Signed Books    

 

Alex Berenson, The Shadow Patrol (John Wells Mystery No. 6)

 

 

John Wells, former CIA operative and now a freelance troubleshooter, accepts an assignment from his former bosses and returns to Afghanistan where his career began. In 2009 the CIA station in Kabul suffered a horrible explosion when an informant promising to lead the agents to Bin Laden turned out to be a suicide bomber effectively killing the senior staff. Two years later agents are dying at an alarming rate fueling the fear of another Taliban infiltration of the operation. What Wells discovers is a dark quagmire of corruption that threatens even more deadly consequences for the soldiers that are already in harms way. Edgar award winner Berenson has crafted another standout military suspense thriller that feels more like fact than fiction.

 

 

Juliet Blackwell, Dead Bolt

 

 

General contractor Melanie Turner and her crew are working on their latest restoration project, a Queen Anne Victorian home in San Francisco.  When strange things start happening around the job site the clients consider stopping the project since the ghosts that reside there are acting out. Mel’s difficulties are further compounded by the murder of a neighbor who used to reside in the house.  In order to complete the job Mel must use her abilities to see and hear ghosts to good use.

 

 

C. J. Box, Force of Nature

 

 

Nate Romanowski places the Pickett family in extreme jeopardy. The master Falconer has harbored secrets concerning his past exploits that come bubbling to the surface. Nate’s former Special Forces squadron leader John Nemecek seeks to eliminate those who were witness to actions that would destroy his rising political ambitions. Nemecek employs an insidious method of drawing out his prey by terrorizing the friends and family of his intended target. Joe is faced with a situation where to protect those most dear to him he may have to compromise his personal moral code. Another outstanding action packed thriller played out against the glorious natural background of the Wyoming wilderness.

 

 

Deborah Coonts, So Damn Lucky

 

 

Casino "fixer" Lucky O'Toole smart and sassy as ever is back in action again in a mystery that features colorful settings that range from Las Vegas to Area 51.  As Head of Customer Relations at The Babylon on the Las Vegas Strip Lucky  has seen a lot strange behavior but Halloween week in Vegas takes strange to whole new level!  Lucky has a lot to handle dealing with her personal romantic issues at the same time she pursues an investigation into a magician's disappearing act that could be a publicity stunt or something much more sinister.  If you're looking for a new talent that can deliver when it comes to fast-paced funny entertainment with a touch of romantic tension, then this one is for you.

 

 

Miles Corwin, Midnight Alley: An Ash Levine Novel

 

 

LAPD detective Ash Levine, the top investigator for the Felony Elite Squad, is summoned to an alley in Venice where two young men have been shot to death.  One of the victims is the son of powerful councilman and LAPD critic Raymond Pinkney.  Levine due to his background as member of the Israeli Defense Force has a discipline and focus that serves him well when the case leads to links with the Middle East and members L.A.’s Russian Mafia.  Like Michael Connelly, Corwin’s tenure as a crime reporter for the L.A. Times gives a breadth of vision and eye for detail that takes this police procedural to the top of the class.

 

 

Robert Crais, Taken

 

 

We all love Joe Pike who has taken the center stage spotlight in the last two books in this classic PI series, but I have to admit I’m more than a little pleased that Elvis Cole and Pike share the dramatic focus equally in this thrilling and informative adventure.  Nita Morales hires Elvis Cole to find her missing adult daughter Krista who along with her boyfriend Jack have been abducted and held for ransom by bajadores who are ruthless border criminals that in addition to committing kidnapping and extorting ransom are willing to kill their innocent victims and can even turn on other bajadores.  Cole and Pike will find themselves tested as never before Cole goes undercover and…well things get dangerously complicated from there.

 

 

Hilary Davidson, The Next One to Fall

 

 

Travel writer Lily Moore at the urging of her close friend photographer Jesse Robb journey together to the Lost City of the Incas at Machu Picchu. The reason behind the trip is help Lily Moore recover from a tragic personal loss, but shortly upon their arrival they come upon a dying woman at the base of an ancient stone staircase where the victim’s final declarations lead Lily to believe that the woman was deliberately killed and not the accidental death of a drug addict which is the belief of the Peruvian authorities. This follow-up to the Anthony Award winning Damage Done is another first-rate exercise in mystery and suspense. Those readers seeking to find an author in the vein of the late Lyn Hamilton should take note of this fast-rising new talent. Please take note of the special day and time for this event!

 

 

Tim Dorsey, Pineapple Grenade

 

 

The latest chapter in the chronicles of Serge A. Storms, Florida's most original and creative serial killer who is the self-appointed judge and jury dedicated to protecting and defending the status quo of his beloved state.  Teamed up once more with the ever-intoxicated Coleman, his partner in the quest to keep Florida pure,  Serge assumes a slightly different role in this latest adventure that has elements of an international spy thriller.  As a change of pace from killing people, Serge here is trying to protect Fernando Guzman the President of Costa Gorda a Latin American democracy who appears to be the target of an assassination planned during a political conference in Miami.  Longtime series fans need not fear, however, as the events unfold in characteristic Dorsey mode with snappy and clever dialogue, edgy action, lot of interesting Florida trivia, and lots of inspired murder mayhem.

 

 

Carola Dunn, Gone West (Daisy Dalrymple Mystery)

 

 

It is September 1926 and Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher has traveled to a remote farm in Derbyshire where Sybil Sutherby, an old school friend, has been working as a confidential secretary and editor for ailing author Humphrey Burrwhistle.  He has been making scads of money by cranking out three Western novels a year under a pen name.  Due to Burrwhistle's prolonged illness, Sybil has taken over the actual writing of the books which has ironically resulted in higher sales and bigger advances.  Sybil began to suspect that someone in the household was poisoning Burrwhistle to keep the higher revenues flowing, thus summoning Daisy to investigate the situation.  But just as Daisy begins her inquiry, Burrwhistle dies ("goes west") under suspicious circumstances and everything really heats up.  This is another outstanding entry in this enjoyable traditional English murder mystery series.

 

 

Joel Engel, L. A. '56: A Devil in the City of Angels

 

 

A serial rapist posing as an undercover vice officer is stalking the lovers’ lanes of Los Angeles for his victims.  Todd Roark, a black officer recently fired from the force for dating a white woman is imprisoned based on trumped up evidence and the case is considered closed.  Detective Danny Galindo doesn’t believe Roark is guilty and virtually by himself has to set a trap to catch the real culprit.  Joel Engel, a former reporter for the New York Times and the L. A, Times, in recounting this sensational case that was pretty much buried by the mainstream press at the time has crafted a compelling tale of the hunt for a madman that also illuminates the racial tensions and corruption that plagued the city in the mid-fifties.  Serious collectors and fans of noir will not want to miss this one!

 

 

Bill Fitzhugh, The Exterminators

 

 

Bug-killer Bob Dillon and his best friend assassin Klaus Muller are back in this sequel to the acclaimed comic crime romp, Pest Control. Six years have past and Bob is hard at work developing an all-natural means of pest control in the form of a genetically altered insect from the assassin bug family.  The biggest problem in achieving that goal is the amount of capital necessary for performing the required level of DNA prodding that would guarantee success. It’s like an answer to their prayers when a venture capital firm puts up the money, but the big twist here is that they are front for the Department of Defense who wants to enlist the bugs to fight for the U. S. in the war on terror.  And, even worse, there is the matter of a Bolivian drug lord who still holds a grudge and has placed a 20 million dollar bounty on their heads.

 

 

Joanne Fluke, Cinnamon Roll Murder, (Hannah Swensen Mystery No. 15)

 

 

It’s April in Lake Eden Minnesota and the town is thrilled that the Cinnamon Roll Six jazz band will be performing at the Weekend Jazz Festival. In honor of the occasion, Hannah Swensen and the crew at the Cookie Jar Bakery have whipped up a generous supply of cinnamon rolls. En route to the Lake Eden Inn to deliver the rolls, Hannah and her sister Michelle are dismayed to come upon the band’s tour bus overturned in a ditch. Among the injured is a keyboard player, Buddy Neiman, who becomes the victim of a homicide while being treated at the hospital. This dynamic combination of a terrific mystery with delicious recipes is certainly a cause for celebration.

 

 

Lee Goldberg, Mr. Monk on Patrol (Mr. Monk Mystery No. 13)

 

 

Obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk accompanied by Natalie and his previous assistant Sharona fly from San Francisco to Summit New Jersey to help his overburdened old colleague former SFPD lieutenant Randy Disher.  Disher has had to take on the job of acting mayor in addition to his duties managing the police department when the former members of the governing elite are arrested for fraudulently over-compensating themselves.  Monk’s special skills are just what’s needed to combat the crime wave that is quickly gaining in seriousness from a series of home burglaries to acts of arson and murder.  Depicting the action and telling the story from Natalie’s perspective engages the reader fully from page one.

 

 

Howard Gordon, Hard Target

 

 

The stakes are high and the events are thrilling in this stirring follow-up to last year’s action sensation, Gideon’s War. Gideon Davis is about to be married and has returned to teaching after resigning from the State Department due to the political fallout of acquiring a Presidential pardon for his brother Tillman. Gideon finds himself thrust once more into the quagmire of national security concerns, however, after being told of an impending attack on U.S. soil by a credible informant. With the support of only his ex-girlfriend FBI agent Nancy Clement, Gideon and Tillman set out to prevent a bloody massacre that could bring down the entire government. Howard Gordon, co-creator of Homeland, affirms once more his peerless command of the suspense genre.

 

 

Sue Ann Jaffarien, Gem of a Ghost, (Granny Apples Mystery No. 3)

 

 

Joanna Reid is a rich and overbearing woman who is being haunted by the ghost of her husband action film star Max Naiman. Five years have past since he was killed in a car accident and Joanna believes he committed suicide.  Joanna wants L. A. medium Emma Whitecastle to rid her of this problem.  Emma, put off by Joanna’s personality is inclined to refuse, but her curiosity wins out and she consents to take the case.  This leads Emma and her familiar spirit Granny Apples to follow a trail of mystery that leads them to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania in their quest to find some answers.  Emma is a very likeable character and once more history and mystery come together in a manner that keeps you reading far into the night.

 

 

Adam Johnson, The Orphan Master's Son

 

 

Set in the grim gray world of North Korea, Pak Jun Do is a survivor. This is the story of a man finding himself. Not even his name is his own but one that is bestowed upon him in memory of one of Korea’s revolutionary martyrs.  He serves many roles, first as a tunnel soldier, later as an intelligence officer, a prisoner in a work camp, and ultimately as a rebel who seeks love and freedom.  Part thriller, part romance, told in a shifting jump cut style, this rich testament to the human spirit is generating lots of critical buzz.

 

 

Ed Kovacs, Storm Damage

 

 

New Orleans, five months after Katrina, provides the atmospheric background for this fast-paced debut thriller.  Ex-cop and mixed-martial artist Cliff St. James is hired by a friend’s daughter to investigate and solve the murder of her father.  This is no easy task as the Category 5 hurricane obliterated the crime scene and any evidence the NOPD has is of little concern to them as they are more focused on bigger issues in coping with the chaos and other crimes since the storm.  As Cliff soon discovers, Sam and his daughter were caught up with some very powerful and dangerous players and not even his client can be trusted.  This explosive series with a healthy dose of high quality noir thrown into the mix should appeal to fans of the late Robert B. Parker.

 

 

William Landay, Defending Jacob

 

 

Andy Barber has been a successful and respected First Assistant DA in suburban Newton, Massachusetts for more than twenty years. Married to his wife Laurie, and the father of a 14-year-old son, Jacob, Andy is living the life that so many yearn for and so few actually achieve.  But it all starts to come apart when a classmate of Jacob’s is stabbed to death at the local park, and Jacob is the prime suspect. This becomes a family in crisis as buried secrets come to light. This legal thriller is a powerful novel that underlines how little we really know about those closest to us.

 

 

Sophie Littlefield, Horizon

 

 

This is the newest entry in the Aftertime Trilogy, a post-apocalyptic novel that is a revelation to readers who are familiar only with her Stella Hardesty mystery series.  One thing that the books have in common is that they feature strong, complicated, and realistic heroines that capture your attention.  We will also have some copies on hand of Rebirth the book that precedes this one.  And for you fans of Stella Hardesty you will be glad to hear that A Bad Day for Mercy will be coming out in June.

 

 

Walter Mosley, All I Did Was Shoot My Man, (Leonid McGill Mystery No. 4)

 

 

PI Leonid McGill finds himself in a situation where his past deeds come back to haunt him. Seven years ago, Zella Grisham found her man in bed with her best friend and was arrested for shooting him. The authorities would have been more inclined to be lenient in considering her guilty of temporary insanity but $50,000 in stolen money was found stashed in her storage bin. Problem is she didn’t steal the money and Leonid knows she didn’t for reasons he cannot divulge. Leonid’s attempt to help her now to atone for his part in her troubles runs the risk of placing his life and the safety of his family in deadly jeopardy.

 

 

Kris Neri, Magical Alienation (Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty Mystery No. 2)

 

 

Scam psychic Samantha Brennan lands what seems like a cushy dream assignment traveling to Sedona in the role of spiritual advisor to rock star Rand Riker as he headlines a benefit concert, but she soon finds herself in a mess once again as she discovers the shocking truth about the being that crashed in Roswell back in 1947!  And the forces of destiny dictate an alliance with Celtic goddess FBI agent Annabelle Haggerty as they team up once more to cope with the ultimate reality that nothing is what it appears to be. This paranormal comic escapade is irreverent good fun that is a refreshing change from the darkness that pervades most urban fantasy novels.

 

 

Carol O'Connell, The Chalk Girl

 

 

The six-year wait is over as Kathy Mallory, the tall, green-eyed New York City detective whose unorthodox methods are a clear reflection of her sociopathic bent is back.  A rat infestation in Central Park leads to the discovery of three victims hanging in the trees with the sole witness being a little girl named Coco found wandering with blood on her shirt muttering to herself.  This child, like Mallory, comes from a troubled family and has an unusual psychological make-up.  Coco provides the first clues to a case that has Mallory and her partner Riker begin their pursuit of a twisted killer. Mallory remains one of the most unusual and compelling heroines in crime fiction and this deliciously dark mystery is accessible to newcomers and old fans alike.

 

 

T. Jefferson Parker, The Jaguar (Charlie Hood Mystery No. 5)

 

 

This latest chapter in the saga of L.A. Deputy Sheriff Charlie Hood finds him cast in the role of a rescuer. Singer Erin McKenna is kidnapped from her home, on this side of the border, by the minions of Benjamin Armenta a powerful cartel leader who demands 1 million dollar ransom and an apology from her husband, corrupt L.A. sheriff’s deputy Bradley Jones. Failure to meet those terms will result in a painful death by torture for his pregnant bride. Bradley finds himself in the awkward position of needing Charlie’s help. This is a journey into the heart of darkness that is consuming our modern world. This work is like a symphony in that the characters, setting, and themes of the novel blend together like the sections of instruments in an orchestra to make one big and moving sound.

 

 

Stef Penney, The Invisible Ones

 

 

Don’t let the title fool you. This is not an exercise in the supernatural, but rather a unique and fascinating British mystery. Investigator Ray Lovell is hired to discover what happened to a Gypsy woman who went missing seven years ago after marrying a young Gypsy from another family. Chosen by the woman’s father because Ray himself is half-Gypsy, Ray understands he garnered the case because only someone who came from the culture could ever be trusted. Ray’s initial interviews make little headway as no one other than his client seems to read anything sinister into her absence. But when Rays ends up in the hospital as the result of poisoning everything changes. The action is told from two points of view, Ray’s and J.J. a young Gypsy boy who is the nephew of Rose, the missing woman.

 

 

Thomas Perry, Poison Flower (Jane Whitefield Mystery No. 7)

 

 

Jane Whitefield has a unique and special gift.  As a member of the Wolf Clan of the Seneca tribe, she has saved many innocent people threatened with physical harm disappear and create new identities with documentation to aid them in starting over.  The responsibilities of marriage have made her much more selective in exercising her talents, but she still answers the call when necessary.  Jane engineers an escape from the L. A. courthouse for James Shelby a man framed and convicted for murder.  Shelby gets away but Jane in the process falls victim to being abducted by three men trailing Shelby.  Jane is in the fight of her life as she refuses to talk and seeks to escape her captors.  This is an outstanding thriller that has the fast pace, terrific plotting, and sharp and fully realized characterizations that are the hallmarks of this classic series.

 

 

Dana Stabenow, Restless In The Grave, (Kate Shugak Mystery No. 19)

 

 

Fans of Stabenow will be sure to want to add this one to their permanent collections as it marks the first time Aleut PI Kate Shugak and Alaska State Trooper Liam Campbell have encountered each other. A sabotaged fiery plane crash has claimed the life of Finn Grant, a well-known aviation businessman who made lots of enemies in running his various enterprises in Southwestern Alaska, including Liam Campbell’s wife, bush pilot Wyanet Chouinard. Kate is hired to go undercover as a waitress at the local bar and grill to glean more details of Grant’s activities. What starts out a murder investigation escalates into a much bigger case as Liam and Kate reveal lots of dark family secrets, financial misdeeds, and illegal trafficking.

 

 

Betty Webb, Desert Wind

 

 

Arizona PI Lena Jones travels to Walapai Flats in Northern Arizona to aid her Pima Indian partner Jimmy Sisiwan. Jimmy’s sister-in-law has been murdered. She had been an active member a group opposed to the start-up of a uranium mine. The subsequent shooting death of a PR man for the mining company throws suspicion on Jimmy and his family firing up Lena’s investigation into the history of pollution and contamination and the possible deliberate suppression of that information. This is yet another timely and thought-provoking entry in this outstanding Southwest mystery series.