Mary Daheim, A Streetcar Named Expire (Jan., Avon pbo, 6.50). A developer is worried that a four-decades-old body found during a renovation may harm the condo sales, but Judith thinks he should be more concerned with the fresh corpse that’s been found.

AND, a first hardcover:

Suture Self (Feb., Morrow hc, 23.00). Heading into hip replacement surgery, Judith is worried: routine surgery recently cost a local actress and a star baseball pitcher their lives. Seattle author. Signing.

Jo Dereske, Miss Zukas Shelves the Evidence (Feb., Avon pbo, 5.99). A body in a garden and an incriminating library book lead librarians Helma and Ruth into a murderous mess. Set in the small town of "Bellehaven," WA. Signing.

John Dewitz, Wrath (Nov., Shady Dell tpo, 17.95). In Oregon's timber-rich Cascade Mountains, US Forest Service rangers are the target of both environmentalists and loggers. After his station is torched, forester Pete Cook tries to find out who was responsible. Signed Copies Available.

Ken Goddard, Outer Perimeter (Jan., Bantam hc, 23.95). After uncovering evidence of criminals not quite of this world, crime scene investigator Colin Cellars is on the run. His sanity has been questioned and somebody wants that evidence back. Oregon author.

April Henry, Heart-Shaped Box (Feb., Harper hc, 24.00). Oregon license plate censor Claire Montrose is flattered to have received a small heart-shaped box. But when a cheerleader from her high-school class is found murdered and an identical box is in her hand, Claire gets spooked. In pb, Square in the Face (Feb., Avon, 6.50). Signing.

Richard Hoyt, Vivienne (Dec., Forge hc, 23.95). The author of the wonderful John Denson, Seattle PI, series is back living the Northwest. This new novel is not a mystery, but deals with nefarious goings on in the US Army during the Tet Offensive, as a reporter becomes involved with the wife of an Intelligence Chief.

Kate Kingsbury, A Bicycle Built for Murder (Feb., Berkley pbo, 5.99). In WW II Britain, the residents of Sitting March depend on Elizabeth Compton, the Lady of the Manor House, to take care of everything—from gossip to sleuthing. Oregon author of the Pennyfoot Hotel series. Signing?

Jayne Ann Krentz, Lost & Found (Jan., Putnam hc, 23.95). Cady Briggs’ knowledge of art and antiques makes her very useful to Mack Easton, perhaps too helpful…Signing?

Christopher Lane, Silent as the Hunter (Jan., Avon pbo, 6.50). 4^th Alaskan mystery with Inupiat policeman Ray Attla.

Steve Martini, The Jury (Jan., Putnam hc, 25.95). Paul Madriani is defending a doctor he suspects is guilty of the murder with which he’s charged. But when the key prosecution witness dies, the doctor seems to be cleared. And in pb, The Attorney (Dec., Jove, 7.99). Signing.

Candace Robb, A Trust Betrayed (Nov., Heinemann hc, price TBA). Spring 1297: As Scotland rebels, Margaret Kerr's merchant husband Roger is missing. When his cousin is murdered in Edinburgh searching for Roger, Margaret follows his lead to the occupied city, braving streets dangerous with English soldiers and family secrets. Signed Copies.

Ann Rule, Empty Promises: Ann Rule’s Crime Files Vol. 7 (Jan., Pocket pbo, 7.99). Latest in Ann’s string of true crime anthologies, with several cases covered.

Alan Siporin, Fire’s Edge (Feb., West Coast Crime hc, 22.95). Oregonian and NPR reporter’s first book, a politically charged suspense novel, concerning the prejudice and intolerance of hate crimes. Signing.

John Straley, Cold Water Burning (Jan., Bantam hc, 23.95). After a man charged with four murders aboard the Mygirl disappears, his wife suspects a revenge killing. Sitka, Alaska, PI Cecil Younger is called in, and when two more people die as a brutal storm hits the coast, he realizes that the mystery is still evolving. 6^th in the Shamus- Award-winning series. Signing.

Jess Walter, Over Tumbled Graves (Feb., Harper hc, 25.00). Spokane, WA, detective Caroline Mabry is plunged into a serial murderer manhunt when three women’s bodies are discovered along the riverbank. She and her troubled mentor, Det. Alan Dupree, must deal with headline-hunting “specialists,” an unexpected attraction to each other, and society’s fascination with violence as their investigation continues. Signing?

Northwest Releases Now in Paperback:

Lowen Clausen, First Avenue (Dec., Signet, 6.99). Signing.

Robert Crais, Indigo Slam (Orion UK pb, 15.95) #7 in the Elvis Cole series, available for the first time in paperback. Elvis travels to the NW in search of a counterfeiter. Partially set in Seattle.

Diana Deverell, Night on Fire (Jan., Harper, 6.99).

G. M. Ford, The Deader the Better (Jan., Avon, 6.50).

J. A. Jance, Kiss of the Bees (Jan., Avon, 7.50).

Skye Kathleen Moody, Habitat (Feb., Worldwide, 5.99).

John J. Nance, Blackout (Feb., Berkley, 7.99).

Thomas Orton, The Lost Glass Plates of Wilfred Eng

(Feb., Counterpoint, 13.00).

Nicholas van Pelt AKA Richard Hoyt, STOMP!

(Dec., Tor, 6.99)

Kate Wilhelm, No Defense (Jan., Mira, 5.99)

Coming This Spring

Michael Dibdin

G. M. Ford

John Hockenberry

J. A. Jance--and Beaumont!

John J. Nance

James Thayer

Some Other New Winter Releases

Conrad Allen, Murder on the Mauretania (Dec., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Second in the series set on the great ocean liners of the early 20^th Century. In pb, Murder on the Lusitania (St. Martin's, 5.99).

Nevada Barr, Blood Lure (Jan., Putnam hc, 24.95). Back in the mountains she loves, Anna Pigeon hopes for tranquility in Waterton/Glacier National Peace Park on the Canadian/Montana border while studying grizzly bears. But death haunts the trails and the killer wields a knife. In pb, Deep South (Feb., Berkley, 6.99).

David Benioff, The 25^th Hour (Jan., Carroll & Graf hc, 24.00). Debut novel in which Wall Street speculators, Russian gangsters, the downtown club scene fill up the last day of freedom for Monty before he is to start a 7- year prison sentence.

Andrew Bergman, Tender is LeVine (Feb., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Set in 1950s Hollywood. Wisecracking PI Jack LeVine embarks on a baffling and violent investigation when a violinist insists that the great Arturo Toscanini has been kidnapped.

Della Borton (aka D.B.Borton), Slow Dissolve (Jan., Ballantine pbo, 6.50). Third in the “Movie Lover’s Mystery” series.

Rhys Bowen, Evan Can Wait (Feb., St. Martin's hc, 22.95). 5^th village mystery with Welsh Constable Evan Evans, who here copes with a group of filmmakers visiting Llanfair. When the producer is found dead in a mineshaft, Evans discovers he had many enemies. Karen recommends.

Lillian Jackson Braun, The Cat Who Smelled a Rat (Jan., Putnam hc, 23.95). In pb, The Cat Who Robbed a Bank (Jan., Berkley, 6.99).

Rita Mae Brown, Claws and Effect (Feb., Bantam hc, 24.95). A Valentine story from Rita and Sneaky. And in pb, Outfoxed (Dec., Ballantine, 6.99). Also in pb, Pawing Through the Past (Feb., Bantam, 6.99). Signing.

Fiona Buckley, To Ruin a Queen (Dec., Scribner hc, 23.00). 4^th in the Elizabethan series, this story is set in an eerie castle on the English-Welsh boarder. In pb, Queen's Ransom (Feb., Pocket, 6.99).

Stephen J. Cannell, The Tin Collectors (Jan., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). LAPD Sgt. Shane Scully has no choice when he tries to defend his ex-partner's battered wife—he uses lethal force. Now the Tin Collectors are after him—the Internal Affairs Agents, the police of the police, who want his badge.

Patricia Carlon, Hush, It’s a Game(Feb., Soho hc, 22.00). Latest suspense novel from an Australian author likened to Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters. Also available, The Unquiet Night (12.00). Karen recommends this author.

Leonard Chang, Over the Shoulder (Feb., Ecco hc, 25.00) In the aftermath of his partner’s murder, a Korean-American bodyguard follows a trail that leads to his father’s death 20 years in the past and to the very idea of the American Dream. Signing?

Suzanne Chazin, The Fourth Angel (Feb., Putnam hc, 24.95). A woman fire marshal hunts for an arsonist who is responsible for a string of strange NYC fires. Debut mystery from an arson investigator who is married to a fireman.

Jill Churchill, Mulch Ado about Nothing (Dec., Morrow hc, 23.00). Jane Jeffry is taking a gardening class. Her teacher is threatened and attacked and the replacement teacher turns up in the compost pile.

Tim Cockey, Hearse of a Different Color (Feb., Hyperion hc, 23.95). A dead waitress on the funeral parlor's doorstep and an unscheduled blizzard complicate the lives of hip Baltimore undertaker Hitch Sewell and his TV meteorologist girlfriend in this second comic mystery, after a well-received debut in The Hearse You Came In On (Feb., pb, 6.99).

Michael Connelly, A Darkness More Than Night (Jan., Little Brown hc, 25.95). The LAPD asks former FBI agent Terrence McCaleb (Blood Work) to help them with a baffling serial killer case. The person who fits the profile is someone McCaleb has worked with in the past – Harry Bosch. Staff favorite. Signing. Also in pb, Void Moon (Warner, 7.99).

Christopher Cook, Robbers (Dec., Carroll & Graf hc, 24.95). Two drifters cut a violent path across Texas with no plan. But when they meet Della, the dynamics become even more deadly. Debut novel. Tammy recommends.

Natasha Cooper, Prey to All (Dec., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Barrister Trish Maguire's third case.

Amanda Cross, Honest Doubt (Dec., Ballantine hc, 22.00) Kate Fansler becomes an assistant to a private eye who is looking into the murder of a universally disliked professor.

Barbara D’Amato, Authorized Personnel Only (Dec., Forge hc, 24.95). Chicago cop Suze Figueroa thinks of her rambling, old Victorian home as a refuge from her job. Unknown to her, someone sinister has moved in, and prowls the house at night. In pb, Help Me Please (Jan., Forge, 6.99).

Jeffery Deaver, Speaking in Tongues (Dec., Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). Successful prosecutor Tate Collier’s world has finally caught him: his daughter is missing and someone from his past seems to be out for vengeance of Biblical proportions. ANDHell's Kitchen (Pocket pbo, 6.99). Third and never before published "Location Scout" book, as John Pellam works on a new documentary on the history of New York's Hell's Kitchen.

James Doss, Grandmother Spider (Jan., Morrow hc, 23.00). 7^th with tribal policeman Charlie Moon, a series that the Denver Post called a cross between Hillerman and Hiaasen. In pb, The Night Visitor (Dec., Avon, 5.99).

Sarah Dunant, Mapping the Edge (Feb., Random House hc, 24.95). Edgy novel by the British thriller writer who's been shortlisted 3 times for the Golden Dagger Award. A single mother leaves her six-year-old daughter with friends while she takes a short vacation to Italy. When she doesn't return, there are difficult questions: has she been abducted, or is she enjoying a romantic tryst?

John Dunning, 2 0'Clock, Eastern Wartime (Jan., Scribner hc, 26.00). In New Jersey in 1942, a troupe of radio actors strives to keep spirits high. Into this mix comes a singer and scriptwriter, trying to find out what became of the singer’s missing father. Bill and B Jo recommend. Signed and Fingerprinted Copies Available!

K. J. Erickson, Third Person Singular (Jan., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). It's a cold April morning when Minneapolis Det. Marshall Bahr and his partner Nellie find the body of a rich suburban teenager stabbed to death in a deserted part of downtown. Debut novel.

Ken Follett, Code to Zero (Dec., Dutton hc, 26.95). In January 1958, an amnesiac awakens on a London train platform. As he relearns his past, he discovers that it is linked to the rocket on the platform of Cape Canaveral.

Margaret Frazer, The Squire’s Tale (Dec., Berkley hc, 21.95). Dame Frevisse finds herself caught between warring factions and warring hearts. 10^th in this medieval series.

Frances Fyfield, Undercurrents (April, Viking hc, 23.95). For 20 years, Henry Evans has been haunted by his lost love. Now this shy American has come to her English coastal hometown. What he finds is unexpected.

Martha Grimes, Cold Flat Junction (Feb., Viking hc, 23.95). Twelve-year-old Emma Graham returns to try to unravel a decades-old mystery: the “accidental” drowning of a girl, and the unsolved murders that seem connected.

John Grisham, A Painted House (Feb., Doubleday hc, 27.95). A largely autobiographical work of a young boy in a small, Southern town in the 1950s and a murder’s effect on that quiet life.

Lyn Hamilton, The African Quest (Feb, Berkley hc, 21.95). Archeologist Lara McClintoch travels on a high-stakes search for sunken treasure. In pb, The Celtic Riddle (Dec., Berkley, 6.50).

Ellen Hart, Merchant of Venus (Feb., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). 10^th in Lamba-award-winning series. Jane Lawless and her partner Cornelia Thorn investigate the disappearance of a very old and very rich film director who was about to marry Cornelia's sister. In pb, Hunting the Witch (Dec., St. Martin's, 6.50).

Daniel Hecht, The Babel Effect (Dec., Crown hc, 23.00). A husband and wife research team get a grant to study whether violence is a virus—taking them on a neurological investigation of murderers on death row, to war zones. Their research raises basic questions about human nature—and their own. By the author of the Skull Session, dubbed by the New York Times "a true neurological thriller."

William Heffernan, Red Angel (Dec., Morrow hc, 24.00). NY Det. Paul Devlin travels to Cuba to look for a missing doctor, renowned for working for the poor, and must navigate through a tangle of politics, voodoo and the Miami mafia. AND, a second book from the Edgar Winner…Beulah Hill (Feb., Simon & Schuster hc, 24.00). An erotic thriller set in 1930s Vermont, based on the actual racial history of the era, learned by the author when he moved to the area. A white man is killed on the last land owned by a black family. As the Depression deepens and Europe disintegrates, a constable of the "bleached underclass" matches wills with the black patriarch of Beulah Hill.

Jane Isenberg, Mood Swings to Murder (Dec., Avon pbo, 5.99). 3^rd Bel Barrett, with mid-life angst, menopause and the murder of a Sinatra wannabe.

Bill James, The Detective is Dead (Feb., Norton hc, 22.95). 12^th in the Harpur and Iles series.

Maureen Jennings, Poor Tom is Cold (Feb., St. Martin's hc, 22.95). Set in Toronto of 1895. Det. William Murdoch is tracking down the killer of a fellow constable when he becomes involves in the plight of a young wife whose step-children plan to shut her away in an insane asylum to prevent her inheriting her husband's estate.

Julie Kaewert, Unsigned (Jan., Bantam pbo, 5.99) 5^th in the British bibliomystery series.

Stuart M. Kaminsky, The Big Silence (Dec., Forge hc, 23.95). Chicago Det. Abe Lieberman returns, after a 4- year absence, for a sixth case. And in pb, Lieberman’s Law (Dec., Forge, 5.99) 1^st time in pb.

Jonathan Kellerman, Dr. Death (Dec., Random House hc, 26.95). Someone has murdered Dr. Death, a famous euthanasia champion, and Det. Milo Sturgis of the LAPD is assigned to the case. When he turns to child psychologist Dr Alex Delaware for help, conflict of interest problems for Alex drive a wedge into their friendship. An Edgar and Anthony award-winning series.

Norman Kelly, Black Heat (Feb., Harper hc, 23.00). Repatriation of African art, hip-hop nationalism and the 20-year-old murder of a civil rights leader intersect in a missing persons case investigated by Nina Halligan.

Michael Kilian, A Killing at Ball’s Bluff (Jan. Berkley hc, 21.95). 2^nd Civil War mystery with Harrison Raines

Laurie R. King, Folly (Feb., Bantam hc, 23.95). New non-series suspense novel from the author of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, and the Det. Martinelli series. 52-year-old Rae Newborn is a woman on the edge of sanity, tragedy and the country, having moved to a small island. Are the trees hiding watchers or are they in her head, and is the island alive with promise or danger? In pb, Night Work (Dec, Bantam, 6.50), in the Martinelli series. A favorite author of Karen.

Ross King, Ex-Libris (Jan., Walker hc, 24.95). A cryptic summons to a remote country house leads a London bookseller on an odyssey through 17 C. Europe. An historical bibliomystery that visits two different Centuries in its unfolding. Karen recommends. Signed Copies?

Cecile Lamalle, Glutton for Punishment (Dec., Warner pbo, 6.50). The holidays cannot be quiet after Chef Charly Poisson finds the body of a local antiques dealer in her basement freezer.

Jake Lamar, If 6 Were 9 (Jan., Crown hc, 19.95). Clay Robinette, a happily married black professor, is awakened in the night by a call from a colleague, Reggie Brogus, who's found a dead woman in his office. Reggie, now a conservative pundit, thinks he's been set up by his former Black Panther brothers—and Clay realizes the dead woman was a former lover.

Jane Langton, Murder at Monticello (Feb., Viking hc, 22.95). In his 15^th adventure, Homer Kelly heads into the bicentennial celebration of Jefferson’s presidency, and finds trouble.

John Le Carre, The Constant Gardener (Jan., Scribner hc, 28.00). After young Tessa Quayle is the victim of a lurid murder near Kenya's Lake Turkana, and her lover disappears, her older husband begins an odyssey to find the answers.

Dennis Lehane, Mystic River (Feb., Morrow hc, 25.00). Finally, a new Lehane, though without Angie and Patrick: Sean Devine is assigned to a murder case, and the victim is the daughter of one of his childhood friends. Sean is launched back into a world of pain that he’d hoped to not revisit, and into the path of Jimmy Marcus, who has his own plans for justice. Staff favorite author. Signed Copies, One Way or Another….

Edward Marston, The Wildcats of Exeter (Jan., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Volume VIII of the Domesday Books, set in 11^th Century England.

Ed McBain and Evan Hunter, Candyland (Jan., Simon & Schuster hc, 25.00). Evan Hunter writes about Ben Thorpe, a West Coast architect who loses himself in a night of drunken debauchery in a NYC bordello. When a hooker turns up dead the next morning, Ed McBain begins to tell the story.

Sharyn McCrumb, The Songcatcher (Jan., Dutton hc, 24.95). Folksinger Lark McCourry is trying to preserve her family’s heritage: a song brought over from Scotland in the mid 1700s, when her ancestor brought it to North Carolina. Her only hope of success is mountain-wise Nora Bonesteel, who talks to the living and the dead.

G. A. McKevett, Sour Grapes (Feb., Kensington hc, 22.00). The feisty, full-figured PI Savannah Reid finds herself involved with the murderous competition of the Miss Gold Coast Beauty Pageant. In pb, Sugar and Spite (Jan., Kensington, 5.99).

Brad Meltzer, The First Counsel (Jan., Warner hc, 25.95). White House lawyer Michael Garrick is rather anonymous until he begins to date the First Daughter. But when they see something they shouldn’t have seen, he is on the run. Susan and B Jo recommend.

Annette Meyers, Murder Me Now (Jan., Mysterious Press hc, 23.95). Poet Olivia Brown looks into the murder of one of her friends during the Christmas season in 1920s Greenwich Village.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy, Cat Spitting Mad (Jan., Harper hc, 23.00). Newest adventure for Joe Grey the cat and his feline side-kick, Dulcie. Someone is trying to frame the Sheriff of the small Calif. coast town of Molena Point for murder…and Joe and Dulcie get their hackles up. This amusing cozy series has won the Cat Writers Association Muse Medallion for three straight years…and Karen and Sandy recommend.

Tamar Myers, The Crepes of Wrath (Jan., NAL hc, 19.99). 9^th in the Pennsylvania Dutch series, and the first in hardcover. With recipes.

Jamyang Norbu, Sherlock Holmes: the Missing Years (Jan., Bloomsbury hc, 23.95). One of Tibet's foremost writers gives us the story of Holmes's time in Tibet after the Reichenback Falls horror. The discovery of a rusting metal box reveals a Bengali master's account of his travels with Holmes. Karen recommends.

Katherine Hall Page, The Body in the Moonlight (March, Morrow hc, 23.00). After a beautiful young woman drops dead from eating a poisoned dessert, Faith has little choice but to investigate: she had made the desert, and the victim may have been linked to Faith’s husband. In pb, The Body in the Big Apple (Feb., Avon, 6.50).

Richard North Patterson, Protect and Defend (Dec., Random House hc, 26.95). A newly-elected President wants to appoint a woman as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but a long-held secret and a controversial abortion case create problems.

Cynthia Peale, Murder at Bertram’s Bower (Feb., Doubleday hc, 22.95). The brutal deaths of two young women raise shocking questions about saints, sinners and the power of prejudice in Victorian Boston. In pb, The Death of Colonel Mann (Jan., Dell, 6.50).

Iain Pears, The Immaculate Deception (OCT., Scribner hc, 25.00). The publisher slyly listed this Oct. title in their Spring catalog, thus preventing us from notifying you in our Fall newsletter. Art historian Jonathan Argyll and his wife Flavia di Stefano, an investigator for Rome's Art Theft Squad, tackle separate problems in their 7^th adventure. Karen and Sandy recommend.

George Pelecanos, Right as Rain (Feb., Little, Brown hc, 24.95). Ex-cop Derek Strange is now a PI. The mother of a young police officer who was shot by another cop asks him to look into the case. Although the other cop was officially cleared, his guilt leads him to join Strange’s investigation.

Anne Perry, The Whitechapel Conspiracy (Feb., Ballantine hc, 25.95). After his testimony in sensitive case leads to a death sentence for politically powerful John Adinett, Insp. Pitt is removed from his command of the Bow Street Station and transferred to the clandestine Special Branch Circle to investigate anarchists, and is undercover in Whitechapel…when Jack the Ripper begins his reign of terror. In pb, Half Moon Street (Jan., BDD, 6.99), also a Pitt.

Thomas Perry, Death Benefits (Jan., Random House hc, 24.95). A new suspense novel from the Edgar Award-winning author of the Jane Whitefield series. John Walker is a data analyst for an insurance company working on a fraud investigation. A large benefit has been paid out, but not to the right person—and the agent who approved the payment, a woman he's in love with, has disappeared. Signed Copies.

Nancy Pickard, The Secret Ingredient Murders (Jan., Dell hc, 22.95). Virginia Rich's Genia Potter returns. Called from her Arizona ranch to supervise her teenage great-nephew and his twin sister, Genia takes up residence on the Rhode Island Coast. Her old friend Stanley Parker invites her to a tasting party where each guest has brought a dish with one secret ingredient—and then Stanley turns up dead.

Ruth Rendell, Piranha to Scurfy, and Other Stories (Jan., Crown hc, 23.00). A collection of "deeply unsettling stories" (in the words of the catalog).

David Roberts, Sweet Poison (Jan., Carroll & Graf hc, 22.00). A house party in the summer of 1935 is a deadly mix: a pacifist bishop, a confidant of the new German chancellor Adolf Hitler, a womanizing politician, a press lord and his daughter, and an anti-Hitler general.

Caroline Roe, Solace for a Sinner (Dec., Berkely pbo, 6.50). 4^th Medieval Spain mystery with blind, Jewish physician Isaac of Gerona.

S. J. Rozan, Reflecting the Sky (Feb., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). PI Lydia Chin is asked by Grandfather Gao, a respected figure in NY City's Chinatown, to deliver a family heirloom to the grandson of a deceased colleague. But she and partner Bill Smith run into problems. In pb, Stone Quarry (Jan., St. Martin's, 6.50). Signing.

Beth Saulnier, The Fourth Wall (Feb., Warner pbo, 6.99). Reporter Alex Bernier is settling into a quiet Fall when she is assigned to cover work being done to save a historic theater. A true mystery unfolds as the body of an actress who vanished in 1926 is discovered.

Kate Sedley, The Brothers of Glastonbury (Jan., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Roger the Chapman's 7^th medieval adventure. He is asked by the duke to escort a bride to her betrothed—but the groom and his brother have vanished.

Jenny Siler, Iced (Jan., Holt hc, 24.00). Repo woman Meg Gardner's been out of prison only a year, has her first legitimate job and a boyfriend. But on Missoula's coldest day of the year, things start to turn against her. By the author of the staff favorite Easy Money, now in pb (Dec., St. Martin's, 6.99).Tammy recommends highly. Signing?

Randall Silvis, On Night's Shore (Jan., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). In New York in the 1840s, young journalist Edgar Allan Poe investigates the case of beautiful young woman found murdered in Manhattan's Hudson River.

Les Standiford, Deal with the Dead (Feb., Putnam hc, 24.95). John Deal resurrects the Miami building firm that his father ruined, only to learn that his dad had ties to a government agency – an agency that now demands the son take his father’s place. B Jo recommends. In pb, Black Mountain (Feb., Berkley, 5.99).

Jonathan Stone, The Heat of Lies (Jan., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). By the author of the highly-praised debut The Cold Truth. Young NY police detective Julian Palmer is now a lieutenant, trying to track down the killer of a respected husband and father. But with no leads, and pressure from the family and the press, she is desperate enough to accept help from her former mentor, and attempted killer, Bear Edwards. B Jo recommends.

Betsy Tobin, Bone House (Feb., Scribner hc, 23.00). In rural 17^th Century England, a young chambermaid narrates her probe of the mysterious death of Dora, a local prostitute, whose death has dramatically affected the community. Debut novel.

Peter Tremayne, The Monk Who Vanished (Jan., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Latest Celtic mystery featuring Sister Fidelma in 7^th Century Ireland.

Judith Van Gieson, Vanishing Point (Feb., Signet pbo, 5.99). Sequel to Stolen Blue. Rare book expert Claire Reynier returns to probe a legendary writer's legendary disappearance.

Don Webb, Endless Honeymoon (Jan., St. Martin's hc, 23.95). Willis and Virginia have a computer program that allows them to identify obnoxious people, whom they then try to rehabilitate by means of nasty pranks. They get a shock when one of their intended victims is murdered. Dark humor by the author of The Double.

Michael C. White, A Dream of Wolves (Oct., Harper hc, 23.00). Since his son died 14 years ago, transplanted Yankee Dr. Jordan has been devoting himself to the people of Hubbard County, NC, and to his wife who has become a street person. Moonlighting as the county’s medical examiner, he is called to the scene of a brutal murder--and nothing in his life will be the same again. Author of the Edgar-nominated A Brother’s Blood.

Stephen White, The Program (Feb., Doubleday hc, 24.95). After a serious threat, New Orleans DA Kirsten Lord and her young daughter enter the Witness Protection program. Ending up in Boulder, Colorado, they meet Carl Luppo, a program veteran and former mob hitman who now lives with deep regrets. Sensing that his new friends are still in danger, Luppo seeks redemption as their protector. In pb, Cold Case (Feb., Signet, 7.99).

Barbara Jaye Wilson, Murder and the Mad Hatter (Jan., Avon pbo, 5.99). 6^th with Greenwich Village milliner Brenda Midnight.

Deborah Woodworth, Killing Gifts (Feb., Avon pbo, 5.99). 5^th in the Shaker series with Sister Rose.

Wayne Worchester, The Jewel of Covent Gardens (Dec., Signet pbo, 5.99). Second of his Watson and Holmes series.

Coming this Spring

Robert Barnard in April

Linda Barnes in March

M. C. Beaton and Hamish Macbeth in March

Diane Mott Davidson in April

Jeffrey Deaver in May

Sue Grafton in April

Jill McGown in April

Parker and Spenser in March

Some Reissues of Note

Jeffery Deaver, Bloody River Blues (Dec., Pocket, 6.99). Reissue of the 2^nd Location Scout. Also, Hard News (Jan., Bantam, 6.99). 3^rd Rune.

Margaret Scherf, The Gun in Daniel Webster’s Bust (forthcoming Rue Morgue Press tp, price and date of availability uncertain, but we're taking reservations). Bill comments, “Margaret Scherf was a favorite author of B Jo’s and mine back when we were the age you probably are now. Long out-of-print and remembered only by wise elders, her forte was the humorous mystery. Written in the 1940’s to 1970’s, her early books were set on the East Coast; later ones were set in Montana, where she served a term in the state legislature. Interesting characters and lively plots made her books fun to read. This one, from 1949, is set in New York City with a young couple, Emily and Henry Bryce, proprietors of a furniture restoration shop. We sometimes have used copies of others.”

A Crippen & Landru Cornucopia

Here are some forthcoming titles from Crippen & Landru, the noted small press publisher of short story collections. We don't have release dates or prices yet, but we're taking reservations now.

Hugh B. Cave, Long Live the Dead: The Black Mask Stories. Black Mask magazine invented the private eye story, and discovered such writers as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Among the great writers for the pulps was Hugh B. Cave, whose stories appeared during the 1930s and 1940s in Weird Tales, Dime Detective, Detective Fiction Weekly, Adventure Magazine, Astounding and others. In honor of Cave’s 90th birthday, Crippen & Landru has collected his 10 Black Mask tales, with new prefaces to each story by the author.

Joe Gores, Stakeout on Page Street and Other DKA Files. A collection of all the “files” about the Dan Kearny Associates. Carolyn Wheat, Tales Out of School. The first short story collection by an Edgar-winner for Best Short Story, and the creator of the lawyer sleuth, Cass Jameson.

Ross Macdonald, Strangers in Town, Three Newly Discovered Stories. Located by Macdonald biographer Tom Nolan, the 3 stories include Macdonald’s first private eye tale and two unknown cases of Lew Archer — and a major introduction by Nolan. JB can't wait...

Susan Dunlap, The Celestial Buffet and Other Stories. Susan Dunlap’s complete mystery short stories, including tales about Jill Smith and Kiernan O’Shaughnessy, and 2 taking place in “The Court of Celestial Appeals.”

Max Allan Collins, Kisses of Death. Shamus-award winner Max Allan Collins presents a collection of stories about Nate Heller, the Chicago PI who investigates genuine crimes of the 1930s and the 1940s. JB can't wait for this, either...

Ron Goulart, Adam and Eve on a Raft: Mystery Stories. The first collection of mystery short stories by an author who is equally famous as a creator of science fiction. One of the top humorists in either genre, Goulart turns a sardonic eye on cartoonists and Hollywood in this collection of Scrib Merlin and Hollywood Adman tales.

Christianna Brand, The Spotted Cat and Other Mysteries: The Casebook of Inspector Cockrill. The complete Cockrill mysteries, including three unpublished stories.

Michael Z. Lewin, The Reluctant Detective and Other Stories. The first short story collection by Michael Lewin, only the third American member (after John Dickson Carr and Patricia Highsmith) of London’s famed Detection Club.

Wendy Hornsby, Nine Sons and Other Mysteries. The first collection of stories by the Edgar-winner.

Ellery Queen, The Adventure of the Murdered Moths. The greatest radio plays by Ellery Queen.

Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg, Solving Problems. The legendary tales co-written by the great mystery writer and the great science-fiction writer.

Jon L. Breen, Kill the Umpire: The Calls of Ed Gorgon. The finest series of sports-mysteries, including a new story written for this collection.

Eric Wright, One of a Kind and Other Mysteries. The complete short mysteries by the creator of Toronto’s Inspector Charlie Salter.

Jeremiah Healy, Cuddy Plus One. A 2nd volume of John Francis Cuddy tales.

Things of Interest

100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century, selected by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association and edited by Jim Huang (Dec., tpo, 12.00). The title almost says it all. We participated in the original nominations (some of our favorites made the cut, some didn’t), and we contributed reviews of four of the winners and a list of 5 books we most regret were not on the final list. A great checklist for yourself, a great tool for interesting your friends in reading mysteries. And lists are fun.

The American Regional Mystery, by Marvin Lachman (available now, Crossover Press hc, 50.00). A substantive reference volume discussing mysteries by regions and individual states. Each section has an introductory essay highlighting chief characteristics and representative books, followed by a more complete list of the mysteries of each area.

Dark CityDames: the Wicked Women of Film Noir, byEddie Muller (Nov., Harper tpo, 29.95). A picture paean to the tough, independent take-no-crap dames of those great, dark films. By the author who gave us Dark City: the Lost World of Film Noir.

Out of the Past: Adventures in Film Noir, byBarry Gifford (Jan., Univ. Press of Mississippi tpo, 16.00). With a connoisseur’s insight and warped sensitivity, Gifford covers one hundred noir favorites with brief essays. Author of Wild at Heart.

Teller of Tales: the Life of Arthur Conan Doyle, by Daniel Stashower (Jan., Owl tp, 16.00). Winner of the Edgar Award for best critical/biographical work of 1999.

Unholy Orders, ed. by Serita Stevens (Nov., Intrigue hc, 24.95). Short works with a religious twist, by authors such as Krich, Lutz, Chesbro, Perry, Day, Pickard, Wheat and others.

Women of Mystery: Leading Crime Novelists from Christie to James, by Martha DuBose (Dec., St. Martin's hc, 24.95). An in-depth look at the lives and works of the most important of the century's women mystery writers, beginning with Anna Green, and covering Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Dorothy L. Sayers, Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Rendell, among others.

Auction Department

While the Dunning ARC, last Season's item, did not attract bidders within the allotted time, it did sell for the floor bid a few weeks later. This Season's item is a true curiosity: an autographed copy of Diane Mott Davidson’s Dying for Chocolate. What makes this unique is that it is inscribed “For Hillary, my old friend…with fond memories of the past and high hopes for the future – Diane”. Tucked inside is a xerox of another note “To the Old Soldier’s Home with thanks for your help at the (something) House – Bill Clinton, Xmas 1993”. While the book is a bit worn – a bit cocked and smudged, with a fine dust jacket – it’s associative nature makes it, well, uncommon. Bidding for the Senator-elect’s book starts at $150, and closes on Jan. 31, 2001.

To review how the auction works:

¨ Any time before Jan. 31, 2001, you give us your bid. Be sure to include your name, mailing address, and telephone number.

¨ Bids may be submitted in person, by phone, by mail or e-mail.

¨ Any bid for less then the minimum will be disregarded. One bid per customer.

¨ In case of a tie, the bid received earliest will win.

A Note About Our Lists

You may notice there are no Washington authors on these lists. This is true for two reasons: (1) we support all of their books, and they'd dominate the lists if included, and (2) we consider most of these authors our personal friends, and we value their friendship (and our personal safety) too much to choose between them. As Bill reminds us, we cannot be too careful around people who are skilled at plotting murders.

Our Favorites of the Year

Here are our annual lists of the Best Books that we've read this year. These have not necessarily been published this year, because we read older classics, as well as new galleys that may not be published until next year. In years past, we've stuck to a Top Ten format, but this year we're freeing ourselves of that restriction. Some of us have more than ten, some less.

Let's begin with an introduction: Ramona Reece is the latest addition to our staff. Ramona is originally from Texas, is a baseball fan, is a paralegal for the City and is the first left-handed member of the staff. She's with us (so far...) just on Saturdays, so you may see her some weekend, or talk to her on the phone. Her list of Best of the Year will give a sense of her tastes.

Ramona Reece

Gideon, Russell Andrews. Lots, lots of action from start to finish. Carl Granville starts out on a ghost-writing gig and winds up on the run.

Bluebottle, James Sallis. Another bluesy, dark, detective noir tale featuring Lew Griffin. Each Sallis, including this one, sheds a little more light into Griffin's past.

Darkest Fear, Harlan Coben. The first of Coben's books that doesn't feature sports. But don't despair, Myron Bolitar is in center court.

Running Blind, Lee Child. Jack Reacher gets blindsided by the FBI and is forced to investigate a series of bizarre murders in which no one can identify the cause of death, let alone the motive.

The Big Mango, Norman Kelley. Kelley addresses, or at least prompts interesting discourse, on matters significant to Black working class and petit bourgeois professionals in addition to following an investigation of D.C. murders to a small Caribbean country in political and social turmoil.

Guerilla Season, Inside Dope, and Dirty Laundry, All three by Paul Thomas. Maverick cop Tito Ihaka emerges as the most interesting character in this series. Whereever he goes (throughout Auckland, Australia) action follows.

Be the One, April Smith. Fictional account of murder and blackmail involving Major League baseball's first female scout. Smith's novel takes the reader on a suspenseful road trip from the Dominican Republic to L.A., home of the Dodgers.

Run, Douglas E. Winter. Winter's debut novel about gun-running.

Demolition Angel, Robert Crais. Stand-alone about L.A. Bomb Squad tech Carol Starkey.

Body of a Girl, Leah Stewart. First novel about a young journalist's research covering the death of a woman who resembles her, both physically and spiritually.

Walkin' the Dog, Walter Mosley. Socrates Fortlow continues to struggle and survive in L.A.P.D. -- quite the challenge for someone with his demographics.

Void Moon, Michael Connelly. First Connelly female protagonist. You'll admire her resolve from cover to cover.

JB Dickey

Steven Saylor, A Twist at the End

Douglas E. Winter, Run

Jan Burke, Bones

Kris Nelscott, A Dangerous Road

Greg Rucka, Shooting at Midnight

Reggie Nadelson, Bloody London

Stephen Hunter, Hot Springs

John Katzenbach, Hart's War

Leah Stewart, Body of a Girl

Bob Trulock, Street Level

Chad Taylor, Shirker

Bill Farley

Michael Connelly, A Darkness More than Night (forthcoming). Terry McCaleb (Blood Work), Jack McAvoy (The Poet), Harry Bosch (the series), and even a fleeting nod to a character from Void Moon - a Connelly tour de force.

John Dunning, Two O'Clock, Eastern Wartime (forthcoming). The author shares his love and knowledge of old-time radio in this stupendous novel.

Donald Westlake writing as Richard Stark, Flashfire. Professional thief Parker in Palm Beach (stealing jewels, not votes).

Robert L. Fish, The Hochmann Miniatures (1967). An early case of the search for purloined art in post-W.W.II Paris and Lisbon.

Robert Crais, Demolition Angel. Me, too.

Anthony Bourdain, Gone Bamboo. Publishers Weekly calls Bourdain "a new master of the wiseass crime comedy." They're right.

Bill Fitzhugh, Cross Dressing. A comic novel about insurance fraud? Well, sort of.

Lawrence Block, Hit List. A comic novel about a hit-man? Oh, my.

Looking back I realize I've had far too much fun with shady characters this year. Next year for humor I must read more books by authors such as Margaret Scherf.

Tammy Domike

Douglas Winter - Run

S. V. Date - Speed Week

Reggie Nadelson - Bloody London

Tim Dorsey - Florida Roadkill

Carl Hiaasen - Kick Ass

Joe R. Lansdale - The Bottoms

T. R. Pearson - Blue Ridge

Bill Fitzhugh - Cross Dressing

AND a favorite new author: Paul Thomas of New Zealand - Inside Dope, Dirty Laundry, Guerilla Season, a trilogy with Maori Detective Sergeant Tito Ihaka (Available in U. K. import).

Susan Dennis

Nathan's Run - John Gilstrap

Even Steven - John Gilstrap

At All Costs - John Gilstrap

Saving Faith - David Baldacci

Demolition Angel - Robert Crais

Deep Background - David Corn

Void Moon - Michael Connelly

First Counsel - Brad Meltzer

Wild Justice – Philip Margolin

B Jo Farley

The Color of Death, Bruce Alexander. Blind Sir John Fielding, Magistrate of the Bow Street Court, and his assistant Jeremy Proctor, are baffled by a spree of burglaries and murders. If you haven't read this series, do yourself a favor and start with Blind Justice and follow these characters in eighteenth century London. Solid writing. Good reading.

Hart's War, John Katzenbach. Lieutenant Tommy Hart is a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft Thirteen in Bavaria who must act as defense counsel in the court marshal of Lt. Lincoln Scott, a Tuskegee Airman.A good look into the privations of the captured, overlaid with racism and bigotry.

Cold is the Grave, Peter Robinson.Poor Inspector Alan Banks, still suffering the abuses of Chief Constable Riddle, is now sucked into doing a small favor for the old blighter and winds up in a world of trouble involving Riddle's dughter. Vintage Peter Robinson. If you haven't read In A Dry Season, you should.

Heat of Lies, Jonathan Stone. Almost a continuation of The Cold Truth, with many of the same characters.

The First Counsel, Brad Metzler. A young White House lawyer in the First Counsel office has a date with the President's daughter. Much derring-do, but a good look at the inside of the White House and how the Secret Service works.

Shadows of Glory, Owen Parry. This second book by Owen Parry is every bit as intriguing as the first.

Funny Money, Laurence Gough. Detectives Willow and Parker are on the trail of (counterfeit) funny money along with mobsters and hitmen.

Murder in Belleville, Cara Black. A second book by the author of Murder in the Marais. Further adventures of Parisian investigator Aimée Leduc and her friend Morbier.

The Vault, Peter Lovesey. When bones are found in the Roman Baths, Peter Diamond investigates. This is a complicated plot involving ties to Mary Shelley of Frankenstein fame. A fun read as are all Peter Lovesey books.

Scar Tissue, William G. Tapply. Boston attorney Brady Coyne gets involved when his client and friend calls with news of a car accident in which the girlfriend of the client's son is killed and the son is probably under the ice at the site of the accident.

Cold Steel Rain, Kenneth Abel. Danny Chaisson is an idealistic attorney reduced to working as a functionary in the decadent corruption of New Orleans politics. Very noir.

Princess Naughty and the Voodoo Cadillac, Fred Willard. As the title implies, the author is going for smartass cutesy. The dialogue is liberally laced with vulgarities. If you're into that or don't mind it, it's a pretty good yarn.

A Murder of Honor, Robert Andrews. Two veteran Washington, D.C. cops with a reputation for cutting corners to get results are saddled with the drive-by shooting of a priest known for his advocacy of the homeless.

Deal with the Dead, Les Standiford. It is a story of old friends and their grown sons, told in flashbacks and present day context, handled very smoothly.

Two O'Clock, Eastern Wartime, John Dunning. A stunning, ambitious novel set in the early days of radio before and during World War II. The plot is intricate and thankfully easy to follow. It's not easy to put down; one is sorry and wishing for more when it's finished.

Karen Duncan

To pare this list down to manageable size, and since I can't rave about Larry Karp, I cut out some wonderful books by classic authors such as Rex Stout, Patricia Moyes and Ross MacDonald.

Sarah Caudwell, The Sibyl In Her Grave.

Penelope Evans, First Fruits

Reginald Hill, Arms and the Women

Jennifer Crusie, Welcome to Temptation

Lee Child, Tripwire

Robert Crais, L .A. Requiem

Alys Clare, Fortune Like the Moon

Peter Moore Smith, Raveling

Owen Parry, Shadows of Glory

Alan Gordon, Thirteenth Night

Iain Pears, Immaculate Deception

Sandy Goodrick

Kenneth Hopkins, Body Blow

Iain Pears, The Titian Committee

Hazel Holt, Mrs. Malory and the Fatal Legacy

Sarah Caudwell, The Sibyl in Her Grave

Louise Doughty, An English Murder

Patrick Ruell (aka Reginald Hill), Death Takes the Low Road (1974)

Nora Kelly, In the Shadow of King's

Claire Munnings, Overnight Float

Michael Connelly, A Darkness More Than Night

(coming in Jan.)

Jill McGown, Scene of Crime (coming in April)

Gift Ideas

Here are some gift ideas for the mystery lover on your list who seems to have read everything and for whom you need a clue. None of these are novels, so they might not be something that a reader would buy for themselves:

The Sopranos 2001 Wall Calendar, with quotes and facts from the show. $12.99.

Crime Scenes: Movie Poster Art of the Film Noir (Lawrence Bassoff Collection, tpo $35.00). Large trade paperback of 100 film posters.

Orange Pulp: Stories of Mayhem, Murder and Mystery (University Press of Florida hc, $24.95). Excerpts, biographies and bibliography of Florida mysteries.

Otto Penzler, 101 Greatest Films of Mystery and Suspense (iBooks tpo, $14.00). Each entry includes the actors, directors, writers, interesting facts, plot sketch and the Best Line.

The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons (Pocket hc, $19.95). A full book of howlers and groaners, all about books.

Edward Gorey's The Iron Tonic (Harcourt hc, $10.00). Charming and disturbing – as always. His last book?

The Complete Christie:An Agatha Christie Encyclopedia, by Matthew Bunson (Pocket, hc $35.00, trade paperback $18.95). Biography of Christie, plot synopses, A-Z entries on characters, 60 illustrations, etc.

The Cat Who…Cookbook (Berkley hc, $21.95). Over 200 recipes and menus inspired by the beloved Braun books.

The Quotable Sherlock Homes(Mysterious Press tpo, $12.95). Quotes - and illustrations – for every occasion.

And we still have shop mugs on hand for $14.95.

Remember, too, that we have gift certificates: our own, traditional red ones; and Booksense certificates, which are good at over 2500 independent bookshops all around the country. Both types are blank - you can decide the amount - and can be ordered in person or by phone.

Happy holidays to all!

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Mail and phone orders for these or any other books are welcome. We often have signed copies of Northwest authors, and other authors who visit the shop. Prices subject to change without notice. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St., Seattle, WA 98104. Phone: (206) 587-5737.

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WEBSITE: seattlemystery.com

SEATTLE MYSTERY BOOKSHOP NEWS is composed and produced by JB Dickey and Sandy Goodrick. The online version is brought to you by Susan Dennis.