First Editions N-Z

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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Nell Fitzgerald, a former Manhattan publishing professional who has relocated to Archers Rest on the Hudson River, gets caught up in not one, but two murder cases. Lily Harmon is found floating in the Hudson River and another woman, Sandra Thomas is found strangled right outside Nell’s back door. Most worrisome is the fact that Nell suspects that Sandra’s killer may be her art teacher, who had an affair with Sandra, and is now showing romantic interest in Nell’s quilt-shop owner grandmother. Crime-solving and quilting tips blend together seamlessly in this trade paperback original.

The last time Jesse Stone saw Crow Cromartie, he was racing away in a speedboat after executing one of the most lucrative and deadly heists in Paradise’s history.  Ten years later Crow shows up in Jesse’s office and he’s asking for Jesse’s help by asking him to stay out of his way.  Crow’s mission is to find young Amber Francisco and bring her back to her father, Louis, in Florida, but there are complications.  Amber is mixed up with members of a Latino gang and Louis has ordered Crow to kill Amber’s mother.  Crow may be a bad guy but he doesn’t kill women so he’s going to need Jesse’s protection.

L. A. Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Hood is back in action. Charlie is part of the task force formed with the ATFE to foil the gunrunning squads that provide the muscle for the vicious cartel wars. A botched sting operation results in the death of the son of a powerful cartel leader. The conse­quence is an incursion of cartel soldiers crossing the border bent on bloody revenge specifically targeting members of Hood’s team.  This is a superbly crafted novel from the master of California noir that combines hard-hitting action with a probing exploration of the very real and deadly situations surrounding our southern border.

This follow up to last year’s L. A. Outlaws finds Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Hood teamed with Terry Lewis, aka “Mr.Wonderful,” in the Antelope Valley.  The new assignment is a welcome respite until it all goes wrong when Terry is shot to death in the cruiser during a routine call. Charlie, digging deeper into his partner’s private life, discovers a dark past connecting the reserve deputy with illicit cash payments and illegal drug deals. Now he’s on a deadly mission once again, determined to find out who’s responsible for brutally slaying his partner.

Inspector Gamache is summoned to the Quebec village of Three Pines where a body has been discovered at the bistro and antiques store and the only one who knows anything about him is the owner Olivier.  The Inspector and his team employ their considerable investigative skills peel away layers of lies and deceptions to uncover the truth.  This is the fifth book in a truly outstanding series, but can be read as a stand-alone as well. The characters and the setting all come together for a classic who-done-it mystery mounted with style and verve.

Toby O’Dare is a contract killer living in our present day world. He lives his life under a series of aliases, and is considered one of the best assassins in the business. He inhabits a lonely and violent world and it all changes after an encounter with a mysterious stranger. The stranger is a seraph who presents O’Dare with the opportunity to save rather than destroy lives. O’ Dare who had in the distant past considered the priesthood seizes the chance and is transported to 13^th century England and undertakes a dangerous quest for redemption. Ann Rice returns to the elegant and electrifying storytelling that has distinguished the best of her work in this metaphysical thriller.

This is the first in a new series about two brothers who rent offices on Baker Street. Reggie Heath is a London solicitor whose lease contains a clause binding him to keep and respond to missives sent to Sherlock Holmes. When his brother Nigel runs off to Los Angeles to an answer a letter sent over twenty years ago concerning her missing father, Reggie is duty bound to board a plane and follow him to keep his Nigel from getting into more trouble.

A body is discovered hanging from a tree by a group of boys on a bright summer day in the woods. With Alan Banks on vacation, Annie Cabbot is called in to investigate this suspicious death. The victim was a successful and well-liked designer for the Eastvale Theatre. It isn’t long before Inspector Banks is drawn into this complex case whose twisting path leads to questions of national security. A skillful blend of mystery and espionage elements makes this a truly unique entry in this outstanding series.

This is the seventh mystery to feature New Jersey attorney Andy Carpenter and his golden retriever Tara. This case however concerns another canine that is in dire need of Andy’s legal services. Waggy is a Bernese Mountain dog who belonged to Walt Timmerman, a powerful executive in the pharmaceutical industry. Timmerman was murdered and the dog is now at the center of a nasty dispute between the widow and his son Steven. Steven is a prime suspect in his father’s shooting death. Not long after Andy picks up the dog from the widow, she dies in an explosion at her home, Steven is arrested for murder and Andy agrees to defend him. But a subsequent shooting attack at Andy’s home brings home the realization that Waggy and not the widow was the real target of the fatal bombing.

This new novel from the Pulitzer prize winner, centers on college professor Jack Griffin, a middle-aged man whose personal life and career progressed just as he had planned it. Yet he is deeply dissatisfied.  Returning to Cape Cod to attend a wedding of a family friend sparks memories of the past, The interplay of his familial relationships, the differences between what you think you want your life to be and facing the reality of what your life actually is, are all on display in this rich novel which ultimately explores the greatest mystery of all, the human heart.

Hayden Glass, LAPD robbery and homicide detective, is a first class investigator and a skilled crime scene artist.  He is also a sex addict attending meetings to try to pull out of a self-destructive nosedive. Called to the scene of a savage stabbing that ended the life of the niece of a powerful councilman, Hayden immediately senses the body had been placed and the scene staged for effect.  A compulsive read, this is a shocking and deeply insightful first novel, with a complex and tormented protagonist that takes the reader on a journey into darkness.

A serial rapist is attacking his victims in the vacant apartments and empty building sites that are all too abundant in downtown Chicago. Detective Sloan Pearson has recently transferred from homicide to the Sex Crimes Division. For Sloan the case becomes almost a personal vendetta, sending her desire for justice into overdrive when one of the victims of this predator turns out to be her own realtor.  Gritty and suspenseful, this fourth novel clearly proves again that when it comes to hard-boiled police procedurals, Schwegel is in class all her own.

Professional bodyguard Charlie Fox and her boss/lover, Sean Meyer, are back in an exciting follow-up to Second Shot.  This time Charlie must save the life of her own father. This poses a considerable problem as Richard Foxcroft disapproves of her personal and professional choices and spurns her help.  But Charlie stubbornly follows a trail of blackmail, treachery, and murder. It’s a path that leads her to a showdown with a deadly foe.  This is a fast paced thriller with a gutsy heroine who is every bit as formidable in her way as Lee Child’s Jack Reacher.

Chief Inspector Kaldis of the Greek Police’s Special Crimes Division is called to investigate when the body of the teenage son of a one of Greece’s wealthiest families is found thrown in a dumpster behind a bar in one of the seediest neighborhoods in Athens. Within days the boy’s family flees the country, and politically incorrect Kaldis finds himself immersed in the dark underworld of the criminal side of the nightlife scene. In the course of the search for answers, Kaldis finds divisions that exist in the upper echelons of Athens high society where resentments and vendettas stretch back from the distant past. 

 Karin Slaughter brings the characters from both of her series together for the first time. Dr. Sara Linton (Faithless) has left Grant County to start a new life in Atlanta. GBI agents Mitchell and Trent (Fractured) are in the Atlanta hospital’s ER when Anna, a young woman who was hit by a car fleeing an abductor, is admitted. Probing into the details of the case they uncover a shocking and terrifying series of crimes.

 For mystery fans the most important thing about Alaska is not its governor, but that it provides the rugged and beautiful setting for the terrific Kate Shugak mysteries. In this outing we find a reluctant Kate elected chairman of the Niniltna Native Association.  A Canadian gold mining company has started buying up land, raising concerns from the locals. The controversy really heats up with two murders – one victim is a vocal opponent of development and the other is a popular skiing champion hired by the company to promise needed jobs. This is a novel sure to please fans and newcomers alike.

It’s 1940 and exploding fireworks are filling the sky as San Francisco’s Chinatown engages in a Chinese New Year celebration that is part of the street festival designed to raise money and community support for the China war relief effort. As the party rages on, Miranda Corbie, a 33-year-old private investigator, sees a young numbers runner, Eddie Takahashi, shot to death right in front of her. When the authorities make it clear that they have no interest in pursuing the case, Miranda sets out to get to the truth behind such indifference.  Miranda is a totally realized character that you can’t help but root for even if you don’t always like what she says or the way she behaves. This is a debut that any serious fan of period noir cannot afford to miss.

South Florida PI Jack Carpenter is recruited by his daughter Jessie to help protect her college basketball team from the unwelcome attention of a man with a video camera that has been stalking the girls. His spirited pursuit of the voyeur leads him into a confrontation with another man, a hulking giant who snatches one of the girls. This is the same monster he failed to stop eighteen years ago when Jack was a young Jack follows a trail of clues that leads them into an eerie backwater town that harbors an unspeakable secret.  This third entry in the series is a relentlessly tense exercise in suspense that will keep you enthralled to the end.

Robert Rivers is a crook. His latest brainstorm is to steal a diamond necklace valued at a cool quarter million dollars. What should be a smooth and graceful operation goes all to hell when a rival shows up at the break-in with the same mercenary objective. The quest for the prize requires a battle of wits with a new age guru who has the owner under his spell. Rivers, backed up by his less refined compatriot Reggie, must exercise every nuance at his disposal to pull off this caper. This solid second concoction of California noir will interest fans of T. Jefferson Parker and Elmore Leonard.

South Boston PI Mark Genevich, a narcoleptic detective who falls prey to unexpected blackouts is struggling to keep his business afloat. An infidelity investigation for a powerful CEO is botched when his affliction results in his tailing the wrong woman. With the threat of a lawsuit hanging over his head, Mark accepts an assignment from a member of his therapy group. In trying to protect a female bartender from a stalker, Mark’s efforts run true to form and he finds himself tangled up in a murder case with the police suspecting him of being an arsonist. This witty and quirky follow-up to last year’s well-received novel, The Little Death, clearly proves that this unique sleuth really can go the distance as the hero of a continuing series.

This follow-up to the Shamus nominated Veil of Lies again features Crispin Guest, former nobleman, now agent for hire, who works the beat of 14^th century London. A dead man’s been found in a simpleminded tavern girl’s room at the King’s Head Inn in Southwark. The victim was a French courier bringing a valuable relic from his monarch for the English king as an overture for better relations between the two nations. Guest soon finds himself a prime suspect for the murder and entangled in a quagmire of diplomatic and political issues. The setting may be medieval, but the flavor and characterizations are in the tradition of noir, making for a lively and entertaining historical read.

Christmas Eve of 1931 and Maisie Dobbs is shocked to witness a suicide on a London street en route to a meeting with a client. Christmas Day marks the delivery of a letter to the Prime Minister’s office warning of a deadly catastrophe if specific conditions are not met. But stranger yet is that Maisie’s name is contained in the blackmailing missive.

After being questioned and cleared, Maisie joins the Scotland Yard squad as a special adviser. It is a case that plunges her into the heart of darkness where failure is not an option as the lives of thousands hang in the balance. We love this series!

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