Seattle Mystery Bookshop

Holiday Hours!

Coming Soon Corner

Connie Archer - A Clue In The Stew

When Lucky Jamieson opens up By the Spoonful to host an event with a famous author, she's not expecting a bunch of nuts to descend on her small-town soup shop. But the author's exasperating entourage from a prickly publicist to a snippy son and his tipsy wife give fresh meaning to the phrase, too many cooks spoil the broth.

The evening is more than spoiled, however, when it ends with a homicide. When the manner of the murder as well as another recent unsolved crime echoes the author's fiction, Police Chief Nate Edgerton realizes he has a copycat killer on his hands. And Lucky hopes that one of her regular customers who has mysteriously gone missing isn't involved.

Once again, the soup shop owner will need to stir up some clues to find her friend and catch a cunning killer before things really take a tureen for the worse...

       

Jenn McKinlay - Vanilla Beaned

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are taking a gamble by opening their first franchise of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes Bakery, so where better to hit the jackpot than in Vegas? Business manager Tate Harper has lined up a meeting with Holly Hartzmark, a former showgirl who's looking to bring Mel and Angie's sweet treats to Sin City, but Mel isn t so sure she's ready to hand her recipes over to a complete stranger especially one as brash as Holly.

But after the potential bakery location gets blown up, Mel begins seeing another side to Holly one that reminds her very much of herself. Determined to help a kindred spirit, Mel sets out to discover who is trying to keep the bakery from cashing in.

But with a murderous mischief maker on the loose, the odds are stacking up against a happy ending for Mel and her friends...

       

Today's The Day! Will We See You?

Don't forget we have four authors in the shop today!!!!!

And Don't Forget We Have Blind Date With A Book Giveaway While Supplies Last!

Just One More Day!

Happy Turkey Day!

Don't Forget We Are Closed Today!

But We Will Be Back On Friday Bright And Early!

Noir at the Bar Seattle

Ben Aaronovitch

This is a really fantastic series (Amber Highly Recommends - the first book wanders a bit, but after that the narratives are strong, clever and play by The Rules)! The video above gives you the salient details about the book through song (it works trust me). The video below is a book trailer for the graphic novel coming this spring!

 

Coming Soon Corner

James Grippando - Gone Again

Sashi Burgette vanished three years ago on her way to school. The night after the teenager’s disappearance, ex-con Dylan Kyle was stopped for drunk driving. An article of Sashi’s clothing was found in his truck, and a police videotape of his drunken explanation under interrogation sealed his fate at trial. Now, just days from Kyle’s execution, Sashi’s mother visits Jack Swyteck, doing pro bono work at the Freedom Institute, and delivers shocking news: “Sashi called me.”

The police dismiss the call as a cruel hoax. The State Attorney refuses to consider the new evidence, insisting the case is closed. The governor has already signed the death warrant. An innocent man may be executed and time is running out—unless his lawyers can locate Sashi.

A man of principle who believes in justice, Jack jumps into the investigation. But the deeper he digs the more he discovers that nothing is what it appears to be. Not the victim. Not her alleged killer. And definitely not Sashi’s parents, whose grief ruptured their marriage, each openly blaming the other for what happened to their daughter.

As their gut-wrenching and hopelessly conflicting version of events unfolds in a Miami courtroom, it becomes clear there is something even more difficult to find than a long-missing girl . . .

Jack Soren - The Tomorrow Heist

Jonathan Hall and Lew Katchbrow intended to leave life as international art thieves behind them—if only the money hadn’t run out. But when a shadowy organization approaches the duo offering compensation, protection, and prestige in exchange for their skills, Jonathan and Lew think it’s the answer to their problems…

But the nightmare has only just begun.

Suddenly Jonathan and Lew are thrust headlong into a race against time and a technology that science says shouldn’t exist. With the very nature of life and death on Earth hanging in the balance, it’s up to them to discover the truth behind Ashita—a terrifying futuristic city in the depths of the Pacific Ocean—and stop it. But the clock is ticking. If Jonathan and Lew fail this heist, millions will die—and the human race will never be the same.

Truman & Bain - Deadly Medicine

If someone in the pharmaceutical industry came upon a cheaper, non-addictive, and more effective painkiller, would he kill for it?

Washington D.C. private detective Robert "Don't call me Bobby" Brixton, along with his mentors, attorneys Mac and Annabel Smith, discover that the answer is a resounding "Yes," as they try to help Jayla King, a medical researcher at a small D.C. pharmaceutical firm, carry on the work of her father. His experiments in the jungles of Papua New Guinea in search of such a breakthrough product led to his brutal murder and the theft of his papers.

Did Jayla's father's lab assistant kill the doctor and steal his research? Is this shadowy figure prepared to kill again to keep Jayla from profiting from her father's work? Does her recent paramour's romantic interest reflect his true feelings--or will he sell her out and reap the rewards for himself? And to what lengths would Big Pharma's leading lobbyist go to cover up his involvement, and to protect a leading champion of the pharmaceutical industry--a Georgia senator with a shady past?

As Mac, Annabel, and Brixton soon realize, no pill can ease the pain that the answers to these questions inflict on everyone in this tale of greed, betrayal--and murder.

Come and See Us On November 28th!

We will have some great temporary booksellers in for our Small Business Saturday! Plus an author signing! Come in and see which books they recommend! Additionally, we’ll have our Blind Date With A Book giveaway, and of course Neil Low will be signing at noon. Who knows, we might have other surprises ahead, so plan on being here!

Our line-up!

10-Noon: Urban Waite - Honorary Bookseller

Noon: Neil Low signing his new Seattle historical mystery - Wages of Sin

1-3pm: Ingrid Thoft - Honorary Bookseller

3-5pm: Candace Robb - Honorary Bookseller

These are fluid times. If you'd like to meet your favorite author and talk to them about books they recommend, we suggest we come in during these times.

Newzine 11/20/15

Remember!

Thursday, Nov. 26^th, no one will be here.

The shop will be closed. (We’ll be closing at 5pm on Thanksgiving Eve, too)

We’ll be taking the day off. ‘Cause it will be Thanksgiving.

November 28^th! Small Business Saturday Line-Up!

10-Noon: Urban Waite, honorary bookseller

Noon: Neil Low signing his new Seattle historical mystery, Wages of Sin

1-3pm: Ingrid Thoft, honorary bookseller

3-5pm: Candace Robb, honorary bookseller

These are fluid times. The authors are welcome to stay as long as they want but, if you want to see one of them or talk to them about books they recommend, come in during those times.

And – of course – The Return of Blind Date with a Book! Spend $10, get a bag of free books!

And mark your calendars: Saturday, Dec 5^th is Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day. This is an international effort to introduce new generations to bookshops and reading.

 

The new Stephanie Meyer double book, Twilight and Life and Death – now 25% OFF while they last!

 

 Gift Certificates:

- They’re available in Whatever Denomination You Want.

- They Don’t Expire.

- You can Order Them by Phone, e-mail or through the Website, and we can Mail them directly to the recipient if you’d like.

Wish List:

Our website has a Wish List capability. If folks want to know what you’d like for a given holiday or birthday, it is easy to point people to our website. Amber has put together a dandy blog post explaining it and how it works.

Links of Interest:

Will crime writers be the victims of the clean-up of Colombia’s second city?

How John le Carre reinvented the English language and made us all sound like spies

Goodfellas May Have Gone but Gangster Films Remain

Memento remake: chance to improve the original or instantly forgettable gaffe?

Shipping Alert:

We’re coming into the busy shipping season, we have wonderful books, and we’ve already experienced some issues, so here’s what we’re planning, regarding insurance - totally optional but for your consideration:

On shipments of under $100, nothing changes.

For shipments totaling the following amounts, you can elect the following options:

$100 – $200 will cost an additional $4

$200 - $300 will cost an additional $5

$300 - $400 will cost an additional $6

$400 - $500 will cost an additional $7

$500 - $600 will cost an additional $10

Over $600, we need to talk, but it’s cool.

We don’t want to take chances with your books, and we know you want the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’re covered by insurance. If you opt out of insurance, we’ll have a tracking number and we’ll know when the post office says your package was delivered, but after that, there’s nothing we can do to help you out.

Thank you, as always, for supporting us!

Here, posted on our blog, are shipping deadlines to guide you (and us!)

While we specialize in mystery and crime books, we can order virtually any new book that you might want, no matter what its topic.

New Signings (with authors who will be visiting the shop):

Saturday March 5^th at Noon, J. C. Nelson signs The Reburialists (Feb., Ace pbo, $7.99).

At the Bureau of Special Investigations, dead people aren't the problem. Keeping them dead, that's the bigger issue. And when Agent Brynner Carson stakes a recently undead corpse, he's in for a surprise. Turns out this corpse has a message for him, written in bloody hieroglyphics, about Carson's father. Turns out dear old dad stole a priceless relic from a long-dead god, and now that god wants it back. But dad didn't say what he'd done with it, and now it's a race to save the world.

 [Reserving ahead of time is HIGHLY recommended. For the most part, we’ll be ordering only enough for those who reserve. You don’t have to pay until you pick it up or we mail it. Ask us to hold a copy for you!]

 

See the calendar of all currently-scheduled events on our website and the website calendar contains plot synopses. Click Here.

Neil Low, Nov 28

Robert Crais, Dec 2

Stella Cameron, Dec 5 - CANCELED

Maia Chance, Janine A. Southard, Raven Oak and G. Glemans, Dec 12

Tracy Weber, Jan 16

Ian Rankin, Jan 2??

Gigi Pandian, Jan 23

Feb 19, Andrew Chapman

Feb 20, Matt Ruff

Mar 8, Lisa Lutz

And there are always more on the way!

Remember, too, that while it is always fun to come in and meet the author in person, that isn’t always possible. So reserve a signed copy to be mailed to you or for you to pick up later. Those who reserve in advance get the copies in the best condition!

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Word of the Week:

banjax: A transitive verb – to damage, ruin, smash. First known use dates to 1939 but of unknown origin, mainly of Irish useage. (thanks to merriam-webster.com)

You can browse our collectable and hard-to-find books, as well as signed copies from earlier author events, on Biblio.com. You do not have to place an order through them, especially if you’re a long-time customer and we have your ordering info. Just email us to order.

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What We’ve Been Reading:                    

Amber Recommends:

Mercedes Lackey – Hunter (Hyperion, hc, $17.99)

Years ago the barrier between our world and another weakened - to the point that what was on the other side was able to cross over into ours - and it’s never fluffy bunnies, unicorns or rainbows which make the trek. No, it is always monsters, and these have very big teeth, magic and really seem to enjoy killing us.

But whatever looks out for us humans - be it god, a giant crocodile or Great Panjandrum - gave humans a bit of magic of their own to wield in defense of a crumbling world. The magic comes in the form of spirit hounds. Only a small percentage of people can call hounds, but if they are able to summon a pack (2-8) their lives are irrevocably changed. They are trained to become Hunters, people who seek out and destroy the horrors which now inhabit our world.

Joyeaux Charmand is one such Hunter. Her parents were killed in an “Otherside Incident” when she was very young. Her only living relative is an Uncle, a Prefect for the Apex (very important) and he’s sent for her…. and when Apex and the police call, you have little choice but to go. When she arrives in Apex she discovers Hunters are treated far differently in Apex than at home. Here, they are the height of celebrity, they spawn fandoms and their lives & hunts are constantly streamed to for the population to watch. But what Joyeaux finds most disturbing is the fact that Apex’s population is being lied to, and Hunters are inadvertently part of the conspiracy. Which she slowly discovers is much bigger than she initially realized.

This book is good. There is a lot to learn about in a short amount of time (and my summary doesn’t do this book justice) and Lackey is a master in giving you a lot of information without boring her reader.

But what is most tantalizing about this book are the hints, small kernels of information, which Lackey places in the narrative which make you wonder what is coming next! What led to the barrier being weakened? Who are The Folk? How are the monsters getting through the barrier? Who tried to kill Joyeaux? Is her Uncle in danger? The questions go on and on. This is why I say Hunter is a good YA book - there is a lot of world building, the story is strong, but the world details edge it out by just a hair - but the next book I have a very strong suspicion will be excellent! However it will be one of those things that you will have to start on the ground floor and read Hunter first to know/understand exactly what it going on.

Now don’t get me wrong, while the book places these small kernels for you to wonder, agonize and theorize over, the main storyline of the book is wrapped up in a satisfactory way so the book didn’t leave me with a hollow empty feeling when I finished. It just made me VERY keen to know what happens next!

*BTW - I have tried to read Lackey many times over the years and this is the very first book by her which I have really enjoyed read (aka finished)! If this helps at all!?

We have two Tumblr blogs, in addition to our regular shop blog:

Hardboiled, maintained by JB – pulp covers, film noir and other images of crime and mystery!

Reviews and Events – just what it sounds like!

On This Date:

Nov 24, 1868 – Scott Joplin was born. A century later, his music would regain popularity in a movie about Depression-era con men, The Sting

Nov 24, 1897 – future mobster Charlie “Lucky” Luciano was born Salvatoré Lucania in Lercara Friddi, Sicily

Nov 24, 1908 – future mystery writer, and creator of Rabbi David Small, Harry Kemelman was born in Boston

Nov 24, 1925 – conservative thinker and editor – and espionage novelist – William F. Buckley, JR, was born in NYC

Nov 24, 1946 - future psychopath and serial killer Ted Bundy was born in Burlington, VT

Nov 24, 1963 - Ruby shot Oswald on national TV

Nov 24, 1971 – Dan Cooper dropped out of a jetliner somewhere over the Columbia River and into history

Nov 24, 1974 – the all-star Murder on the Orient Express premiered. The 84-year-old Agatha Christie attended the premiere and said Albert Finney came the closest to her ideal of Poirot than anyone else ever did

Nov 24, 1981 – “Simon & Simon” premiered

Nov 25, 1889 – W.R. Burnett was born in Springfield, OH. He wrote three American classics: Little Caesar in ’29, High Sierra in ’40 and The Asphalt Jungle in ’49

Nov 25 – a BIG day for authors: Francis Durbridge (1912, Yorkshire), Clive Egleton (1927, Middlesex), William McIlvaney (1936, Kilmarnock, Scotland), Gerald Seymour (1941, Surrey), and Julie Smith (1944, Annapolis) and Charlaine Harris and Arturo Perez-Reverte (1951, Tunica, MS, and Cartagena, Spain)

Nov 25, 1911 – pulp illustrator Malvin Singer was born in Brooklyn

Nov 25, 1925 – Noel Neill was born in Minneapolis, MN. In 1951, she came into the living rooms of America as Lois Lane on ‘Superman’

Nov 25, 1952 –Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opened at the Ambassador’s Theatre in London and has become the longest continuously-running play in history

Nov 26, 1853 - future lawman and sports writer Bat Masterson was born in Henryville, Quebec

Nov 26, 1859 – first appearance of Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White began serialization

Nov 26, 1905 – Welsh playwright Emlyn Williams was born in Mostyn, Wales. Known for his mystery plays, he also, in 1967, wrote an account of an actual crime, a best-selling key book in the history of true crime

Nov 26, 1942 – Casablanca premiered in NYC

Nov 26, 1942 - Lesley Grant-Adamson was born in London

Nov 26, 1976 – 3^rd Son of Sam shootings

Nov 26, 1983 – 6 thieves broke into the Brink’s-MAT warehouse at London’s Heathrow Airport and made off with £26 million worth of gold, diamonds and cash

Nov 27, 1934 – “Baby Face” Nelson was shot down by the FBI in Barrington, IL.

Nov 27, 1897 - future mob boss Vito Genovese was born in Rosigliano, Naples

Nov 27, 1940 – Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco. Most of us would first be exposed to his stunning talents on ‘The Green Hornet’ in 1966. His first US film was the James Garner movie Marlowe, the adaptation of Chandler’s The Little Sister.

Nov 27, 1978 – Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk were murdered in their offices

And Have a Relaxing and Book-Filled Weekend!

So Exciting!

From The Creator Of Sandman Slim!

22000 B.C.

A beautiful, ambitious angel stands on a mountaintop, surveying the world and its little inhabitants below. He smiles because soon, the last of humanity who survived the great flood will meet its end, too. And he should know. He’s going to play a big part in it. Our angel usually doesn’t get to do field work, and if he does well, he’s certain he’ll be get a big promotion.

And now it’s time . . . .

The angel reaches into his pocket for the instrument of humanity’s doom. Must be in the other pocket. Then he frantically begins to pat himself down. Dejected, he realizes he has lost the object. Looking over the Earth at all that could have been, the majestic angel utters a single word.

“Crap.” 2015.

A thief named Coop—a specialist in purloining magic objects—steals and delivers a small box to the mysterious client who engaged his services. Coop doesn’t know that his latest job could be the end of him—and the rest of the world. Suddenly he finds himself in the company of The Department of Peculiar Science, a fearsome enforcement agency that polices the odd and strange. The box isn’t just a supernatural heirloom with quaint powers, they tell him.

It’s a doomsday device. They think . . . And suddenly, everyone is out to get it.

Priorities

Coming Soon Corner

David Rosenfelt - Outfoxed

Defense lawyer Andy Carpenter spends as much time as he can working on his true passion, the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs.

Lately, Andy has been especially involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable, benefiting both the dogs and the prisoners. One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a 5-year term for fraud. Brian has been helping to train Boomer, an adorable fox terrier the Tara Foundation rescued from a neglectful owner. Brian and Boomer are clearly a terrific match. In fact, Andy hopes that Brian will adopt Boomer himself, once his sentence is up. But one day, Andy arrives at the prison to discover that Brian has used Boomer to make an ingenious escape, and man and dog are both in the wind.

The next day, the man on whose testimony Brian was convicted is found murdered. Brian is caught and arrested for the crime, though he forcefully protests his innocence. Suddenly, Andy finds himself with a new client in Brian and a new dog in Boomer. And as he starts to dig deeper into the murder and the events leading up to it, Andy realizes he might be putting them all in far more danger than anyone had realized.

Tim Dorsey - Coconut Cowboy

Obsessed with the iconic Sixties classic Easy Rider, encyclopedic Floridaphile, lovable serial killer, and movie buff extraordinaire Serge A. Storms devises his wildest plan yet: finish the journey begun by his freewheeling heroes, Captain America and Billy, tragically cut short by some shotgun-wielding rednecks.

Setting a course for the Florida panhandle, Captain Serge—with Coleman literally riding shotgun—mounts his classic motorcycle and hits the highway in search of the real America: the apple-pie-eating, freedom-swilling moms and pops of Main Street USA.

But the America he finds in the rural burgs dotting the neck of the peninsula is a little bit different . . . and a whole lot weirder than anything Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper encountered. In a state where criminal politicians are more common than gators, Serge and Coleman discover one particular speed-trap locale so aggressively inept at corruption that investigators are baffled where to start.

Small Business Saturday, November 28th

Our October Bestsellers

Hardcovers

1 – John Sandford and Ctein - Saturn Run (Putnam)

2 – Martin Limón - The Ville Rat (Soho) - Signed Copies Available

3 - Kareem Abdul-Jabar - Mycroft Holmes (Titan)

4 - tie

        J.A. Jance - Dance of the Bones (Morrow) - Signed Copies Available

        Lawrence Block - The Girl with the Deep Blue Eyes (Titan)

6 – John Connolly - A Song of Shadows (Atria) - Signed Copies Available

7 – Jussi Adler-Olsen - The Hanging Girl (Dutton)

8 - tie

        David Lagercrantz - The Girl in the Spider’s Web (Knopf)

        Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills - The Survivor (Atria)

10 - tie

        Elizabeth George - A Banquet of Consequences (Dutton)

        Lee Child - Make Me (Delacorte) - Signed Copies Available

Trade Paperback

1 – tie

        K.K. Beck - Tipping the Valet (Perseverance Press) - Signed Copies Available

        Warren C. Easley - Never Look Down (Poisoned Pen) - Signed Copies Available

3 – tie

        Craig Johnson - The Cold Dish (Penguin)

        Timothy Hallinan - Crashed (Soho) - Signed Copies Available

5 – Fred Vargas - The Chalk Circle Man (Penguin)

6 – Jussi Adler-Olsen - The Keeper of Lost Causes (Plume)

7 – tie

        Ross Allison - Spooked in Seattle (Clerisy)

        Curt Colbert - Seattle Noir (Akashic)

        Laurie R. King - Dreaming of Spies (Bantam)

        Andrea Camilleri - A Beam of Light (Penguin)

        Mark Pryor - The Bookseller (7^th Street)

        Peter Spiegelman - Thick as Thieves (Vintage)

Mass Market

1 – Yasmine Galenorn - Autumn Thorns (Jove) - Signed Copies Available

2 – Leslie Budewitz - Assault and Pepper (Berkley)

3 – tie

        Anne Hillerman - Spider Woman’s Daughter (Harper)

        Maria Semple - Where’d You Go, Bernadette (Little Brown)

        Louise Penny - Still Life (Minotaur)

6 – tie

        Maia Chance - Cinderella Six Feet Under (Berkley) - Signed Copies Available

        Yasmine Galenorn - Flight from Death (Berkley) - Signed Copies Available

8 – tie

        Waverly Curtis - The Silence of the Chihuahuas (Kensington) - Signed Copies Available

        Greg Iles - Natchez Burning (Harper)

        Tess Gerritsen - Die Again (Ballantine)

        John Sandford - Deadline (Berkley)

        Shelley Freydont - Trick or Deceit (Berkley)

        Sofie Kelly - Faux Paw (NAL)

        Donna Andrews - The Nightingale Before Christmas (Minotaur)

        Preston & Child - Blue Labyrinth (Vision)

A Book With A View!

Coming Soon Corner

Matt Ruff - Lovecraft Country

From Staff Recommended Author of The Mirage and Bad Monkeys comes this new Book!

Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, twenty-two year old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George—publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide—and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite—heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors—they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.

At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn—led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb—which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his—and the whole Turner clan’s—destruction.

It's coming up on that time of year.....

Stay Tuned For Special Events!