First Editions A-E

The following  are a SAMPLE of some of the SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS we have for sale.  Please note that we have limited quantities of many of these books, and all are subject to prior sale, so please call soon to order (805) 374-0084 or go to our order page. Call to see what we have that's not listed!

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Actress Virginia Rappe was found dead in a suite at the St. Francis Hotel in 1921, setting the stage for one the most sensational trials of the Roaring Twenties. Silent screen comic Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was accused of rape and manslaughter in a case that the Hearst empire shamelessly exploited in an attempt to sway public opinion against the popular movie star. Arbuckle’s defense team hires a young private eye named Dashell Hammett to find out what lies behind the questionable legal maneuvers of the prosecution and possible undue influences being brought to bear by the newspaper magnate. Seamlessly blending fact, fiction and logical speculation, Ace Atkins demonstrates again a command of reality based crime fiction that keeps you turning pages deep into the night.

This third entry in the Edgar-award-winning series is another top-notch espionage thriller. The action picks up right after the events that transpired in Ghost War. CIA agents John Wells and his fiancée Jennifer Exley are on their way to work in Washington D. C. when traffic is gridlocked due to two accidents engineered by Russian terrorists on a rampage. This sets in motion a sequence of events that launches Wells on a mission to stop a world-wide catastrophe. The novel is taut, timely, and terrifying for what happens seems all too possible.

A Haitian woman arrives at PI Aimee Leduc’s Paris office claiming to be her half sister, averring that she and Aimee share the same father. Aimee is thrilled and excited by the news, but her partner Rene is wary of her story and her possible motives. Before Aimee can discover much more, Mirelle disappears leaving only a puzzling note with an address in the Latin Quarter. This prompts Aimee into an investigation that draws her into the complex world of Haitian politics and murder. This is a consistently excellent series that richly depicts the spirited ambience of Paris.

A suffrage rally in New York City during a major flu epidemic gets boisterous and PI Molly Murphy finds herself in jail. Her fiancé, Captain Daniel Sullivan, is too busy combating the gangs battling for control of the opium trade to do more than bail her out. But Molly did acquire two clients while in stir. Emily Boswell is certain her uncle stole her inheritance, and Fanny Poindexter seeks proof of her husband’s infidelity. When Fanny dies suddenly, her husband claims the flu killed her.  Molly is determined to put that lie to rest!

Our favorite minor Royal, Lady Georgie, 34^th in line for the throne, is caught up again in another madcap mystery.  The Queen has bestowed upon her the task of entertaining Bavarian Princess Hannelore in the hopes of diverting the Crown Prince’s romantic attentions away from Mrs. Simpson.  The Princess, however, speaks like a gun moll and is light-fingered to boot. Furthermore, Lady Georgie has to go incognito, moonlighting as a maid so she can afford the cost of carrying out her assignment. A series of deaths surround the Princess, and the Queen, fearful that Hannelore is the target, orders Georgie to investigate and pre-empt another war. 

Jack and Melissa McGuane have finally achieved their fondest dream, adopting a daughter, Angelina, to make their family complete. But a phone call nine months later brings disturbing news. The adoption agency never secured the birth father’s consent to the placement. Backed by the child’s grandfather, an influential Denver judge, the shady and unstable father, Garrett Morland, seeks custody of the baby in three weeks time. It isn’t long before the McGuanes learn that love is not the real motive that drives the Morlands to possess Angelina.  Author of the acclaimed Joe Pickett series, C. J. Box has delivered another winner.

Michael O’Shea is a member of Ireland’s police force.  He’s also a sociopath who walks a knife edge between sanity and all-out mayhem.  When an exchange program sends O’Shea to New York, his lifelong dream becomes New York’s nightmare.  He is paired with an unstable cop named Kebar who is known for his violence.  Together they become an effective weapon in the war against crime.  But Kebar harbors a dangerous secret – he’s sold out to the mob to support his mentally disabled sister.  Her rape and beating pushes a raging Kebar over the edge just as O’Shea’s dark secrets threaten to boil over and into the streets of New York.  Another fast-paced and incomparable hard-boiled novel! 

Edgar-winner Jan Burke stakes out new literary territory with a riveting and intelligent supernatural novel.  Tyler Hawthorne has been 24 years old for the last 200 years by keeping a bargain he made as a dying soldier.  In exchange for his life, he took on the role of ‘The Messenger.’  His unique talent is hearing the final thoughts of the dying and bringing those messages to their loved ones.  Tyler is receiving hints from the dying that his role may soon be turned over to another.

In this sequel to last year’s bestseller, Heartsick, police detective Archie Sheridan is still fighting his obsession with serial killer Gretchen Lowell. It’s two months later when the body of a young woman is found in a Portland park. Archie has moved back home and is trying to pull himself together when he receives the news that Gretchen has escaped from prison. After she threatens his children at school, Archie becomes determined to catch her and end the problem once and for all.  A starred review from Publishers Weekly and lots of positive buzz from fans of the earlier outing indicate another winner for Chelsea Cain.

Shane Scully finds forced to resign from the LAPD or face criminal prosecution for blackmailing a beautiful movie star who was seeking a hit man. Alexa, his wife and also an LAPD detective, is fed up with his involvement with the Hollywood bombshell and throws Scully out, filing for divorce. With few options open, Scully joins the Haven Park PD. Haven Park is a small incorporated city near downtown LA, willing to take other police department’s rejects.  Scully gets himself entangled in a situation where the only one who can help him is his estranged wife. But will she?

P.I. Ray Dudgeon, introduced in the Shamus award-winning BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD, returns to take on an investigation that will challenge him as never before. When Joan Richards was killed by a mentally ill coworker, the Chicago police quickly cleared the case. But her father, retired Army Intelligence Colonel Isaac Richmond, can’t move on. He hires Ray Dudgeon to dig beneath the facts and find the truth. Uncovering that truth will lead Ray into the lethal world of America’s military contractors and the darkest corners of the U.S. intelligence community and unleash forces beyond his control. Ray is expendable and to avoid becoming collateral damage, he must find out who is really pulling the strings and confront his real enemy: himself. Smart and gripping, this novel is a real page-turner!

Sports agent Myron Bolitar returns in a new thriller. When he hears from Terese Collins after ten years of silence, he knows she must really be in a serious jam. Terese calls Myron because she is alone in Paris with no one to whom she can turn.  Myron arrives in France and is told by Terese that her husband was an investigative reporter who hinted to her that he had important information but before he could share it with her, he was murdered. Myron, with his friend Win, embarks upon violent chase across Europe trying to discover the reporter’s secret. Their odyssey will leave a trail of bodies in their wake.

Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller and LAPD Detective Harry Bosch team up in this newest blockbuster from the #1 New York Times bestselling author. When Mickey Haller’s famed former colleague Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet; the defense of Walter Elliot, a prominent studio executive accused of killing his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the trial, he learns that Vincent’s killer may be coming for him next. Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find the murderer, he’ll do whatever is necessary to solve the case – even if it means using Haller as bait. As the danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize that their only choice is to work together.

A freelance photographer who dreads his occasional sideline of law enforcement work, Alex Rutledge must confront another ancillary job – that of private investigator.  He declines the work until a friend asks that he reconsider.  With little but instinct to guide himself, Alex digs in only to regret every step and every fact that comes his way.

Goldy Schulz has a difficult client who, two days before her planned nuptials, changes the location of the reception to the Gold Gulch Spa. The murder of Doc Finn, best friend to Goldy’s godfather Jack, coupled with a subsequent attack on Jack is somehow connected to the Spa. Goldy, determined to get some answers, finds herself again in a world of danger. Culinary mystery lovers will not want to miss the fifteenth entry in this entertaining and delicious (love those recipes!) series.

Former stuntman and current PI David Spandau is assigned to protect fast-rising cinema heartthrob Bobby Dye. Dye has received a written death threat at his studio trailer, but Spandau quickly sees that the real problem is much deeper and darker. The case plunges Spandau back into contact with the vain, egocentric, delusional, and sometimes dangerous denizens that haunt the entertainment industry. Screenwriter Depp in this mystery series debut brings his considerable inside Hollywood knowledge into play giving this offbeat variation of noir conventions a reality and rich resonance which remain with you long after you’ve read the final page.

Serge A. Storms and his buddy Coleman are back again for more high-spirited murder and mayhem.  This time they’re making their way across the Sunshine state in a 1971 Javelin! Serge’s prime target is a low-life called Jellyfish, a crime lord whose gang preys upon diamond couriers. But, as always, many other felonious unfortunates encountered on the journey will meet their deserved ends in colorful and creative ways. Fans of the series will not want to miss this adrenaline charged odyssey.

Undefeated trial attorney David Sloane has taken on the case that could end his impressive string of victories. Client Beverly Ford holds the U. S. government responsible for the death of her husband in Iraq due to inadequate body armor.

Sloan’s investigation leads him to suspect a high level cover-up as he discovers too many members of the returning platoon have died under mysterious circumstances. His quest for justice for the wronged Ford family places himself and his own family in deadly jeopardy. Former attorney Dugoni has crafted an unrelenting suspense ride that never loosens its grip until the end.

Eleanor Trewynn is a widow who lives in a fishing village in Cornwall. The proprietor of the local charity shop, she is shocked to discover the body of a young man in her stockroom. With the aid of her niece, who is a detective sergeant in the local force, she seeks to discover what has led to this very strange turn of events. The debut of this new series from the creator of Daisy Dalrymple is a welcome addition to the mystery world. This is a meet and greet event so please help us welcome Carola when she stops by for a visit.

Lena Gamble, introduced in City of Fire, is once again embroiled in a difficult murder case. Eight months have passed since she solved the case that won her the respect of her peers but angered the top brass of the LAPD for the manner in which she did it. Initially thrilled to be back on a hot case involving the dismembered body of a female found in a Hollywood dumpster, she quickly realizes she’s being set up for a fall since there are few clues and no real leads. That is, until an anonymous witness provides the driver’s license and a photo record of the Jane Doe’s abduction. Now Gamble is in a race against time to find the missing witness before the killer does. Michael Connelly fans will enjoy this sequel! 

One of the most original novels we’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, this is the story of Wheeler Burden, California-exiled heir to the famous Boston banking Burdens, history student, legend’s son, rock idol, writer, recluse, and Harvard baseball hero. In 1988, he is forty seven, living in San Francisco, when suddenly he is – still his modern self – wandering around Vienna in 1897, a time he knows mysteriously well. He soon acquires clothing, lodging, a mentor named Sigmund Freud, a bitter rival,  a powerful crush on an amazing young woman, and insight into the war hero father he never knew. To unravel the mystery behind his dislocation in time will take a lifetime of memories  - revealing the beginnings of the next century and the Burden family’s effect on the very course of human history. This novel was thirty years in its creation and it is a major literary achievement the likes of which you won’t soon forget.

In Silicon Valley a scientist is murdered in an apparent drug deal gone wrong. Alex Treven, the patent attorney who represented the dead man, is also attacked. Fearing for his life, Alex reaches out to his brother Ben for help. Ben is an undercover soldier in the war on terror and returns home from Istanbul to lend support and protection to his younger brother but long simmering family traumas and bitter resentments make this an uneasy alliance as they have not spoken to each other in seven years. However, working together is their only chance of survival.  An engaging standalone from the creator of the John Rain series!

Seattle PI Thomas Black is back in action after an eleven year absence. Severe memory problems plague Thomas as he recovers from injuries sustained in an explosion and he can’t remember whether is wife is dead or alive. Kathy was a lawyer working with Senator Jane Sheffield and was believed to have been killed in a plane crash in the ocean. Was the plane crash an accident or was there some darker motive behind the crash that powerful interests are determined to cover up? This new conspiracy tale is welcome news for fans of this classic PI series.

Nan Vining is both Pasadena homicide cop and a survivor. Left for dead after a brutal attack two years ago, she knows two things. The psychopath is still out there, and he has killed at least three other women. The targets of his obsession are armed women in uniforms. He hunts them, kills them, and then drapes them with a pearl necklace. Nan suspects a link between her current investigation and her own attack. Already under fire from her superiors for her maverick ways, she is reluctant to share her suspicions. What ensues is a cat and mouse game that will lead to a bloody showdown. This is suspense of the first rank and distinguished by crisp storytelling.

Ivy and David Rose are having a yard sale at their Victorian home.  Eight months pregnant, Ivy wants to clear out all the useless junk they’ve acquired before the baby comes. One of the bargain hunters, an old high school chum of the couple, tells them that when she was a child she used to play in new house. Curious about the changes the Roses made to the structure, she asks if she can look inside. David escorts her in but she never comes out. The Roses are under suspicion and David in particular becomes the central focus of the investigation. This crisply-paced stand-alone is receiving rave reviews!

America’s favorite bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum along with sidekicks Lula, Connie, Grandma Mazur, Joe Morelli and Ranger, returns on June 17 with non-stop action, comic mayhem, hot sexual tension, plenty of junk food, exploding cars, and a viewing at the Burg’s premier funeral home.  Need we say more? 

The first full-length between-the-numbers Stephanie Plum novel, this escapade finds our favorite bounty hunter chasing a bail jumper that leads her into the Pine Barrens of rural New Jersey where the legendary Jersey Devil is rumored to roam. And, oh yes, Lula is along for the ride and Stephanie complicates her life with yet another man, this one named Diesel. You just know all kinds of madcap madness will ensue.