Seattle Mystery Bookshop

I love this store!

Once again JB Dickey invited me to Seattle Mystery Bookshop to sign my fourth DeMarco book House Secrets - a book about a guy running for president who's maybe being helped along the way by the mob and the CIA.  So far the book has been getting great reviews but if there's one thing I've learned in this business is that reviews are nowhere near as important as having a great bookstore in your corner that promotes a writer's books and gives him the opportunity to sign books and meet customers and do things like this blog.  

Thanks again Seattle Mystery - 

Mike Lawson

Independent Mystery Bookseller's Association Killer Books for July

Mike Lawson, House Rules (Atlantic Monthly Press, $22.00). Recommended by Fran Fuller, Seattle Mystery Bookstore. (http://www.seattlemystery.com) : There´s one thing you can be certain of when you pick up the latest novel by Mike Lawson - you´re in for an excellent story. Joe DeMarco is asked by Speaker of the House Mahoney to look into the death of a reporter. Normally this wouldn´t be of any interest to much of anyone, but the dead reporter´s father is a friend of Mahoney´s, and Mahoney just wants DeMarco to turn over a few rocks, look into it, reassure Finley that his son´s death was really an accident. "There you go, DeMarco thought. That was his job description: rock flipper and bug crusher. Not very flattering but accurate enough." But it´s not that simple, and there are more than mere creepy-crawlies hiding under the rocks DeMarco overturns, and soon not only is DeMarco in over his head, but Emma is being threatened, and it´s possible that even Mahoney is in jeopardy. The joy of Lawson´s writing is how very well drawn his characters are, how tight and well-woven his plots are, and how easy and fluid his writing is. In my opinion, Mike Lawson is truly one of the gifted authors of our time, and if you haven´t had the pleasure of reading his Joe DeMarco series, now is a good time to start. Each bookstands on its own, which is a testament to the skill of his writing, but as a whole, this is one of the best thriller series out there, bar none. [Signed Copies Available!]

Eric Stone, Shanghaied (Bleak House, $24.95). Recommended by Louise, I Love A Mystery, Mission, Kansas; (http://www.iloveamystery.com) : A group of Tibetan monks seeks the aid of the corporate investigation firm in Hong Kong for which Ray Sharp works. The monks have heard troubling rumors about the Shanghai bank that manages the lamasery´s portfolio of investments. When one of the monks disappears, he is assumed by all to be overly enamored with Hong Kong´s red-light district. Ray finds cause for alarm, however, as he learns that the bank rumors may be grounded in fact and that the missing monk was the group´s bookkeeper. The investigation takes Ray and his diminutive colleague and pal, Wen Lei Yue, to the seedy area of Hong Kong. They then proceed to Shanghai, where they encounter some very scary characters, including a sociopathic U.S. army veteran and his twin kung-fu bodyguards, Floss and Betty. Shanghaied is a fast-paced thriller, peopled with lively characters. Though forced to deal with some real heavies, Ray Sharp is an unlikely hero. He narrates his tale with self-deprecating wit, and, when unable to avoid a fight, is likely to end up on the receiving end of the beating. Best friend Wen Lei Yue is the dynamic other half of the duo. She´s a feisty little thing, and her Chinese-Mexican heritage gives her the ability to be profane in multiple languages, much to Ray´s oft-expressed dismay. Indeed, the dialogue between these two snaps, crackles and pops. [Eric will be signing here on Wed, July 29 noon.]

Harry Dolan, Bad Things Happen (Putnam $26.95). Recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen (http://www.poisonedpen.com) : Maybe I like this debut so well because Dolan studied writing with the late Frederick Busch. Dolan earned a master´s degree in philosophy from the UNC Chapel Hill and worked for several years as a freelance editor. Which is how come he writes so keenly of that university town Ann Arbor and of the literati who cluster around the mystery magazine Gray Streets. A loner who calls himself David Loogan throws a few stories over the transom Pubisher Tom Kristoll offers him a contract: as editor. Tom, himself a failed writer, has found a good niche as publisher. Loogan is soon seduced by Tom´s Professor-wife Laura who alibis Loogan when Tom, some months later, is murdered at the office. Soon Loogan´s life imitates fiction as several of the magazine´s circle are murdered, and Detective Elizabeth Waishkey of the Ann Arbor PD wants to tag Loogan it. He sees nothing for it but to work the case, remembering the Gray Streets formula: Plans go wrong. Bad things happen. People die. [Bill recommends this as well.]

G.M. Malliet, Death And The Lit Chick (Midnight Ink, $14.95). Recommended by Tom & Enid Schantz, The Rue Morgue (http://www.ruemorguepress.com) : In the second outing for her stalwart police detective, Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just of Cambridge, the author treats us to an absolutely delicious skewering of the world of mystery publishing and its none too savory denizens. St. Just has been roped into speaking at Dead on Arrival, a prestigious conference for crime writers and aficionados being held in Edinburgh. He and the other panelists are being put up at nearby Dalmorton Castle, where the glamorous and arrogant Kimberlee Kalder, dubbed the queen of chick lit after the runaway success of her debut mystery, is eventually found dead at the bottom of the castle´s bottle dungeon. Anybody who has ever been to a mystery conference will appreciate the author´s sly digs at self-absorbed authors who take themselves far too seriously and the agents, publishers, and publicists whose careers depend on them. The author paints the petty rivalries and jealousies of her subjects and the latest trends in mystery publishing with a very broad brush, and she excels at throwaway lines ("Prologues are so last year," "Why do serial killers always think in italics?") that hit their targets dead on. About the only admirable characters in the book are the bemused St. Just, whom we learn is a widower, and the serenely beautiful crime writer Portia De´Ath, with whom he is instantly and hopelessly smitten. Malliet´s first book, Death of a Cozy Writer, recently won an Agatha award for best first mystery of the year; this sequel is even wittier and more skillfully constructed.

Elizabeth Duncan, The Cold Light of Mourning (St. Martin´s Press, $24.95). Recommended by Marian Misters, Sleuth of Baker Street (http://www.sleuthofbakerstreet.com) : Duncan is the first Canadian to win the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition. The book is set in a small town in North Wales and introduces manicurist Penny Brannigan. It seems that hairdressers and manicurists are the hub of village goings-on and gossip and Penny´s shop is no exception. After getting her nails done on her wedding morning, a local bride doesn´t show up for her wedding and it seems that Penny was the last person to see her. This is your classic British cozy, or should I say Welsh cozy, with all the trapping: the Lord of the Manor; eccentric locals; the vicar and his wife; and small town gossip. It´s got charm and it is a delight to read. [Marie recommends as well!]

Seattle Mystery Bookshop's June Bestsellers

 Hardcovers

1 – Lee Child, Gone Tomorrow, Bantam

2 – Michael Connelly, The Scarecrow, Little Brown

3 – Andrew Grant, Even, St. Martin’s

4 – Jeffery Deaver, Roadside Crosses, Simon & Schuster

5 – John Connolly, The Lovers, Atria

6 – Gillian Flynn, Dark Places, Shaye Areheart

7 – tie

    C.J. Box, Below Zero, Putnam

    Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Angel’s Game, Doubleday

9 – tie

    Mary Daheim, The Alpine Uproar, Ballantine

    Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse, Viking

Trade Paperbacks

1 – Curt Colbert, ed., Seattle Noir, Akashic

2 – Adria Lang, For the Sake of the Vine, Tigress

3 – Gillian Flynn, Sharp Object, Three Rivers

4 – Tana French, The Likeness, Penguin

5 – Patricia Batta, Why Did You Die in the Park?, Lillimar

 6 – tie

    Jincy Willett, The Writing Class, Picador

    Tim Maleeny, Stealing the Dragon, Midnight Ink

    Alan Furst, The Spies of Warsaw, Random House

9 – tie

    Patricia Batta, What did you do before Dying?, Lillimar

    Tana French, In the Woods, Penguin

    Craig Johnson, The Cold Dish, Penguin

    Ruth Rendell, Not in the Flesh, Vintage

    Thomas Perry, Fidelity, Mariner

    Susan Hill, The Various Haunts of Men, Overlook

    Charlie Huston, Caught Stealing, Ballantine

Mass Market

1 – Caitlin Kittredge, Street Magic, St. Martin’s

2 – Mike Lawson, The Inside Ring, Vintage

3 – Yasmine Galenorn, Demon Mistress, Berkley

4 – Meg Gardiner, The Dirty Secrets Club, Signet

5 – tie

    Mary Daheim, The Alpine Advocate, Ballantine

    Kat Richardson, Greywalker, Roc

    Elizabeth George, Careless in Red, Harper

9 – tie

    Mary Daheim, Just Deserts, Avon

    Carola Dunn, Death at Wentwater Court, Kensington

    Lisa Lutz, The Spellman Files, Pocket

    Steig Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Vintage

Mary's Brick Blog

It was a gold brick. Not a whole gold brick, and not real gold, but that was its color, and most of it was intact, if covered with a bit of moss. It had been put on the table in front of me next to a copy of The Alpine Uproar. Then there were two bricks. The second one was almost, but not quite, in mint condition and the lettering stamped into it said LIVERMORE. They were presented to me at a Thursday night signing (not, alas, at Seattle Mystery, but occasionally I’m forced to go to other venues and in doing so, I always get lost). That very day the bricks had been brought back from the REAL Alpine—or what’s left of it.

And that’s a story in itself. In recent years, a growing number of people have been searching for any viable remains of the small logging community that was active in the first half of the last century. Only recently have these foraging folks discovered bits and pieces of cornerstones, crockery, other household items—and bricks. I take no credit for their interest. Most have been railroad buffs who’ve followed the Great Northern Railway’s route through the Cascades and over Stevens Pass. I’ve never set foot in what once was home to my grandparents, my parents, many other relatives and family friends. But over the years I heard so much about Alpine that I decided to revive it for the Emma Lord series.

Those bricks suddenly brought Alpine much closer and more real. My father ran the boiler at the mill and that’s where those bricks had come from. By coincidence, I was wearing his Operating Engineers Union pin at the signing. After my dad died in 1970, my husband, Dave, had a jeweler set the pin in a silver ship’s wheel and put on a necklace chain—Dad was also a sea-going man.

I’m not the sentimental type. But as far as I’m concerned, those bricks might as well be real gold.

Mary Daheim

Finally in Seattle

The Marge Christensen Mystery Series is set in the Seattle area and mostly written before I moved away.  It took me a long time to return to Seattle and I was thrilled to be able to do my West Coast Debut of the Marge Christensen Mystery Series the Seattle Mystery Bookshop.  A lovely bookstore, homey and friendly, and welcoming to a relatively new author in spite of all the big names that come through here. 

Patricia K. Batta

Good-bye, angel

Let’s note the passing of an Angel.

Farrah Fawcett died yesterday and, while perhaps best kno wn for her iconic poster (yes, JB had one and wishes he still did, out of nostalgia, if nothing else – he’s a collector at heart, after all), she was also a TV crime fighter, as one of the original Charlie’s Angels.

Those of us older than, well, a certain age, grew up watching a string of strong women crime fighters: Honey West, Mrs. Peel, Officer Eve Whitfield on ‘Ironside’, ‘The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.’, Batgirl, Agent 99, Julie of the Mod Squad, Cinnamon of the IM Force, the Bionic Woman, Hart to Hart – but we’ll stop there.

So let us pause and remember a death in the family of mystery and crime, a death that was overshadowed and lost in the media hoopla of the death of someone else.

Farrah Fawcett, Rest In Peace.

Drinking coffee in Seattle

Landed in Seattle to sign at the Seattle Mystery Bookshop and the first thing I needed was some coffee. As usual. Love Seattle (my first time here and first time at the store) and love the laid back vibe. I'm headed next to Los Angeles, next --we'll see what goes there. There's something great about hanging in a store devoted only to mysteries and thrillers. I felt like I was surrounded by old friends. Can't wait to return. But now, I'm off as I can see my ride waiting to take me to the airport. Best to all.

Jamie Freveletti

A bloody afternoon...

So here we are at the Seattle Mystery Bookshop on Cherry Street. To be honest, I expected quite a few more cherries, the disappointing lack of which is more then made up for by the wine--which is made from grapes, not cherries (I asked.) There is free Kestrel wine today to go along with our wine mystery... Tres fabulous. I must confess, am relieved by the lack of wine seeking riff-raff, always a possibility when you offer free wine, but it seems that people are equally interested in the art, the book, and the wine (I wonder if they know it's poisoned?) The lovely folk of the SMB let me sit in the comfy chair and gave me a very nice pen to sign with. They made my first time painless and smooth. I am typing this blog from behind the front desk which makes me feel like I work here. I think that would be very nice actually, even thought there is blood on the floor. Maybe I can fill out an application before I leave.

xx.

Adria Lang

Fugitive

I can't remember how many times I've signed at Seattle Mystery Bookshop, but it's always fun. The first few chapters of Fugitive are set in West Africa, where I was a Peace Corps volunteer many, many, many years ago, and it was fun reliving those days when i wrote the descriptions, even if my main character, Charlie Marsh, wasn't having much fun dealing with Jean Claude Baptiste, the insane ruler of Batanga. The next time I tour in Seattle I hope it's with my daughter, Ami. I'm writing a young adult mystery with her that should come out at the same time my sequel to Executive Privilege is released. Working on a book with my daughter has been a trip.

Phil Margolin

29 days straight without rain, but Snow on Wyoming

Couldn't make the motorcycle this go-round with it snowin back at the ranch... So I'm off in a car, which is a poor excuse for transportation compared with a cycle or a horse. No rain here in Seattle, it rained all across Montana and Eastern Washington State. Olympia tonight, Portland the next and then off the the Cowboy Hall of Fame!

All the best,

Craig