You (May, Kensington hc, 22.00). Sassy Samantha Shaw has no luck with men, even though she runs a dating service. Luckily, she does better with solving crime. In paper, her debut, Dating Can Be Murder (April, Kensington, 5.99)

Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity Takes a Vacation (March, Viking hc, 22.95). The reading of a will leads Lori into trouble.

Robert Barnard, The Mistress of Alderley (April, Scribner hc, 24.00). Having retired from acting and living quietly in an elegant mansion supplied by her "married" lover, Caroline Fawley finds her life unsettled when a boy who closely resembles her lover appears and her lover disappears. Sandy recommends.

Richard Barre, Burning Moon (April, Capra Press hc, 25.95). Wil Hardesty faces two battling brothers and vicious Asian gangs while dealing with his most challenging personal crisis yet. Signed Copies Available.

Nancy Bell, Restored to Death (March, St. Martin's hc, 23.95). First book in a new series. Newly-widowed Judge Jackson Crain is living with his teenage daughter, trying to put his life in order when his sister-in-law is arrested for murder.

John Billheimer, Drybone Hollow (April, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Transportation inspector Owen Allison investigates a dam failure and a mining scam. Signing?

Claudia Bishop, Fried by Jury (May, Berkley pbo, 5.99). 10th in the Hemlock Falls series, culinary crime with the Quilliam sisters.

Cara Black, Murder in the Bastille (April, Soho hc, 23.00). Aimée Leduc arrives at an elegant restaurant, wearing a new silk jacket. She’s seated next to a woman who has on the same jacket. When that woman leaves her cell phone behind, Aimée follows to return it, is attacked in a doorway—and finds the other woman killed. Was it a mistake because they looked alike, or was Aimée a target? In paper, Murder in the Sentier (April, Soho, 13.00).

Anthony Bourdain, The Bobby Gold Stories (May, Bloomsbury hc, 19.95). After 10 years in prison, Bobby Gold is back doing what he loves: breaking bones for tough guys in the club and restaurant world. All is well until he meets the saucy cook Nikki and love brings trouble. (This is a novel, with each chapter treated as a separate "story.")

Peter Bowen, Badlands (May, St. Martin's hc, 23.95). 10th in series. Gabriel Du Pré tangles with a wealthy California cult recently relocated to his area, whose members have been dying of gunshots.

Rhys Bowen, Evan Only Knows (March, St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Evan faces the case that has long haunted him – his father’s murder.

C.J. Box, Winterkill (May, Putnam hc, 23.95). As a bitter snowstorm rises, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett finds himself alone with an arrow-studded body and a killer armed with a bow somewhere out there in the woods. In paper, Savage Run (May, Berkley, 6.50). Sandy recommends this excellent series.

Tom Bradby, The White Russian (April, Doubleday hc, 25.00). In the frigid time of the approaching Bolshevik revolution of 1917, an honest Chief Investigator tries his best in St. Petersburg. Sandro Ruzsky finds the bodies of a couple, stabbed to death and left on the frozen river Neva; the woman was a nanny at the tsar’s Winter Palace, the man an American from Chicago. In paper, The Master of Rain (May, Anchor, 14.95). Sandy and JB recommend.

Emily Brightwell, Mrs. Jeffries Pleads Her Case (April, Berkley pbo, 5.99). 17th of the cozy Victorian whodunits.

Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (March, Doubleday hc, 24.95). An expert in ancient codes is called in when an elderly curator at the Louvre is murdered; his body is found surrounded by odd, ancient ciphers. Based on extensive historical research which include historical figures Da Vinci, Hugo, Newton and others, and real forces – the Priory of Sion, the Opus Dei and the myth of the Holy Grail – in the history of religion and art. JB recommends: terrifically educational, with the intrigue and pace of early Ludlum. Great fun! Signing?

Rita Mae Brown, The Tail of the Tip-Off (March, Bantam hc, 24.95). After a high school basketball game, a local builder drops dead, and Mrs. Murphy and crew investigate.

Andrea Camilleri, The Snack Thief (May, Viking hc, 21.95). 3rd in the Sicilian series with Insp. Montalbano.

Leonard Chang, Underkill (May, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Korean-American investigator Allen Choice returns, helping his girlfriend enter L.A.’s underground of drugs and raves to find the killer of her brother.

Suzanne Chazin, Fireplay (May, Putnam hc, 25.95). FDNY Fire Marshall Georgia Skeehan is drawn into an undercover investigation of a shadowy group and is partnered with an arsonist-turned-FBI informant she doesn’t trust.

Lee Child, Persuader (May, Bantam hc, 24.95. While minding his own business unloading used records from a van, Reacher saves a college kid from a kidnapping and is soon involved with the family. Or is it really that simple? The first 18 pages will knock your socks off – HIS BEST BOOK YET!!! If you haven’t tried a Jack Reacher novel yet, jump in NOW. Signing. In paper, Without Fail (April, Jove, 7.99).

Laura Childs, Keepsake Crimes (May, Berkley pbo, 5.99). Debut in a scrapbook mystery series, which includes scrapbook tips, from the author of the popular Tea Shop series.

Mary Higgins Clark, The Second Time Around (April, Simon & Schuster hc, 26.00). When her son vanishes, a young wife believes that her corporate husband – who also vanished during a financial scandal – may have the boy. However, once the trail has grown cold, she realizes that the two may not have anything to do with one another. In paper, Daddy’s Little Girl (April, Pocket, 7.99).

Harlan Coben, No Second Chance (May, Dutton hc, 24.95). A successful surgeon awakens in ICU after 12 days, his wife dead, his daughter vanished. His world shattered, he receives something worse – a ransom note. In paper, Gone for Good (Mar, Dell, 6.99).

Michael Connelly, Lost Light (April, Little Brown hc, 25.95). Harry Bosch may have retired from the LAPD, but not from his drive for justice. Among the cold files is one that draws him back into the hunt. Signed Copies Available. JB recommends. In paper, City of Bones (March, Warner, 7.99). See Edgars.

John Connolly, The White Road (March, Atria hc, 25.00). His US publisher continues to play catch-up with the 4th Charlie Parker book (out last year in the UK). Old evil awaits Parker as he looks into a death penalty case, the victim of which was the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the state of Maine. In paper, The Killing Kind (March, Pocket, 6.99).

Jeffery Deaver, The Vanished Man (March, Simon & Schuster hc, 25.95). After a shooting, the killer is barricaded with a student in a classroom at an elite music school. After a scream and a shot, the door is broken down and the room is found to be empty. Rhyme and Sachs are called in and discover they are on the trail of a master illusionist they dub "the conjurer." In paper, The Stone Monkey (Feb., Pocket, 7.99).

Mark de Castrique, Dangerous Undertaking (May, Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). A police officer encounters murder in a small mountain town when he takes over his ailing father’s funeral home.

Joanne Dobson, The Maltese Manuscript (Feb., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). Professor Karen Pelletier is helping to host a crime fiction seminar at Enfield College. She teams up with guest author Sunny Hardcastle (who may remind readers of Patricia Cornwell) to find a stolen manuscript of Dashiel Hammett’s Maltese Falcon. Sandy reports: A fun read with great cover art!

John Donohue, Sensei (April, St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Someone is killing the great martial artists in America. Part-time martial arts teacher Connor Burke is drawn into the NYPD’s investigation, along with his teacher, master warrior Yamishita Sensei.

Eileen Dreyer, Vengeance (March, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Maggie O’Brien is a nurse and medic on a SWAT team, and the daughter of an infamous cop. At times she’s been tempted to administer her own justice, and she now suspects that someone else has done just that.

Selma Eichler, Murder Can Rain on Your Shower (March, Signet pbo, 5.99). 10th with plus-size PI Desirée Shapiro who is hosting a bridal shower that goes bad.

David Ellis, Life Sentence (March, Putnam hc, 24.95). First hardcover for the Edgar-winning author of Line of Vision (Berkley, 7.99). A novel of politics, promises and payback in a big Midwestern city’s governor’s race. Signed Copies Available.

K.J. Erickson, The Last Witness (May, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Minneapolis Det. Mars Bahr wonders if an NBA star forward is getting away with the perfect crime – the murder of his wife.

Loren D. Estleman, Poison Blonde (April, Forge hc, 24.95, Signed Copies 25.95). Amos Walker is hired by a Latino singer to find the woman whose name she’s been using in order to stay in the US. Walker is soon in the midst of a death-squad, with drug smuggling and music-industry thugs. Favorite series of JB & Bill. In paper, Something Borrowed, Something Black (April, Tor, 6.99), the latest with Peter Macklin.

Mary Anna Evans, Artifacts (Apr., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). While digging for Indian artifacts to sell on the black market and save her ancestral home, a woman uncovers a forty-year-old murder.

Nancy Fairbanks, Chocolate Quake (April, Berkley pbo, 5.99). 4th culinary mystery with food writer Carolyn Blue.

David Ferrell, Screwball (April, Morrow hc, 23.95). The Boston Red Sox are thrilled with their new phenom, Ron Kane, who has a killer 110 mph fastball. Trouble is, Kane is a killer, period. The team has a choice to make – accept him with his faults or give up the game. Blazing satire just in time for the new season’s excesses.

Bill Fitzhugh, Heart Seizure (March, Morrow hc, 21.95). The death of a healthy organ donor kicks off a crazy cross-country chase to see who will get the trophy. Seems the country’s head of state may be the most motivated… Tammy recommends. In paper, Fender Benders (April, Harper, 7.50).

Jasper Fforde, Lost in a Good Book (April, Viking, 24.95). Second with intrepid literary sleuth Thursday Next, after her spectacular debut in The Eyre Affair (March, Viking, 14.00). It's still 1985 in this literature-mad alternate universe, and Thursday must rescue her new husband who has been disappeared by sinister forces. Sandy recommends.

Joanne Fluke, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (March, Kensington hc, 22.00). In Lake Eden, Minn., Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar, is on the track of whoever killed a neighbor with a sweet tooth. In paper, Blueberry Muffin Murder (Feb., Kensington, 6.50).

Vince Flynn, Executive Power (May, Atria hc, 25.00). After his cover is blown, Mitch Rapp is targeted.

Earlene Fowler, Sunshine and Shadow (May, Berkley hc, 22.95). Bennie Harper returns to the past, to her college days and her first husband, to stitch together the solution to a present day crime. Signed Copies Available. In paper, Steps to the Altar (April, Berkley, 6.99).

Kinky Friedman, Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned (April, Morrow hc, 24.95). An author with writer’s block meets a duo of con artists. He rediscovers his joie de vivre and begins to write again, chronicling their antics. In pulling their biggest con, things spin out of control. In paper, his Guide to Texas Etiquette (April, Harper, 11.95).

Guiseppe Genna, In the Name of Ishmael (March, Miramax hc, 25.00). Italian bestseller now in English finds two detectives out to reveal the identity of the leader of a cult of assassins.

Alan Gordon, Widow of Jerusalem (March, St. Martin's hc, 23.95). 4th appearance of Theophilos the Fool, this time along on Richard the Lionhearted’s Third Crusade.

John Grisham, King of Torts (Feb., Doubleday hc, 27.95). Now available. Catalog arrived too late to include this book in the Winter newsletter.

Jane Haddam, Conspiracy Theory (May, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Gregor Demarkian gets involved with an Armenian-American neighborhood after its church is bombed. In paper, Somebody Else’s Music (April, 6.99).

James W. Hall, Off the Chart (May, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Anne Joy thought she’d escaped her violent past, which included her brother Vic, now a sadistic modern-day pirate who is terrorizing the Gulf Coast. Vic’s desire to control his sister puts him on a collision with one of her new friends – Thorn. Favorite of Tammy and JB.

Parnell Hall, Manslaughter (March, Carroll & Graf hc, 25.00). 15th comic mystery with PI Stanley Hastings.

Denise Hamilton, Sugar Skull (March, Scribner hc, 24.00). What is the connection of sugar skulls – little candies for the Mexican Day of the Dead – to the high body count in the city? Reporter Eve Diamond is on the story. Sequel to the Edgar-nominated The Jasmine Trade.

Laurell K. Hamilton, Cerulean Sins (April, Berkley hc, 23.95). The latest with vampire hunter Anita Blake. In paper, A Caress of Twilight (March, Ballantine, 7.50).

Lyn Hamilton, The Thai Amulet (April, Berkley hc, 22.95). Toronto antique dealer Lara McClintoch must sift through the layers of Bangkok to find out if a fellow dealer is dead or alive. In paper, The Etruscan Chimera (March, Berkley, 6.50).

Charlaine Harris, Club Dead (April, Ace pbo, 6.50). 3rd in the fabulously funny and phenomenally popular Southern Vampire series. Sookie travels out of state to party with the other un-dead. Erin and Cathie rave about these books.

Lee Harris, Murder in Hell’s Kitchen (April, Ballantine pbo, 6.99). "First book in a new mystery/crime series by the author of the Holiday Mystery series" is all the publisher’s catalog says.

Carolyn Hart, Engaged to Die (March, Morrow hc, 23.95). As wedding celebrations are in the air on Low Country Island, the Darlings are looking into the murder that crashed the party. Signing? In paper, April Fool Dead (Mar, Avon, 6.99).

Erin Hart, Haunted Ground (May, Scribner hc, 24.00). The body of a young girl is found in an Irish bog. Due to the nature of the bog, it's hard to know how long she’s been there. What is clear is that she was decapitated. Debut thriller with archeology, history and forensics.

Tony Hillerman, The Sinister Pig (May, Harper hc, 25.95). An old photo drives Chee and Leaphorn into action. In paper, The Wailing Wind (April, Harper, 7.99).

Roberta Isleib, A Buried Lie (May, Berkley pbo, 5.99). Now on the pro-am circuit, golfer Cassie Burdette is teamed with four doctors from a pharmaceutical company. When one dies on the links, she looks into it.

Dean James, Faked to Death (April, Kensington hc, 22.00). American expatriate, historian and vampire Simon Kirby-Jones is pressed into service as a speaker at his local bookshop’s writer’s conference, discovers that someone will be impersonating one of his pseudonyms–and then finds himself a suspect in a murder. In paper, Posted to Death (March) and Faked to Death (April, Kensington, 5.99 ea). James works at Murder by the Book, a mystery bookshop in Houston.

Jonathan Kellerman, A Cold Heart (April, Ballantine hc, 26.95). Alex and Milo team to find the killer of artists. In paper, The Murder Book (April, Ballantine, 7.99).

Jonathon King, A Visible Darkness (April, Dutton hc, 23.95). Trying to escape his Philly police background and live out a quiet life in the Everglades, Max Freeman is dragged back into the urban nightmare. His best friend wants him to look at a string of murders, elderly woman who were heavily insured. Second book by a new writer being compared to Hall, White and Burke. In paper, The Blue Edge of Midnight (April, Onyx, 6.99). See Edgars.

Laurie R. King, Keeping Watch (March, Bantam hc, 23.95). After years of rescuing children, Alan Carmichael saves one last kid before retiring—but after the boy is hidden, he begins to think a terrible mistake has been made. Has his intervention set in motion a tide of violence that may claim more innocent victims? Is his own life in danger? Signing.

Joyce Krieg, Murder Off Mike (April, St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Winner of the 2002 St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic Contest for Best Traditional Mystery. Smart and sassy radio host Shauna Bogart gets involved when the station’s shock jock is murdered.

William Lashner, Fatal Flaw (May, Morrow hc, 24.95). Attorney Victor Carl agrees to defend an old law school buddy accused of murder, though he believes the guy guilty. Vowing to see justice done, he finds out nothing is that simple. Bill recommends.

Suzann Ledbetter, A Lady Never Trifles with Thieves (May, Pocket pbo, 5.99). Joby Sawyer manages her investigation business as if her US Marshall father were still alive. Her current case involves jewels and murder, after a woman is strangled with her own pearl necklace. New series by the author of the cozy Southern series.

Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island (May, Morrow hc, 25.95). Called to a federal institution for the criminally insane, two US Marshals search for an escaped prisoner. Soon, as a storm threatens to strand them on this Mass. island, they begin to suspect they’ve stumbled into something darker and more evil. Signing?

David Lindsey, The Rules of Silence (April, Warner hc, 24.95). Titus Cain is a successful businessman with a wonderful life – and he’ll lose it all if he doesn’t make a series of bad investments to lose $64 million as directed by a sadistic criminal.

David Liss, The Coffee Trader (March, Random House hc, 24.95). Another historical from the author of the Edgar-winning debut A Conspiracy of Paper. In the back alleys & cut-throat commercial markets of Amsterdam in 1659, Miguel Lienzo, an emigrant Portuguese Jew, fights back after losing a fortune in the sugar market. With the help of a seductive Dutch woman he sets out to corner the market in a new commodity—coffee.

Chuck Logan, Vapor Trail, (April, Harper hc, 24.95). A vigilante called "The Saint" is murdering suspected pedophiles as summer temperatures bring Stillwater, MN, to a boil. When a priest is found murdered with a medallion of St. Nicholas—patron saint of small children—in his mouth, Phil Broker is recruited to stop the violence. Sequel to Absolute Zero. Signing.

Marianne Macdonald, Die Once (May, St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Just after one of her best customer’s check bounces, antiquarian bookseller Dido Hoare learns that he’s dead of a suicide. Setting out to get her money or the book back, she finds a twisted trail of deceit.

Patricia MacDonald, Suspicious Origin (April, Atria hc, 24.00). A woman travels to the town where her estranged sister died in a house fire. The sheriff suspects it’s the work of a serial arsonist; she thinks it might be her brother-in-law. In paper, Not Guilty (May, Pocket, 6.99).

Barry Maitland, Babel (May, Arcade hc, 24.95). In their 6th case, Kolla and Brock investigate the murder of a controversial academic who spoke out strongly against Islamic extremism. A series growing rapidly in popularity.

John Malcolm, Circles & Squares (May, Allison & Busby hc, 24.95). 14th in the acclaimed series finds art curator Tim Simpson trying to figure out the connection between the murder of a film researcher and an abstract painter.

Henning Mankell, The Dogs of Riga (April, New Press hc, 24.95). The 2nd Kurt Wallander, originally published in 1992; this is the first US edition. In paper, The White Lioness, 3rd in the series, and Sidetracked, the 5th (May, Vintage, 13.00 and 12.00).

Sujata Massey, The Samurai’s Daughter (March, Harper hc, 24.95). Tracing antiques and a class action lawsuit concerning slave labor during WWII entwine while Rei and Hugh are in San Francisco.

John Maxim, Bannerman’s Ghost (March, Morrow hc, 24.95). Paul Bannerman returns to action after one of his people – Elizabeth Stride from Haven – is threatened.

David Morrell, The Protector (May, Warner hc, 25.95). A former Delta force member trains the family of a scientist to protect themselves from a drug dealer who wants what the scientist has created. In paper, Long Lost (April, Warner, 7.99).

Tamar Myers, Tiles and Tribulations (April, Avon pbo, 6.99). When a séance turns deadly, antiques dealer Abby Washburn gets involved. 7th Den of Antiquity mystery.

Anthony O’Neill, The Lamplighter (March, Scribner hc, 25.00). Twenty years after she was tossed out of a home for girls, Evelyn returns to Edinburgh in the midst of a horrendous string of murders, suffering from terrible nightmares. While the cops carry out the official investigation, a disillusioned professor of metaphysics carries out another – in a race to uncover the evil of 1800s Scotland, and to ease the woman’s horrors.

Denise Osbourne, Designed to Kill (March, Berkley pbo, 5.99). 3rd in the Feng Shui mystery series. A New Age center attracts bad energy before the lines lead to murder.

Katherine Hall Page, The Body in the Lighthouse (May, Morrow hc, 23.95). Faith’s hope for a cooling summer holiday in Maine is dashed amidst the clash of "summer people" and the locals.

Robin Paige, Death at Glamis Castle (March, Berkley hc, 22.95). Lord Charles and Kate Sheridan have been summoned to the most historic castle in Scotland. An heir to the throne, supposedly dead, has gone missing and a servant has had her throat slashed. In paper, Death at Dartmoor (March, Berkley, 6.50).

Robert B. Parker, Back Story (March, Putnam hc, 24.95). Spenser tries to solve a 30-year-old crime as a favor to an old friend and to try to help Paul Giacomin, the closest thing to a son he has. Signed Copies Available. In paper, Widow’s Walk (March, Berkely, 7.99).

T. Jefferson Parker, Cold Pursuit (April, Hyperion hc, 23.95). A homicide cop must investigate the murder of an 84-year-old city patriarch – the man who killed the cop’s grandfather as part of a three generations-long blood feud. In paper, Black Water (March, Hyperion, 5.99).

Michael Pearce, The Snake Catcher’s Daughter (Mar., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). Mamur Zapt investigates a conspiracy to discredit police officials with accusations of corruption, and falls under suspicion himself.

George P. Pelecanos, Soul Circus (March, Little Brown hc, 24.95). A DC crime lord is on trial and two younger dealers are igniting a slaughter over who will get his turf. Derek Savage has found a witness who can put the crime lord away, but first he has to keep her alive. In paper, Hell to Pay (Feb., Warner, 6.99). Signing.

Elizabeth Peters, Children of the Storm (April, Morrow hc, 25.95). The Great War is over and the Peabodys are heading off on another season of excavation. But a new adversary, unlike anything they’ve encountered, awaits them. Signed Copies Available. In paper, The Golden One (April, Avon, 7.50).

Jodi Picoult, Second Glance (April, Atria hc, 25.00). A man who has taken up ghost-hunting in hopes of finding his dead fiancée is drawn into a fight between a man who wants to develop his land and the Indian tribe who claims it as a burial ground, and into a crime long hidden in Vermont’s history.

Mary Reed and Eric Mayer, Four For a Boy (Feb., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). Fourth book in the popular John the Eunuch series. While in hiding, Justinian, the emperor-to-be, asks John to look into a political murder. In paperback, Three for a Letter (Feb., Poisoned Pen tp, 14.95).

John Ridley, Those Who Walk in Darkness (May, Warner hc, 24.95). In the near future, certain people emerge who have superior power and use that power to stop crime. Soon, however, others emerge who use their new powers for crime.

S. K. Rizzolo, Blood for Blood (Apr., Poisoned Pen hc, 24.95). Lady’s maid Penelope Wolfe and her friend, Bow Street Runner John Chase, become tangled in a web of murder and intrigue in London’s high society. In paperback, Rose in the Wheel (Apr., Poisoned Pen tp, 14.95).

Rick Riordan, Cold Springs (April, Bantam hc, 23.95). Chadwick is a guy who, a decade after a personal tragedy, focuses on saving children. When he’s asked to kidnap a girl from a rigid academy, he’s set up for a collision between his past and his present.

John Maddox Roberts, The Tribune’s Curse: SPQR VII (March, St. Martin's hc, 22.95). After casting an ancient and terrible curse over a crowd, Tribune Ateius is murdered. It is up to Metellus to find the killer while dealing with Rome’s mixed attitudes about magic and politics.

Laura Joh Rowland, The Dragon King’s Palace (April, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). In June 1694, Reiko and a group of women are abducted and imprisoned in the tower of a ruined palace. The shogun demands quick action; Sana is forced to work with sworn enemies… In paper, The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria (April, St. Martin's, 6.99).

James Sallis, Cypress Grove (May, Walker hc, 24.00). Turner has arrived in a small Southern town where one can get lost and start fresh. He’s escaping his past as a big city cop, a psychotherapist and an ex-con. Soon the Sheriff arrives on his porch to ask for help with a murder case.

Thomas Sanchez, King Bongo (May, Knopf hc, 25.00). On New Year’s Eve 1957, a bomb rips through Havana’s Tropicana nightclub. A rogue Cuban-American, King Bongo, hunts for the culprits and for his sister, the exotic showgirl Panther, who vanished in the explosion. A favorite author of Tammy's.

John Sandford, Naked Prey (May, Putnam hc, 26.95). In his 14th book, Lucas Davenport moves up to the state level with his boss and adds a level of politics to his troubles. In paper, Mortal Prey (May, Berkley, 7.99).

C.J. Sansom, Dissolution (April, Viking hc, 24.95). Issues of politics and faith collide after a gruesome murder at a remote Benedictine monastery during the reign of Henry VIII.

Beth Saulnier, Ecstasy (March, Mysterious Press hc, 23.95). Covering a music festival, Alex Bernier watches the scene deteriorate as tainted drugs kill young men. In paper, Bad Seed (Feb., Warner, 6.99).

Barbara Seranella, Unpaid Dues (May, Scribner hc, 24.00). Ten years ago, Munch used another woman’s ID to beat a drunk driving charge. Now the woman has been murdered and the killer may be raking up Munch’s past. In paper, No Man Standing (April, Pocket, 6.99). A favorite of JB and Tammy.

John Shannon, City of Strangers (May, Carroll & Graf hc, 24.00). PI Jack Liffey finds himself deep in LA’s mixed Persian community when he’s hired to find three boys who are missing and might be entangled in the fundamentalist community. 6th case for a writer rapidly growing in stature for his craft.

Bob Sloan, The Middle of Nowhere (May, Atlantic hc, 23.00). His comedienne-turned-novelist wife wants to tag along when NYPD Det. Lenny Bliss is given the case of a floater fished out of the East River. She wants to write a novel about a homicide detective. 3rd in this comedic series.

April Smith, Goodmorning, Killer (May, Knopf hc, 24.00). FBI Agent Ana Grey (North of Montana, 6.99) hunts a kidnapper in a case that has caused her to become what she most abhors – a criminal on the run. Signing?

Jessica Speart, Coastal Disturbance (March, Avon pbo, 6.99). 7th with US Fish and Wildlife Agent Rachel Porter, who battles a toxic plot to kill manatees and people.

Julia Spencer-Fleming, A Fountain Filled with Blood (April, St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Follow-up to her noted debut, In the Bleak Mid-Winter (in paper, March, St. Martin's, 6.99). A violent attack on a doctor triggers a series of gay-bashing attacks. Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne investigate, while fighting the attraction they feel.

Les Standiford, Havana Run (May, Putnam hc, 24.95). Traveling to Cuba to check out a major construction project, John Deal finds he’s there to do another, more dangerous job.

Rosemary Stevens, Murder in the Pleasure Gardens (May, Berkley hc, 22.95). Regency era’s Beau Brummell returns to solve his 4th mystery. Agatha Award-winning series.

Andy Straka, Cold Quarry (April, Signet pbo, 5.99). 3rd falconry and felony outing for PI Frank Pavlicek.

James Swain, Sucker Bet (May, Ballantine hc, 23.95). 3rd outing for ex-cop Tony Valentine who uses his sharp eyes and gambling knowledge to catch hustlers taking down casinos. Here he’s hired to help the head of security at South Florida’s Micanopy Reservation Casino. Signing. In paper, Grift Sense and Funny Money, his first and second books (April, Ballantine, 6.99 ea).

Denise Swanson, Murder of a Snake in the Grass (April, Signet pbo, 5.99). Murder mars the bicentennial of her hometown, and as if that isn’t trouble enough, Skye Denison’s ex-fiancée is back in town. Is he here to cause her heartache, or is he connected to the murder?

Steve Thayer, Wolf Pass (March, Putnam hc, 24.95). Deputy Sheriff Pennington is known as a marksman, and after a couple of people are shot down from afar he seems to be a logical suspect for this rural area. But Pennington, who solved the Wheat Field murders, suspects that a Nazi sniper who vanished in the War could be back in action. In paper, The Wheat Field (March, Signet, 7.50). A favorite of Tammy and JB.

Victoria Thompson, Murder on Mulberry Bend (March, Berkely pbo, 6.99). 5th in the Gaslight series. NYC midwife Sarah Brandt and Det. Sgt. Frank Mallow discover how squalor breeds madness and murder. Edgar-nominated series.

Aimee & David Thurlo, Tracking Bear (April, Forge hc, 24.95). Navajo cop Ella Clah is trying to figure out whether the murder of a fellow cop is tied to the plan to build a nuclear power plan on the Rez. In paper, Changing Woman (April, Forge, 6.99).

Judith van Gieson, Land of Burning Heat (Jan., Univ. of NM Press hc, 24.95). An ancient religion, a family’s hidden past, and modern-day murder confront archivist Claire Reynier. Signed Copies Available.

Jill Paton Walsh and Dorothy L. Sayers, A Presumption of Death (March, St. Martin's hc, 24.95). Drawing on papers left by Sayers, Walsh gives us the first new Lord Peter Wimsey novel in 60 years. At the beginning of the London Blitz in 1940, with Lord Peter abroad on Foreign Office affairs, Harriet is in the country. When a young girl is found dead and the cause is not war-related, Harriet reluctantly agrees to help investigate.

Minette Walters, Fox Evil (May, Putnam hc, 24.95). Though cleared of the charges that he killed his wife, a wealthy widower becomes reclusive, refusing to answer the rumors linking him to other horrors and focusing instead on his search for an illegitimate granddaughter who may prove his salvation. In paper, Acid Row (April, Jove, 7.99).

Donald Westlake, Money for Nothing (April, Mysterious Press hc, 24.95). Seven years ago, Josh Redmont began receiving $1,000 each month from "United States Agent." Never an explanation and never a question from the IRS. Now, approached by a stranger, he’s told "You’ve been activated." Bill recommends. In paper, Put a Lid on It (March, Warner, 7.50).

Valerie Wolzien, A Fashionable Murder (April, Ballantine pbo, 6.99). 6th whodunit with contractor Josie Pigeon.

Stuart Woods, Dirty Work (April, Putnam hc, 25.95). 9th Stone Barrington.

Edward Wright, Clea’s Moon (April, Putnam hc, 23.95). Winner of the Debut Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of the UK. In post WWII LA, an ex-con, ex-B movie actor searches for his missing former stepdaughter and the killer of his buddy. The book moves into the shadows of the film business when the studios were losing their grip on the industry.

NEW HARDCOVERS COMING THIS SUMMER

Barry Eisler & John Rain, July

Janet Evanovich, To the Nines, June

Sharyn McCrumb, Ghost Riders, July

Gregory Mcdonald & Flynn, June

Walter Mosley, Fear Itself, July

Marcia Muller, Cyanide Wells, July

Kathy Reichs & Tempe Brennan, July

Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill, June (yes, that Quentin Tarantino; could there be two?)

Randy Wayne White, Everglades, June

REISSUES OF NOTE

Bartholomew Gill, The Death of an Irish Lass [retitled 3rd in series, McGarr and the Cliffs of Moher, 1978], and The Death of an Irish Tradition (retitled 4th in series, McGarr and the Dublin Horse Show, 1980) (April, Avon, 6.99 ea.)

David Handler, The Man Who Lived By Night (May, iBooks, 6.99). Out of print for a over decade, this is the 2nd book in the Edgar award-winning Stewart Hoag series, from 1989.

Max Allan Collins, True Detective (Jan, iBooks, 6.99). We cannot say enough about this terrific series. Collins’ fictional PI, Nate Heller, is inserted into actual historical events and the author gives you his solution to historical mysteries in the form of a mystery novel. At the end of each book Collins presents his research, tells you what characters were real people or composites, etc. True Detective is first in the series and deals with the murder of Chicago Mayor Cermak during the attack on FDR in the 30s. iBooks will continue these wise reissues with True Crime and The Million Dollar Wound, this summer. The most recent in the series, now in paper, Chicago Confidential (May, Signet, 6.99). A rave recommendation for this favorite series from JB and Bill.

Michael Pearce, The Men Behind (March) and The Girl in the Nile (May, Poisoned Pen tps, 14.95 each). Two Mamur Zapt mysteries.

Ross Thomas, The Cold War Swap and The Fools in Town are on Our Side (May, St. Martin's, 12.95 and 13.95). Two more from the master. Cold War was the Edgar Winner for Best First Novel in 1966, and Fools is from 1970.

SHERLOCKIANA

The True Crime Files of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen Hines, ed (March, Berkley, 13.00).

SPECIAL INTEREST ITEMS

Motherhood is Murder, Mary Daheim, Carolyn Hart, Jane Isenberg and Shirley Rousseau Murphy (April, Avon pbo, 6.99). In time for Mother’s Day, four original mini-mysteries from the Queens of Cozy.

Deadly Morsels, (April, World Wide pbo, 6.99). Short culinary crimes by the Iakovous, Havill, Rubino and Abresch.

The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld, Herbert Asbury (April, Thunder’s Mouth Press tpo, 14.95). Includes 22 B & W photos. Reissue of a book by the author of Gangs of New York.

Sparkle Hayter, Naked Brunch (April, Three Rivers tpo, 13.00) A mousy secretary by day, Annie Engel morphs into a werewolf at night. A new, zany comic novel by the "tart noir" writer of the Robin Hudson series.

FORTHCOMING FROM CRIPPEN & LANDRU PRESS

No publication dates set. Please specify trade paperback or collectible hardcover.

Anthony Berkeley, The Avenging Chance and Other Mysteries. Classic Roger Sheringham tales.

Liza Cody, Lucky Dip and Other Stories. Collected short mysteries by one of Britain's premier crime writers.

Michael Collins, Slot-Machine Kelly, Early Private Eye Stories.

Norbert Davis, You'll Die Laughing. A new collection published with Black Mask Press.

William L. DeAndrea, Murder - All Kinds. "Lost Classics" series.

Kathy Lynn Emerson, Murders and Other Confusions: The Chronicles of Susana, Lady Appleton, Sixteenth-Century Gentlewoman, Herbalist, and Sleuth.

Terence Faherty, The Confessions of Owen Keane.

Edward D. Hoch, More Things Impossible: The Second Casebook of Dr. Sam Hawthorne.

Gerald Kersh, Karmesin, The World's Greatest Thief. "Lost Classics Series."

C. Daly King, The Complete Mr. Tarrant. Reprint of The Curious Mr. Tarrant, plus 4 previously uncollected stories.

Margaret Maron. A currently untitled collection of stories.

Edward Marston, Murder Ancient and Modern. The first short-story collection by a master of the historical mystery.

Helen McCloy, The Pleasant Assassin and Other Cases of Dr. Basil Willing. The complete short stories about the psychiatrist sleuth. "Lost Classics" series.

Margaret Millar, The Couple Next Door. Little known stories by the wife of Ross Macdonald. "Lost Classics Series."

Gladys Mitchell, Sleuth's Alchemy: Cases of Mrs. Bradley and Others. Never reprinted tales. "Lost Classics Series."

Amy Myers, Murder! 'Orrible Murder!. Historical detective stories.

Frederick Nebel, Tough as Nails. Published with Black Mask Press.

James Powell, A Pocketful of Noses. A combination of Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, Fu Manchu and The Prisoner of Zenda.

Rafael Sabatini, The Evidence of the Sword, edited by Jesse Knight. Long lost mystery tales by one of the world's greatest adventure writers. "Lost Classics" series.

T. S. Stribling, Dr. Poggioli: Criminologist. Uncollected stories by the Pulitzer Prize winner. "Lost Classics" series.

Phillip S. Warne, Who Was Guilty?: Two Dime Novels. The first detective stories by an African-American. "Lost Classics" series.

Eric Wright, One of a Kind. Inspector Charlie Salter's first collection of short stories.

SOME LATE RECOMMENDATIONS

JB Dickey:

Here are 4 books that I read too late to put my recommendations in our Winter newsletter:

James Lee Burke's White Doves at Morning - not a mystery, one of his best ever.

Helen Knode's The Ticket Out and Robert Ferrigno's Scavenger Hunt - both Hollywood stories involving missing manuscripts, both terrific.

Lawrence Block's Small Town - audacious, erotic, thoughtful and magnificent.

Sandy Goodrick:

Some good ones from favorite authors, and a couple of interesting discoveries.

Jill McGown, Death in the Family — excellent chapter in a great British procedural series.

Hazel Holt, Death by Water — minimum detection, but maximum village atmosphere with Shiela Malory.

George Harrar, The Spinning Man - a philosophy instructor becomes entangled in a spiraling web of suspicion when a former student disappears. Reads like a script for a Hitchcock film, with a voice-over by Wittgenstein.

William Kent Krueger, The Devil's Bed — a Minnesota Secret Service agent may have uncovered a conspiracy that threatens all he holds dear — including the First Lady.

Reginald Hill, Fell of Dark - Hill's first book, written in 1971, as though by a reincarnation of John Buchan. Harry Bantick's marriage is rocky, and an old school chum is recovering from a nervous breakdown, so they head off on a walking tour of the Lake District. When two young girls are found raped strangled on a mountain trail, they become suspects. Fascinating adventure tale. (UK reprint pb.)

2002 BESTSELLERS

Here are our top twenty bestsellers of 2002:

HARDCOVER: