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Book Sale & Shop For Sale!

THAT’S RIGHT, WE’RE FOR SALE! Email or call the shop for more information about price, inventory and such.

We’re not closing – keep breathing! – but we are for sale, so a lot of our inventory is being reduced with that in mind.

Going Forward:

- Used books and collectables: 40% off

- New books (not new releases): 25% off

- Special Orders & New Releases (any book published in 2017) are not part of the sale

- Outstanding credit slips and unused gift certificates must be used by August 31st.

- Special orders will have to be paid for in advance.

- We will be filling current orders for new releases through August & Signings in September.

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New Releases!

New Author Signings

Tuesday October 3rd at Noon - Martin Limón signs The Nine-Tailed Fox

12th novel with Army ID investigators Sueño and Bascom. The pair are caught between powerful threats – one from a woman said to be behind the disappearance of three GIs from different cities, the other from a power struggle within the Army between two ranking women. The Koreans say the kidnapper is a figure from mythology, a fox who is only masquerading as a human. No mythology at play with the Army politics, just paranoia.

New In Urban Fantasy

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What We've Been Reading

P.J. Tracy - Nothing Stays Buried

Fran Recommends:

I have a confession to make.

I tend not to read the last book in a series that I like. I don't want it to be over, and it isn't if there's still one more book, right? Yeah, I'm weird, we all know that.
So, knowing that Patricia Lambrecht had passed on, I was prepared to set the last Monkeewrench novel aside until, well, sometime. Understand, I haven't read the last John Dunning yet. It could be a long time.

But then I saw that Traci was planning on keeping things going, so I dove into the new P.J. Tracy, Nothing Stays Buried and it's fabulous, as usual. There's a serial killer loose in the Twin Cities that has Magozzi and Rolseth deeply worried because they know they may have at least two undiscovered bodies out there. And the Monkeewrench gang have taken their gigantic mobile station into the southern part of the State to help an old farmer find his missing daughter.

And then there’s the lion.

In The Sixth Idea, I whined that there wasn't enough time spent with the rest of the Monkeewrench gang, and I am happy to report that the whole gang is back together and doing what they do best! Nothing Stays Buried is a fast, fast read, and the trademark twists and unexpected goings-on are present as always, along with the wit and dark shadows.

If you haven't read any of the Monkeewrench books, it's high time you started!

Christina Dodd - The Woman Who Couldn't Scream

Fran Recommends:

I hope I'll be here to put Christina Dodd's newest "Virtue Falls" novel, The Woman Who Couldn't Scream in your hands but even if I can't, you need to pick this one up.

The Woman Who Couldn't Scream picks up less than a week after the shooting at the Oceanside Cafe that injured both newly elected Sheriff Kateri Kwinault and the cafe's owner and community leader, Rainbow Brightwing. Kateri's still sore, but she's doing better than Rainbow, who isn't expected to live, so the chance to catch the guys who did it has the entire Virtue Falls police force chasing the Terrances, father and son, up a twisty mountain road at high speeds, and of course things go wrong.

Add to that, one of Ketari's oldest friends, someone she knew from her years growing up in Baltimore, has reappeared. Merida's changed in many ways, the most obvious being the fact that she can't speak. Merida's gotten in the habit of typing, "I am mute, unable to speak. PLEASE DON'T SHOUT. I am not deaf." on her tablet, generally to no avail. And Merida's got an agenda, one that she's diligently pursuing while she hides in Virtue Falls. However, the small town isn't the sanctuary Merida has hoped for, and Kateri gets drawn in as someone starts stalking Merida.

I have to say, I want to live in this town! Christina Dodd has created a great little seaside town on the Kitsap Peninsula, and I think I'd feel right at home there. Granted, like Cabot Cove, there's a lot of violence which is kind of a shame, but with the resolute Virtue Falls sheriff's department on hand, I'd feel safe. In all seriousness, Christina Dodd has a flair for creating characters that are truly three dimensional. They've got quirks, likes and dislikes, strong personalities, and enough individuality so that I feel like I'd know them if I passed them on the street.

The other thing that I really like about these books is the fact that there are a rotating set of characters. The immediate protagonist and the surrounding group of people change, but there's a core of folks that I've come to count on, not just Kateri. From Stag Denali, to the folks at the cafe, to Mrs. Golobovitch who looks after Kateri's cocker spaniel, Lacey, I may not like them, but I know them and feel at home there. Creating characters and places like this is the hallmark of a truly skilled writer, and I believe you'll enjoy Christina Dodd's books as much as I do!

J.T. Ellison - Lie To Me

Signing on September 11th at Noon

Fran Recommends:

“You aren’t going to like me very much.”

That’s how J.T. Ellison’s latest thriller, Lie To Me begins, and it ramps up from there.

“Of course it’s my fault. I chose this path.”

Sutton and Ethan Montclair’s lives seem to be absolutely perfect. Two world-reknowned authors who’ve built a life together, obviously head over heels in love with each other, it just doesn’t get better than this.

“But I also know right from wrong. I know good from evil.”

Then Sutton goes missing, and of course, everyone looks to the husband first – standard procedure, after all – and it turns out that they’ve got some ugly secrets they’ve been hiding, both from the public and each other.

“I may be compelled to ruin the lives in front of me, but I could walk away if I wanted.

“Couldn’t I?”

It’s no secret I’m a long-time fan of J. T. Ellison (and I’m so jazzed about finally getting to meet her, you have NO idea!) so I knew I was in for a tautly told tale that would spin in all kinds of different directions. If you’ve read any of her work, you know how she can leave all the clues in plain sight and still blindside you.

“Truly, deep down, you are going to despise me. “

There will be the inevitable comparisons to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and insofar as top-notch writing and breathless suspense go, those comparisons are on the mark. Lie To Me will keep you turning pages long into the night.

“I am all the bad things that happen to you.”

But oh, as always, it’s the people who draw me in, and J.T. Ellison has a particular talent of making each character, no matter how seemingly trivial, into a complete person, and it’s easy to keep everyone clear because they’re all so powerfully created.

“You’re mine now. You are powerless against me. So don’t bother fighting it.”

She’s right. You are. Holy cats, you want to read this book!

 

New Paperback Mysteries

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Collectible Corner - On Sale 40% off!

Raymond Chandler - The Little Sister

Save $30 Dollars!

Book Condition - Fine / DJ Condition - Fine

New York: Penzler, 1949/ 1996. Special edition. Hardcover.

Facsimile First Edition. An exact facsimile of the classic originally published in 1949. Explanatory card laid in, as well as back plate from original wrapping. In protective mylar dj cover.

A movie starlet with a gangster boyfriend and a pair of siblings with a shared secret lure private eye Philip Marlowe into the less than glamorous and more than a little dangerous world of Hollywood fame. Chandler's first foray into the industry that dominates the company town that is Los Angeles.         

Rex Stout - Fer-De-Lance

Save $80 Dollars!

Book Condition - Fine / DJ Condition - Fine

New York: Otto Penzler Books, 1996. Facsimile First Edition. Hardcover.

Facsimile edition of the 1934 first edition published by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. The book is still in the original shrink wrap with the Otto Penzler sticker with the explination on the back.

 

New In YA Mysteries

James Ponti - Vanished!

Middle school is hard. Solving cases for the FBI is even harder. Doing both at the same time--well that's just crazy. But that doesn't stop Florian Bates. After helping the FBI solve an art theft at the National Gallery and uncovering a DC spy ring, Florian's finding life at Alice Deal Middle School a little boring. But that's all about to change His FBI handler, Marcus, has a job for him Is it a bank robbery? Counterfeit ring? International espionage? Actually it's middle school pranks...

Sounds pretty ordinary except that the pranks are happening at a prestigious private school attended by the President's daughter who may--or may not--be involved. So Florian and Margaret are going undercover to see if they can use their TOAST skills to figure out what's going on before the media gets hold of the story.

However, once the crime-solving pair arrive at the school, they discover that there's a lot more than a few pranks going on and the conspiracy of silence reaches all the way to the top. Then a student vanishes in the middle of a concert at the Kennedy Center and things take a sinister turn

Elizabeth Kiem - Orphan Agent Prima Pawn

The year is 1958, and sixteen-year-old Svetlana is stuck in a Moscow orphanage designated for the unwanted children of Stalin's enemies. Ballet is her obsession and salvation, her only hope at shedding a tainted family past. When she is invited to join the Bolshoi Ballet--the crown jewel of Russian culture and the pride of the Soviet Union--her dreams appear to have been realized. But she quickly learns that nobody's past or secrets are safe.

The dreaded KGB knows about the mysterious trances Sveta has suffered, inexplicable episodes that seem to offer glimpses of the past. Some very powerful people believe Sveta is capable of serving the regime as more than a ballerina, and they wish to recruit her to spy on the West as part of the nascent Soviet psychic warfare program. If she is to erase the sins of her family, if she is to dance on the world stage for the Motherland--if she is to survive--she has no choice but to explore her other gift.

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More New YA Mysteries

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Old Staff Favorites

Adam Christopher - Made To Kill

Amber Recommends:

Do you remember those old cartoons by Hannah Barbera and Disney touting what the future would look like (Disney took it a step further and created Tomorrowland - the theme park, not the movie)? With modern wonders, electric gadgets and futuristic materials all rolled up in the comforting familiar feel of a fifties living room?

Well in Adam Christopher’s new book Made To Kill, these wondrous innovations went as far as these cartoons predicted…specifically in the area of robotics. Robots were created for all kinds of tasks and predictably there was a problem! Many, many people didn’t like robots - they felt, these metal men were stealing their jobs - plus some people were just creeped out by them. So every robot was destroyed, save one.

Raymond Electromatic.

He’s P.I. in Los Angeles one of two employees at the Electromatic Detective Agency (the other is Ada, a super computer/manager/ girl Friday). Well he was a P.I., a good one…until one of Ada’s programs prompted a slight career change for Raymond. Ada’s tasked with keep the Agency profitable no matter what, so that the government doesn’t shut them down and destroy Raymond. And while Raymond is a great detective there isn’t much money in it - but a hit man makes quite the tidy sum.

Years have passed and Raymond has become adept at his new vocation and things have been running smoothly. Well until a beautiful woman walks into the agency with a bag full of untraceable gold and a name she wants erased. The thing is? She is an A-list actor who wants another dead - and this is just the beginning of Raymond’s case….

This is a seriously fun read. One part Raymond Chandler (not Marlowe, but a detective in a similar vein in the city Marlowe haunted), another part Memento (as Raymond only has 24 hours of memory storage on his person) and one part Tommorrowland (which gives a nice vintage feel) - and it works really, really well! I had fun reading the book and would recommend it to a friend.

But here’s the thing - those of you with a noir disposition or if you share Raymond Chandler’s thoughts on science fiction (ie. he did not like it and thought it was a waste of ink) you could look at this book in one of two ways. Either you can look at Made To Kill as a way to cut your teeth into a new genre, or avoid it because it might drive you a bit crazy. Why? Christopher comes close to the style of Chandler in his writing, but his turn of phrase is just this side of the brilliance that Chandler had - but to be fair, if it came any closer it wouldn’t have Christopher’s own flair and this book despite the robots would be considered derivative. So it’s a double edged sword….

However if you don’t have any strong feelings about noir or Raymond Chandler and like sci-fi and/or robots then this book would work well for you, as it did for me!

Cheryl Honigford - Homicide For The Holidays

Amber Recommend:

So here is the thing with this book – you have to look beyond the cover and the title. This book looks like a themed cozy mystery. Which it isn’t. This is a historical mystery whith very strong Golden Age leanings. Meaning? There isn’t anything cute about it.

It is Christmastime in Chicago, 1938, and Vivian Witchell is missing her father. Most especially this year – her mother has another man in the house for the holidays. It’s been eight years since her father’s sudden death and while Vivian doesn’t begrudge her mother the companionship, she still misses her dad. In a fit of nostalgia, she slips into his old study (which hasn’t been changed since his death) to grab an ornament Vivian made for him when she was little. When she opens the frame – a small silver key falls out. A key the whole family hunted high and low for after her father’s death – because it’s to the drawer in his desk – a drawer which hasn’t been opened in eight years. And what Vivian finds in that drawer will change everything she thought she knew about her father.

If you are going to write a historical mystery which tangentially includes notorious crime figures, this book is how you should do it. The author never loses sight of the fact that readers are reading the book for the mystery – not a history lesson. Every historical fact used is deftly woven into the plot so it means something to the characters and moves the plot forward; they never stop the forward progress of the plot. The author also does a great job in using the radio plays (as Vivian is an up-and-coming radio star) to help build the atmosphere of the era in the book. Plus setting this book at Christmas helps give a fresh angle to describing Chicago in the winter time – we already know it will feature snow, ice and frigid temperatures. Therefore the author can use different descriptions of the city than what we normally read. And by the way, she never makes the Christmas refrences sappy, sickly sweet or fluffy. It is a good counterpoint to the harsh truths Vivian discovers about who her father was.

Seriously this book is great and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading historical mysteries. Now this is a second book in a series and if you read this installment before the first one, The Darkness Knows, there are spoilers (like they tell you who the killer was). I haven’t read that book, yet, but I cannot imagine that the author didn’t do an amazing job. Still, I would recommend reading this book whether you read the first one or not – it is well worth your time!

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More Staff Favorites

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We Sell eBooks!

Christopher Moore - The Lust Lizard Of Melancholy Cove

The town psychiatrist has decided to switch everybody in Pine Cove, California, from their normal antidepressants to placebos, so naturally—well, to be accurate, artificially—business is booming at the local blues bar. Trouble is, those lonely slide-guitar notes have also attracted a colossal sea beast named Steve with, shall we say, a thing for explosive oil tanker trucks. Suddenly, morose Pine Cove turns libidinous and is hit by a mysterious crime wave, and a beleaguered constable has to fight off his own gonzo appetites to find out what's wrong and what, if anything, to do about it.

 
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