Happy Easter! The Mystery Bookstore will be closed for the holiday on Sunday, March 23. Come back on Monday, though, because the week starts with a bang.




Congratulations to the nominees for ITW's 2008 Thriller Awards! We were delighted to see so many of our friends (and so many of our recommendations) on this list.




BEST NOVEL


No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay (Bantam)

The Watchman by Robert Crais (Simon & Schuster)

The Ghost by Robert Harris (Simon & Schuster)

The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz (Viking)

Trouble by Jesse Kellerman (Putnam)


BEST FIRST NOVEL


Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell (Dutton)

Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover (William Morrow)

From the Depths by Gerry Doyle (McBook Press)

Volk's Game by Brent Ghelfi (Henry Holt and Co.)

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (William Morrow)


BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL


The Last Nightingale by Anthony Flacco (Ballantine)

A Thousand Bones by P.J. Parrish (Pocket)

The Midnight Road by Tom Piccirilli (Bantam)

The Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon (Pocket)

Shattered by Jay Bonansinga (Pinnacle)


Nominations were announced this week; winners will be announced at Thrillerfest in July.


NEW SIGNING GUIDELINES FOR AUTHOR EVENTS


We're almost always delighted when loyal readers show up to author events with personal copies of books they've owned for years, and most of our visiting authors are happy and flattered to sign these books.


Because of some recent experiences, however, we've decided it's time to implement some guidelines for these signings. We want to make sure that everyone at a signing gets the opportunity to spend some time with the author, and we don't want anyone to take advantage of an author's goodwill – or ours.


So from now on, these are the rules. Visiting authors will be happy to sign any of their current titles that you buy at the store. In addition to those books, they'll sign one personal copy of each of the author's previous titles with each purchase of the current title. That is, if you buy one copy of Andrew Gross's THE DARK TIDE, he'll be glad to sign single copies of each of his earlier titles as well; if you buy two copies of THE DARK TIDE, he'll sign two copies of each of earlier books.


We may need to adjust these rules for specific authors, but in those cases, we'll let you know ahead of time. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.


AUTHOR SIGNINGS AND APPEARANCES


MONDAY, MARCH 24 at 7:00 p.m.

ANDREW GROSS discusses and signs THE DARK TIDE

William Morrow, $25.95

Andrew Gross has written several bestsellers in partnership with James Patterson; we are delighted to welcome him to The Mystery Bookstore to discuss and sign his second solo effort. Karen Friedman's husband is on a train that's destroyed by a bomb at Grand Central Station. Months later, Detective Ty Hauck discovers a link between the train bombing and a hit-and-run death in Karen's hometown of Greenwich, CT. As Hauck and Karen look for answers, they find evidence of an international conspiracy that stole hundreds of millions of dollars.




And now, a few rules: Mr. Gross is happy to sign any copy of THE DARK TIDE purchased at The Mystery Bookstore. He will sign one personal copy of each of his six earlier titles for every copy of THE DARK TIDE you purchase.


TUESDAY, MARCH 25 at 12:00 noon

LISA LUTZ discusses and signs CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS

Simon & Schuster, $25.00

It's hard to believe it was only a year ago that Lisa Lutz was here, signing her adorable debut, THE SPELLMAN FILES. We're delighted to welcome her back to sign the sequel, which is this month's Delicate but Deadly Club Selection and one of Linda's March favorites. CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS finds PI and problem daughter Isabel Spellman obsessing over the secrets kept by her neighbor. It's funny, but it's also realistic about the line between charming wackiness and pathological compulsions, as Isabel's irrationality has real-life consequences.






Be sure to visit our SIGNED BEST-SELLERS page for a list of newly signed books by Jonathan Kellerman, Christopher Rice and Alexandra Sokoloff. Linda has lots of great new titles in LINDA'S LIST FOR YOUNG READERS, so be sure to check it out. We have new titles in RARE & COLLECTIBLES. Take a look at our fine first editions from authors John D. MacDonald and John Hart, plus reference works for the crime fiction buff.



LAST BUT NOT LEAST…Now you can view the full version of our MONTHLY NEWSLETTER on our site!