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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25 10:00 A.M. TO 8:00 P.M.
Longtime customers know that we moved to Westwood in October 2000, six months after becoming independent as The Mystery Bookstore. Hundreds of authors and thousands of customers have passed through our doors over the past three years, and this day’s event includes some of our favorites – including, we hope, you!
We’ll have food, drink and door prizes throughout the day. If you can’t join us in person, please call ahead of time to have any of these authors sign a book for you. Since nothing in this life is certain, this schedule is subject to change; the good part of that is that we also expect visits from other authors whose names aren’t listed below.
10:00 a.m.
RUTH FRANCISCO signs CONFESSIONS OF A DEATHMAIDEN (Mysterious Press, $23.95). This book was our October Crime Club selection. If you missed it earlier in the month, here’s another chance to snag a first edition of this impressive first novel, which Michael Connelly called “as original as it is absorbing.” The “deathmaiden,” Frances Oliver, is a Los Angeles hospice worker who helps people make the final transition from life into death. When Tomás, a young Mexican boy, dies before Frances expects, she believes he has been killed for his organs – and traces the mystery all the way to Mexico, to the mountain village where Tomás was born.
11:00 a.m.
GREGG HURWITZ signs THE KILL CLAUSE (William Morrow, $24.95). This book was Shelly’s August favorite, and a national bestseller (did you see Gregg on CBS’s Early Show?). We are delighted to offer our customers another chance to get your very own signed first edition; THE KILL CLAUSE is the first book in an anticipated new series. After his daughter’s brutal murder, Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Rackley agrees to join a mysterious group that promises a different kind of justice – and finds that he’s made far too dangerous a deal.
11:00 a.m.
AIMEE LIU signs FLASH HOUSE (Warner Books, $24.95). If you missed this book when it came out in February, don’t despair; it’s just as good now as it was then. Joanna Shaw runs a rescue service for prostitutes in 1949 New Delhi. When her journalist husband goes missing after a plane crash in Kashmir, Joanna enlists the help of Kamla, a teenager she rescued, and her husband’s best friend, Lawrence, to help her search. She soon uncovers her husband’s secret life in espionage, and a tangled web of conflicting personal and national loyalties.
11:00 a.m.
ANDREW LYONS signs DARKNESS IN HIM (St. Martin’s, $24.95). This first novel was another of Shelly’s favorites. Jake Conason is a charming sociopath who cares only about getting into Harvard Law School – and doesn’t mind stepping over a couple of dead bodies to do it. This chilling novel has drawn comparisons to Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley series and even to the original, Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov.
11:00 a.m.
KRIS NERI signs DEM BONES’ REVENGE (Harlequin paperback, $5.99; Rainbow Books first edition, $22.95). Crime novelist Tracy Eaton juggles her career, her husband and most of all her demanding mother, one-time Hollywood icon Martha Collins. In this, her second outing, Tracy faces the imminent cancellation of her book deal while her mother faces charges of murder. This is a book for everyone who’s ever eavesdropped on a conversation about chemical peels vs. Botox.
11:00 a.m.
MATT WITTEN signs THE KILLING BEE (Signet paperback, $6.50). Jacob Burns hit the jackpot when he sold a mediocre screenplay that became a Hollywood blockbuster. Now he lives in upstate New York, with too much time on his hands – the perfect conditions for a sideline in amateur investigations. In this, his fourth adventure, Jacob looks into the murder of a grade-school principal. Shockingly, the three earlier books in this series (Breakfast at Madeline’s, Grand Delusion and Strange Bedfellows) are out of print; we hope to have copies available at the party, so call us to check.
12:00 noon
CAROL HIGGINS CLARK signs POPPED (Scribner, $23.00). In her latest wacky adventure, Regan Reilly hits Las Vegas to help a friend put together a balloon-based reality show, “Love Above Sea Level.” Someone’s trying to sabotage the show, which offers bickering couples a last chance to work things out with the help of a hot-air balloon. Is it the wacky advice columnists? The eccentric media mogul? The slacker cameraman? Or the staff of a competing sit-com?
12:00 noon
DENISE HAMILTON signs SUGAR SKULL (Scribner, $25.00). This book was our March Crime Club selection, and is one of our bestsellers of 2003. In her second outing, reporter Eve Diamond investigates the death of a prep school student that seems linked to the machinations of an ambitious and glamorous political wife, and to the world of Latino music promotion. We recommend this book to all of our out-of-town friends who want to know what Los Angeles is really like.
12:00 noon
KELLY LANGE signs DEAD FILE (Warner, $24.95). Los Angeles TV reporter Maxi Poole thinks she’s got a big story when Gillian Rose, head of a vitamin empire, turns up dead. The police don’t suspect foul play, but Gillian’s husband does, and enlists Maxi to help him find the killer. Booklist says DEAD FILE is “terrific light entertainment.”
12:00 noon
JOHN SHANNON signs CITY OF STRANGERS (Carroll & Graf, $24.00). John Shannon is another author who gives us vivid portraits of Los Angeles beyond the spotlights; in fact, we recommend you read both CITY OF STRANGERS and SUGAR SKULL for disturbing insights on the lives of privileged Los Angeles teenagers. PI Jack Liffey agrees to look for the daughter of his friend, psychiatrist Dicky Auslander, after she disappears from her private school with four Iranian-American boys.
1:00 p.m.
RICHARD BARRE signs BETHANY (Capra Press, $18.95, limited signed and numbered edition) BETHANY is the second in a series of beautiful editions of Richard Barre’s short Christmas novels. This one includes an introduction by Robert Crais, with signatures by both Barre and Crais. If you missed the first in the series, last year’s THE STAR (Capra, $17.95), rest easy – we still have a few copies.
1:00 p.m.
RAY BRADBURY signs BRADBURY STORIES: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales (William Morrow, $29.95). How could we have a party without our patron saint and hero? Los Angeles’s living treasure honors us by signing this collection of his best short fiction. If you’ve never read Ray Bradbury – don’t worry, we won’t make you admit it out loud – this is the perfect introduction. *SIGNING RULES for Mr. Bradbury: NO personalizations or inscriptions; ONE (1) personal book per customer with purchase of Bradbury titles from The Mystery Bookstore at the party.
1:00 p.m.
GARY PHILLIPS signs BANGERS (Dafina Books paperback, $15.00). L.A. Detective Sergeant Rafael “Saint” Santián heads TRASH, an elite anti-gang task force whose methods of collecting information – and keeping the peace – would outrage most citizens. Does the end justify their means? On his website, Phillips says, “It's about those on this side of the law who come to rationalize using the same ruthlessness as the criminals they've dealt with to get results. It's about those on the hustle for power and money and prestige -- or something they can't even name.”
1:00 p.m.
PAULA WOODS signs DIRTY LAUNDRY (One World/Strivers Row, $23.95). Paula Woods gives us another look at the LAPD, circa 1993. Detective Charlotte Justice, in her third appearance, investigates the murder of a young Korean woman who was working on a mayoral campaign. Eleven months after the Rodney King riots, Charlotte must navigate treacherous territory in Koreatown and in her own department.
2:00 p.m.
JOSEPH H. BADAL signs THE PYTHAGOREAN SOLUTION (Seven Locks Press, $23.95). The death of a Greek fisherman puts American John Hammond on the trail of a shipwreck filled with Nazi plunder. This excellent debut novel has a little bit of everything: adventure, espionage, history and romance.
2:00 p.m.
STEVE HODEL signs BLACK DAHLIA AVENGER (Warner Books, $27.95). Clair says: “Few books have disturbed me as much as this true story of a veteran LAPD detective’s investigation into the possibility that his father was the Black Dahlia killer. Whether or not you agree with Hodel’s conclusion that his father was the killer, the book convinced me that Elizabeth Short was only one of several victims of a serial killer. It’s also a fascinating look at 1940s Los Angeles.”
2:00 p.m.
LEN LAMENSDORF signs GINO, THE COUNTESS AND CHAGALL and THE WILL TO CONQUER series (Gino: Seascape, $24.95; THE CROUCHING DRAGON: Seascape, $19.95; THE RAGING DRAGON: Seascape, $22.95; The Flying Dragon: Seascape, $24.95). Len Lamensdorf writes wonderful adventures for parents and children alike. GINO is a romantic thriller for adults, set in the art world of post-World War II Italy. The “Will to Conquer” trilogy is a great series for preteens (grades 6-9), relating the time-traveling adventures of 1940s French teenagers Willi and Louise, and we are delighted to debut the third title in the series, THE FLYING DRAGON.
2:00 p.m.
THOMAS PERRY signs THE BUTCHER'S BOY and METZGER'S DOG (Random House trade paperbacks, $11.95 apiece). Yes, Thomas Perry wrote a terrific new book, DEAD AIM, which came out last December, and you should read it and buy it if you don’t already have it. But the big event this season is the re-release of two of Perry’s early classics, inexplicably out of print for years. THE BUTCHER’S BOY was Perry’s first novel, published in 1982, and set a standard for all future hit man novels. METZGER’S DOG, first published in 1983, is a hilarious, ironic caper novel that satirizes everything from the CIA to the Los Angeles obsession with cars. (Metzger, by the way, is one of the great literary cats of all time.)
2:00 p.m.
GENE RIEHL signs QUANTICO RULES (St. Martin’s, $24.95). This debut thriller was our August Discovery Club selection, and it’s one of the year’s best first novels. FBI agent Puller Monk has his gambling addiction under control – he thinks – but he can’t stop mouthing off to his superiors, and when they tell him to abandon the background investigation of a Supreme Court nominee, he won’t back down.
3:00 p.m.
LOUISE GAYLORD signs ANACACHO (Little Moose Press, $21.95). ANACACHO introduces Texas lawyer Allie Armington, who – despite her better judgment – agrees to help an old friend try to save her marriage to a man who used to be Allie’s college sweetheart. Allie and her friend, Reena Carpenter, spend a strained weekend with Reena’s husband, Paul, at the Carpenters’ ranch, Anacacho; soon afterwards, Reena turns up dead, her throat slit. When Paul, too, is apparently murdered, Allie finds her own life in danger.
3:00 p.m.
JOSH PRYOR signs MONKEY IN THE MIDDLE (Carroll & Graf, $24.00). September’s Discovery Club selection introduces former CIA assassin Dutch Flowers, now an unhappily married, burnt-out Los Angeles PI. Dutch takes a job with Acteon, a biotech firm. One of their genetically-enhanced chimpanzees has been killed, and Acteon wants Dutch to figure out which of their other apes is a killer. Flowers would consider the job beneath him, but he’s got to pay off an Iraqi assassin who promises not to kill him – in exchange for the money for a sex-change operation.
3:00 p.m.
RAY SHANNON (GAR ANTHONY HAYWOOD) signs MAN EATER (Putnam, $23.95). This January Crime Club selection introduced Ronnie Deal, a Hollywood producer who kicks rear ends and takes names. One evening, she knocks a thug over the head for beating up a young woman; when the thug vows revenge, Ronnie needs some protection. Coincidentally, her slush pile of uncontracted screenplays includes one from an ex-con, who might be willing to trade favor for favor.
3:00 p.m.
JACQUELINE WINSPEAR signs MAISIE DOBBS (Soho, $24.00). We sold out quickly of our first shipment of this book, which was the July Discovery pick and Richard’s favorite. The Great War broke down social barriers all over Europe, and former housemaid Maisie Dobbs takes the opportunity to launch a new career as an inquiry agent. Her first case seems to be a simple investigation of infidelity – but it leads her to The Retreat, a secretive institution that cares for crippled veterans.
4:00 p.m.
TAFFY CANNON signs OPEN SEASON ON LAWYERS (Daniel & Daniel paperback, $13.95). Someone is killing Los Angeles’s lawyers, in nasty and creative ways. LAPD Homicide Detective Joanna Davis, a very young grandmother, tracks the curiously invisible serial killer across the Southland. Taffy Cannon is the perfect author for those who don’t want their crime fiction too silly or too violent.
4:00 p.m.
MIKE LESTER signs AN OCCASIONAL DREAM (Uglytown paperback, $13.00). This debut novel is a modern take on the classic noir formula. Small-time hood Boyd falls for the wrong woman, the elusive Missy. As he takes on more and increasingly violent jobs for the local crime boss, Boyd finds himself obsessing over the woman he can’t have.
4:00 p.m.
CLYDE PHILLIPS signs SACRIFICE (William Morrow, $24.95). Phillips’s third novel finds San Francisco homicide lieutenant Jane Candiotti pursuing the murderer of one of the city’s most-loved philanthropists, while trying to give equal time to the killing of a Skid Row transient.
4:00 p.m.
NATHAN WALPOW signs ONE LAST HIT (Uglytown paperback, $14.95). Joe Portugal reluctantly agrees to rejoin his old band, The Platypuses, for a reunion tour – if they can find their missing lead guitarist. We highly recommend this book to fans of 1960s rock-and-roll, and especially to lovers of The Who – each chapter title is a reference to a Who song.
5:00 p.m.
CRAIG CLEVENGER signs THE CONTORTIONIST’S HANDBOOK (MacAdam/Cage paperback, $12.50; hardcover first edition, $23.00). This stunning debut novel has attracted wide critical acclaim, and is sure to win more than one award nomination. John Vincent Dolan is a master forger and a man of many identities; in the latest of several mental hospitals, he matches wits with a psychiatrist he calls The Evaluator.
5:00 p.m.
JEFF DENHART signs BONES OF THE CROSS (Jona Books paperback, $12.95). Forensic anthropologist Bill Mullins is called to examine some human bones found in a pasture, and discovers an elaborately-patterned graveyard of murder victims. As Mullins sorts the bones, he realizes that some of these graves are very recent indeed.
5:00 p.m.
BILL FITZHUGH signs HEART SEIZURE (William Morrow, $21.95). We call this a crime novel because it does revolve around a crime – the theft of a heart that should be transplanted into Spence Tailor’s mother, Rose, but is diverted to save the President of the United States. But HEART SEIZURE is really a road comedy, hilarious and touching from beginning to end.
5:00 p.m.
ELIZABETH STROMME signs JOE'S WORD (City Lights Books paperback, $11.95). This modern noir uses Echo Park as its backdrop. Joe makes a living doing what he can – writing, errands, odd jobs. A sleazy client hires him to write pornographic letters to mail order brides, which not only complicates Joe’s relationship with his girlfriend, but leads him to more trouble.
5:00 p.m.
EDWARD WRIGHT signs CLEA'S MOON (Putnam, $23.95). This first novel was our May Discovery Club selection, and another of Shelly’s favorites. B-movie actor John Ray Horn is rebuilding his life after a prison term for assault, working as a debt collector for his former sidekick. A friend calls to let Horn know that his estranged stepdaughter, Clea, has disappeared; when the friend is killed, Horn’s search for Clea becomes urgent.
6:00 p.m.
L.M. LAWSON signs MURDER ON BOARD (I Books mass market paperback, $6.99, previously released as EASING SHEETS) and GREEN FLASH (I Books mass market paperback, $6.99). Jessie Powers and Neal Fox cruise the Pacific coast of Mexico in their sailboat, dodging terrorists, corrupt officials and murderers along the way.
6:30 p.m.
BRUCE ALEXANDER signs THE PRICE OF MURDER for anyone who missed Friday night’s event!