Seattle Mystery Bookshop

We Don't Update The NSA either......

Puppy Tuesday

Napping next to the new toy brought from the Oregon Coast by Fran and Lillian - a hard, brown, fake tennis ball with a fuzzy tail that squeaks!

What could be a better way to wear a puppy out!!

The Ever-Growing Shop Dog

We posted this picture of Parker on Feb 26. Note that he fits on the pad.

Took this shot this morning, and just three weeks later he no longet fits so easily on the pad. Outgrew his orange collar, too.

He'll be 12 weeks old on Thursday.

Happiness is sleeping on one's duck.

 

Shop Dog in his Yard

For those of you who simply cannot get enough of the little creature, here's Parker - now 10 weeks old - relaxing in the yard with next-door-dog Lucy. Nothing quite as satisfying as sharing a stick on a warm afternoon...

Shop Dog

Worn out chasing my Aunt Amber around the shop!

Preparing to take flight

Shop dog Parker hasn't yet grown into his ears and, on a windy day, he appears ready to achieve liftoff.

As far as we know, he hasn't yet flown...

Shop Dog

Here's Parker, 'shop dog', 8 weeks old today.

Now, bear in mind, he doesn't live here and he's not here every day. Right now, he's here Monday mornings and almost all of Tuesdays, but that will change as our home schedule changes - and as he's old enough to stay in the yard by himself and the weather is warm enough for him to stay in the yard by himself.

But he's a smart little guy, playful and curious and not too destructive!

 

New Shop Dog

New shop dog Parker, at 6 weeks.

A New Front Window Display!

Featuring our 20% off Sale on Used Hardcover - Including Collectibles

&

Soho Press Mysteries!

New Displays Around The Shop!

Valentine's Day Mysteries

Hard Case Crime

Murder Mystery and Mayhem From The UK

One More Move!

We took out the shelves next to the A's (Don't worry Grafton, Evanovich, Beaton and the other have just moved into the regular alphabet!) and this corner is now open and has a whole bunch of light!

Fran's best of 2013

Once again, I've read a lot (and I actually cut back on reading and reviewing this year, figuring I've saturated the market!), but I've narrowed my best-of's to three lists again. And I keep thinking I've overlooked someone, but I refuse to make a "P.S. List". At least I think I refuse...

Anyway, here's the best of what I read this year for the shop. I've listed them alphabetically by author because that's the most equal way I can figure to list them. And yeah, I cheated in spots, lumping two titles under one name. 'Cause I'm like that!

Hardcovers

Max Barry – Lexicon (Penguin)
Holly Black – The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (Little Brown)
Alan Bradley – Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Delacorte, Jan. 14, 2014)
Lee Child – Never Go Back (Delacorte)
John Connolly – The Creeps (Atria)
Gary Corby – Sacred Games (Soho)
Jasper Fforde – Song of the Quarkbeast (HMH)
Joshilyn Jackson – Someone Else's Love Story (William Morrow) - Signed Copies Available
                         My Own Miraculous (William Morrow)
Craig Johnson – Spirit of Steamboat (Viking) - Signed Copies Available
Lisa Lutz – The Last Word (Simon & Schuster)
Val McDermid – Cross and Burn (Atlantic Monthly)
Thomas Perry – Ordinary Grace (Atria)
Hank Phillippi Ryan – The Wrong Girl  (Forge) - Signed Copies Available
Brandon Sanderson – Steelheart (Delacorte)

Paperback

(Some of these I read as hardbacks, but they're paperbacks now – or soon will be)

Jussi Adler-Olsen – The Keeper of Lost Causes (Plume)
                         The Absent Ones (Plume)
Lori Armstrong – Merciless (Touchstone)
Alan Bradley – Speaking From Among the Bones (Bantam, Dec. 31, 2013)
John Connolly – Wrath of Angels (Pocket)
Jasper Fforde – The Last Dragonslayer (HMH)
Ian Hamilton – The Disciple of Las Vegas (Picador)
                    The Wild Beasts of Wuhan (Picador)
Hugh Howey – Wool (Simon & Schuster)
Ben H. Winters – Countdown City (Quirk) - Signed Copies Available

Northwest

(combined hardcover and paperback)

Patricia Briggs – Frost Budrned (Penguin)
Yasmine Galenorn – Haunted Moon (Berkley) - Signed Copies Available
                           Autumn Whispers (Berkley) - Signed Copies Available
Nicola Griffith – Hild (Ferrar, Straus and Giroux) - Signed Copies Available
Michael Gruber – The Return (Henry Holt) - Signed Copies Available
Roger Hobbs – Ghostman (Vintage)
Mike Lawson – House Odds (Atlantic Monthly) - Signed Copies Available
Benjamine Percy – Red Moon (Grand Centraly) - Signed Copies Available
Kat Richardson – Possession (Roc) - Signed Copies Available
Urban Waite – The Carrion Birds (William Morrow) - Signed Copies Available

Special Note:

I read all of Craig Johnson's "Longmire" books in one fell swoop, so they ALL belong here! I kept Spirit of Steamboat out special above because it's unique, a Longmire book that isn't in the timeline of the series. But yeah, I read them all and loved 'em.

Hey-Ho You Jolly Old Fat Man!

My colleagues may’ve mentioned some of these – we’ve got very similar tastes as you know.

My ‘wish list’ is for new books by some of my long-time favorites. I’d like a new Matt Scudder novel from Lawrence Block. Anything, really, from Peter Spiegelman – whether it is a John March or a follow-up to Thick as Thieves, doesn’t matter. I need another Vicki Hendricks novel, something thick and unrelenting from Don Winslow, a new Patrick & Angie book from Dennis Lehane, a new Lou Boldt from Ridley Pearson, and something from Cornelia Read. Oh – and a new thriller from Lono Waiwaiole.

Then I’ll end with a few that even you, Mr. Claus, can’t provide – but you’re supposed to ask for what you want from the North Pole, no matter how outlandish, so here are my special requests:

I like a new Bookman mystery from John Dunning. I’d like a new Willow & Parker book from Laurence Gough, and a new John Marshall Tanner from Steve Greenleaf.

I’m not sure if I have you to thank for the new John Straley, Robert Goldsborough’s new Nero Wolfe books, the recent Hammett reissues or someone getting Benjamin Black to pen a new Marlowe novel but thanks if you did play a part!

Hope the reindeer are rested and ready for their flight!

Best to you, the missus, and all the elves.

JB

Dear Santa: Please bring me…

1. New mysteries by Lowen Clausen; Lawrence Gough; Parnell Hall writing as J. P. Hailey; Pete Hautman; Jon Jackson;  Sharyn McCrumb (ballad novel); Lono Waiwaiole (Wiley, please); Timothy Watts; Edward Wright. A new novel in the Detroit series by Loren Estleman.

2. Reissues of books by Margaret Millar, especially Rose’s Last Summer and the humorous ones.

3. U.S. editions of the Dan Starkey novels by Colin Bateman.

4. New mysteries involving (a) trains, (b) peanut butter.

5. A reference book listing:

a. Mysteries in which the butler actually did it.

b. Mysteries involving luggage (we actually had this request from a customer once, and it was tough to research with so many titles beginning “The Case of the…”).

c. Mysteries involving harmonicas. I think we had this one, too, but maybe we blew it off (sorry).

Thanks, Santa. Have a killer holiday season, and don’t let the reindeer be replaced by drones.

Bill Farley

Santa Would You Kindly.....

Dear Santa,

As you know this year my gift needs are small; I possess all the fabric I need for my quilting projects, floss for cross stitch and paint for my models. Plus, due to my job at SMB, I am up to my eyes in great books I need to read for next year!

So I am asking instead of parking my gift allotment under my tree, perhaps you could drop off some items to a few other….beings. They can fulfill what I really want for Christmas this year and you, in a round about way, complete my long standing wish list this Christmas (while you have many great powers of your own, I believe if I am reading the literature correctly, forcing someone to write or print on demand would land you on the naughty list and having Santa on his own naughty list…well…might make the universe implode).

The first stop? Coffee Town Press, right here in Seattle! The gift I had in mind for them, printer ink and reams of paper. Why? They reissued the first eight of Hazel Holt’s Mrs. Mallory series and I was hoping they could bring the rest of the series back into print! In the interest of clarity here are the titles: The Only Good Lawyer, Dead and Buried, Fatal Legacy, Lilies That Fester, Lenora, Delay of Execution, Death In Practice, The Silent Killer and No Cure For Death.

The second stop, Mount Helicon in Greece, where the temple to the Muses is located (however if you know a better spot to drop their gift off, by all means!). I was thinking a traditional gift of ambrosia, wine and my first edition of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One. With a small note asking if they could please inspire Ernie to write a sequel to his amazing first novel…..

The last location, is easy, you don’t even have to leave home to finish! Could you drop off some eggnog, spiced rum and hard cider to your hard working elves at the North Pole? As this last request will require some serious elf power to sift & search thru a whole lot of attics, files, libraries and archives to achieve. As I was hoping you could find one of the lost Shakespearean plays. Any one would due; Love’s Labour’s Won, Cardenio or a play we have never heard of…but it would be absolutely fantastic to see/read a new play within my lifetime….

I know the list isn’t an easy one, but from one obsessive completionist to another, this would substantially knock down this oh I wish list!

Your faithful believer,

Amber

Dear Santa Could You Please.....

Dear Santa,

This is the time of miracles, and while I definitely wish for peace on earth and an end to hunger and for everybody to get along and accept whatever holiday greeting they get in the spirit of joy and love, I have some selfish wishes as well. 'Cause I'm like that, which you totally knew!

There's this great series by David Handler, the "Berger and Mitry" series, and all of the books are out of print in paperback. It's such a charming series and people would love it! Can you find a way to make publishers spread the joy of this series in the coming year by bringing them all out in paperback?

For something a little smaller, since there are ten books in the "Berger and Mitry" series, I'd also be grateful if you could find a publisher to re-issue a paperback copy of Paul Gallico's The Zoo Gang. It's such a great set of four novellas, a forgotten classic, in my opinion.

If you're having a talk with publishers about classic out-of-print books, Australian author Arthur Upfield had a series with an aboriginal detective that people clamor for. Do you suppose you could talk publishers into reprinting those? I know they're on lots of people's wish lists, not just mine! 

And while you're at it, I know lots of folks would like the "Leo Waterman" series by G. M. Ford and the "Thomas Black" series by Earl Emerson to be back in print. And they've got new books out in both series, so an actual print publisher would be fantastic, since as it stands right now, we can't carry them except as ebooks. Real print books are much more fun for us. Can you make that happen?

Of course I'd love it if you could drop a quick word in Dennis Lehane's ear for a new "Patrick and Angie" book, or in Ernest Cline's stocking with a follow-up novel to Ready Player One.

I know it's a long list, but I know you'll do your best. And while you're out there, reminding authors that they can stop by and sign at the shop would be a nice touch. Sometimes they forget about us, but we never forget about them!

Thank you, Santa! I just know you'll work your magic for us all!

Fran

P.S. One more thing Santa....About your bio, The Fat Man: A Tale Northpole Noir is now only avalible as an ebook. Would you be able to see to it, that it comes back in print? Amber and I could sell it year round to all your believers if you did....

Dear Santa......

Dear Santa,

What I would really like this year is a new book by Don Winslow. I know he's been busy but I've read everything from the jazzy writing of Savages and Kings of Cool, to the surf crowd's The Dawn Patrol and The Gentlemen's Hour, Frankie Machine, Death and Life of Bobby Z, Satori, California Fire and Life, and I recently reread Power of the Dog for the 3^rd time. I've read the 1^st and the last of the Neal Careys but they've been out of print so long, they are hard to come by. I guess I will reread the older books as I so impatiently wait for a new Winslow but if you could whisper in his ear and get him to hurry up, it would be the very best of Christmas presents. I've tried to be good this year so pretty please. Oh gosh, I must've been good as I just noticed one of the old Neal Carey books has appeared on our shelves!

Thank you, Santa.

Adele

Gift Ideas, Part 1 (Non-mysteries)

We have all kinds of interesting things, not all with photos. Here's a small sampling, and we are willing to make recommendations if you'd like to call or email. We have some poetry, a few biographies, some non-mystery fiction by favorite authors. Just let us know what you're looking for!

Nicola Griffith, And Now We Are Going To Have A Party: Payseur & Schmidt, 2007. First edition. Paperback. New. A five volume set of Griffith's memoir; as well as one facsimile of her first book, one fold out poster, three scratch and sniff cards, one signed photo of the author, one preface by Dorothy Allison, one CD of songs by Janes Planes and related music by Nicola Griffith. Still in original shrink wrap.

 

 

William Joyce, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: Atheneum, 2012, picture book based on the Oscar Award winning animated short film.

 

James P. Blaylock, The Old Curiosity Shop: Royal Oak, Michigan/ Mission Viejo, Californis: Airtight Seels  Allied Production, 1999. Limited ed. Hardcover. As New. 26 lettered copies, this is “D”. Signed by four of the participants: the author, Tim Powers (introduction), Dean Koontz (afterward), and Phil Parks (illustrations). Bound in navy leather, both book and traycase, with gilt lettering.

Clive Barker, Galilee: A Romance New Orleans: Trice, 1998. Limited ed. Hardcover. Very Good. Limited edition of 26 signed and lettered copies, this is “W”. A few loose crimson threads from joint with leather, otherwise As New. Quarter bound in black leather with gilt lettering over crimson cloth boards, in black cloth slipcase. Color illustration by Barker on front panel and side of case.