SEATTLE MYSTERY BOOKSHOP

Summer 2008 Newsletter

117 Cherry St.  Seattle, WA  98104

Hours: 10-5 Mon – Sat, 12-5 Sun

Bill Farley, founder / JB Dickey, owner

Fran Fuller, Bookkeeper / Janine Wilson, bookseller

Gretchen Brevoort, Co-op / Mary Ary-Almojuela, bookseller

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

cops – private eyes – courtroom – thrillers – suspense – espionage – true crime – reference

 

New from the Northwest

Stella Cameron, Cypress Nights (Aug., Mira hc, 24.95). St. Cecil’s Parish has hired teacher Bleu Labeau to establish a grade school. Local rogue Roche Savage is after her for other, less honorable reasons. Bodies begin to turn up and are connected to both of them. All of the victims are both patients of Savage’s and contributors to the school fund. Signing.

Daniel Edward Craig, Murder at Hotel Cinema (June, Midnight Ink tpo, 15.95). One of Hollywood’s hottest stars dies in a fall from her penthouse balcony at the party celebrating the renovation of a Tinseltown hotel. Was it a publicity stunt gone terribly awry or something else? Hotelier Trevor Lambert will find out.

Mary Daheim, Vi Agra Falls (Aug., Morrow hc, 23.95). Judith’s world is beset by chaos. Her husband’s ex-wife – now rich beyond dreams after her second husband died and left her a fortune – has bought an old house in the neighborhood and announced she intends to tear it down and build a massive condominium. In paper, Scots on the Rocks (July, Avon, 6.99). Signing.

Mike Doogan, Skeleton Lake (Aug., Putnam hc, 25.95). In his 3rd book, Alaskan Det. Nik Kane is recovering from his last case (Capitol Offense, Aug., Berkley, 7.99) and begins to think about his first investigation, the murder of an old-style cop, Danny Shirleff. Someone put two bullets into the back of the man’s head and Nik could never hang the crime on anyone. Now he has time to re-open this old, cold case.

Aaron Elkins, Uneasy Relations (July, Berkley hc, 23.95). Professor Oliver attends a conference on Gibraltar when the remains of a Neanderthal woman are found with a baby that seems to be half-Neanderthal and half-human. Someone is obviously upset by the find and fresher bodies are soon turning up. In paper, Little Tiny Teeth (July, Berkley, 7.99). Signing.

Yasmine Galenorn, Dragon Wytch (July, Berkley pbo, 7.99). The D’Artigo sisters series continues: Camille learns a secret that could impact all of the sisters’ lives. Signing.

Gabriella Herkert, Doggone (Aug., Obsidian pbo, 6.99). In her second adventure (after Catnapped, Obsidian, 6.99), legal investigator Sara Townley begins work on a case of stolen identity. Somewhere along the way a black lab begins to show up where ever she goes. Soon, she realizes that she’s got a sidekick. Signing.

Lisa Jackson, Left to Die (Aug., Kensington pbo, 7.99). Two Montana cops, Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli, take on a disturbing case. Four victims have been abducted, played with and slowly murdered. Cryptic messages have been left with the bodies. Obviously the killer is toying with them as well.

J.A. Jance, Damage Control (Aug., Morrow hc, 25.95). Joanna Brady is stretched thin and is exhausted – being the sheriff and the mother of a newborn will do that to a person. Her plate is filled further with two events: a woman who had been harassed by her ex shoots an intruder, but it isn’t her ex, and a car goes through the guardrail of a mountain highway. No rest for the weary from the wicked. In paper, Justice Denied (July, Harper, 9.99), Beaumont. Signing.

Rebecca Kent, High Marks for Murder (June, Berkley pbo, 6.99). Start of a new series by Kate Kingsbury, under a new name. In 1905 Edwardian England, headmistress Meredith Llewellyn presides over Bellehaven House, a girls’ finishing school. One of her teachers is killed in the school’s garden, and even in death, she seems to be pointing to the garden – a clue?

Caitlin Kittredge, Pure Blood (Aug., St. Martin’s pbo, 6.99). Homicide Det. Luna Wilder finds herself in the middle of a war between rival clans of witches. Not a good place for a cop – or a werewolf – to find herself. Signing.

Mike Lawson, House Rules (June, Atlantic Monthly hc, 22.00). DeMarco is tasked with investigating a string of terrorist attacks on DC. None have succeeded but the powers in Washington are rattled, and pending legislation is punishingly restrictive. The Speaker is suspicious and DeMarco – with Emma’s help – begins to see problems with the official stories about the attacks. A timely story about the uses and abuses of power and mis-directions of threats – Lawson’s best book yet, which is saying something! Plus, Bill’s blurb recommending the book is printed on the back of the jacket! Signing.

Ron Lovell, Yaquina White (July, Penman tpo, 15.00). 7th with former Oregon professor Thomas Martindale. His career wrecked, Martindale accepts an assignment to the North Pole to escape the drug dealers he’d become entangled with. More shenanigans befall him on the trip and, upon his return, he faces a showdown with his enemy.

Neil Low, Thick as Thieves (July, Tigress tpo, 15.95). Debut novel by a veteran Seattle cop. Seattle in the 1940s is a wide-open den of vice and corruption. When a corrupt cop kills his father, a private investigator, Alan Stewart determines to get justice and revenge. What he can’t possibly foresee is that the clues will lead him to the “Crime of the Century”, a notorious kidnapping the decade before. Signing.

Elizabeth Lowell, Blue Smoke and Murder (June, Morrow hc, 24.95). Strange and threatening events are happening in Jill Breck’s life. Some time before, while a river guide, she’d saved the life of the son of some powerful people in her town. She turns to them now, asking for help and they send Zach Balfour, their troubleshooter, to help her,

Phillip Margolin, Executive Privilege (June, Harper hc, 25.95). In DC, a private eye is hired to follow a young woman to see where she goes and whom she sees. The morning after she sees the President, she’s found murdered. In Portland, a lawyer’s client tells him a former governor – who is now the President, framed him for murder. Signing.

Cricket McRae, Heaven Preserve Us (Aug., Midnight Ink tpo, 13.95). Home crafts maven Sophie Mae Reynolds (first seen in Lye in Wait, Midnight Ink, 12.95) works nights on a crisis helpline. Her first call of the evening is from a man who threatens suicide and then threatens her. 

Ridley Pearson, Killer View (Aug., Putnam hc, 24.95). A search-and-rescue mission turns into something else when shots are fired at Sun Valley Sheriff Walt Fleming’s team. One dead, one vanished and they haven’t found any sign of the missing skier. In paper, Killer Weekend (July, Jove, 9.99), first in the series.

Barbara Pope, Cezanne’s Quarry (June, Pegasus hc, 25.00). Debut from a University of Oregon professor of history and women’s/gender studies. In the late 1800s in France, a young woman is found murdered. She was the lover of a Darwin scholar and the object of lust of Paul Cezanne. Various elements swirl through this whodunit: the treatment of women in the late 19th C.; the inadequacies of the French legal system; the early battles of evolutionary theory; and the revolutionary art of the most influential post-impressionist. Signing.

Kat Richardson, Underground (Aug., Roc hc, 21.95). In her 3rd book – and first hardcover – Seattle PI Harper Blaine investigates a series of deaths among the homeless. The case will take her into the Seattle Underground. She hears tales of zombies… Signing.

Mark Schorr, Fixation (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Portland counselor Brian Hanson works to help FBI agent Louise Parker after her raid on a Neo-Nazi drug lab goes badly. She’s the subject of an internal investigation, and the target of her original investigation is out for revenge.

Elizabeth Sims, The Actress (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Struggling actress Rita Farmer is desperate for any work. She accepts a job from a lawyer to help coach a client, a tabloid fixture, who has been accused of killing her own child. Can Rita help to make the woman seem more human? Signing.

Kate Wilhelm, Cold Case (Aug., Mira hc, 24.95). 22 years ago, a young woman was strangled, but no one was ever charged. Now all of the characters she was with that night have been drawn together again. One of them had been looking into the case after all these years and he’s been murdered. Barbara Holloway and her father take up the defense of the man accused of the new murder.  In paper, A Wrongful Death (July, Mira, 6.99).

 

Now in Paperback

Chelsea Cain, HeartSick (Aug., St. Martin’s, 7.99). Gretchen recommends.

Michael Dibdin, End Games (Aug., Vintage, 13.95). The final Arelio Zen. Favorite author of Janine’s.

Matt Ruff, Bad Monkeys (Aug., Harper, 13.95). Wasn’t this already sort of a softcover?? JB & Fran recommend this wickedly twisted book.

 

Reissues of Note

L.R. Wright, The Suspect (July, Felony & Mayhem, 14.95). Winner of the 1985 Edgar for Best Mystery, this is the first of the Karl Alberg books, set along British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. A dynamite book, you know from the start who did it but you don’t know until the last page why!

 

Mysterious Youth

Ridley Pearson, The Kingdom Keepers: The Rise of Chernabog (Aug., Disney tpo, 17.99). The disappearance of a mysterious sister, a wild monkey in a storm, and the Overtakers threaten the Magic Kingdom, and the Kingdom Keepers are on watch. 2nd in the series.

 

Special Interest

John Straley, The Rising and the Rain: Collected Poems (Aug., Univ. of Alaska Press tpo, 19.95). The first book of poetry from Alaska’s Writer Laureate.

 

Coming This Fall

Chelsea Cain, Sweetheart, Sept.

Jayne Castle, Dark Light, Sept.

Carola Dunn & Daisy Dalrymple, Sept.

Larry Karp, The King of Ragtime, Oct.

Ann Rule & Case Files Vol. 13, Nov.

 

[Entries in Blue do not appear in the printed, paper version. The printed newsletter is limited by postage and printing to a finite number of pages. No such limits exist on the web so we include much, much more.]

 

 

New from the Rest

Jeff Abbott, Collision (June, Dutton hc, 24.95). Two men are joined in a battle. One is a grieving widower and the other is former CIA agent who now works for shadowy agency. Somehow, they are both the subjects of the same conspiracy, targeted for elimination. One knows nothing of this world while the other knows too much.

Elizabeth Adler, One of Those Malibu Nights (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Murder, mystery and movie stars.

Mark Alpert, Final Theory (June, Touchstone hc, 24.00). Columbia University physics professor David Swift is called to the hospital where his mentor is near death after a beating. The older man’s last words refer to Einstein’s long-postulated Theory of Everything, which would unite all of the various forces into one theory of how things work. Supposedly, the theory was never finalized. But, soon after his mentor dies, Swift is arrested, questioned and nearly murdered. Someone clearly believes this theory was completed and wants it. First novel by “a self-described lifelong ‘science geek”.

Donna Andrews, Cockatiels at Seven (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Reluctantly, Meg Langslow agrees to be an emergency babysitter for a few hours. When those hours pass, and then the night, she goes looking for her friend, the child’s mother.  In paper, The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (July, St. Martin’s, 6.99).

David Bajo, The 351 Books of Irma Arcuri (June, Viking hc, 25.95). This promises to be a mind-bending bibliomystery that is both metaphysical and philosophical: Philip Magyrk is a mathematical genius that has been through two marriages while maintaining an affair with Irma Arcuri. She’s now disappeared and left her library to Philip, all 351 volumes, 5 of which she wrote herself. As he delves into the books, he sees patterns and clues to Irma’s circumstances, and to events in his own life.

Linda Barnes, Lie Down with the Devil (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Carlotta Carlyle investigates her own life: her fiancé Sam Gianelli has fled the country after a secret indictment comes down to accuse him of murder. Signed Copies Available.

Brett Battles, The Deceived (June, Delacorte hc, 24.00). Professional ‘cleaner’ Jonathan Quinn takes his latest job personally – the victim is an old friend and former CIA agent. Quinn is going to get find justice. In paper, The Cleaner (June, Dell, 6.99), Quinn’s first appearance.

Sydney Bauer, Undertow (July, Berkley pbo, 7.99). 1st US release of a debut legal thriller by an Australian author – but set in Boston. The witness to an accident that killed the daughter of a powerful Senator becomes ensnared by the politician’s own plan.

Cynthia Baxter, Monkey See, Monkey Die (Aug., Bantam pbo, 6.99). 7th with veterinarian/sleuth Jessica Popper.

Nancy Bell, Paint the Town Dead (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 3rd with Judge Jackson Crain.

Claudia Bishop, The Case of the Ill-Gotten Goat (June, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 3rd with veterinarian Austin McKenzie. The milk inspector, known to be a randy fellow, is found dead in a 400-gallon vat of the fluid.

Lawrence Block, Hit and Run (July, Morrow hc, 24.95, Signed Copies $25.95). Hit man John Keller becomes the suspect after the Governor of Ohio is shot while Keller is in the state on another job. Was he set up to be the fall guy? He’s got to find out and the only person he can trust is Dot, his contact who feeds him his jobs. Bill and Janine recommend.

Suzanne Brockmann, Into the Fire (July, Ballantine hc, 23.00). A man’s life crashes after his wife is murdered.

Rita Mae Brown, Hounded to Death (Aug., Ballantine hc, 25.00). 7th with Sister Jane Arnold, Master of Foxhounds. In paper, The Tell-Tale Horse (Aug., Ballantine, 14.00).

Sandra Brown, Smoke Screen (Aug., Simon & Schuster hc, 26.95). All the catalog says: “A sizzling tale of corruption and betrayal, revenge and reversal – where friends become foes, and criminals become heroes in the ultimate abuse of power.” In paper, Play Dirty (July, Pocket, 9.99).

Edna Buchanan, Legally Dead (Aug., Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). First in a new series: US Marshall Michael Ventura quit the Witness Protection program to go solo; he’s now a one-man, freelance, new-identity source. He’ll make you a new identity with one restriction – you can’t contact anyone from your previous life, including him.

James Lee Burke, Swan Peak (July, Simon & Schuster hc, 26.00). It’s been years since Dave Robicheaux was in Montana (the 3rd Robicheaux book, the 1989 Edgar-winning Black Cherry Blues, Avon, 7.99), but a new case will take him back there. Signed Copies Available. In paper, The Tin Roof Blowdown (July, Pocket, 7.99). Undoubtedly one of America’s greatest writers, ever. 

Ellen Byerrum, Armed and Glamorous (July, Obsidian pbo, 6.99). 6th in the Crimes of Fashion series with reporter Lacey Smithsonian.

Leslie Caine, Poisoned By Gilt (June, Dell pbo, 6.99). The judge in a green-home contest is found dead.

Stephen J. Cannell, At First Sight (July, Vanguard hc, 25.95). The site of a woman in a Hawaiian pool turns from simple lust to a homicidal obsession for a dot-com millionaire whose life is empty.

Tori Carrington, Working Stiff (Aug., Forge hc, 24.95). 3rd with PI Sofie Metropolis.

Stephen L. Carter, Palace Council (July, Knopf hc, 26.95). In the early 70s, a wealthy and politically connected man is found murdered on the grounds of his Harlem mansion. A young writer and his girlfriend begin to look for answers. Along the way will be intrigue, deception and, at the end of it all, presidential corruption. The past is inevitable prologue. Signing? In paper, New England White (June, Vintage, 14.95).

Kathryn Casey, Singularity (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Debut novel by a former reporter and true crime writer. Texas Ranger Sarah Armstrong catches the case of a wealthy businessman who has been found dead, murdered with his mistress, their bodies in grotesque positions.

Thomas B. Cavanaugh, Prodigal Son (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 3rd darkly-humored private eye novel set in Central Florida.

Sean Chercover, Trigger City (June, Morrow hc, 23.95). Chicago PI Ray Dudgeon is hired by the father of a murdered woman. The cops are satisfied that she was the victim of a crazy co-worker. Clues will lead Ray into the dark world of military contractors. Janine recommends this author.

James E. Cherry, Shadow of Light (June, Serpent’s Tail tpo, 14.95). As we know from the headlines, racial tensions are as high as ever in America’s South. In a backwater Tennessee town, a gang of white teens gang rape a black grandmother. There is only one person in town that has a chance to defuse the situation: the senior cop, African-American Walter Robinson. Debut novel.

Lee Child, Nothing to Lose (June, Bantam hc, 27.00). Jack Reacher arrives in Despair, CO, and within an hour is unceremoniously expelled by the police. He quickly finds out others have been escorted out and his curiosity is piqued: why would a small town on the edge of the Great Plains want to keep people out instead of welcoming them? Signing. We ALL recommend.

Martin Clark, The Legal Limit (July, Knopf hc, 24.95). An older brother shielded his younger brother from their abusive father, but ended up in prison after repeated run-ins with the law. The younger brother escaped their small Virginia town to go to law school, marry his true love, and eventually return to the town as the commonwealth’s attorney. The older one expects help getting out of jail and, as leverage, invokes a secret they both swore to never bring up.

Mary Jane Clark, It Only Takes a Moment (Aug., Morrow hc, 24.95). A TV news host becomes part of the story when her daughter is kidnapped from a summer camp.

Jeffrey Cohen, It Happened One Knife (July, Berkley pbo, 7.99). 2nd in this refurbished-movie-theatre series.

Kate Collins, Shoots to Kill (Aug., Obsidian pbo, 6.99).7th in the popular Flower Shop series.

John Connolly, The Reapers (June, Atria hc, 26.00). Investigator Charlie Parker counts as one of his confidantes a man named Louis, one of an elite group of killers. Now someone has set another of the killers against Louis. Parker, no stranger to death and violence, is going to help his friend. John’s a favorite of the staff – and we love his books too. Signing. Fran recommends.

Sheila Connolly, One Bad Apple (Aug., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 1st in a new series dealing with a woman’s family orchard and a developer. By the author of a glass-blowing mystery written as Sarah Atwell.

Robin Cook, Foreign Body (Aug., Putnam hc, 25.95). An LA medical student hears on an international news broadcast that her grandmother has died in India after an ordinary hip operation.

Thomas H. Cook, Master of the Delta (June, Harcourt hc, 24.00). Jack Branch returns to his small Mississippi town in 1954 to teach at his former high school. He finds that the son of a notorious killer is one of his students and tries to take the kid under his wing and help him out. He will discover that he’s waded into a family far more troubled than expected. Signing.

Stephen Coonts, The Assassin (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 26.95). A small but elite group of men from the top of their fields in the West decide it is time to wipe out Al Qaeda’s leadership. When one of them is killed, it is clear that they have a leak.

Catherine Coulter, Tailspin (June, Putnam hc, 25.95). 12th FBI thriller. In paper, Double Take (July, Jove, 7.99).

Philip R. Craig, Vineyard Chill (June, Scribner hc, 24.00). The 19th and final book in his Martha’s Vineyard series.

Robert Crais, Chasing Darkness (July, Simon & Schuster hc, 26.00). Three years ago, Elvis Cole became a hero when he unearthed evidence that helped clear a man accused of murder. Now, that man has been found dead and the circumstances point to his guilt in the earlier crime. And Elvis is on the hot seat. Signing. Janine recommends.

Deborah Crombie, Where Memories Lie (July, Morrow hc, 24.95). DI Gemma James has an elderly neighbor who, along with her late husband, came to London decades before to escape the Nazis. The woman comes to Gemma for help after a unique piece of jewelry, reported stolen years before, is seen at a prestigious auction.

Ellen Crosby, The Bordeaux Betrayal (Aug., Scribner hc, 25.00). 3rd mystery set in the vineyards of Virginia. In paper, The Chardonnay Charade (July, Pocket, 7.99).

Clive Cussler & Jack DuBrul, Plague Ship (June, Putnam hc, 26.95). 4th with the private spy ship Oregon. In paper, with Paul Kemprecos, The Navigator (July, Berkley, 9.99), Kurt Austin.

Jeffery Deaver, The Broken Window (June, Simon & Schuster hc, 26.95). Rhyme and Sachs are up against a fiendish killer. The ‘522’ uses high technology to perfectly frame innocent people for his murders and his latest patsy is Lincoln’s cousin Arthur. In paper, The Sleeping Doll (May, Pocket, 9.99). Signing.

Phillip DePoy, The Drifter’s Wheel (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 4th with Appalachian folklorist Fever Devilin.

P.T. Deutermann, The Moonpool (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). The body of a murdered cop sets off radiation alarms at the morgue. The only source around that part of North Carolina is the local nuclear plant. Who killed her and why is her body radioactive? In paper, Spider Mountain (June, St. Martin’s, 6.99).

D.H. Dublin, Freezer Burn (June, Berkley pbo, 7.99). 3rd in the Philadelphia Crime Scene Unit series.

Susan Dunlap, Hungry Ghosts (July, Counterpoint hc, 25.00). Stuntwoman Darcy Lott is back in San Francisco, trying to get past her brother’s disappearance and helping her Zen master set up his new zendo. Another disappearance rattles her and she’s soon in the middle of a unseen plot. In paper, Single Eye (July, Counterpoint, 12.95).

Kaitlyn Dunnett, Scone Cold Dead (Aug., Kensington hc, 22.00). 2nd Scottish Twist mystery.

Janet Evanovich, Fearless Fourteen (June, St. Martin’s hc, 27.95). In paper, Lean Mean Thirteen (June, St. Martin’s, 7.99).

Barbara Fister, In the Wind (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 2nd with former cop Anni Koskinen. A church worker asks her for help and, from such an innocent request, Anni is sucked into trouble that stems from the 1972 murder of an FBI agent during the AIM shoot-out.

Stephen Frey, Forced Out (Aug., Atria hc, 24.95). Back in Florida after being forced out as a scout for the Yankees, Jack Barrett watches a young baseball player and thinks the kid’s natural talents could be his ticket back to the big leagues. But the young man has secrets and keeps to himself. If the secrets get out…

Alan Furst, The Spies of Warsaw (June, Random House hc, 25.00). In 1937 Warsaw, nearly everyone is a spy. There are 21 in this story alone – spies for France and Germany, all working for their countries and their ideals… and for survival. A love affair will complicate things for new military attaché Colonel Jean-François Mercier who falls for a Parisian woman of Polish descent who is a lawyer for the imperiled League of Nations. Signing? Favorite author of Janine’s.

Michelle Gagnon, Boneyard (July, Mira pbo, 6.99). FBI Special Agent Kelly Jones leads the investigation of a mass grave found on the Appalachian Trail and the crime trail splits into two distinct paths – two kinds of victims and possibly two different killers. Signing.

Meg Gardiner, The Dirty Secrets Club (July, Dutton hc, 24.95). The San Francisco Police Department hires forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett after a string of murder/suicides by prominent people in the Bay area. She’s shocked to learn that they all belonged to something called The Dirty Secrets Club. As she gets closer to answers, she receives a message, that due to a secret in her own past, she’s been made a member. Signed Copies Available. Gretchen recommends. In paper, China Lake (June), Mission Canyon (July) and Jericho Point (Aug.,), Crosscut (Sept., all Obsidian, 7.99), 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in her Eve Delaney series.

Lisa Gardner, Say Goodbye (July, Bantam hc, 25.00). FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy has noticed a pattern that young women from society’s edges have been disappearing. An 18 year old from that world contacts her, saying she has information about it all. In paper, Hide (June, Bantam, 7.99).

Tess Gerritsen, The Keepsake (Aug., Ballantine hc, 26.00). ME Maura Isles thinks the examination of a mummy will be an interesting departure from current crimes. But the body turns out to not be centuries old

but actually a recent victim. Other similar bodies begin to appear. In paper, Bone Garden (Aug., Ballantine, 7.99).

Victor Gishler, Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse (July, Touchstone tpo, 14.00). Something different from the present-day noir spinner: 10 years after the Apocalypse, insurance salesman (former, that is) Mortimer Tate leaves the cave in Tennessee where he hid out. What he finds is a landscape littered with useless crap and the only ‘civilization’ to be Joey Armageddon’s strip club. From there, joined by some odd-balls he meets, Tate will set out for Atlanta to see what is left of the world.

Lee Goldberg, Mr. Monk Goes to Germany (July, Obsidian hc, 21.95). In paper, Mr. Monk in Outer Space (June, Obsidian, 6.99).

Tod Goldberg, Burn Notice (Aug., Obsidian pbo, 6.99). 1st in a series based on the USA network series.

Sally Goldenbaum, Death by Cashmere (Aug., Obsidian hc, 21.95). First in a new knitting series, set on the Massachusetts coast.

Paul Goldstein, A Patent Lie (June, Doubleday hc, 24.95). Michael Seeley leaves his Manhattan law firm for a solo practice in Buffalo. His estranged brother-in-law is one of his first clients, asking for help in Silicon Valley regarding with a disagreement over an AIDS vaccine.

Carol Goodman, The Night Villa (Aug., Ballantine tpo, 14.00). After escaping a traumatic campus shooting, classics professor Sophie Chase accepts the task of helping to translate scrolls that survived the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius. New danger awaits as a shadowy group wants the writings at any cost.

Chris Grabenstein, Hell Hole (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 4th with Sea Haven, NJ cop John Ceepak. A death on the Jersey shore has ties to the events in Iraq. As a former military investigator, the case hits Ceepak harder than do most. Signing.

Margaret Grace, Mayhem in Miniature (Aug., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 2nd in this hobby series.

Linda Greenlaw, Fisherman’s Bend (June, Hyperion hc, 24.95). Former Florida detective Jane Bunker is astounded that the sleepy little Maine village she moved to has a dark underbelly. In paper, Slipknot (May, Harper, 6.99).

Derek Haas, The Silver Bear (July, Pegasus hc, 24.00). Over the last decade, an anonymous killer known as Columbus has become the most proficient and reliable hit man in the country. His father unknown, his mother a hooker, he has built a ruthless reputation. But his past is about to collide with his future: his mother once was involved with a young congressman who became Speaker of the House and is now running for president. Columbus is following his moves closely. Debut thriller by a noted screenwriter.

Carolyn Haines, Wishbones (July, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 8th with Southern PI Sarah Booth Delaney, who has decided to move to Hollywood to become a screen star. In paper, Ham Bones (June, Kensington, 6.99).

Denise Hamilton, The Last Embrace (July, Scribner tpo, 14.00). A stand-alone noir thriller based on the unsolved true crime of actress Jean Spangler in 1949. After an actress’s body is found in a ravine by the Hollywood sign, her mother is unsatisfied with the police investigation. She turns to her son’s fiancée, Lily Kessler, a former OSS operative, for help.

Laurell K. Hamilton, Blood Noir (June, Berkley hc, 25.95). 16th with vampire hunter Anita Blake.

David Handler, The Sour Cherry Surprise (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Things have just been wrong since Trooper Desiree Mitry broke up with film critic Mitch Burger. They’re about to get worse. 5th in this series  highly recommended by Fran and Janine.

Honor Hartman, The Unkindest Cut (June, Obsidian pbo, 6.99). 2nd in the Bridge Club mystery series.

Michael Harvey, The Fifth Floor (Aug., Knopf hc, 23.95). Chicago PI Michael Kelly’s latest case has its roots in the Great Fire of 1871. In paper, The Chicago Way (July, Vintage, 12.95).

Linda Howard, Death Angel (June, Ballantine hc, 26.00). The girlfriend of a mob boss was a conniving moll who was murdered for stealing a suitcase of cash from him. Returned to life, she’s become an avenging angel set on evening the score.

Mary Ellen Hughes, Paper-Thin Alibi (July, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 3rd in this arts and crafts series.

Iris and Roy Johansen, Silent Thunder (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Mother and son team up. A hidden message in a decommissioned Russian sub headed for a museum exhibit results in murder.

Craig Johnson, Another Man’s Moccasins (June, Viking hc, 24.95). Sheriff Walt Longmire’s latest murder investigation strikes chords with his first, as a Marine in Viet Nam. The victim found along the Wyoming interstate is herself Vietnamese and a photo found in her purse looks eerily familiar to Walt. Signing.

Linda O. Johnston, Double Dog Dare (June, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 6th in the pet-sitter series with Kendra Ballantyne.

Daniel Judson, The Water’s Edge (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Jake Bechet left the Castellos crime family a year ago with enough information set aside to ensure his safety. When two men are found hanging from a bridge not far from his house in the Hamptons, their hands removed, he knows trouble isn’t far away. The head of the family comes to him, asking him to investigate who killed the family’s soldiers.

Janice Kaplan, A Job to Kill For (Aug., Touchstone hc, 24.00). 3rd with interior designer and sleuth Lucy Fields.

N.M. Kelby, Murder at the Bad Girl’s Bar and Grill (June, Shaye Areheart hc, 23.00). In her second outlandishly funny crime novel, a group of people in a Floridian gated community share not only a neighborhood, but also dead bodies that don’t seem to be against the homeowner’s rules. The guard at the gate seems to be the only person bothered by the crimes and his name is Brian Wilson. Fran recommends her first book with Jimmy Ray, the Buddhist Bluesman, Whale Season (Three Rivers, 13.00).

Faye Kellerman, The Mercedes Coffin (Aug., Morrow hc, 25.95). A recent homicide bears a strange resemblance to an unsolved case from 15 years before. Just after Peter Decker contacts the lead cop from that first case, he finds out the retired detective has killed himself. In paper, The Burnt House (Aug., Harper, 7.99).

Julie Kenner, Deja Demon (July, Berkley tpo, 14.00). 4th in the demon-hunting soccer-mom series.

Andrew Klavan, Empire of Lies (July, Harcourt hc, 25.00). Jason Harrow is convinced his life is perfect and is buoyed by his deep religious faith. All of that is shattered when a woman from his past calls and asks for help. Her daughter is missing and she is convinced Jason is the only one who can find her. His search will take him to the center of a plot against the U.S.

J.A. Konrath, Fuzzy Navel (July, Hyperion hc, 23.95). Chicago Lt. Jacqueline Daniels is told that the worst killer she put away has killed herself in prison. A gang of vigilantes, for some reason, is targeting cops and “Jack” thinks the killer is not dead but is behind it.  In paper, Dirty Martini (June, Hyperion, 7.99).

Michael Koryta, Envy the Night (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Stand-alone thriller by the author of the Lincoln Perry, PI series. 7 years ago, just before he was to graduate high school, Frank Temple’s father killed himself to avoid prosecution and prison. Frank’s been trying to make sense of it ever since. Word reaches him that the man who got Frank’s father into trouble is returning to an isolated lake where both families vacationed. Frank aims to settle scores. Ridley Pearson raved about this book. In paper, A Welcome Grave (June, St. Martin’s, 6.99).

Julie Kramer, Stalking Susan (July, Doubleday hc, 22.95). Debut by a long-time TV news producer. A TV journalist figures out that someone is killing women named Susan on the same day each year. The women seem to have no connection other than their first name. How do you stop a killer like that?

Linda Ladd, Die Smiling (Aug., Kensington pbo, 6.99). 3rd with Missouri Det. Claire Morgan.

Jon Land, The Seven Sins (June, Forge hc, 24.95). Michael Tiranno has come a great distance from being an orphan in Sicily to owning one of the greatest casinos in Vegas. But he and his attorney and confidante, Naomi Burns, have done a great deal to bury his one dark secret. Someone from his past is out to release the secret and destroy him.

Joe R. Lansdale, Leather Maiden (Aug., Knopf hc, 25.00). Returning to his East Texas hometown after scandal cost him his Houston job, Cason Statler is a wreck – drinking too much and wallowing in self-pity. Accepting a job at the local paper, he discovers notes left about a lurid and unsolved murder. He thinks that cracking the case will be his salvation, but it will lead him into a freaky game of evil.

John Lathrop, The Desert Contract (June, Scribner hc, 25.00). A debut novel informed by  the author’s stint in the Air Force and working overseas for 15 years. US businessman Steve Kemp goes back to Saudi Arabia after his life implodes. Once there, looking for a new career, he re-connects with a woman from years before, restarting their affair. Only this time, she’s married to a high level diplomat. The country begins to destabilize and he realizes he’s amongst people whose loyalties are impossible to know.

Marc Lecard, Tiny Little Troubles (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). A famous nano-technologist cannot keep his fly closed, allowing bad people to get near him and have the chance to steal his secrets.

Laura Levine, Killing Bridzilla (June, Kensington hc, 22.00). 7th with writer-for-hire Jaine Austen, working with her old high school enemy on a play when the woman falls to her death.

Francie Lin, The Foreigner (June, Picador tpo, 14.00). A 40ish bachelor, Emerson Chang is the son of immigrants and lives a quiet and sheltered life. He also speaks no Chinese. After his mother’s sudden death, he obeys her wish to have her ashes scattered in Taipei and be reunited with his brother whom he hasn’t seen in decades. His brother, Little P, has worked his way up the Taiwanese crime world and Emerson will be faced with more than he can imagine. Debut by a Massachusetts writer.

Eric van Lustbader, First Daughter (Aug., Forge hc, 25.95). After 8 years of an ideological and belligerent president, a moderate is about to take office. But on the day before the inauguration, the daughter of the president-elect is kidnapped; and the man detailed to find her has himself recently lost his daughter.

Jackie Lynn, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 3rd with Rose Franklin, who lives at the Shady Grove campground along the Mississippi River in Arkansas.

Margaret Maron, Death’s Half Acre (Aug., Grand Central hc, 24.99). Judge Deborah Knott becomes involved when a shady county commissioner is murdered. As the city encroaches on farmland, there is a ton of money to be made by those willing to be corrupt. In paper, Hard Row (Aug., Grand Central, 7.99).

John McFetridge, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (July, Harcourt hc, 25.00). Two people in Toronto are on a collision course, but they don’t know it yet: Sharon MacDonald is under house arrest in her police-watched building from which an Iranian immigrant has just fallen from the roof, and she’s suspicious of this new guy Ray who is just too handsome and slick to be believed. Det. Gord Bergeron has a new partner, a torso discovered in an alley, a pre-teen girl is missing, and a feeling that corruption has burrowed deep into the police force. In paper, Dirty Sweet (July, Harcourt, 14.00).

Ralph McInerny, Ash Wednesday (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 27th with Father Dowling.

Rae Meadows, No One Tells Everything (June, MacAdam Cage tp, 13.00). A NYC editor becomes entranced by the news stories of a young college guy accused of killing a coed. He is from the editor’s hometown and Grace, the editor, senses something deeper to the story. She exchanges messages with him and heads back to their hometown. The present and the past begin to blur as memories from her childhood begin to look different after events of the present.

Richard Montanari, Badlands (Aug., Ballantine hc, 26.00). Two of Philadelphia’s best cops catch the cold case of a murder in a desolate area of town. The first woman they investigate kills herself as soon as they leave; the only clue remaining is a single Latin word.  In paper, Merciless (Aug., Ballantine, 7.99).

Kaye Morgan, Sinister Sudoku (Aug., Berkley pbo, 6.99). 3rd in the numbers-puzzle series.

Tamar Myers, Death of a Rug Lord (June, Avon pbo, 6.99). 14th in the Den of Antiquity series.

Barbara Parker, The Dark of the Day (July, Vanguard hc, 25.95). The disappearance of a woman after a swanky Florida party turns political: the host was the head of security for a US congressman from Miami. CJ Dunn is a media spin expert, but even her skills will be put to the test to deflect attention from the man giving the party and his boss. Things get tenser when the woman is found dead.

P.J. Parrish, South of Hell (July, Pocket pbo, 7.99). 9th from the sisters with Louis Kincaid and his girlfriend Det. Joe Frye. Kincaid and Frye are asked by a woman to investigate the unsolved murder of her mother in 1981. Lately, the woman has been experiencing flashbacks of a violent murder. As Kincaid and Frye dig into the case, it becomes clear that the flashbacks do not correspond to her mother’s murder. What, then, do they match up to? Shamus winning and Edgar nominated series.

James Patterson & Howard Roughan, Sail (June, Little Brown hc, 27.99). A young widow takes her children on a sailing vacation to try to pull the family together. The kids are a mess, she’s not much saner. And things are going to get much, much worse. In paper, You’ve Been Warned (Aug., Vision, 9.99).

George Pelecanos, The Turnaround (Aug., Little Brown hc, 24.99). Back in 1972, three teens inadvertently drove into a DC neighborhood unknown to them. By the end of that hot summer afternoon, six lives were shattered. Now, 35 years later, one of the survivors tries to make amends while another is getting out of prison.

Thomas Perry, Fidelity (June, Harcourt hc, 25.00). Emily Kramer is stunned when her husband is murdered after having emptied their joint account. Jerry Hobart is the guy who killed her husband; it’s what he does for a living. But why is he now asked to whack the wife? While Emily searches for answers, Jerry looks for a larger pay-off. In paper, Silence (June, Harcourt, 14.00). [Both books arrived in April, for some reason.]

Christi Phillips, The Devlin Diary (July, Pocket hc, 24.00). While the authorities believe the death of a Trinity College history professor was an accident, Fellow Claire Donovan and historian Andrew Kent believe otherwise. The dead man was clutching a page from a 1670s diary, the writings of a royal physician during the time of a string of murders that were never solved. All of the bodies had strange carvings on them.

Donald Pfarrer, A Common Ordinary Murder (Aug., Random House hc, 24.00). Big-city cop Steven McCord is 42, has seen what people do to one another and has become detached from the crimes as well as his own life. The latest case for him seems to be ordinary enough – an elderly man strangled in his own home. But the case will take on aspects that will echo in McCord’s own life and reignite his own fires.

Suzanne Price, Dirty Deeds (July, Obsidian pbo, 6.99). 2nd in the Grime Stoppers series.

Bill Pronzini, Fever (June, Forge hc, 24.95). Nameless and his associates have helped return a gambling- addicted woman to her husband a couple of times; the last time she found them, having been beaten up. Now she’s gone again but this time her blood is on her kitchen floor and it appears someone has come to the end of their patience.

Christopher Reich, Rules of Deception (July, Doubleday hc, 24.95). Jonathan Ransom is a surgeon for Doctors Without Borders taking a vacation with his wife in the Swiss Alps. His wife is killed on a mountain in a freak storm. The next day, he receives an envelope addressed to her that contains two claim tickets. His first step, to find out what it means, result in fight that leaves on of his attackers dead – a Swiss cop. What was his wife into? Gretchen recommends.

Kathy Reichs, Devil Bones (Aug., Scribner hc, 25.95). A North Carolina plumber working on a home renovation discovers a secret room that contains remains and evidence that points to voodoo, Santaria and devil worship. Temperance Brennan’s 11th case. In paper, Bones to Ashes (June, Pocket, 7.99). Gretchen and Fran RAVE about this series.

J.D. Rhoades, Breaking Cover (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Stand-alone thriller from the author of the Jack Keller books. Years ago, Tony Wolf was thought to be the most talented FBI agent in the bureau’s history. Then he simply disappeared. But now, after saving two children from an attempting kidnapping, he’s exposed, and those from his past, those from whom he hid, know where to find him. In paper, Safe and Sound (June, St. Martin’s, 6.99). Janine recommends this author.

Les Roberts, King of the Holly Hop (June, Gray & Co. hc, 24.95). 14th with Milan Jacovich.

Nora Roberts, Tribute (July, Putnam hc, 26.95). A former child star has left Hollywood behind and now enjoys a quiet life restoring old homes. She left the glitz of LA after a friend died. Letters come to her attention that her friend may have been pregnant and the drug overdose might not have been accidental. Signed Copies Available. In paper, High Noon (June, Jove, 7.99).

James Rollins, The Last Oracle (June, Morrow hc, 26.95). During the Cold War, a group of scientists began to study autistic children and discovered a way to enhance and manipulate savants. An extreme faction broke off and devoted itself to developing these children into what they think one of them can be – a prophet for the new millennia. Sigma Force begins their investigation. Signing. In paper, The Judas Strain (June, Harper, 7.99). Fran recommends his books. And, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May, Del Rey hc, 26.00), the ‘official novel’ of the new movie.

David Rosenfelt, Don’t Tell a Soul (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). The first stand-alone thriller from the author of the staff-favorite Andy Carpenter mysteries. Months ago, Tim Wallace’s wife died in a boating accident. The cops wanted to hang a murder rap on him but could never find evidence that it was murder. It is now New Year’s Eve and friends have gotten Tim out of his house and into a pub. While there, a drunk stranger admits to having killed a woman months before…and then disappears into the night. The cops don’t buy it and renew their pursuit of Tim. He is the only one who can find the truth. Bill highly recommends.

Marcus Sakey, Good People (Aug., Dutton hc, 24.95). What would you do with $400,000? A young, suburban couple assume that the money they find hidden by their dead tenet is just the cache left by a recluse. But he was a recluse for a reason and now those from whom he was hiding want it. Gretchen and Janine recommend it as his best book yet.

Jonathan Santlofer, The Murder Notebook (June, Morrow hc, 24.95). An NYPD sketch artist begins to have visions of terrible crimes. Doing what comes naturally, he draws them. Eerily, they appear to be scenes from horrific crimes both past and present.

Bart Schneider, The Man in the Blizzard (Aug., Three Rivers tpo, 14.95). As the Republican Convention comes to the Twin Cities, pothead PI Augie Boyer is hired by a striking blonde violinist – who, by the way, has multiple personalities – to help her with some neo-Nazi violin collectors. If this doesn’t sound bizarre enough, Augie asks a friend (a cop who is a fanatical poetry promoter) to help him and Blossom (his spike-haired and ex-con assistant) on the case. Soon they discover a plot to kill three abortion doctors during a rally and that Augie’s only child, a radical singer-songwriter, is involved in a protest, and things get out of hand. As they would.

Michele Scott, A Vintage Murder (July, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 4th in the Wine Lover’s series. 

Maggie Sefton, Dyer Consequences (June, Berkley hc, 23.95). 5th in this knitting series. In paper, A Killer Stitch (June, Berkley, 6.99).

Jonathan Segura, Occupational Hazards (July, Simon & Schuster tpo, 14.00). Debut novel by a magazine editor. An Omaha reporter spins his wheels reporting on real estate and county funding stories. Then he stumbles on what could be the story of a lifetime; a bloody crime scene leads him to a group intent on cleaning up the blighted areas of town to profit from the rehabilitation, even if it requires murder.

Daniel Silva, Moscow Rules (July, Putnam hc, 26.95). In his 8th book, Gabriel Allon travels to Russia and discovers that there are still things to be learned about spycraft. In paper, The Secret Servant (July, Signet, 9.99).

David Skibbins, The Hanged Man (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Tarot reader Warren Ritter is asked by his girlfriend to help save a friend who has been jailed. To help spring dominatrix Therese de Farge, everyone involved will have to infiltrate the straight-laced world of normal people – no small thing. Fran recommends this author.

Karin Slaughter, Fractured (July, Delacorte hc, 25.00). After years of abuse from her husband, Gailyn Campano snaps when she comes home to find an intruder holding her daughter hostage. Quickly, the man is dead. Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations is sent to look into the circumstances and see if the case really is so simple. Gretchen recommends. In paper, Beyond Reach (July, Dell, 7.99).

Patricia Smiley, Cool Cache (June, Obsidian hc, 23.95). Tucker Sinclair comes to the aid of her newest client, a chocolatier, when her shop is ransacked and her cleaning lady murdered. In paper, Short Change (June, Obsidian, 6.99).

Julia Spencer-Fleming, I Shall Not Want (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 6th in this award winning series.  Claire Fergusson is brought into the case of a murdered Latino, because of her work with migrant workers. What appears to be an isolated murder turns into a media circus after two more bodies are found. Signed Copies Available.

Duane Swierczynski, Severance Package (June, Griffin tpo, 13.95). At a company meeting on a hot Saturday in August, the staff is told that they’ve been working for a covert branch of the intelligence community and the group is being shut down. Permanently. They have two choices: drink the champagne and fall asleep, forever, or take a bullet to the head. All hell breaks lose. (This had been announced as being a paperback release for Nov., 2007, but the hardcover was canceled.) Author is a modern noir master and a staff favorite.

Heather Terrell, The Map Thief (July, Ballantine hc, 25.00). A 15th C. Chinese Emperor sent an armada to chart the world’s oceans. When they returned, the Emperor had been overthrown and the maps disappeared. Now, their secrets are leaking out.

Brad Thor, The Last Patriot (July, Atria hc, 26.00). The 6th with Homeland Security operative Scot Harvath. The publisher’s catalog gives no plot info. In paper, The First Commandment (May, Pocket, 7.99).

Aimée and David Thurlo, The Prodigal Nun (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 5th with Sister Agatha.

Ian Vasquez, In the Heat (June, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Debut thriller. Boxer Miles Young is near the end of his career in the ring. A promoter brings him the possibility of a big pay off: the daughter of a rich woman has run off with money and the son of the former corrupt chief of police. The mother wants her daughter found and thinks Miles will be able to get answers from those who won’t deal with the police. An atmospheric story set in Belize, where the author was born.

Heather Webber, Weeding Out Trouble (Aug., Avon pbo, 6.99). 5th in the mystery series with landscape designer Nina Quinn.

Jincy Willett, The Writing Class (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). A reclusive widow’s only activity is teaching creative writing extension course. Her class is a mix of oddballs. When one of them is murdered, they’re all suspects.

Don Winslow, The Dawn Patrol (June, Knopf hc, 23.95, Signed Copies $24.95). A member of an early morning surfing group (The Dawn Patrol, last heard about in The Winter of Frankie Machine, a staff favorite) Boone Daniels is a PI who works only enough to pay for the basics, leaving as much time as possible to surf. Once a cop, he’s never forgotten the case of a missing girl, never solved. His latest client, a bossy and beautiful lawyer asks for help on an insurance case and Boone sees it as a way to make things right. JB, Gretchen & Bill recommend.

Simon Wood, We All Fall Down  (July, Leisure, $7.99). On the fast track, Hayden Duke has joined Marin Design Engineering to work on an important project. One of MDE's employee's committed suicide just before Hayden started, and he's wasn’t the first.  Is it the pressure?  Or is there some other connection?  Signing.

Edward Wright, Damnation Falls (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Disgraced journalist Randall Wilkes is back in his Tennessee hometown. No one will employ him and then his boyhood bestfriend, former governor Sonny McMahan asks him to write his biography. Within hours of his arrival, people who were involved with both of them as boys begin to die. Sonny’s mother is the first; she’s found hanging from the bridge over the town’s namesake. [For a time, we had this as an English import paperback.] Bill recommends.

Richard Yancey, The Highly Effective Detective Goes to the Dogs (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 2nd comic mystery with bumbling PI Teddy Ruzak.

Mark Richard Zubro, Schooled in Murder (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 12th with Chicago high school teacher Tom Mason.

 

Now in Paperback

Sheryl J. Anderson, Killer Riff (Aug., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

Lori Andrews, The Silent Assassin (June, St. Martin’s, 6.99). Fran recommends.

Sarah Andrews, In Cold Pursuit (July, St. Martin’s, 6.99).

Marian Babson, Only the Cat Knows (June, St. Martin’s, 6.99).

David Baldacci, Stone Cold (Sept., Grand Central, 9.99).

Linwood Barclay, No Time for Goodbye (Aug., Bantam, 6.99).

Simon Beckett, Written in Bone (Aug., Dell, 6.99).

Laurien Berenson, Hounded to Death (Aug., Kensington, 6.99).

Giles Blunt, By the Time You Read This (Aug., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

David Ellis, Eye of the Beholder (Aug., Berkley, 7.99).

Robert Ellis, City of Fire (July, St. Martin’s, 6.99).

Monica Ferris, Knitting Bones (Aug., Berkley, 6.99).

Vince Flynn, Protect and Defend (Aug., Pocket, 9.99).

Scott Frost, Never Fear (June, Jove, 9.99).

Mark Gimenez, The Abduction (July, Vanguard, 7.99). Fran highly recommends.

James Grippando, Lying with Strangers (Aug., Harper, 7.99).

Austin Grossman, Soon I Will Be Invincible (June, Vintage, 14.95). Fran recommends.

Steve Hamilton, Night Work (Aug., St. Martin’s, 6.99).

Robert Harris, The Ghost (Aug., Pocket, 7.99).

Michael Harvey, The Chicago Way (July, Vintage, 12.95).

Richard Hawke, Cold Day in Hell (June, Ballantine, 7.99).

Humphrey Hawkley, Security Breach (Aug., Grand Central, 7.99). Janine recommends this book that, in hardcover, was titled The History Book. Why’d they change the title? They didn’t say. But we figured it out.

Gregg Hurwitz, The Crime Writer (June, Penguin, 14.00). Janine recommends.

Jonnie Jacobs, The Next Victim (June, Kensington, 6.99).

Jonathan Kellerman, Obsession (Aug., Ballantine, 9.99). 

Jonathan King, Acts of Nature (June, Signet, 7.99).

William Kent Krueger, Thunder Bay (June, Pocket, 7.99). Fran recommends.

Jeff Lindsay, Dexter in the Dark (Aug., Vintage, 13.95).

Patricia MacDonald, Stolen in the Night (July, Pocket, 7.99).

William Martin, The Lost Constitution (June, Forge, 9.99).

Cody McFadyen, The Face of Death (Aug., Bantam, 6.99).

Richard K. Morgan, Thirteen (June, Del Rey, 15.00). Fran recommends.

David Morrell, Scavenger (June, Vanguard, 9.99).

Robert B. Parker, Spare Change (June, Berkley, 9.99). Randall.

Richard North Patterson, The Race (Aug., St. Martin’s, 9.99).

J.D. Robb, Strangers in Death (Aug., Berkley, 7.99).

Anna Salter, Truth Catcher (June, Pegasus, 14.95).

George D. Shuman, Last Breath (June, Pocket, 7.99).

Martin Cruz Smith, Stalin’s Ghost (June, Pocket, 15.00).

Camilla Trinchieri, The Price of Silence (June, Soho, 13.00).

 

Mysterious Youth

F. Paul Wilson, Jack: Secret Histories (June, Tor hc, 15.95). This book for teens is about the teen years of boy who would grow up to be known as Repairman Jack, a guy who can fix any situation.

 

Coming this Fall

Donna Andrews & Meg Langslow, Nov.

Lori Andrews & Dr. Alexandra Blake, Sept.

Larry Beinhart, Salvation Boulevard, Sept.

Michael Connelly, The Brass Verdict, Oct.

Jeffery Deaver, The Bodies Left Behind, Oct.

Nelson DeMille, The Gate House, Oct.

James D. Doss & Charlie Moon, Nov.

Stephen Hunter & Bob Lee Swagger, Oct.

Jonathan Kellerman & Alex Delaware, Oct.

William Kent Krueger & Cork O’Connor, Sept.

Dennis Lehane, The Given Day, Sept.

Archer Mayor & Joe Gunther, Oct.

Brad Meltzer, The Book of Lies, Sept.

David Morrell, The Spy Who Came for Christmas, Oct.

Walter Mosley & Socrates Fortlow, Oct.

Marcia Muller & Sharon McCone, Oct.

Katherine Neville, The Fire, Oct.

James Patterson & Alex Cross, Nov.

Bill Pronzini, The Other Side of Silence, Oct.

John Sandford, Heat Lightning, Sept.

Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins & Mike Hammer, Oct.

James Swain, The Night Stalker, Sept.

William G. Tapply & Brady Coyne, Oct.

F. Paul Wilson & Repairman Jack, Nov.

 

 

      Historical

Tasha Alexander, A Fatal Waltz (June, Morrow hc, 23.95). Lady Emily Ashton, in her 3rd book, is asked by her friend Ivy to attend a party hosted by a powerful but objectionable man and she reluctantly agrees. That evening, the host is found dead and Ivy’s husband, the host’s assistant, is arrested for the crime.

Cordelia Frances Biddle, Deception’s Daughter (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 2nd with turn of the century amateur sleuth Martha Beale.  Cordelia is half of the “Nero Blanc” writing team. In paper, The Conjurer (June, St. Martin’s, 13.95).

J.M.C. Blair, The Excaliber Murders (July, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 1st in a new series with Merlin in the court of King Arthur.

Rhys Bowen, A Royal Pain (July, Berkley hc, 23.95). In her second escapade, Lady Georgie is maneuvered into helping with some matchmaking. Somehow, Georgie will have to deal with shoplifting, gangster lingo from American movies and that inconvenient dead person in the bookshop. In paper, Her Royal Spyness (July, Berkley, 7.99).

Emily Brightwell, Mrs. Jeffries Holds the Trump (June, Berkley pbo, 6.99). 24th with the Victorian housekeeper.

Barbara Cleverly, Folly du Jour (Aug., Soho hc, 24.95). In his 7th appearance, Joe Sandilands comes to the aid of a friend who has been arrested for a murder at Paris’ Folies Bergere. The world of Parisian dance halls is one unto itself. Luckily, Joe meets a young usher, Francine, who is trying to work her way up and into that same universe.

Max Allan Collins writing as Patrick Culhane, Red Sky in Morning (Aug., Morrow hc, 24.95). Soon after Pearl Harbor, a young Iowan gets his dream of seeing action when he’s transferred to a new ammunition ship. Soon there is murder and sabotage and it is clear someone onboard is an enemy.

Charles Finch, The September Society (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). At the request of a frantic mother, Charles Lenox travels to Oxford on a morning in 1866 to look for a missing student. When he arrives, he finds a murdered cat and a strange card inscribed with the name of a group, The September Society. In paper, A Beautiful Blue Death (Aug., Griffin, 13.95).

John Gardner, No Human Enemy (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Last book by the noted and prolific author. Just after D-Day, as the Allied troops gain their foothold in Normandy, the Nazi’s release their V-1 flying bombs. The effect on the morale of the residents of Southern England is profound. They can feel something more is headed their way.

Philip Gooden, The Salisbury Manuscripts (July, Soho hc, 24.95). In 1873, a London lawyer finds the body of a murdered clergyman and falls under suspicion. The case will involve artifacts from an ancient burial chamber on the Salisbury plain.

Dolores Gordon-Smith, Mad About the Boy? (July, Soho hc, 24.95). 2nd with 1920s amateur sleuth Jack Haldean. Jack is a former Royal Flying Corps pilot who is looking into the strange circumstances of an apparent suicide. There are some Russian revolutionaries involved somehow and the case gets murkier.

Ann Granger, A Mortal Curiosity (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). In 1864, Lizzie Martin is dispatched from London to the South coast to be a paid companion to a young lady. The woman had recently lost a child and is in seclusion with aunts. While en route, Lizzie meets a strange man who says he’s a doctor going to treat the young woman. Says the woman claims the baby was stolen, and is not dead.

Kathryn Miller Haines, The Winter of Her Discontent (July, Harper tpo, 13.95). Aspiring actress Rosie Winter swings into action when her pal Al, a mob enforcer who really is a nice guy, is accused of killing his girlfriend, another actress.

Katie Hickman, The Aviary Gate (June, Bloomsbury hc, 25.95). Set in Constantinople, four hundred years ago, a steamy mix of murder, treacherous intrigue, and forbidden love in the sultan’s palace.

Bernard Knight, The Manor of Death (June, Simon & Schuster hc, 24.95). 12th with medieval coroner Sir John de Wolfe.

Rose Melikan, The Blackstone Key (Aug., Touchstone tpo, 14.00). The first in a trilogy set in England during the Napoleonic War that the publisher promises to be equal parts Bronte’s gothic, Dickens’ characters, and Christie’s plotting. While undertaking a trip to heal a family rift, Mary Finch discovers a deadly plot involving pirates, secret codes, spies, smugglers, and traitors.

R.N. Morris, A Vengeful Longing (June, Penguin hc, 24.95). 2nd with St. Petersburg’s Det. Porfiry Petrovich in the 1860s. A doctor is arrested when a box of chocolate that he brings home poisons his wife and son.

Arturo Perez-Reverte, The King’s Gold (Aug., Putnam hc, 24.95). Captain Alatriste is intrigued by a job offer from the King: gather a group of swordsmen to guard a galleon of gold soon to arrive from the West Indies. In paper, The Sun Over Breda (July, Plume, 15.00).

Kelli Stanley, Nox Dormienda (July, 5 Star hc, 25.95). Debut historical noir set in Roman Britannia, 83AD. Arcturus is the classic figure – half Roman and half Britain, belonging nowhere and going everywhere. A physician, he also investigates for the local governor. The body of a Syrian spy is found in an underground temple and Arcturus is asked to find out what happened. Signing.

Will Thomas, The Black Hand (July, Touchstone tpo, 14.00). In the 5th with Victorian enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn; the pair battle the arrival the arrival in London of organized crime from of the Italy - Black Hand.

Victoria Thompson, Murder on Bank Street (June, Berkley hc, 23.95). 10th in the Gaslight series set in turn-of-the-century New York, with midwife Sarah Brandt. Det. Sgt. Frank Mallow investigates the murder of Dr. Tom Brandt and what he finds will jeopardize his hopes for a life with Sarah. In paper, Murder in Chinatown (June, Berkley, 7.99).

Nicola Upson, An Expert in Murder (June, Harper hc, 24.95). Traveling to London for her successful play, novelist Josephine Tey talks to a fan on the train. Not long afterward, the young lady is murdered. Tey is pulled into the case – as a witness or a player and perhaps a sleuth. Det. Insp. Archie Penrose thinks the killer is tied to the theatre world and senses that the crime is linked to the Great War. Debut novel by a writer and journalist.

David Wishart, Illegally Dead (June, Hodder & Stoughton hc, 24.95). 10th set in ancient Rome with Marcus Corvinus. [Arrived in March!]

The Medieval Murderers, The Lost Prophecies (July, Simon & Schuster tpo, 16.95). Six interlinked mysteries from Jecks, Gregory, Knight, Morson, Gooden, Beaufort and a new member, CJ Sansom.

 

In paper

I.J. Parker, The Hell Screen (June, Penguin, 14.00). The second book in this historical Japanese series, from 2003, not previously available in paperback.

Jo Walton, Ha’Penny (July, Tor, 7.99).

 

Coming This Fall

Carrie Bebris & the Darcys, Sept.

David Liss, The Whiskey Rebels, Sept.

Laura Joh Rowland, The Fire Kimono, Nov.

Peter Tremayne & Sister Fidelma, Nov.

 

      Sherlockiana

John R. King, The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls (July, Forge hc, 25.95). In the aftermath of the battle between Holmes and Moriarty, Holmes is found after his fall and helped by another Victorian detective, Carnacki the Ghost Finder. Both recognize that a great evil force is still after Holmes, a force that might be more powerful than the dead Professor.

David Pirie, The Night Calls (June, Pegasus, 14.95). The 2nd with Arthur Conan Doyle and Dr. Joseph Bell, a 2003 hardcover now in paperback.

 

     From Overseas

A.C. Baantjer, Dekok and the Dead Lovers (July, Speck tpo, 14.00). 28th in this bestselling Dutch series, originally published in 2004.

Colin Cotterill, Curse of the Pogo Stick (Aug., Soho hc, 24.00). Dr. Siri’s life has gotten dangerous. A booby-trapped corpse has been delivered to his morgue while he, on his way back from a political meeting, has been kidnapped by a group of Hmong women so that he can perform an exorcism. The pogo stick plays a role in that. In paper, Anarchy and Old Dogs (Aug., Soho, 12.00).

Karin Fossum, Black Seconds (June, Harcourt hc, 24.00). Insp. Konrad Sejer will need all his calming demeanor with this unsettling case: a ten-year old girl headed to town on her new bike but never arrived. While the locals grown more agitated, their suspicion lands on a Emil Mork, a local loner who is isolated and silent, not having spoken since childhood. In paper, The Indian Bride (June, Harcourt, 14.00).

Kathryn Fox, Skin and Bone (July, Harper pbo, 7.99). 3rd forensic thriller from Australia by a member of the

UK Association of Forensic Physicians. Detective Sergeant Kate Farrer works the case of a murdered mother, a missing infant and a teenage girl who has vanished. Is it all related? Fran recommends this author.

Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza, Blackout (Aug., Holt hc, 24.00). 6th with Rio de Janeiro Insp. Espinosa. No one witnessed the murder of the homeless man in the wealthy district of Copacabana and there is little evidence of who might have thought this one-legged beggar posed a problem.

Brent Ghelfi, Volk’s Shadow (July, Holt hc, 25.00). Afloat in trouble, Volk is stretched between what might have been a terrorist attack on the headquarters of a US oil company, the theft of a priceless Fabergé egg, and the scheming of Abreg, his former commander who has turned to terror in the southern mountains and wants Volk back at his side. Signing. Janine recommends.

Michael Genelin, Siren of the Waters (July, Soho hc, 24.00). Debut novel by a man of varied abilities – he’s worked in the LA DA’s office, and for the Justice Department in Europe, as well as written for TV. Slovak Commander Jana Matinova has always been a single-minded seeker of justice. Her family has been destroyed as has her marriage, and still she pursues it. Her latest case will take her across Europe, hunting the head of an international crime operation.

Timothy Hallinan, The Fourth Watcher (July, Morrow hc, 24.95). Travel writer Poke Rafferty is hoping that life in Bangkok will quiet down. Then his father, whom he hasn’t seen is ages, surfaces and asks for a favor. He’s in trouble with the merciless Colonel Chu and it involves gemstones. Signing. In paper, A Nail Through the Heart (July, Harper, 13.95). Gretchen and JB recommend.

Stuart Kaminsky, People Who Walk in Darkness (Aug., Forge hc, 23.95). Insp. Rostnikov returns after a seven-year absence (the previous was 2001’s Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express). He travels to Siberia to investigate a murder in a diamond mine. What he encounters is an old secret and an old personal problem. Gems, smuggling, conspiracy and danger.

Natsuo Kirino, Real World (July, Knopf hc, 22.95). Four young girls make their way through a muggy summer and endless ‘cram school’ sessions. When a neighbor to one of them is murdered, they suspect the woman’s son, a boy they detest. They have no idea of the trouble heading their way.

Åsa Larsson, The Black Path (July, Delta tpo, 12.00). Insp. Anna-Maria Mella recognizes she needs help on her most recent case: the body of a woman found on a frozen lake shows clear signs of torture. Mella turns to a lawyer she knows, Rebecka Martinsson, who is recovering from a case that nearly destroyed her.

Carlo Lucarelli, Via delle Oche (May, Europa tpo,14.95). In the concluding book in the De Luca trilogy, the Bologna detective will follow the clues from a murder in the red light district towards powerful people, no matter the cost.

Esteban Martín & Andreu Carranza, The Gaudi Key (Aug., Morrow hc, 24.95). For centuries, a secret group has guarded a sacred relic. The guardianship has recently passed from famed Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi to his apprentice and now to that man’s granddaughter. The catch is that she doesn’t know what it is or where it is – she has only a cryptic message left to her - and an equally long-lived group is dedicated to finding the relic and destroying it. She is all that stands in their way.

Antonio Muñoz Molina, A Manuscript of Ashes (Aug., Harcourt hc, 25.00). Escaping student unrest at the end of the Franco years, a young man hides out with his uncle in the countryside. He decides to write his thesis on an obscure poet from before the fascists took over, a man who was his uncle’s friend. As he searches through information his uncle has, he discovers that they had both been in love with the same woman, a beauty who died under odd circumstances on her wedding night. He also discovers that this poet once wrote a novel about her, but the novel has been thought to have been lost. Is it?

Magdalen Nabb, Vita Nuova (June, Soho hc, 24.00). 14th and perhaps last of the Marshal Guarnaccia books; The author died in April of 2007. The prosecutor personally asks that Guarnaccia investigate when a single mother is found murdered in her bedroom in the family’s new villa. Granted, her family is a strange bunch and her father may have been mixed up in layers of lawlessness, but this young woman was quiet and studying for her doctorate in chemistry. Who would have wanted her dead?

Hakan Nesser, Mind’s Eye (June, Pantheon hc, 22.95).3rd in the Insp. Van Veeteren series. The Swedish investigator finds the murder case of Janek Miter too easy. The man awakes from a drinking binge to find his pregnant wife dead in the bathtub. Sentenced for murder and placed into a mental institution, Miter is soon murdered himself and Van Veeteren takes on both cases.

Arimasa Osawa, Shinjuku Shark 2: The Poison Ape (Aug., Vertical tpo, 15.95). Det. Samejima works alone, by choice and necessity as no one will work with him in his rough part of Tokyo. This time he’s up against a professional Taiwanese killer, referred to as The Poison Ape.

Michael Robotham, The Sleep of Reason (Aug., Doubleday hc, 24.95). 3rd thriller from this Australian author recommended by Janine. Psychologist Joe O’Laughlin is devastated by his inability to keep a woman from leaping to her death from a bridge. The woman’s daughter comes to him afterward for answers, because her mother was afraid of heights. In paper, The Night Ferry (July, Vintage, 7.99).

Luis Miguel Rocha, The Last Pope (Aug., Putnam hc, 24.95). A thriller built around historical events. A London-based journalist returns to her flat to find an envelope that contains names and a coded message. Within days, someone breaks into her rooms and tries to steal what she first took to be a joke. She now understands that she’s endangered by this material and the answers as to its meaning will take her back to 1978, when the new pope lived just 33 days.

Barrie Sherwood, Escape from Amsterdam (June, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). Aozora is a young Japanese guy who is going nowhere fast and he’s deep in debt. The death of an aunt could be the answer. She’s left a chunk of money for him and his sister, Mai. But he can’t get access to the money without Mai and Mai has vanished. He thinks she’s somewhere in Southern Japan, around a strange theme park called Amsterdam. A funny and dark trip into today’s Japan by someone born in Hong Kong and who lived in Japan while starting this book.

Peter Steiner, L’Assassin (July, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 2nd with former CIA op Louis Morgon. His Provence house recently ransacked, Morgon thinks nothing about it. It was a random crime, these things happen. But the burglary and the burglar are anything but random. In paper, Le Crime (July, St. Martin’s, 12.95). The author is also a noted New Yorker cartoonist.

Koji Suzuki, Promenade of the Gods (Aug., Vertical hc, 24.95). A Japanese woman’s husband vanished after watching a particular TV show. She asks his best friend to help her find him. The first thing they discover is that the famous host of the show vanished afterward too.

 

In paper

John Burdett, Bangkok Haunts (June, Vintage, 13.95).

Garry Disher, Chain of Evidence (July, Soho, 13.00). Janine recommends.

Christian Jungerson, The Exception (July, Vintage, 15.95). Janine recommends.

David Peace, Tokyo Year Zero (Aug., Vintage, 14.95).

Javier Sierra, The Lady in Blue (June, Washington Square, 14.00).

Olen Steinhauer, Victory Square (Aug., Griffin, 13.95).

Peter Temple, The Broken Shore (June, Picador, 14.00).

 

Coming This Fall

Arnaldur Indridason & Insp. Erlendur, Sept.

Pierre Magnan & Commissaire Laviolette, Oct.

Henning Mankell with Kurt Wallender short stories, Sept.

 

From Great Britain

Catherine Aird, Losing Ground (July, St. Martin’s hc, 23.95). 21st with DCI Sloan. A stolen painting, a burned manor on a large property and a discovery of a pile of bones.

Jo Bannister, Closer Still (Aug., St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). 8th with Brodie Farrell and her unusual detective agency.

Benjamin Black, The Lemur (July, Picador tpo, 13.00). An Irish journalist travels to NYC to work on a biography of his father-in-law, a billionaire. Once there, he finds that the research assistant he hired has been murdered and the Irishman doesn’t know what he had uncovered. Serialized in the Sunday New York Times magazine.

S.J. Bolton, Sacrifice (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). Debut thriller. Tora Hamilton, an obstetrician, moves back to her husband’s hometown in the Shetland Islands. While digging on their property, she unearths what at first is assumed to be a bog body. Fairly quickly, everyone realizes it is far more recent a burial. In looking for answers, Tora discovers that the area has a history of missing women and children.

Natasha Cooper, A Poisoned Mind (July, St. Martin’s hc, 25.95). 9th with barrister Trish Maguire. Her boss takes the case to defend a waste company accused of corruption, and is then the victim of a terrible accident.

Judith Cutler, Still Waters (June, Allison & Busby hc, 25.95). Did a man jump from the 5th floor window of his hotel or was he ‘helped’? That is the question for DCI Fran Harman.

Tana French, The Likeness (July, Viking hc, 24.95). Just months after the events of In the Woods (June, Penguin, 14.00 – Fran recommends this latest Edgar-winning Best First Novel), Det. Cassie Maddox has transferred out of the murder squad and is having a difficult time becoming engaged in anything or with anyone. A new murder envelops her: the young woman had identification with a name Cassie herself used years before while undercover and she bears an alarming resemblance to Cassie.

Allan Guthrie, Savage Night (June, Harcourt hc, 25.00). In a story spanning just 6 hours of a Scottish night, a man who faints at the sight of blood believes he’s found a way to avenge his enemies, but it will take a heavy toll on his children, while a man being blackmailed by a masked man will achieve the upper-hand on the man with terrible affects. In paper, Hard Man (June, Harcourt, 14.00).

David Hewson, The Garden of Evil (July, Delacorte hc, 24.00). In his 6th case, Rome Det. Nic Coasta is called to a double murder in an artist’s studio. What makes the case more compelling is that the bodies are found under a very rare and priceless Caravaggio. Who is the killer and where has the painting been for 400 years? In paper, The Seventh Sacrament (June, Dell, 6.99).

Jack Higgins, Rough Justice (Aug., Putnam hc, 25.95). Dispatched by their country’s leaders, two men meet in Kosovo and stumble into a case of religious provocation.

Suzette A. Hill, Bones in the Belfry (Aug., Soho hc, 24.95). The catalog says “If P.G. Wodehouse had written a mystery…” 2nd with bumbling vicar Francis Oughterand. Saved from a murder charge by a shady art dealer after he accidentally strangled a woman in his parish, Oughterand repays his debt by hiding a stolen painting in the belfry of his church.

Quintin Jardine, Aftershock (Aug., Headline hc, 24.95). 18th with Edinburgh’s DCC Bob Skinner.

Robert Lewis, Swansea Terminal (July, Serpent’s Tail tpo, 14.95). Robin Llewellyn is just another homeless  alcoholic, drinking himself to death, though he used to be a pretty good private eye. The local crime boss thinks he’d be a perfect patsy and offers him a job.

Nigel McCrery, Still Waters (July, Pantheon hc, 23.95). DCI Mark Lapslie is just back from a year off. He’d been trying to get his synaesthesia under control – his version causing him to taste sound. His first case is that of an elderly woman found buried in her own yard and will severely test his abilities. First book in the US by a crime writer and TV mystery scriptwriter.

Antony Moore, The Swap (Aug., Delta tpo, 11.00). Londoner Harvey Briscow is a hard-drinking and morose comic-book shop owner who has never gotten over a mistake from school: he traded away what would now be a priceless Superman comic to a boy who went on to become rich and successful. At a class reunion he sees the chance to set things right only to see everything go wrong.

Ann Purser, Sorrow on Sunday (July, Berkley pbo, 6.99). No rest for Long Farnden’s Lois Meade. There have been some odd events surrounding the area’s horses.

Ruth Rendell, Not in the Flesh (June, Crown hc, 25.95). In his 22nd book, Insp. Wexford looks into the case of remains found by a truffle-hunting dog. The case seems to begin more than a decade in the past. He knows that 85 people have vanished in this part of the English countryside. Do the remains belong to one of them? And then more remains are unearthed.

Stella Rimington, Illegal Action (July, Knopf hc, 23.95). 3rd thriller from the former head of MI5: Operative Liz Carlyle has transferred to counter-espionage and her first duty is to look into the threat against a prominent Russian who is a foe of President Putin.

Ian Sansom, The Book Stops Here (Aug., Harper tpo, 13.95). 3rd in the Mobile Library series. Israel Armstrong is heading to the annual book mobile convention and, wouldn’t you know it, his book mobile is stolen from the parking lot!

Gerald Seymour, The Walking Dead (June, Overlook hc, 24.95). Armed protection officer David Banks is charged with protecting London against attack but he is growing more alarmed that knowing just who is a threat and who is not is far harder to determine than it once was. Favorite author of Janine’s.

Sam Taylor, The Amnesiac (June, Penguin tpo, 14.00). A man returns to England from his home in Amsterdam, hoping to find out what happened during three years he cannot recall. He discovers a 19th C. manuscript that, somehow and strangely, might solve his mystery. American debut publication by a noted British novelist.

Dan Waddell, The Blood Detective (June, St. Martin’s hc, 24.95). London genealogist Nigel Barnes is asked by the city police to help with a string of murders. Debut by a British journalist.

Michael Walters, The Shadow Killer (Aug., Berkley tpo, 14.00). CID officer Drew McLeish is dispatched to Mongolia after a series of brutal killings besets the streets of Ulan Bataar. The former head of the region’s Serious Crimes squad, Nergui, welcomes the help and the two try to stop the cold-blooded killer as winter sets in.

 

In paper

Mark Billingham, Buried (June, Harper, 7.99).

Ann Cleeves, Raven Black (July, Griffin, 13.95).

Jasper Fforde, Thursday Next: First Among Sequels (July, Penguin, 15.00).

Mo Hayder, Pig Island (Aug., Penguin, 7.99).

Ruth Rendell, The Water’s Lovely (Aug., Vintage, 13.95).

Rebecca Stott, Ghostwalk (June, Spiegel & Grau, 14.00).

Leonie Swann, Three Bags Full (June, Flying Dolphin Press, 12.95). Fran recommends.

Rupert Thomson, Death of a Murderer (Aug., Vintage, 13.95).

Rebecca Tope, Death in the Cotswolds (June, Allison & Busby, 11.95).

 

Coming This Fall

Kate Atkinson & Jackson Brodie, Sept.

M.C. Beaton & Agatha Raisin, Oct.

Ken Bruen, Once Were Cops, Nov.

Ann Cleeves & Insp. Perez, Sept.

Barbara Cleverly & Laetitia Talbot, Oct.

Clare Curzon & Superintendent Yeadings, Oct.

Christopher Fowler & the Peculiar Crimes Unit, Oct.

John Harvey & Charlie Resnick, Sept.

Declan Hughes, The Big O, Sept.

Lynda La Plante, Clean Cut, Oct.

John Lawton, Second Violin, Sept.

John le Carre, A Most Wanted Man, Oct.

Stuart MacBride & Logan McRae, Oct.

Mo Hayder & Jack Caffery, Sept.

Ian Rankin & Insp. Rebus, Sept.

Zoë Sharp & Charlie Fox, Oct.

Alexander McCall Smith & Isabel Dalhousie, Sept.

 

Mystery Specialty Presses

     Bitter Lemon

Leonardo Padura, Havana Gold (June, tpo, 14.95). Last in the prize-winning quartet. Political pressure is high, for some reason, on Lt. Conde’s latest case – a 24 year-old woman beaten, raped and murdered, whose wardrobe is far beyond the pay of a high school teacher.

     Bleak House

[All books come in three forms: $24.95 regular hc, $14.95 tp, $40 Evidence Collection edition.]

Marshall Cook, Obsessions (June). In the 4th with Monona Quinn, a writer’s retreat offers extra lessons when the pompous writer-in-residence is murdered.

Victoria Houston, Dead Hot Shot (July). 9th in the Lake Loon series – murder, mayhem and fishing in the north woods of Wisconsin. Back in print, Dead Creek, the 2nd, Dead Frenzy, the 4th, and Dead Hot Mama, the 5th, in paperback.

Evan Kilgore, The Children of the Black Valley (July). The loss of his first son tore his marriage and life apart. Now Sam has a new son. When this one disappears he’ll leave no stone unturned. His search will take him across the planet, into the dark heart of Africa.

Randall Peffer, Old School Bones (June). In the 2nd Cape Islands mystery, the supposed suicide of a student at a New England prep school sends a faculty advisor to disgraced lawyer Michael DeCastro for help.

Nathan Singer, In the Light of You (June). A group of individuals, all alone in the world, find friendship and camaraderie in the shadow of one charismatic man. The problem is this man is promoting hate and that message will tear them all apart.

     Felony & Mayhem

Margery Allingham, Dancers in Mourning (July, 14.95), the 8th Campion from 1935, also published as Who Killed Chloe?

Robert Barnard, Corpse in a Gilded Cage (July, 14.95), from 1984.

Catherine Shaw, The Library Paradox (July, 14.95), 1st US release, from 2006.

Claire Taschdjian, The Peking Man is Missing (July, 14.95). First published in 1977, this is a novelized solution to one of paleontology’s greatest mysteries: in the 1920s, outside of then-Peking, diggers discovered bones that were 500,000 years old and possibly of the ‘missing link’. The bones were stored in a US medical facility for study but, after Pearl Harbor, they were crated for evacuation and taken by Marines to a waiting ship. The convoy was stopped by the Japanese, the Marines imprisoned, and the bones have never been seen since. Taschdjain was the person in charge of the packing and, as far as we know, the last person to actually see them. This is her solution to the mystery. In addition to the novel, F&M will include biographical material on the author, period photos and a new essay commissioned from the editor of China Heritage Quarterly about the case and the attempts, over the decades, to recover the bones.

L.R. Wright’s The Suspect – see New From the Northwest.

     Hard Case Crime

John Farris, Baby Moll (Aug., 6.99). First published in 1958. A ‘retired’ Florida mobster returns to help his old boss one last time.

Steve Fisher, No House Limits (July, 6.99). Joe Martin owns the last independent casino on the Vegas strip and the Outfit wants him out. They bring in the winningest gambler in the world and the stakes are as high as they can be. From 1958.

Donald E. Westlake, Somebody Owes Me Money (June, 6.99). From 1969, a cabbie is given a racing tip on a fare instead of cash. When he uses it, he wins. But then the bookie with whom he placed the bet is murdered and things go downhill from there.

     Midnight Ink

Felicia Donovan, Spun Tales (July, 13.95). 2nd with the Black Widow Agency. The ladies guard an unpublished manuscript from a bestselling author.

Jess Lourey, August Moon (June, 14.95). 4th in the Murder-By-The-Month series.

G.M. Malliet, Death of a Cozy Writer (July, 13.95). Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk is a millionaire mystery writer with a family full of spoiled relatives. His secret marriage to a woman suspected of murdering her first husband sets off a series of new murders. No one misses the victims and everyone is a suspect. Debut.

Tom Schreck, TKO (June, 14.95). 2nd with amateur boxer and social worker Duffy Dombrowski.

     Poisoned Pen Press

Mark de Castrique, Blackman’s Coffin (June, hc, 24.95). A CID investigator, wounded in Iraq, is approached by another vet for help, but he dismisses her in his anger and grief. When she is murdered, he goes to work and is shown that the case has ties to a 90 year-old murder. In paper, Final Undertaking (June, 14.95), his 4th with Barry Clayton. Signed Copies Available.

Ruth Dudley Edwards, Clubbed to Death (May, tp, 14.95). 4th in her Robert Amiss series, from ’92, and Ten Lords A-Leaping (Aug., tp, 14.95), the 6th, from ’95.

Mary Anna Evans, Findings (July, hc, 24.95). Faye Longcamp’s latest archaeological dig is her family’s old homestead. What should be fun turns deadly when a neighbor, who was storing Faye’s finds, is murdered and the artifacts ransacked. Signed Copies Available. 4th in a series recommended by Fran.

Jane Finnis, Buried Too Deep (June, hc, 24.95). 3rd mystery set in 98 AD Britannia with Aurelia Marcella. In paper, A Bitter Chill (June, 14.95).

Kerry Greenwood, Heavenly Pleasures (June, hc, 24.95). 2nd contemporary mystery with baker Corinna Chapman. In paper, Early Delights (June, 14.95), the 1st with Corinna. AND more of the Phryne Fischer books: Queen of the Flowers (July, hc, 24.95), the 14th from 2004, Blood and Circuses (July, 14.95), the 6th from 1994 and Raisins and Almonds (May, 14.95), the 9th from 1997.

Michael Pearce, Mark of the Pasha (May, hc, 24.95). 16th of the Mamur Zapt series, set in Cairo, between the World Wars.

Frederick Ramsey, Stranger Room (Aug., 24.95). The restoration of an antebellum home turns up a locked room in which a murder occurred 150 years ago, a crime that was never solved. When a new murder takes place in the same room, it is probably not coincidence. Sheriff Ike Schwartz investigates. Signed Copies Available. In paper, Buffalo Mountain (Aug., 14.95), 3rd with the Sheriff.

Priscilla Royal, Forsaken Soul (Aug., hc, 24.95). More murder in 1273 England in the 4th with Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal Priory. In paper, Justice for the Damned (Aug., 14.95).

Carolyn D. Wall, Sweeping Up Glass (Aug., 24.95). Debut novel by an Oklahoma writer. During the bitter cold 1938 Kentucky winter, two people try to keep a small grocery store open – Olivia and a boy called Will’m – while her crazy mother lives in a shack out back, and local fat-cats hunt on the her land - hills behind the store. The boy’s mother suddenly shows up one day to take him home and from such simple things will blood run. Signed Copies Available.

David Waltner-Toews, Fear of Landing (June, hc, 24.95). Canadian veterinarian Abner Dueck is working in Indonesia examining some dead cows. In the early 1980s, life in Indonesia is anything but calm under Suharto, and Dr. Dueck's is about to become very complicated – politics, infections and murders. Debut by an epidemiologist who specializes in food and waterborne diseases, zoonoses and ecosystem health at the University of Guelph. Signing.

In paper

Christine Gentry, Carnosaur Crimes (July, 14.95).

Clea Simon, Cries and Whiskers (June, 14.95).

     Rue Morgue

Catherine Aird, The Stately Home Murder (June, 14.95). 3rd Insp. Sloan from 1969, published the next year in the US as The Complete Steel.

Nicholas Blake, A Question of Proof (June, 14.95). 1st of his Nigel Strangeways books. Strangeways is perhaps best compared to Lord Peter – an amateur sleuth who works well with Scotland Yard. This series started in 1935 and continued to 1968, the year the author, poet Cecil Day Lewis, became poet laureate of England. [He is also noted as having been the father of Daniel Day Lewis, who makes my wife swoon. – JB]

Manning Coles, They Tell No Tales and Without Lawful Authority (both July and 14.95, ea.). The 3rd and 4th Tommy Hambledon books, from 1941 and 1943.

     Stark House

Wade Miller, The Killer/Devil on Two Sticks (June, 14.95). A new introduction by Bob Wade who wrote 33 books with Bill Miller before Miller died in 1961. Killer is from 1951 and Devil from 1949.

Richard Powell, A Shot in the Dark/Shell Game (June, 14.95). Shot is from 1952 and is set in Cuba and deals with a man going to the aid of a war buddy, and Shell from 1951 and deals with a woman found hiding in four feet of water off a deserted Florida beach.

Peter Rabe, Anatomy of a Killer/A Shroud for Jesso (June, 14.95). Two from the Gold Medal noir master, Anatomy from 1960 and Shroud from 1955. New introductions by George Tuttle and Donald E. Westlake. Rabe had an interesting life, having fled the Nazis in 1938 and become well known as a paperback pulp writer, as well as spending years teaching psychology at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

 

 

Collections

Hardcore Hardboiled, Todd Robinson, ed. (June, Kensington tpo, 14.00). Original short stories from the webzine website Thuglit.com, including pieces by names like Swierczynski, Gischler, Bruen, Chercover and others.

Getting Even: Revenge Stories, Mitzi Szereto, ed. (June, Serpent’s Tail tpo, 14.95). New stories of betrayed love, by authors such as Vicki Hendricks, Tony Fennelly, Stella Duffy and Danuta Reah.

Brooklyn Noir 3, Tim McLoughlin and Thomas Adcock, eds. (June, Akashic tpo, 15.95). New true crime stories by the likes of Reed Farrel Coleman and Robert Leuci.

Trinidad Noir, Lisa Allen-Agostini and Jeanne Mason (Aug., Akashic tpo, 15.95). New stories showing the dark side of paradise by a raft of authors who will all be new to us.

 

Reissues of Note

Kyril Bonfiglioli, All the Tea in China (Aug., Overlook hc, 23.95). Something different written in the midst of his Mortdecai mysteries, a 1978 romp described as ‘swashbuckling odyssey written by Ian Fleming by way of Monte Python”.

The Spy’s Bedside Book, Graham and Hugh Greene, eds. (Aug., Bantam, 12.00). Originally published in 1957, this classic is a compendium of quotes, snippets, excerpts and trivia from writers thought to have been wartime spies themselves and those who wrote about it afterward. Names include Lawrence, Blake, Mann, Conrad, Kipling, Ambler and Fleming.

Charlaine Harris, The Julius House (June, Berkley, 7.99). 4th with librarian Aurora Teagarden, from 1995, and Dead Over Heels (Aug., Berkley, 7.99), the 5th from ’96.

John Harvey, Cold Light, Living Proof and Easy Meat (June, July and Aug., Bywater, 14.95 ea.) The 6th Charlie Resnick from ’94, the 7th from ’95 and the 8th from ’96.

Chester Himes, The Big Gold Dream (Aug., Pegasus, 13.95). From 1960, the 4th of the Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson books. We could be wrong, but we don’t remember this one being in print while this shop has been open. Others, sure, but this one?

Jim Tully, Circus Parade: A Cruel Novel of the Devil’s Sandbox (July, Scapegoat, 12.95). First published in 1927 and drawn from the author’s experiences in small carnivals at the turn of that century, this book is filled with stories from the small con and small carnival, witty and brutal and human. “With Dashiell Hammett, Tully was one of the founders of the hard-boiled school of writers in the US” – Charles Willeford.

 

Special Interest

Rita Mae Brown, The Sand Castle (July, Grove hc, 18.95). The Hunsenmeir sisters return to fiction as the family heads to the beach in 1952 and old tensions resurface.

John Gilmore, Road Without End: On the Run with Bonnie & Clyde (July, Ferine tpo, 16.95). The book promises to put you inside the car with this Depression-era duo, and into their heads and hearts, being uncompromising and well researched.

Robert B. Parker, Resolution (June, Putnam hc, 25.95). Another Western tale, with Everett Hitch returning from Appaloosa (Berkley, 7.99).

 

 

 

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