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| Since 1980, where a good crime is had by all! | Today is Fri, May 16, 2008 |
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Harlan Coben
What he and the local deputies find is a suspect list of biblical proportions: Could it have been the bitter geology professor? The private fossil collector with a somewhat unusual fetish? The minister’s wife who takes the Commandments rather lightly? Or the geriatric environmentalist with a mean right hook? Nothing is sacred in Rehder’s most laughable satire yet, a twisted tale of greed, corruption, infidelity, and, yes, paleontology. Part of Holy Moly is set in Houston! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Saturday,
May 17, 3:00 p.m. Percy isn't expecting his freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious acquaintance reappears, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse. In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his demigod friends will set out on a quest through the Labyrinth -- a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humor and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet. Can't make it to our event? Rick Riordan will also sign at Blue Willow Bookshop (Memorial Dr. @ Dairy Ashford) at 11:00 a.m. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Tuesday,
May 20, 6:30 p.m. It’s elk season in the Rockies, but this year a different kind of hunter is stalking a different kind of prey. When the call comes in on the radio, Joe Pickett can hardly believe his ears: game wardens have found a hunter dead at a camp in the mountains—strung up, gutted, and flayed, as if he were the elk he’d been pursuing. A spent cartridge and a poker chip lie next to his body. Ripples of horror spread through the community, and with a possibly psychotic killer on the loose Governor Rulon is forced to end the hunting season early for the first time in state history. Are the murders the work of a deranged anti-hunting activist or of a lone psychopath with a personal vendetta? As always, Joe Pickett is the governor’s reluctant go-to man, and he’s put on the case to track the murderous hunter, as more bodies and poker chips continue to turn up. Highly recommended by Michelle! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Thursday,
May 22, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. When the body of best-selling mystery novelist Katherine March is discovered in her Austin home, the cause of death is presumed to be a heart attack. But an autopsy reveals that the author died of an injected overdose of a potent anti-anxiety drug -- a murder technique straight from Katherine's own novel. Katherine's daughter, Houston criminology professor Molly Patterson, must push aside her long-standing resentment of her secretive, workaholic mother to uncover what really happened. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Friday,
May 23, 6:00 p.m. "Sandford delivers the kind of riveting action that keeps thriller fans turning the pages." -- Publishers Weekly Lucas Davenport is still working for Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), where he handles the most difficult -- and most violent -- crimes. This time, however, it’s his well-intentioned, surgeon wife, Weather, who drags him into one of the eeriest and most dangerous cases of his career. It begins when Weather’s friend, Alyssa Austen, returns to her empty home and is overwhelmed by an odd feeling. That feeling proves prophetic when she finds smears of blood in her kitchen… blood that turns out to be that of her daughter, Frances. Despite having no body, no leads, and a highly involved mother, Davenport steps in?while at the same time trying not to step on the toes of the investigator officially assigned to the case. Complete with subordinates and performance reviews, for Davenport is now the boss, he must pay attention and play the “politics” game now… a little bit, at least. Frances Austen is an heiress who dabbled in Goth subculture, and when multiple Goths are found dead after Frances’s disappearance, Davenport is apparently after a serial killer targeting Goths. A woman known as “Fairy” (the nickname given to a particular pale, delicate Goth type) is the lead suspect. As her nickname suggests, she seems to flutter away every time Davenport gets close. Pursuing the Fairy isn’t the only thing on Davenport’s plate, of course. He’s also part of a stake-out involving cop killers and drug dealers, which entails spying on a beautiful woman. (Life isn’t always so bad for Davenport.) Sandford mixes startling plot twists, non-stop action, and witty, gritty dialogue -- classic thriller elements with modern, untraditional characters. In making friends with an enemy and realizing a family friend may not be, Davenport unravels a dark and daunting mystery, revealing the mind games people play, and the games the mind can play on people. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Saturday,
May 24, 4:30 p.m. May is Texas Mystery Month! Celebrate it with these other Texas author signing events. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Tuesday,
June 3, 6:30 p.m. When the body of a young Vietnamese woman is found alongside the interstate in Absaroka County, Wyoming, sherriff Walt Longmire is determined to discover the identity of the victim and is forced to confront the horrible similarities of this murder to that of his first homicide investigation as a marine in Vietnam. To complicate matters, Virgil White Buffalo, a homeless Crow Indian, is found living in a nearby culvert and in possession of the young woman's purse. There are only two problems with what appears to be an open-and-shut case. One, the sheriff doesn't think Virgil White Buffalo—a Vietnam vet with a troubling past—is a murderer. And two, the photo that is found in the woman's purse looks hauntingly familiar to Walt. In the fourth book in Craig Johnson's award-winning Walt Longmire series, the tough yet tender sheriff solves two murders tied in blood but separated by nearly forty years. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Friday,
June 6, 6:00 p.m. One of the surprise national best-sellers of 2005 was Robert B. Parker’s masterful ode to the Old West, Appaloosa (Berkley; $7.99). Now the protagonists of that flavorful tale, Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole, return in Parker’s Resolution (Putnam; $25.95) , which will go on sale June 3rd. Highly recommended by David! After the bloody confrontation in Appaloosa, Everett Hitch heads into the sunset, ultimately ending up in Resolution, a town so new that the dust has yet to settle, though the boards on the hastily erected buildings have already begun to warp. Resolution is the kind of town that doesn’t have much in the way of commerce, except for a handful of saloons and some houses of ill repute. Hitch takes a job as a lookout at Amos Wolfson’s Blackfoot Saloon and quickly establishes his position as protector of the ladies who work the backrooms—as well as a man unafraid to stand up to the enforcer sent down from the O’Malley copper mine. Though Hitch makes short work of hired gun Koy Wickman, tensions continue to mount, so that even the self-assured Hitch is relieved by the arrival in town of his friend Virgil Cole. When greedy mine owner Eamon O’Malley threatens the loose coalition of local ranchers and starts buying up Resolution’s few businesses, Hitch and Cole find themselves in the middle of a makeshift war between O’Malley’s men and the ranchers. In a place where law and order don’t exist, Hitch and Cole must make their own, guided only by their sense of duty, honor and friendship. FYI: Appaloosa will be a New Line film this year, starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortenson, and Renee Zellweger. Go here for more information. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Sunday,
June 8, 2:00 p.m. We'll start giving out signing line numbers beginning Tuesday, June 3rd, when you purchase Nothing to Lose from Murder By The Book. The talk is free, but if you wish to get anything signed, you must purchase the new book from MBTB. Please contact the store for more information. Lee will sign & discuss the latest Jack Reacher novel, Nothing to Lose (Delacorte; $27). Reacher is a man with no fear, no illusions, and nothing to lose, but he's never taken on an entire town -- one that wants him not only gone, but dead. Within hours of his arrival in Despair, Colorado, Reacher's begun to crack the secrets of its sinister connection to a war that's killing Americans thousands of miles away. Now, between a town and a man, something has to give. And Reacher has never given an inch. Highly recommended by David! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Wednesday,
June 11, 6:30 p.m. "Meg Gardiner is as good as Michael Connelly and far better than Janet Evanovich. And she can be fall-on-your-fanny hilarious… The next suspense superstar."—Stephen King "Stephen King is absolutely right. Meg Gardiner is an astonishing writer, and The Dirty Secrets Club is a humdinger of a thriller, with shocks and twists galore. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough."—Tess Gerritsen Stephen King, obviously one of the most popular and widely read authors alive today, has found the Next Big Thing in crime fiction—thriller writer Meg Gardner. The sole subject of one of his back-page essays in Entertainment Weekly, King is completely smitten with Gardiner’s work and wants mystery lovers everywhere to know it. "If you read Sue Grafton, Lee Child, Janet Evanovich, Michael Connelly, or Nelson DeMille," he writes, "Meg Gardiner is a gift from heaven." Until now, Gardiner’s work was only published in the U.K. (and imported by Murder By The Book!). Coming this June: Gardiner’s US debut, The Dirty Secrets Club, the first in a new series never before published anywhere. "A winner in every way. The Dirty Secrets Club is nuanced and layered—and a harrowing thriller that chews up the streets of San Francisco from the high-rises to the Tenderloin. Meg Gardiner makes every one of her characters leap alive off the page, and I personally am in love with the most compelling of them all, Jo Beckett—the psychiatrist who analyzes dead people for the cops and who's willing to trade her cell phone for a cup of coffee."—Jeffery Deaver The city of San Francisco is being rattled—by a series of earthquakes and high profile murder-suicides. People with seemingly perfect lives who choose to throw it all away. And when star prosecutor Callie Harding intentionally hurls her car off a highway overpass, killing herself and three others, it is up to forensic psychologist Jo Beckett to figure out the motivation behind her death. Before long, she is steeped in an investigation that leads to a shadowy organization called The Dirty Secrets Club, a group of local A-listers with nothing but money and plenty to hide. As Jo continues to uncover more shocking revelations, a dark secret from her past is unearthed—and she realizes she may soon become the newest member of The Dirty Secrets Club. As people continue to die at an escalating pace, Jo must figure out what secrets are worth dying to protect, and how to escape with her life intact. Meg Gardiner previously practiced law and taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Originally from Southern California, she now lives with her family in London. The Dirty Secrets Club is her first novel published in the U.S. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Monday,
June 16, afternoon Stock signing only! "Furst (The Foreign Correspondent) solidifies his status as a master of historical spy fiction with this compelling thriller set in 1937 Poland. Col. Jean-François Mercier, a military attaché at the French embassy in Warsaw who runs a network of spies, plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with his German adversaries. When one of Mercier’s main agents, Edvard Uhl, an engineer at a large Düsseldorf arms manufacturer who’s been a valuable source on the Nazis’ new weapons, becomes concerned that the Gestapo is on to him, Mercier initially dismisses Uhl’s fears. Mercier soon realizes that the risk to his spy is genuine, and he’s forced to scramble to save Uhl’s life. The colonel himself later takes to the field when he hears reports that the German army is conducting maneuvers in forested terrain. Even readers familiar with the Germans’ attack through the Ardennes in 1940 will find the plot suspenseful. As ever, Furst excels at creating plausible characters and in conveying the mostly tedious routines of real espionage." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review If you want to hear Alan Furst speak (and he's pretty amazing in person!), catch him at Brazos Bookstore (2421 Bissonnet, one block from our store), this evening, 7:00 p.m. He will be signing the new book after the talk. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Tuesday,
June 17, 6:30 p.m. Helen’s latest career cul-de-sac is the complaint department of a snooty country club, dealing with the petty gripes of the rich and spoiled. What a perfect time for Rob, her deadbeat ex-husband, to sail back into her life aboard the private yacht of his new lady, Marcella—known as the Black Widow for her string of dead spouses. But when Rob goes missing, his shirt found covered with blood, it’s Helen who’s led away from the club in handcuffs… later to be led to the bloody trail of a permanently-expired club patron and a staff member who must have really teed somebody off! Can Helen dig up her gold-digging ex, a blue-blooded killer, and a new job without getting clubbed herself? Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
As the deadly consequences of Jack’s actions fall inescapably into place, Thomas H. Cook masterfully reveals the darker truths that lurk in the recesses of small-town lives and in the hearts of even well-intentioned men. "[A] magnificent tale of suspense." -- Publishers Weekly Thomas H. Cook is the author of twenty-one novels and two works of nonfiction. He has been nominated for the Edgar Award seven times in five different categories, including Best Novel for Red Leaves, which was also nominated for the British Crime Writers' Association's Duncan Lawrie Dagger and won the Barry for Best Novel. The Chatham School Affair won the Edgar for Best Novel. He lives in New York City and Cape Cod. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Boone Daniels lives to surf. Every morning he’s out in the break off Pacific Beach with the other members of The Dawn Patrol: four men and one woman as single-minded about surfing as he is. Or nearly. They have “real j-o-b-s”; Boone works as a PI just enough to keep himself in fish tacos and wet suits—and in the water whenever the waves are “epic macking crunchy.” But Boone is also obsessed with the unsolved case of a young girl named Rain who was abducted back when he was on the San Diego police force. He blames himself—just as almost everyone in the department does—for not being able to save her. Now, when he can’t say no to a gorgeous, bossy lawyer who wants his help investigating an insurance scam, he’s unexpectedly staring at a chance to make some amends—and take some revenge—for Rain’s disappearance. It might mean missing the most colossal waves he’s liable to encounter (not to mention putting The Dawn Patrol in serious harm’s way as he tangles with the local thuggery), but this investigation is about to give him a wilder ride than any he’s ever imagined. Harrowing and funny, righteous and outrageous, The Dawn Patrol is epic macking crunchy from start to finish. ALSO
AVAILABLE: New York: Late 1958 Walter Withers had given the best years of his life to the CIA, setting honeytraps and reeling in the victims of his plots. But Withers has returned to his hometown for an easier, safer life as a Private Investigator. Manhattan in the late Fifties is alive with new possibilities, new sounds and new faces, including young presidential hopeful Senator Joe Keneally. Withers is assigned to bodyguard Keneally's girlfriend at a society gathering: a simple enough job. But next morning, she's dead - and Withers is the prime suspect. To clear his name, Withers must take on his old masters from the CIA, as well as J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, all of them determined to set Keneally up. And Withers, expert hunter, becomes another disposable victim of the trap closing in on the Senator. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Wednesday,
June 25, 6:30 p.m. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Thursday,
June 26, 6:30 p.m. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Friday,
June 27, 6:00 p.m. But no one has been prepared for a new twist: A psychotic killer with access to the country's biggest data miner -- Strategic Systems Datacorp -- is using detailed information to work his way into the lives of victims, rape, rob and kill them and then blame unsuspecting innocents for the crimes. The killer's voluminous knowledge of the victims and his ability to plant damning evidence mean that even the most vocal protests of innocence go ignored by the police and juries. The perp has, in short, found a perfect means to literally get away with murder—until one of his fall guys turns out to be Lincoln Rhyme's cousin, Arthur, who is facing certain conviction for first-degree murder. Though the two Rhymes haven't had any contact for years, Lincoln agrees to look into the case. Highly recommended by Michelle! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
The latest issue of Out of the Gutter is #4 ($12.95). "Disgusting and without socially redeeming qualities, Out of the Gutter is the herpes-ridden juvenile delinquent of all periodicals." -- Charlie Huston The event will include all sorts of giveaways and contests. *We* don't even know what's gonna happen. Read an interview with publisher Matt Louis. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Tuesday,
July 8, 6:30 p.m. Kathryn Casey is a former magazine reporter, and the author of four true crime books. She has been featured on Oprah Winfrey, Nancy Grace, Montel Williams, The Today Show, and Court TV, as well as numerous radio interviews. She lives in Houston with her husband and their Schnauzer, Max. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Thursday,
July 10, 6:30 p.m. The Queen of England has concocted a plan in which Georgie is to entertain a Bavarian princess -- and conveniently place her in the playboy Prince's path, in the hopes that he might finally marry. But queens never take money into account. Georgie has very little, which is why she moonlights as a maid-in-disguise. She must draw up plans: clean house to make it look like a palace; have Granddad and her neighbor pretend to be the domestic staff; un-teach Princess Hanni the English she's culled from American gangster movies; cure said Princess of her embarrassing shoplifting habit; and keep an eye on her at parties. Then there's the worrying matter of the body in the bookshop and Hanni's unwitting involvement with the Communist Party. It's enough to drive a girl crazy... Rhys Bowen has been nominated for every major award in mystery writing, including the Edgar, and has won seven, including both Agatha and Anthony Awards. She was born in England. Highly recommended by Dean! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Saturday,
July 12, 4:30 p.m. Carolyn Haines -- author of Them Bones (Bantam; $6.99), one of our store's all-time best-selling books! -- will sign & discuss her new Sarah Booth Delaney mystery, Wishbones (St. Martin's Minotaur; $23.95). Southern gal Delaney packs up her P.I. business and her hound dog Sweetie Pie and sets off for Hollywood to take her shot at stardom. No stranger to acting -- he has starred on stages from her hometown of Zinnia, Mississippi, all the way to New York City -- she aces the screen test for a racy remake of the movie Body Heat alongside Graf Mileau. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and why not? Not only does Graf have a leading man's good looks and poise but he has already starred in one of Sarah Booth's previous affairs and is well on his way to landing a big part in the sequel. Thrilled as Sarah Booth is, her dream come
true also comes at a price. Filming on location at a stunning villa
in Costa Rica forces her to leave behind her family's ancestral
home, her closest friends, and her long-time love, unrequited as
it may be. Before long rivalries begin to flare, mysterious accidents
occur, and this leading lady turns up in the tabloids without starring
in a single frame. McKenna highly recommends the new Haines book! She believes this is her best books in three years! Murder By The Book employee and award-winning mystery writer Dean James will sign & discuss his 2nd Bridge Club mystery, The Unkindest Cut (Obsidian; $6.99), which is set in Houston! Mary Saums will sign & discuss her 2nd Thistle & Twigg mystery, Mighty Old Bones (St. Martin's Minotaur; $23.95). Jane Thistle and Phoebe Twigg (Thistle & Twigg) are as different as two best friends can be. Phoebe has never seen any reason to leave her small Southern hometown, while Jane, the urbane widow of a career military officer, has traveled all over, only recently putting down roots in Tullulah, Alabama. At times, Tullulah can be a sleepy little town, but no one sleeps through the thunderstorm that knocks down a tree on Jane’s property and uncovers a pile of skeletal remains buried underneath. Jane has some archaeological experience, thanks to all her travels, and knows a few experts. She invites an old friend to come down to Tullulah to have a look and catch up on old times. When tests discount their best theories and point to a far more recent death, Jane and Phoebe find themselves in the midst of some strange happenings. Mary Saums’s Mighty Old Bones, the second in this delightful series, rattles Alabama with two of the newest and unlikeliest sleuths throughout the southlands. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Tuesday,
July 15, 6:30 p.m.
Mortimer Tate was an insurance salesman on the verge of a nasty divorce when he holed up in a mountain cave in Tennessee and rode out the global apocalypse. As a flu epidemic, an earthquake, and a nuclear detonation ended civilization as he knew it, Mortimer whiled away his time reading, hunting, and, truth be told, not thinking all that much about the rest of the world—or whether it still existed. Go-Go Girls begins nine years later, when a chance encounter forces Mortimer to kill the first three human beings he’s laid eyes on in nearly a decade. Finally curious about the outside world, he loads up his sled with trade goods, sets off into the snow, and emerges into a bizarre landscape filled with hollow reminders of an America that no longer exists. Since “The Fall,” highways are lined with abandoned automobiles, for which there is no fuel. Houses stand empty, devoid of the bustling population Mortimer remembers. What little civilization remains revolves around a string of franchised strip clubs called Joey Armageddon’s Sassy-a-Go-Go, where the beer is cold, the lap dancers are hot, the bouncers are armed with M-16s—and electricity is generated by indentured servants pedaling stationary bicycles. In a last-ditch effort for a return to some kind of sanity, Mortimer sets out on a desperate quest through this broken world to find his estranged wife. Instead, he and his cowboy sidekick, Buffalo Bill, get swept into the battle against the Red Stripes, an army with a mysterious leader known only as “The Czar”. Teaming up with two gorgeous and lethal women named Sheila and Tyler, their journey leads them to the Lost City of Atlanta—and an explosive final showdown that just might determine the fate of humanity. Victor Gischler is a former English professor and the Edgar Award-nominated author of Gun Monkeys, Pistol Poets, Suicide Squeeze, and Shotgun Opera. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Wednesday,
July 16, 6:30 p.m. Get
a FREE limited edition Santlofer print! The first
50 people who purchase a copy of The Murder Notebook from
Murder By The Book the week the book goes on sale (or preorder with
your credit card information), June
2-7, will receive an 8" x 10" limited
edition print, numbered and signed by Jonathan Santlofer. Jonathan Santlofer will also speak at the Museum of Fine Arts' July "Artful Thursday", July 17, 6:30 p.m. Please go here for more information about this free MFAH event. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Friday,
July 18, 6:00 p.m. Yet there is plenty for Liz to do. In fact, there are more spies operating in London today than during the height of East-West hostilities. This includes Russian spies, who continue to operate in number. What has changed is their targets — now they spy on the international financial community, as well as on the wealthy, influential Russian “oligarchs,” many of whom live in London. Liz learns of a Russian government plot to silence one of these oligarchs, Nikita Brunovsky, who is an increasingly vocal opponent of Putin. How he is to be kept quiet is unclear, but since the Foreign Office dreads any kind of incident, Liz is assigned to keep it from happening. To protect Brunovsky from his Kremlin foes, Liz goes undercover and joins the oligarch’s retinue as she tries to determine who around the Russian might be willing to betray him, and hoping at the same time to learn the identity of a certain Russian “illegal” operative working undercover. Highly recommended by McKenna & Michelle! Stella Rimington joined the Security Service (MI5) in 1965 and rose to become Director-General in 1992 — the first woman to hold the post. Murder By The Book also imports Rimington's U.K. auto-biography, Open Secret: The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5 (paperback; $19.95). Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Monday,
July 21, 6:30 p.m. The headquarters of an American oil company hemorrhages chemical-pink smoke into the Moscow night, the aftermath of an apparent terrorist attack. A Russian army captain carrying a priceless Fabergé egg and digital evidence of horrific wartime atrocities is murdered and relieved of both these prizes. And in the snowy mountains of southern Russia, a terrorist named Abreg—who once held Volk captive in a Chechen mud pit—hatches a plan to lure him back into his grasp. Volk’s Shadow finds Colonel Alexei Volkovoy—covert agent of the Russian army and major player in the Moscow underworld—once again struggling to stay afloat in the swirling currents of Russian political and economic intrigue. This time, however, he is without his sidekick and lover, the ethereal Valya Novaskaya. Aching for the soul mate he pushed away, Volk begins to doubt himself, becoming even more detached from the brutality of his actions. When he takes out his inner pain on the wrong man, he gains a powerful enemy in the highest reaches of the Kremlin, and only after he travels back to Chechnya to eliminate his old nemesis, Abreg, is Volk’s debt finally repaid. Highly recommended by Michelle & David! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
June 632 A.D.: Deep within the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat in Mecca, the Prophet Mohammed shares with his closest companions a final and startling revelation. Within days, he is assassinated. September 1789: U.S. Minister to France Thomas Jefferson, who is charged with forging a truce with the violent Muslim pirates of the Barbary Coast, makes a shocking discovery -- one that could forever impact the world's relationship with Islam. Present day: When a car bomb explodes outside a Parisian café, Scot Harvath is thrust back into the life he has tried so desperately to leave behind. Saving the intended victim of the attack, Harvath becomes party to an amazing and perilous race to uncover a secret so powerful that militant Islam could be defeated once and for all without firing another shot, dropping another bomb, or launching another covert action. But as desperate as the American government is to have the information brought to light, there are powerful forces aligned against it -- men who are just as determined that Mohammed's mysterious final revelation continue to remain hidden forever. What Jason Bourne was to the Cold War, Scot Harvath is to the War on Terror. Brad Thor has created "the perfect all-American hero for the post September 11 world" (Nelson DeMille) and will keep readers glued to the pages as he once again takes them across the globe on a heart-pounding chase where the stakes are higher than they have ever been before. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Collision is the story of two men living very different lives -- one a successful corporate consultant who is mourning the murder of his new bride, the other, a former CIA agent known only as "Pilgrim," whose current assignment for a fringe espionage agency is so treacherous he doesn't even trust his own boss. When they are thrown together in a violent, unexpected event, the two men realize that they've been framed in an elaborate setup. Unsure who to trust and who just may be trying to draw them into the open, the unlikely partners have no choice but to work together. But with everything at stake, Ben has no idea that Pilgrim is harboring some shocking secrets of his own -- secrets that will soon force Ben to confront just how blurred the line has become between best friends and bitter enemies. Highly recommended by Michelle! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Highly recommended by David! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Now the death of a journalist leads Allon to Russia, where he finds that, in terms of spycraft, even he has something to learn. He's playing by Moscow rules now. This is not the grim, gray Moscow of Soviet times but a new Moscow, awash in oil wealth and choked with bulletproof Bentleys. A Moscow where power resides once more behind the walls of the Kremlin and where critics of the ruling class are ruthlessly silenced. A Moscow where a new generation of Stalinists is plotting to reclaim an empire lost and to challenge the global dominance of its old enemy, the United States. One such man is Ivan Kharkov, a former KGB colonel who built a global investment empire on the rubble of the Soviet Union. Hidden within that empire, however, is a more lucrative and deadly business: Kharkov is an arms dealer—and he is about to deliver Russia's most sophisticated weapons to al- Qaeda. Unless Allon can learn the time and place of the delivery, the world will see the deadliest terror attacks since 9/11—and the clock is ticking fast. Filled with rich prose and breathtaking turns of plot, Moscow Rules is at once superior entertainment anda searing cautionary tale about the new threats rising to the East—and Silva's finest novel yet. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. Thursday,
July 31, 6:30 p.m. In her highly anticipated sequel, The Likeness, French returns to the quirky and engrossing characters from the Dublin detective squad that we met in In the Woods, fast-forwarding a half-year later with Detective Cassie Maddox at the center. Cassie has started a relationship with Detective Sam O’Neill and she’s called to the scene of his new investigation: a young woman has been stabbed to death in a small town outside of Dublin. The victim is identified as Lexie Madison—an identity that Cassie used years ago as an undercover operative—and she’s the spitting image of Cassie. With no leads, no suspects, and no clue to the dead girl’s real identity, Cassie’s former boss creates an extreme undercover opportunity for her. She tells the media, and Lexie’s friends, that the wound wasn’t fatal and Cassie goes undercover as Lexie and learns about her life from the inside. As Cassie slides into life at Whitethorn, the old manor where Lexie lived with her four closest friends, Cassie learns that Lexie’s secrets run far deeper than anyone had suspected. With lush prose and eerily perceptive insight into her characters, French takes us on an unforgettable tour of the splintered and dark worlds of Cassie Maddox and Lexie Madison. Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the U.S. and Malawi, and has lived in Dublin since 1990. She trained as a professional actress at Trinity College, Dublin, and has worked in theatre, film and voiceover. In the Woods is her first novel. "The Likeness has everything: memorable characters, crisp dialogue, shrewd psychological insight, mounting tension, a palpable sense of place, and wonderfully evocative, painterly prose. In the Woods was an Edgar Award finalist; this one just might go one step further." -- Booklist Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
New Orleans mystery novelist Barbara Colley will sign & discuss her new Charlotte LaRue mystery, Wash and Die (Kensington; $22). Charlotte LaRue, owner of New Orleans's Maid for a Day cleaning service, is swept into jeopardy when an uninvited guest arrives on her doorstep. As the saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished." Charlotte LaRue knows she should take a broom and chase Joyce Thibodeaux off her front porch. Once married to Charlotte's tenant Louis Thibodeaux, Joyce is fresh out of detox for her alcoholism and has no place to go. She swears she's clean and sober and will find her own place in a few days. She pulls on Charlotte's heartstrings... and soon she's staying in Charlotte's guest room. Charlotte survived Hurricane Katrina, but Joyce proves to be an ill wind of a different kind. Soon a valuable gold watch left to Charlotte by her father is missing, and worse, a stranger is watching the house. Charlotte knows she has to show Joyce the door, but she never gets the chance. Instead her beloved parakeet Sweety Boy vanishes, her living room gets trashed, and Joyce ends up in the middle of the mess... stone cold dead. Now Charlotte is on the list of murder suspects along with Louis, who's been out of town on business... or has he? Finding the answers means doing a little snooping herself. Grabbing her mop she's starting with the hospital where Joyce last stayed: a place with skeletons in its closets and a bucket full of clues that just might lead to a killer. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
When Jamie arrives, the conference room is stocked with cookies and champagne. His boss smiles and tells his employees, "We're a cover for a branch of the intelligence community. And we're being shut down." Jamie's boss then tells everyone to drink some champagne, and in a few seconds they'll fall asleep -- for good. If they refuse, they'll be shot in the head. Escape is not an option. Jamie's boss has shut down the elevators and rigged the fire towers with chemical bombs. Panic sets in, chaos erupts, and no one is sure whom to trust. Jamie quickly realizes that there’s only one way he’s ever going to see his family again: the hard way. Highly recommended by McKenna & David! Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Adult
book David highly recommends Chris's John Ceepak novels!
Highly recommended by David! Chris Grabenstein is the Anthony Award–winning author of Tilt a Whirl, Mad Mouse, and Whack a Mole. He used to write TV and radio commercials and has written for the Muppets. Currently, Chris and his wife live in New York City with three cats and a dog named Fred, who starred in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Friday,
November 14, 6:00 p.m. Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies.
Please call or e-mail to order signed or inscribed copies. |
When
attending one of MURDER BY THE BOOK's signing events, please keep
the following in mind: 
Thursday,
May 15, 6:30 p.m.
The
New York Times best-selling author will sign & discuss
his 4th Percy Jackson novel, Battle of the Labyrinth
(Hyperion; $17.99). Signing
numbers available beginning the book's on-sale date, Tuesday, May
6th.
The
New York Times best-selling author of Blue Heaven
will sign & discuss his new Joe Pickett novel, Blood
Trail (Putnam; $24.95). Box returns with a vengeance
in his eighth thriller featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett.
Bold, fast-paced, and with the very controversial hook—hunters
versus anti-hunting activists—Blood Trail is proof
that C. J. Box continues to stake his place as one of our very brightest
talents.
Houston
mystery writer Karen Hanson Stuyck will sign her
new novel, A Novel Way to Die
(Five Star; $25.95). This event will feature a cocktail
meet-and-greet, but NO talk/reading.
John
Sandford 
Crime
writer Craig Johnson will sign & discuss his
4th Walt Longmire novel, Another Man's Moccasin's
(Viking; $24.95). Walt Longmire unravels a mystery that
connects two murders over forty years—and brings back haunting
memories of Vietnam 
Probably
your last chance to see Robert B. Parker! He no longer tours, but
he has come out of touring retirement for his new western novel,
Resolution. Don't miss this event!
New
York Times best-selling thriller writer Lee Child
continues his annual tradition of signing at Murder By The Book
on the Sunday after the on-sale date. 
The
acclaimed author of the Evan Delaney thrillers (China Lake,
Kill Chain) will sign & discuss her new stand-alone
novel, The Dirty Secrets Club
(Dutton; $24.95). Meg launches her national book tour here
at Murder By The Book, one of the only stores that imported her
Delaney novels from England in 2007! Don't miss this event!
Thursday,
June 12, 6:30 p.m. 
Best-selling
espionage novelist Alan Furst will drop by and
sign stock of his new novel, The Spies of Warsaw (Random
House; $25), sometime in the afternoon. Call or e-mail
to reserve your signed copies!
Award-winning
mystery novelist Elaine Viets will sign & discuss
her new Helen Hawthorne "Dead End Job" mystery, Clubbed
to Death (NAL; $21.95). With a resumé
that includes attempted assault and alimony evasion, Helen Hawthorne
is living on the lam and working wherever she can! 
Edgar
Award winner Thomas H. Cook will sign & discuss
his new crime novel, Master of the Delta (Harcourt;
$24). In 1954 Mississippi, Jack Branch returns to his father’s
Delta estate, Great Oaks, to perform an act of noblesse oblige:
teaching at the local high school. Conducting a class on historical
evil, Jack is shocked to discover that his unassuming student Eddie
is the son of the Coed Killer, a notorious local murderer. Jack
feels compelled to mentor the boy, encouraging Eddie to examine
his father’s crime and using his own good name to open the
doors that Eddie’s lineage can’t. But when Eddie’s
investigation leads him to Great Oaks and to Jack’s own father,
Jack finds himself questioning Eddie’s motives—and his
own. 
Monday,
June 23, 6:30 p.m.
Isle
of Joy (by Don Winslow; U.K. import paperback;
$15.95) Back in print, Winslow's 1996 spy novel! We'll
be the only store in town to stock it (and it'll arrive just in
time for the event), so reserve your copies now!
New
York Times best-selling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver
will sign & discuss his new Lincoln Rhyme "ticking-clock"
thriller, The Broken Window (Simon
& Schuster; $26.95). Data mining is the industry of
the 21st century. Commercial companies collect information about
us from thousands of sources -- credit cards, loyalty programs,
hidden radio tags in products, medical histories, employment and
banking records, government filings, and many more -- then analyze
and sell the data to anyone willing to pay the going rate. Some
people approve, citing economic benefits; others worry about the
erosion of privacy. 
Justin
C. Gordon is a writer
and designer living in North Austin. His short stories have appeared
at Southerngothic.org ("The Dream Machine") and in Out
of the Gutter Magazine ("Rules"). Additionally, he
provided art direction and illustrations for OOTG#4. Justin's rough
draft of his first novel, The Electric Pickle was recently
accepted by the Taos Summer Writers Conference to study with John
Drufresne.
Houston
true crime writer Kathryn Casey will sign &
discuss her first novel, Singularity
(St. Martin's Minotaur; $24.95). Sarah Armstrong knows
what it's like to be in a sticky situation. As a single mother and
one of the few female Rangers in Texas history, she's had to work
twice as hard to be the best law enforcement official in the city.
But whe one of Texas's wealthiest businessmen is found murdered
along with his alleged mistress, their bodies posed in grotesque
ways, she knows this is the deadliest case of her career. And as
she begins to close in on a killer nobody but her believes in, Sarah
realizes that this madman might just make her the next target.
The
award-winning author of the Evan Evans mysteries, Molly Murphy series,
and last year's series debut, Her Royal Spyness, will sign
& discuss the 2nd Lady Georgie adventure, A Royal
Pain (Berkley Prime Crime; $23.95).
Another hilarious mystery featuring penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie,
"a feisty new heroine to delight a legion of Anglophile readers"
(says Jacqueline Winspear).
Victor
Gischler (Shotgun Opera, Gun Monkeys) will sign
& discuss Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse
(Touchstone; paperback original; $14). Mad Max
meets The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in this
off-the-wall journey through post-apocalyptic America. 
Artist
/ best-selling thriller writer Jonathan Santlofer
will sign & discuss his new crime novel, The Murder
Notebook (HarperCollins; $24.95).
Police forensic artist Nate Rodriguez is plagued by visions of crimes
-- both past and present -- in this second novel of visual suspense
from the acclaimed author and artist. Includes Santlofer illustrations
throughout.
The
artwork (see right) -- inspired by Jonathan's new book -- will be
original and exclusive to this particular Murder By The Book promotion.
Please call or e-mail to reserve your copies!
The
former head of MI5-turned-best-selling thriller writer Stella
Rimington will sign & discuss her new novel, Illegal
Action (Knopf; $23.95). MI5 officer
Liz Carlyle has been transferred to Counter-Espionage, along with
her research sidekick Peggy Kingsolving. Once the hub of MI5 operations,
the department has been reduced in size since the end of the Cold
War, and priority within the service is on counter-terrorism. 
The
2008 Thriller Award-nominated author of Volk's Game
will sign & discuss the sequel, Volk's
Shadow (Henry Holt; $25). An international
cabal drives Volk back to blood-soaked Chechnya, where he confronts
an old nemesis and reunites with his lost love in this gripping
sequel to the acclaimed series debut.
New
York Times best-selling thriller
writer Brad Thor will sign & discuss his new
Scot Harvath novel, The Last Patriot
(Simon & Schuster; $26). In a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-charged
tour de force, Navy SEAL turned covert Homeland Security operative
Scot Harvath must race to locate an ancient secret that has the
power to stop militant Islam dead in its tracks.
Internationally
best-selling thriller writer Jeff Abbott will sign
& discuss his new novel, Collision
(Dutton; $24.95). Already an international sensation, with
his books translated into fifteen languages -- in the UK alone,
Panic has more than 400,000 copies in print -- Jeff Abbott
is a master of the action-packed thriller. Now, with Collision,
he delivers a meaty, twisty, white-knuckle ride designed to propel
him onto the bestseller lists in his home country.
Over
the course of ten previous novels, Daniel Silva has
established himself as one of the world's finest writers of international
intrigue and espionage— "a worthy successor to such legends
as Frederick Forsyth and John le Carré" (Chicago
Sun-Times)—and Gabriel Allon as "one of the most
intriguing heroes of any thriller series" (The Philadelphia
Inquirer).
The
2008 Edgar Award-nominated author of In the Woods will
sign & discuss the sequel, The Likeness
(Viking; $24.95). Tana French’s debut psychological
thriller has had the kind of success most authors only dream of:
a national bestseller, critically acclaimed, and a finalist for
both the Edgar Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
We
are sorry to announce that due to a family emergency, Barbara Colley's
event will be rescheduled to May or June. Please keep posted for
the new date/time. Thank you!
Houston
mystery writer Diane Fanning will sign
& discuss her 2nd novel, The Trophy Exchange
(Severn House; $27.95). Lieutenant Lucinda Pierce is going
through dark times. An accident left her blind in one eye and with
a horribly scarred face. And then, she is involved in the death
of a three-year-old boy in a shoot-out on the wrong side of town.
When she is cleared of any wrongdoing by Internal Affairs, Lucinda
returns to the homicide beat. Here, she faces her biggest challenge
yet-a crime scene with all the earmarks of a serial killing. Matters
aren't helped when the person who tops her list of possible suspects
is a respected surgeon whose history of international volunteer
work places him beyond reproach in the eyes of many. In her new
novel, The Trophy Exchange, Edgar Award nominee Diane Fanning
introduces a charismatic new heroine to the crime genre. With thrilling
precision and a breakneck pace, this novel heralds the beginning
of a remarkably promising new series. 
The
author of The Wheelman and The Blonde will sign
& discuss his 4th novel, Severence Package
(St. Martin's Minotaur; trade paperback original; $13.95).
Jamie DeBroux's boss has called a special meeting for all "key
personnel" at 9:00 a.m. on a hot Saturday in August. 
Award-winning
mystery writer Chris Grabenstein will sign &
discuss his two new books, one for adults and one for kids!
Young
adult book
Sunday,
November 2nd
Mystery
writer Eve Sandstrom (a.k.a. Joanna Carl)
will sign & discuss her new Chocoholic mystery, The
Chocolate Snowman Murders (Obsidian; $19.95).
Lee McKinney Woodward and her husband Joe have become involved with
the curse of living in America -- a committee. They're both on the
board for the Warner Pier Winter Arts Festival. Problems grow to
include more than the usual hurt feelings personality conflicts,
when Lee's assigned to pick up the art show judge, and he shows
up drunk. She dumps him -- then becomes a suspect when he's found
dead. How do a holier-than-thou choir director, an artist who wields
a welding torch, a small-town grande dame, a timid publicity chair,
and a threatening snowman fit into the puzzle?