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First, some administrative stuff. We have changed our Sunday hours; from now on, we'll be open on Sundays between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Second, some recent experiences have forced us to institute general guidelines for getting personal books signed at Mystery Bookstore events. We're glad for you to bring personal books to be signed, and most authors are flattered and happy to sign them – but we need to impose some reasonable limits.
Guidelines will be tailored to meet an author's wants, needs and time constraints, but as a whole, most will be happy to sign anything you buy at the Mystery Bookstore, whether it's the new title or an older title. For every copy of the new book you buy, the author will sign one copy of each previous title that you bring in from your own collection. That means, if you have single copies of each of JANE Q. AUTHOR'S earlier titles, She'll sign them all if you buy a copy of the new book.
What we're trying to do here is make sure our authors get the most out of their time with us by visiting with readers and fans. If you have any questions, please give us a call. Thanks for your understanding.
Now, the good stuff. The L.A. Times Festival of Books, our favorite time of year, runs April 26-27 on the campus of UCLA. We will have our usual booth (#411), and we will kick things off with our usual Friday night pre-Festival party. Keep reading for details, with the understanding that schedules are always subject to change at the last minute.
Before that, though, we expect some exciting drop-ins in addition to our formal events. JOSEPH WAMBAUGH will stop by early in the month to sign HOLLYWOOD CROWS (Little, Brown, $26.99), the sequel to 2006's HOLLYWOOD STATION. "Hollywood Nate" Weiss is working the LAPD's Community Relations Office, and gets mixed up with a socialite's revenge scheme. Thriller Award nominee JESSE KELLERMAN will drop in on or around April 10 to sign THE GENIUS (Putnam, $24.95), a thriller set in the New York art world; and late in the month, ANNE PERRY will visit to sign BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENS (Ballantine, $26.95), her latest Thomas Pitt mystery. Call or e-mail us to reserve your copies early.
AUTHOR SIGNINGS & APPEARANCES
Thursday, April 10 at 7:00 p.m.
MWA WRITERS' WORKSHOP with LINDA O. JOHNSTON: "INSPIRATION"
Linda O. Johnston, author of the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet Sitter mysteries, explores how writers can take something important in their lives and turn it into a mystery series. She's even bringing along her own inspiration: her dog, Lexie! We'll have copies of Linda's latest book, THE FRIGHT OF THE IGUANA (Berkley paperback original, $6.99), available for sale; the sixth Pet Sitter mystery, DOUBLE DOG DARE, is due in June. As always, the SoCalMWA workshops are free, but it helps us to know how many people to expect; please call to reserve your space in the class.
[author photo: Dan Irvin Photography]
Saturday, April 12 at 11:00 a.m.
CHILDREN’S EVENT!
CASSANDRA CLARE discusses and signs her young adult novel, CITY OF ASHES
Margaret K. McElderry, $17.99
We're delighted to get another visit from Cassandra Clare, who will sign and discuss the sequel to last year's CITY OF BONES. Clary Fray's mother is in a magically-induced coma, and the only hope Clary has of saving her is to find her long-lost father, the rogue Shadowhunter Valentine. In the Downworld, where Valentine lives and Clary is stuck, someone's killing children – and has stolen the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
Saturday, April 12 at 2:00 p.m.
GARY PHILLIPS presents POLITICS NOIR with contributors DARRELL JAMES and JOHN SHANNON
Verso trade paperback original, $16.95
The subtitle of this book is "Dark Tales from the Corridors of Power," and what could be more timely in this election year? Join editor Gary Phillips and contributors Darrell James and John Shannon for what promises to be a lively discussion. The collection also includes pieces by Ken Bruen, Mike Davis (author of CITY OF QUARTZ), Robert Greer, and Michele Martinez, among others.
Sunday, April 13 at 4:00 p.m.
ROBERT S. LEVINSON discusses and signs IN THE KEY OF DEATH
Five Star, $25.95
Music industry veteran Levinson gives us an insider's view in this standalone. Former cop Josh Wainwright is determined to get justice for his wife, music star Katie Sunshine, after a sniper kills her. Wainwright is sure the man responsible is legendary producer Clyde "Mr. Magic" Davenport – but what does it mean when Davenport hires Wainwright to investigate threats against his own life?
Friday, April 25 at 5:00 p.m.
THE PRE-FESTIVAL OF BOOKS PARTY!
Whoo-hoo! The biggest event of our year kicks off as usual at the store on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. We're co-sponsoring this event with our friends at the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America (SoCalMWA), and dozens of authors will be dropping in over the course of the evening, in addition to three formal signings. We'll have food, drink and wall-to-wall literary celebrities from 5:00 until 9:00 p.m., or whenever we manage to kick everyone out.
Authors who have promised to drop in include Sheryl J. Anderson, Sandi Ault, Deborah Turrell Atkinson, Brett Battles, James Scott Bell, Cara Black, Robert Gregory Browne, Mark Coggins, Jennifer Colt, Ed Decter, Dan Fesperman, Bill Fitzhugh, Michelle Gagnon, Brent Ghelfi, Lee Goldberg, Tod Goldberg, Eli Gottlieb, Denise Hamilton, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Naomi Hirahara, Sue Ann Jaffarian, Darrel James, Susan Kandel, Harley Jane Kozak, Leslie Klinger, Rita Lakin, John Lescroart, Robert S. Levinson, Dick Lochte, Lisa Lutz, Cody McFadyen, T. Jefferson Parker, Jim Pascoe, Cornelia Read, Peter Robinson, John Shannon, Susan Arnout Smith, Mark Haskell Smith, Eric Stone, Louise Ure, Sarah Weinman and Edward Wright.
Because the crowds for this event are so large, and things get so confusing, we ask that you not bring personal books to this event. We would hate for you to set a bag of books down and lose them, and it's too hard for us to keep track of what's being brought in from outside. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
And now, the formal signings:
Friday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m.
STUART WOODS signs SANTA FE DEAD
Putnam, $25.95
New Mexico attorney Ed Eagle's wife Barbara not only left him, but took out a contract on his life (in Woods's earlier SHORT STRAW). Now Barbara's out of prison, back on Ed's trail, and looking for another wealthy husband. Meanwhile, Ed's trying to clear a client, Don Wells, of charges that he killed his own wife and son.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
Friday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m.
THOMAS PERRY signs FIDELITY
Harcourt, $25.00
The official publication date on this book isn't until May 12, but Mystery Bookstore customers are getting an exclusive early chance to buy this book weeks in advance – and get it signed! Emily Kramer is shocked when her husband, Phil, is shot to death in the middle of the night – but then she learns that their bank accounts have been wiped out, and that Phil might not have been the man she thought he was. Jerry Hobart, the hit man who shot Phil, is supposed to kill Emily as well – but he wants to find out what secret the Kramers are hiding that someone would be willing to kill for.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
Friday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m.
DOMENIC STANSBERRY signs THE ANCIENT RAIN
St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95
San Francisco PI Dante Mancuso looks for the truth behind a 1976 bank robbery that left a woman dead. Mancusos client, Bill Owens, was the prime suspect, but never charged; now, a federal prosecutor armed with post-9/11 anti-terrorist laws wants to bring Owens to justice. Publishers Weekly called this book "Equal parts contemporary crime fiction and dark, existential poetry."
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS
Once a year for the past 13 years, we've packed up our shelves and traveled north to the UCLA campus and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. This year we'll be at the usual place, Booth 411, with the greatest-ever lineup of authors signing their latest books. The basics are these: All day Saturday, all day Sunday (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), hour-long signing panels at Booth #411, with about six authors to a shift. As always, we cannot guarantee that all authors will appear as scheduled. People get sick; flights get cancelled; things happen. We'll do our best to notify you of changes, but nature favors disorder.
Not all authors will be signing new titles; what follows are signing times and descriptions for the new books being signed. Please note that first printings may not be available for all of these titles. If it's important to you to have a first printing, please specify that when you order, and we'll do our best to fill your requests.
In many cases, authors will be signing backlist titles in addition to their most recent publications. If you're looking for a particular book, call or e-mail us to ask whether it's available. Please place all Festival of Books orders before Tuesday April 22, to make sure we have enough stock on hand.
Unfortunately, because of the volume of books we'll be transporting and having signed, we cannot accept requests for personalizations at the FOB signings, nor can we take people's personal books to be signed. We're sorry, but this decision is rooted in painful experience. Thanks for your understanding.
Look for more detailed book descriptions later in the month. We'll keep the signing schedule updated on the website as best we can, and will publish a (theoretically) final version a week before the Festival.
Saturday, April 26
10:00 a.m.
Sandi Ault signs WILD INFERNO (Berkley, $23.95). BLM agent Jamaica Wild responds to a wildfire on the Southern Ute reservation.
Joanne Harris signs THE GIRL WITH NO SHADOW (William Morrow, $24.95) and RUNEMARKS
(Knopf Books for Young Readers, $18.99). The author of CHOCOLAT signs her latest magical novels for adults and young people.
Naomi Hirahara signs SNAKESKIN SHAMISEN (Delta trade paperback, $12.00) and A HELL OF A WOMAN (Busted Flush hardcover, $26.00; simultaneous trade paperback, $18.00). The 2007 Edgar winner for best paperback original, and a fantastic collection of noir stories by and about women.
Harley Jane Kozak signs DEAD EX (Doubleday, $21.95). Wollie Shelley investigates the mysterious death of an ex-boyfriend, hoping to clear her best friend in the process.
John Lescroart signs BETRAYAL (Dutton, $26.95). San Francisco attorney Dismas Hardy agrees to take on the caseload for a colleague who's disappeared, and winds up investigating a case of murder and treason.
Peter Robinson signs FRIEND OF THE DEVIL. (William Morrow, $24.95). Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his lover, DI Annie Cabbot, investigate two apparently unrelated murders: a wheelchair-bound woman found with her throat cut on a seaside cliff, and a young student raped and strangled in a Yorkshire alley.
11:00 a.m.
11:00-11:30 only! Michael Connelly signs THE BLUE RELIGION (Little, Brown, $24.99). The book's full title says it all: Mystery Writers of America Presents The Blue Religion New Stories about Cops, Criminals, and the Chase. Connelly edited the collection, which includes stories by Alafair Burke, Edward D. Hoch, T. Jefferson Parker, and many others.
Brent Ghelfi signs VOLK’S GAME (Henry Holt & Co., $19.95). A debut novel featuring Russian gangster turned antihero Alexei Volkovoy, known to all as Volk.
Eli Gottlieb signs NOW YOU SEE HIM (Willliam Morrow, $22.95). Nick Framingham's best friend from childhood, Rob Cantor, murdered his girlfriend and killed himself six months ago, and Nick's own life is falling apart as he tries to make sense of it. As he looks for answers, Nick finds secrets that have been kept for his whole life.
Cody McFadyen signs FACE OF DEATH (Bantam, $24.00). Bobby's July Favorite is the second book to feature FBI Agent Smoky Barrett, introduced in last year's SHADOW MAN. Barrett hunts a serial killer known as The Stranger, after 16-year-old Sarah Langstrom asks for Smoky's help personally. The Stranger killed her family on her sixth birthday, and recently killed her foster family in an attempt to get to Sarah.
11:30-12:00 only! Michael Reisman signs SIMON BLOOM, GRAVITY KEEPER (Dutton, $15.99). Ages 9-12. Sixth-grader Simon Bloom finds a book that lets him manipulate the laws of physics. He shouldn't be surprised when two thugs show up to try to take it away from him.
Christopher Rice signs BLIND FALL (Scribner, $26.00).
11:30-12:00 only! Joseph Wambaugh signs HOLLYWOOD CROWS (Little, Brown, $26.99). In this sequel to 2006's HOLLYWOOD STATION, "Hollywood Nate" Weiss is working the LAPD's Community Relations Office, and gets mixed up with a socialite's revenge scheme.
12:00 p.m.
Dan Fesperman signs THE AMATEUR SPY (Knopf, $24.95). Freeman Lockhart retires from a career as an aid worker with his wife, Mila, to a Greek island. Before they can even begin their new lives, three men show up and blackmail Lockhart into spying on an old friend of his in Jordan. Meanwhile, a Palestinian-American couple mourning the loss of their daughter are drawn into a terrorist plot, and their paths cross the Lockharts'.
Christa Faust signs MONEY SHOT (Hard Case Crime paperback original, $6.99). Former porn star Angel Dare agrees to make one last movie – and winds up in the trunk of a car, shot and left for dead. But she's not going anywhere until she finds out who did this to her, and why.
Darrell James signs POLITICS NOIR (Verso trade paperback original, $16.95). "Dark Tales from the Corridors of Power."
Robert S. Levinson signs IN THE KEY OF DEATH (Five Star, $25.95)
Gary Phillips signs POLITICS NOIR (Verso trade paperback original, $16.95).
John Shannon signs POLITICS NOIR (Verso trade paperback original, $16.95) and THE DEVILS OF BAKERSFIELD (Pegasus, $25.00). Jack Liffey's pregnant teenaged daughter, Maeve, is falsely arrested for drugs possession in Bakersfield. She befriends another girl in jail, and when that girl disappears, Maeve follows her trail into an extremist evangelical church.
1:00 p.m.
Cara Black signs MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS Soho Crime, $24.00. In the summer of the St-Michel Metro bombings, Aimee Leduc's ex-boyfriend, Yves Robert, reappears with a marriage proposal – but then police ask Aimee to identify Robert's body. She throws herself into the investigation, and uncovers a secret that links a militant Turkish group, an assassination plot, and the Kurdish Labor Party.
Harlan Coben signs HOLD TIGHT (Dutton, $26.95). Sarah's April favorite asks, how far is too far when it comes to protecting your child? As a quiet suburban neighborhood reels after a high school boy's suicide, one couple resorts to technological gadgetry to keep an eye on their withdrawn son. Meanwhile, a deranged serial killer is on the prowl.
Libby Fischer Hellman signs EASY INNOCENCE (Bleak House hardcover, $24.95; trade paperback, $11.95). Former Chicago cop Georgia Davis, now a PI, investigates the murder of a popular high school student who was living a secret double life.
Lisa Lutz signs CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS (Simon & Schuster, $25.00). The March Delicate but Deadly Club selection is the equally entertaining sequel to THE SPELLMAN FILES.
Cornelia Read signs THE CRAZY SCHOOL (Grand Central Publishing, $23.99). Bobby's February favorite is the sequel to 2006’s acclaimed A FIELD OF DARKNESS. Madeline Dare and her husband have left Syracuse for western Massachusetts, but when Madeline's husband's job offer falls through, she has to scramble to find work. She takes a teaching job at the Santangelo Academy, a boarding school for disturbed teenagers, and finds that the school's most serious problems don't belong to the students.
Louise Ure signs THE FAULT TREE (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95). Auto mechanic Cadence Moran was blinded in an accident eight years ago. As she walks home from work one night, a speeding car almost runs her down; Cadence thinks it's an accident, or road rage, but it proves to be something more sinister. She's the only witness to her elderly neighbor's murder, and the killer thinks that she saw the getaway car.
2:00 p.m.
James Scott Bell signs TRY DYING (Center Street, $21.99). Trial lawyer Ty Buchanan’s fiancée is killed when a suicidal murderer throws himself off a highway overpass, but a witness says she survived the murderer's fall. Buchanan's search for the truth takes him into gangland Los Angeles, and puts both his career and his life at risk.
Carol Higgins Clark signs ZAPPED (Scribner, $24.00). A burglar invades Regan and Jack Reilly's Tribeca loft, in search of a safe that even the Reillys don't know about. Meanwhile, Jack investigates the theft of art from a SoHo gallery, and Regan looks for a missing insurance agent who may be preying on blond men.
Mary Higgins Clark signs WHERE ARE YOU NOW? (Simon & Schuster, $25.95). Charles "Mack" MacKenzie Jr. disappeared ten years ago, at the age of 21; once a year, he makes a single phone call to his mother, to say that he's all right. Mack's sister Carolyn, now a 26-year-old lawyer, vows to track him down.
Ronald Cutler signs THE SECRET SCROLL (Beaufort Books, $24.95). In this debut novel, archaeology professor Josh Cohan follows a dream – literally –- to the Judean desert, where he discovers an ancient scroll that seems to have been written by Jesus Christ.
Susan Arnout Smith signs THE TIMER GAME (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95). The January Discovery Club selection introduces crime scene tech and single mother Grace Descanso, who lives with a terrible secret: something unspeakable happened to her in Guatemala five years ago, and nearly destroyed her life. When she kills a madman in self-defense, the secrets she's been keeping come back to haunt her – and her young daughter is kidnapped, with the kidnapper giving Grace 24 hours to follow a deadly scavenger hunt.
Stuart Woods signs SANTA FE DEAD (Putnam, $25.95).
3:00 p.m.
Robert Crais signs THE WATCHMAN (Simon & Schuster, $25.95). Joe Pike has a special assignment as protector of a young woman who is being hunted.
Michelle Gagnon signs THE TUNNELS (Mira mass market paperback, $6.99). Bobby's August favorite is a first novel introducing FBI Special Agent Kelly Stone and her partner, Roger Morrow. They're investigating the apparent ritual murders of two female college students, whose bodies are found marked with Norse symbols in an old campus tunnel system. As more students are killed – and one disappears – Kelly and Roger race against the murderer.
Leslie Klinger signs THE NEW ANNOTATED SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE NOVELS (W.W. Norton, $59.95)
T. Jefferson Parker signs L. A. OUTLAWS (Dutton, $25.95). "Allison Murietta" is a modern-day Robin Hood who steals from the wealthy, donates much of her take to charity – and invites the media along for the ride. It's all fun and games until a heist ends with ten dead gangsters and half a million in diamonds missing. Sheriff's Deputy Charlie Hood investigates the case, taking a particular interest in an eyewitness named Suzanne Jones – who has secrets of her own.
April Smith signs JUDAS HORSE (Knopf, $23.95). FBI Agent Ana Grey learns that a group of radical animal-rights activists has assassinated one of her colleagues. Ana goes undercover to infiltrate a group that calls itself Free Animals Now, led by an unstable, charismatic leader who's planning one final, monstrous act of terrorism.
Domenic Stansberry signs THE ANCIENT RAIN (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95)
4:00 p.m.
Mark Coggins signs RUNOFF (Bleak House hardcover, $24.95; trade paperback, $14.95). Scott's November favorite finds San Francisco PI August Riordan mixing it up with anarchists and Chinatown gangs, and even facing a murder rap after agreeing to investigate a case of election fraud.
Ake Edwardson signs FROZEN TRACKS (Viking, $25.95). The third mystery to feature Detective Chief Inspector Erik Winter finds the Swedish policeman investigating a series of near-deadly beatings on the streets of Gothenburg, with an unusual weapon. The beatings may be tied to reports of a strange man offering candy to children, leading to the discovery of a badly-beaten child in the woods, and a kidnapping.
Bill Fitzhugh signs THE ADVENTURES OF SLIM & HOWDY (Center Street, $22.99) Bill Fitzhugh co-wrote this book with country music stars Kix Brooks & Ronnie Dunn, and every book includes an exclusive Brooks & Dunn CD. Slim and Howdy are musicians on the road who can't stay out of trouble; when their friend and boss Jodie Lee disappears, they go looking.
Tana French signs IN THE WOODS (Viking, $24.95). This Edgar-nominated debut introduces Irish Detective Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox, who are investigating the murder of a 12-year-old girl at an archeological dig. The murder bears uncomfortable resemblance to the unsolved disappearance of two girls 20 year earlier – girls who happened to be two of Detective Ryan's closest friends.
Susan Kandel signs CHRISTIETOWN (Harper trade paperback, $13.95). Cece Caruso's directing a Miss Marple whodunit as part of the opening gala for Christietown, a planned community on the edge of the Mojave Desert that promises to be a "Cotswaldesque cozyland." Things turn grim when Cece's leading lady disappears, later to be found murdered. Cece and her fiance, LAPD detective Peter Gambino, can't help getting involved in the investigation.
Tim Maleeny signs BEATING THE BABUSHKA (Midnight Ink trade paperback original, $14.95), Cape Weathers investigates the apparent suicide of a movie producer who jumped – or was pushed – from the Golden Gate Bridge. Weathers and his deadly friend Sally Mei find some accounting irregularities that lead to threats on their own lives before they figure out what's going on.
Eric Stone signs GRAVE IMPORTS (Bleak House Books trade hardcover, $24.95; trade paperback, simultaneous release, $14.95).
5:00 p.m.
James Ellroy signs whatever he wants to sign at his only Festival appearance.
Sunday, April 27
10:00 a.m.
Deborah Turrell Atkinson signs FIRE PRAYER (Poisoned Pen, $24.95). Hawaiian lawyer Storm Kayama and her lover, Ian Hamlin, meet up with Storm's foster parents on the island of Molokai. Storm agrees to check on a former classmate's son, but the boy’s mother is murdered, and the boy disappears.
Baron R. Birtcher signs ANGELS FALL (Iota Publishing, $23.95). Former L.A. detective Mike Travis searches for a teenaged girl who has disappeared into an underworld of designer drugs and violent sex.
Stephen J. Cannell signs THREE SHIRT DEAL (St. Martin's Press, $24.95). Shane Scully has a new partner – the beautiful Scout Llevar – as his wife, Alexa, withdraws from him after her near-fatal shooting (in last year's WHITE SISTER). Scully and Llevar investigate a prisoner's claims that the LAPD coerced a confession out of him; the first investigator on the case, Brian Devine, is someone Scully has a bad history with.
Catherine Coulter signs DOUBLE TAKE (Putnam, $25.95). FBI Special Agent Cheney Stone rescues a beautiful young widow after she's thrown from San Francisco's Pier 39. The attack seems linked to the murder of the woman's husband, and Stone must find the truth in order to save her.
Charlie Huston signs HALF THE BLOOD OF BROOKLYN (Del Rey trade paperback, $13.95). Vampire Joe Pitt crosses the bridge into Brooklyn, where he becomes involved in a deadly dispute between rival clans.
Rita Lakin signs GETTING OLD IS TO DIE FOR (Dell paperback original, $6.99). Gladdy Gold, who's been described as a "Yiddish Miss Marple," is back in New York with her sister Evvie. It doesn't take long for her friends Sophie, Bella and Ida to follow – and then Gladdy's boyfriend Jack shows up, to reopen the 47-year-old unsolved case of Gladdy's own husband's murder.
11:00 a.m.
Christopher Goffard signs SNITCH JACKET (Overlook/Rookery, $24.95).
The October Discovery Club selection introduces Benny Bunt, who hangs out at the Greasy Tuesday, a dive in Costa Mesa; his best friend is Gus "Mad Dog" Miller, the bar's bouncer. When Mad Dog asks Benny for help with a contract killing, Benny agrees – and finds himself on the hook for a double murder.
Lee Goldberg signs MR. MONK IN OUTER SPACE (NAL hardcover, $19.95). Conrad Stipe, legendary creator of the cult television series "Beyond Earth," is gunned down by someone wearing an elephant nose and a starship uniform. Mr. Monk investigates with the help of the show's biggest fan – his brother, Ambrose.
Tod Goldberg signs LAS VEGAS NOIR (Akashic trade paperback, $15.95). Goldberg is one of 16 authors represented in this collection edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Prince.
Christopher Reich signs THE PATRIOTS CLUB (Bantam paperback, $7.99). Thomas Bolden and his girlfriend are mugged, but the attack is just the first step in a conspiracy to draw Bolden into an centuries-old secret.
Nina Revoyr signs THE AGE OF DREAMING (Akashic trade paperback, $15.95). In 1964, an aspiring screenwriter visits silent-screen legend Jun Nakayama, who retired from films forever in 1922. The screenwriter, Nick Bellinger, wants Nakayama to come out of retirement, but Nakayama has his reasons for wanting to stay out of the limelight.
Mark Haskell Smith signs SALTY (Grove Press trade paperback, $14.00). Clair's July favorite is the story of faded rock star Turk Henry, whose wife, Sheila, is kidnapped by pirates in Thailand. Turk's ready to do whatever he has to do to get Sheila back, but a U.S. government functionary forbids him to negotiate with terrorists, and Sheila finds herself more and more fascinated with her captor.
12:00 noon
Cornelia Funke signs A PRINCESS, A PIRATE AND ONE WILD BROTHER (The Chicken House, $18.99). Three great stories about three great characters: Little Violetta, who trains in secret to become the Princess Knight; Molly, who shows Captain Firebeard and his crew who really rules the high seas in "Pirate Girl;" and Ben, "The Wildest Brother," who battles moldy green ghosts and slime-belching monsters but needs his sister to protect him at night.
Denise Hamilton signs LOS ANGELES NOIR (Akashic trade paperback, $15.95). A collection of stories about the mean streets of L.A., including contributions from Michael Connelly, Gary Phillips, Christopher Rice, and Naomi Hirahara.
Walter Mosley signs DIABLERIE (Bloomsbury USA, $23.95). Computer expert Ben Dibbuk has a great life, but a big gap in his history – years he can't remember, while he was a hopeless alcoholic. He meets a strange woman at his wife's magazine launch, and she makes it clear that she knows things about Ben that he doesn't.
Thomas Perry signs FIDELITY (Harcourt, $25.00)
Jacqueline Winspear signs AN INCOMPLETE REVENGE (Henry Holt, $24.00). Maisie Dobbs agrees to investigate a few matters related to what seems to be a routine real estate purchase. She travels to a small farming village in Kent, and finds herself drawn into a web of secrets, prejudice, arson, and murder.
Edward Wright signs DAMNATION FALLS (Orion first U.K. edition, $50.50). Wright's first standalone is the story of burnt-out journalist Randall Wilkes, who returns to his hometown of Pilgrim’s Rest, TN to ghostwrite a memoir for his old friend Sonny McMahon, a former governor. Sonny's mother, Faye, is beginning to lose her wits, and worries that her son may be in danger. Faye herself is found hanging from a bridge, and it's only the first in a series of deaths that wind up tearing Pilgrim's Rest apart.
1:00 p.m.
Sheryl J. Anderson signs KILLER RIFF (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95). Molly Forrester's been promoted from advice columnist to feature writer at Zeitgeist magazine, and her first assignment is a profile of a legendary rock manager/producer who's just died of an overdose. The rocker's daughter is convinced that the overdose was no accident, though, and a little investigation makes Molly wonder whether she might be right.
Jennifer Colt signs THE CON ARTIST OF CATALINA ISLAND (Tessera Books trade paperback, $22.95). Twin detectives Kerry and Terry McAfee spend Christmas on Catalina Island, but wind up searching for a missing newlywed instead of celebrating the holiday.
Joanne Fluke signs CARROT CAKE MURDER (Kensington, $22.00) and CANDY CANE MURDER (Kensington, $16.00). The October Delicate but Deadly Club (and Carol's Favorite) is a collection of three novellas, plus recipes from Fluke and Meier.
Sue Ann Jaffarian signs THUGS & KISSES (Midnight Ink trade paperback original, $13.95). Odelia Grey has two mysteries on her hands: first, the murder of a much-loathed high school classmate at their 30th high school reunion, and second, the disappearance of Odelia's troublesome boss, a temperamental lawyer.
Laura Levine signs CANDY CANE MURDER and DEATH BY PANTYHOSE (Kensington, $22.00). Professional writer Jaine Austen takes a job writing jokes for Dorcas MacKenzie, a standup comic who uses pantyhose as a prop. When Dorcas's rival Vic is found strangled with a pair of pantyhose, Jaine is determined to clear her client's name.
2:00 p.m.
Brett Battles signs THE CLEANER (Delacorte, $22.00). Our July Discovery Club selection is a first novel about Jonathan Quinn, who used to be a cop but now cleans things up when operations go bad. Sent to look at an apparently accidental fire that killed a viral biologist, Quinn discovers that the doctor was murdered, and then finds himself running for his own life.
Robert Gregory Browne signs KISS HER GOODBYE (St. Martin's, $23.95). In this debut thriller, ATF agent Jack Donovan shoots the pregnant wife of gangster Alex Gunderson in the chase following a bank robbery. Seeking retribution, Gunderson kidnaps Donovan's teenage daughter, Jessie – and buries her alive.
Tom Epperson signs THE KIND ONE (Five Star, $25.95). In 1933 Los Angeles, "Two Gun" Danny Layton wakes up without his memory, and believes his friends when they tell him he works for a mob boss.
Steve Hockensmith signs THE BLACK DOVE (St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95). Gustav and Otto Amlingmeyer – better known as Old Red and Big Red are ready to become professional detectives, but someone takes a shot at them. It turns out to be their friend Dr. Chan, but before they can figure out what's going on, Dr. Chan is dead. The police call it a suicide; Old Red knows better.
Dick Lochte signs CROAKED! (Five Star, $25.95). In 1965 Los Angeles, Ogle copywriter Harry Trauble starts to worry when the magazine's circulation director is crushed by the magazine's stone mascot (a frog), and a new magazine called "Penthouse" threatens to take over Ogle's market.
Abraham Rodriguez signs SOUTH BY SOUTH BRONX (Akashic trade paperback, $15.95). Alex wakes up with a strange woman in his bed – not just a one-night stand, but a woman he's genuinely never seen before. Ava's reasons are not only compelling, but perhaps deadly.
3:00 p.m.
Ed Decter signs EXPEDITION TO BLUE CAVE, EXPEDITION TO WILLOW KEY, and EXPEDITION TO PINE HOLLOW (Aladdin paperback, $4.99 apiece). Decter's Outriders series for kids aged 9-12 are tales of adventure set on Surf Island, where Cam Walker and his friends – including a 243-pound mastiff named Howie – set out to make exciting things happen.
Joe Hill signs 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS (William Morrow, $24.95). A short story collection of visions and nightmares from the award-winning writer of HEART-SHAPED BOX.
Ken Kuhlken signs THE VAGABOND VIRGINS (Poisoned Pen, $24.95). On the eve of the 1979 Mexican election, San Diego private investigator Alvaro Hickey starts hearing about apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Baja California, urging campesinos to vote against the PRI. Lourdes Shuler thinks the "Virgin" is her sister Lupe, and wants Alvaro to find her; something about her story doesn't sound right to Alvaro, but he agrees to take on the job.
Jim Pascoe signs UNDERTOWN (Tokyo Pop, $9.99). Linda's August Mystery of the Month for Kids is the first in a new graphic novel series for kids aged 8 and up. Undertown is a magical place that hides the Sugar Stone, which has healing properties; the Insects and the Furmen battle for the Stone.
APRIL CRIME CLUB SELECTION
Pam Lewis, PERFECT FAMILY
Simon & Schuster, $25.00 (signed first edition)
Pony Carteret, the beautiful daughter of a prominent New England family, drowns in the lake by her family's Vermont summer home. Her baby's found on the lakeside, so it can't have been suicide – can it? An accident seems equally unlikely, but it's the best explanation the police have. Pony's brother, William, can't accept that. The questions he asks uncover secrets throughout the entire family, including some of William's own.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
APRIL DISCOVERY CLUB SELECTION and PAM'S FAVORITE and LINDA'S GROWN-UP FAVORITE
Charlie Newton, CALUMET CITY
Touchstone trade paperback original, $14.00 (signed first edition)
Patti Black overcame a horrifying childhood to become Chicago's most decorated cop. Now a series of apparently unrelated crimes threatens to expose Patti's secret past, and she must go back to her roots to protect the people she loves most. CALUMET CITY is a stunning debut: intense, searing, up close and often frighteningly personal as we enter Patti Black's world. Be prepared: the narrative careens through Chicago's North and South sides like a bullet train on a mega-dose of adrenaline. This is a great police procedural, and it is noir at its best.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
APRIL DELICATE BUT DEADLY CLUB SELECTION
Carolyn Hart, DEATH WALKED IN: A Death on Demand Mystery
William Morrow, $23.95 (signed first edition)
Max and Annie Darling are restoring the old Franklin house when a mysterious woman calls to ask for help. She says she's hidden something in the Franklin house, but doesn't say what. Annie rushes to the woman's side, only to find her dying from a gunshot wound. As Annie investigates the woman's background, she finds connections to the disappearance of a stash of rare "double eagle" gold coins. Is that what's hidden in the Franklin house? And is someone willing to kill Annie and Max to find them?
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
LINDA'S MYSTERY OF THE MONTH FOR KIDS
TENNYSON by Lesley M.M. Blume
Knopf, $15.99, ages 8-12
What an atmospheric little novel! Two scrappy little girls in the Depression-era South find themselves thrust upon a bitter old aunt, a daffy old uncle and a crunchy servant in a crumbling mansion with a dark, Gothic past. Tennyson, the oddly named older sister, wise way beyond her 11 years, starts having dreams that are frighteningly real – and disturbingly accurate accounts of the house's twisted lore, dating before, during and after the Civil War. Touching, at times disturbing, but ultimately hopeful, this is an intriguing and unique peek into a side of life and a piece of American history that we all thought we knew. Tennyson's fresh voice is one that young readers will readily be able to "hear," and the house is one they will want to visit.
BOBBY'S FAVORITE
Kent Harrington, THE GOOD PHYSICIAN
Dennis McMillan, $35.00 (signed first edition)
It's been too long since the last novel by Kent Harrington, author of the noir classics Dia de Los Muertos and Red Jungle. THE GOOD PHYSICIAN is a powerful and timely book about Dr. Collin Reeves, a CIA operative whose cover is as a tourist's doctor in Mexico City. While the CIA investigates rumors of a major terrorist attack being planned from Mexico City, Dr. Reeves comes to the assistance of a beautiful Middle Eastern refugee who won't tell him anything about her past. Part political thriller, part romance, THE GOOD PHYSICIAN explores the conflicts between patriotism and personal loyalties in the tradition of Graham Greene and John LeCarre.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
CAROL'S FAVORITE
C.R. Corwin, THE UNRAVELING OF VIOLETA BELL
Poisoned Pen Press, $24.95 (unsigned first edition)
Maddy Sprowls is not your sweet Miss Marple kind of, ahem, older dames. She's the newspaper librarian and actually prefers to stay in her newspaper, "morgue" where she's worked for the last 34 years. She's not a reporter, but she does see something interesting when four elderly and somewhat oddly dressed women get out of a taxi at a garage sale. The same cabby drives them around every week; Maddy can't help suggesting to the feature editor that it might be an interesting article. When one of the women is killed after the story runs with a picture, Maddy just can't keep her nose out of a good mystery. Was Violeta Bell really the Queen of Romania, as she claimed? This is the third Morgue Mama book, and Maddy is a delightful character. Here's hoping we see more of her.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
CLAIR'S FAVORITE and LINDA'S (OTHER) GROWN-UP FAVORITE
Reed Farrel Coleman, EMPTY EVER AFTER
Bleak House, $27.00 (signed hardcover); $16.50 (simultaneous trade paperback edition); $45.00 (signed limited edition, with author's criminal profile page)
Years ago, Moe Prager made a terrible bargain, agreeing to hide his brother-in-law Patrick's whereabouts and sexual orientation from his wife, Katy. But secrets came out, as they always do, and in the wake of his brother-in-law's death and the failure of his marriage, Moe is still not finished paying the price. Patrick's body disappears from the grave where he is buried, and Moe and Katy find themselves in danger as Moe tries to find out what's going on. EMPTY EVER AFTER is a dark and beautiful meditation on the corrosive power of secrets and lies, and the difference between resurrection and redemption.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
LIZ'S FAVORITE
Michael Stanley, A CARRION DEATH
Harper, $23.95 (unsigned first edition)
When park rangers in Botswana find a body that may have been killed by other humans and not wild animals, Detective David "Kubu" Bengu's first problem is finding clues from an apparently perfect crime. The trail soon leads to secrets being kept at a major corporation – and by a family.
MICAELA'S FAVORITE
Andrea Camilleri, THE PAPER MOON
Penguin trade paperback, $13.00 (unsigned first U.S. edition)
For everyone awaiting Inspector Montalbano's return, THE PAPER MOON is a hit. The Chief has his hands full with: 1) a murder victim found - well, you'll see; 2) the victim's sister, Michela, inconsolable and gunning for an ex-girlfriend; 3) said girlfriend almost beyond Inspector Montalbano's ability to remain rational – she is gorgeous; 4) a bizarre need for an alarm clock; 5) Cat rendered all but senseless by a computer program. Montalbano's inimitable crime-solving techniques do not fail. His focus on "feedings" continues to be intense – I like that in my detectives. Also, he uses my namesake. I like that, too.
SARAH'S FAVORITE
Harlan Coben, HOLD TIGHT
Dutton, $26.95 (signed first edition)
Another gripping thriller from Edgar-winner Harlen Coben doesn't disappoint. In his latest, a quiet suburban neighborhood is reeling from the tragedy of a high school boy's suicide. One couple resorts to technological gadgetry to keep an eye on their withdrawn son, fearing he's heading down the same path. How far is too far when it comes to protecting your child? If this weren't enough, a deranged serial killer is on the prowl. In typical Coben fashion, he weaves these multiple story threads into an edge-of-your-seat page-turner. I couldn't get to the end fast enough.
This title is not yet available at The Mystery Bookstore. Please contact us directly to reserve a copy. You may email orders@mystery-bookstore.com or telephone us on our toll-free number, (800) 821-9017.
SIGNED BOOKS ON HAND
Cara Black, MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS. Soho Crime, $24.00 (signed first edition). In the summer of the St-Michel Metro bombings, Aimee Leduc's ex-boyfriend, Yves Robert, reappears with a marriage proposal – but then police ask Aimee to identify Robert's body. She throws herself into the investigation, and uncovers a secret that links a militant Turkish group, an assassination plot, and the Kurdish Labor Party.
Tim Dorsey, ATOMIC LOBSTER. William Morrow, $24.95 (signed first edition). Beloved psychopath Serge A. Storms is back on the road with Coleman, his partner in crime. As usual, the plot hardly matters, as Serge and Coleman barrel across Florida and manage to foil the nefarious plans of a murderous ex-con along the way.
John Lescroart, BETRAYAL. Dutton, $26.95 (signed first edition). San Francisco attorney Dismas Hardy agrees to take on the caseload for a colleague who's disappeared. What seems to be a straightforward murder case turns out to be much more complicated: the victim, an ex-Navy SEAL, may have been responsible for several suspicious deaths in Iraq. Hardy and his old friend, Detective Abe Glitsky, find a conspiracy that hides not only murder, but treason.
Laura Lippman, ANOTHER THING TO FALL. William Morrow, $24.95 (signed first edition). Baltimore private detective Tess Monaghan, in her tenth adventure, agrees to serve as a bodyguard for a starlet shooting a miniseries on location.
Louise Penny, THE CRUELEST MONTH. St. Martin's Minotaur, $25.50 (signed first edition) Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues return to the small Quebec town of Three Pines to investigate a mysterious death at a seance. Meanwhile, Gamache himself suspects a mole on his staff is sabotaging his work.
Christopher Rice, BLIND FALL. Scribner, $26.00 (signed first edition).
The March Crime Club selection is a thriller about the death of a former Marine who turns out to have been hiding his partner and his life as a gay man. Ex-Marine John Houck discovers the mutilated body of his former comrade, Captain Mike Bowers, and must deal with his own homophobia, as well as lingering guilt over an earlier loss, before he can bring the killer to justice.
Lisa Scottoline, LADY KILLER. Harper, $25.95 (signed first edition). Philadelphia attorney Mary DiNunzio takes a case for her high school enemy, Trish Gambone; Trish is being abused by her boyfriend, another fellow classmate who's now a mobster. It doesn't take long for Mary to regret taking the case, but when Trish disappears, Mary has to figure out what happened.
Steven M. Thomas, CRIMINAL PARADISE. Ballantine, $25.00 (signed first edition). Rob Rivers and his partner, Switch, rob an Orange County steakhouse and find a photograph that suggests the steakhouse's owner might be peddling pornography, or worse. Rob and another friend break into the owner's home and find the girl in the photograph – a 19-year-old Vietnamese girl who's being held against her will. It's just the beginning of a desperate ride into a world that scares even a career criminal like Rob Rivers.
Randy Wayne White, BLACK WIDOW. Putnam, $24.95 (signed first edition). Marine biologist and covert operative Doc Ford goes to the small Caribbean island of St. Arc when his goddaughter, Shanay, is blackmailed with indiscreet video from a bachelorette weekend. But the blackmailer releases the video anyway, one of Shanay's bridesmaids takes an overdose, and the whole plot turns out to be connected to something deep in Ford's own past.
Jacqueline Winspear, AN INCOMPLETE REVENGE. Henry Holt, $24.00 (signed first edition). Maisie Dobbs agrees to investigate a few matters related to what seems to be a routine real estate purchase. She travels to a small farming village in Kent, and finds herself drawn into a web of secrets, prejudice, arson, and murder.
COMING IN MAY
Saturday, May 3 at 5:00 p.m.
ROBERT TANENBAUM discusses and signs ESCAPE
Monday, May 19 at 7pm
JOHN SANDFORD discusses and signs PHANTOM PREY
Wednesday, May 28 at 7:00 p.m.
JOHN STRALEY discusses and signs THE BIG BOTH WAYS
AND LOOKING AHEAD…
Tuesday, June 3 at 12:00 noon
LUNCH DATE WITH CRIME!
LEE CHILD discusses and signs NOTHING TO LOSE
Saturday, July 5 at 5:00 p.m.
ROBERT CRAIS discusses and signs CHASING DARKNESS
Be sure to visit our SIGNED BEST-SELLERS page for a list of newly signed books by Louise Penny, Randy Wayne White, and Lisa Scottoline. 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.