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Newsletter - February 2012

Download a pdf of this newsletter with the link at the bottom of the page.

Murder by the Bye
a more-or-less monthly newsletter from
Murder by the Book

February 2012

In honor of Valentine’s Day this month, we proclaim that WE *LOVE* BOOKS! In honor of Presidents’ Day, we want to say that the great state (of mind) of MBTB declares that all the new arrivals this month are winners! Finally, like George Washington, we cannot tell a lie: MBTB is a *lovely* place to be! Keep in mind that these are but a few of the *lovely* books arriving this month:

Hope you haven’t been holding your breath, but if you have, take a deep breath because the paperback version of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (large paperback, $15.95, and small paperback, $9.99) IS HERE! The final book in Stieg Larsson’s phenomenal series will not disappoint you. The stars of the series, tough-chick Lisbeth Salander and crusading reporter Mikael Blomkvist, want to tie up the loose ends as much as you do.

Some authors are like rock stars. In her native Sweden, Camilla Lackberg is such an author. Her every move is catalogued by the Swedish press, and her latest books are snapped up by adoring fans. If you haven’t read The Ice Princess ($7.99), her first book, head down that path first. Then pull up a chair and read the next book to be translated into English, The Preacher ($15). Detective Patrik Hedström and his girlfriend, Erica Falck, thought they were done with murderers in the small fishing village of Fjällbacka, but a serial killer shows them otherwise.

Do you *love* Deborah Crombie, Dana Stabenow (more about her in “Events”), J. A. Jance, and Lisa Lutz? Good. Because they have new hardcover books:

In No Mark Upon Her ($24.99), by Deborah Crombie, Supt. Duncan Kincaid and DI Gemma James think they’re just solving a murder, but maybe they’re delving into deep political waters as well. When a high-ranking Met detective is murdered while rowing on the Thames and then the search-and-rescue member who found the body is targeted, something may be rotten in the police department.

Kate Shugak is back for the 19th time in Dana Stabenow’s Restless in the Grave ($25.99). And this will be Liam Campbell’s fifth appearance. Yes, Dana introduces her characters to each other when Liam’s wife, bush pilot Wyanet Chouinard, is involved in the death of a despised aviation businessman and Kate is hired to investigate it. (See “Events” for how you can meet Dana.)

How does J. A. Jance juggle so many series? This time one of Ali Reynold’s police academy classmates has been shot and is being accused of involvement in the drug trade. At the same time, a young woman, believed to be an illegal immigrant, was found savagely beaten and is recuperating in the same hospital as Ali’s friend. Ali will try to find justice for them both in Left for Dead ($25.99).

Isabel Spellman, PI, has an eccentric, secretive family, most of whom are bona fide private eyes, too. Trail of the Spellmans ($25), by Lisa Lutz, continues their family saga. Mom is over-committed, Dad has a secret, Izzy’s brother and sister are warring with each other, and her niece is saying “banana,” even though she doesn’t like bananas. On top of that chaos, a math professor hires Izzy to watch his apartment just before he goes bananas. Time for Izzy to unravel the monkey business!

Dorothy Sayers died in 1957, but her creations, Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, live on. Jill Paton Walsh has produced three novels that continue Harriet and Peter’s crime-solving adventures. Beginning with her completion of Sayer’s unfinished novel, Thrones, Dominations, sixty years after Sayers abandoned it, Walsh has breathed life back into the series. In the latest, The Attenbury Emeralds ($14.99), Wimsey is reminded of his first case – recovering missing emeralds for Lord Attenbury – when the old aristocrat’s grandson applies to Wimsey for help.

In 1851, Eli and Charlie Sisters are hired to murder a gold prospector. Instead, after traveling from Oregon to California to catch up with him, the Sisters brothers go into business with the prospector. The brothers’ prospects go downhill from there. In a quirky, darkly comic tale that was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize – although author Patrick Dewitt lives in Oregon, he was born in Canada – The Sisters Brothers ($14.99) will engage your sense of the absurd.

EVENTS

If you can’t attend but want an autographed copy, just call us (503-232-9995) or drop us a line (books@mbtb.com).


Carola Dunn
Sunday, February 12, 2:00 p.m.
Gone West (hardcover, $24.99)

Daisy Dalrymple really doesn’t mean to keep tripping over dead bodies, honest. She simply went to visit an old school friend and wound up with a dead body. Granted, that school friend worked for a novelist and felt there was something fishy in his household, and that’s why she invited Daisy. Furthermore, the school friend has been ghost-writing the novelist’s books for a while and does a better job than Lord Birtwhistle ever did. But the friend didn’t mean for Lord Birtwhistle to expire during Daisy’s visit. Honest. Bonus: Anthem for Doomed Youth ($14.99) will be available in paperback. Find out more on Carola's website: http://caroladunn.weebly.com/.


Matt Ruff
Monday, February 13, 7:00 p.m.
The Mirage (hardcover, $25.95)

The author of the quirky Bad Monkeys has come up with another mind-spinning concept. What if the Twin Towers destroyed on September 11 weren’t in the U.S. but in the Middle East? What if Christian fundamentalists declared a terrorist war on the Muslims? In Iraq, an investigator discovers a suicide bomber who claims that the investigator’s world is a mirage, that in the “real world” the towers were in the U.S. and the terrorists are from the Middle East. Is your mind spinning yet?  Matt's website is: www.bymattruff.com.



Dana Stabenow
Thursday, February 16, 2:30 p.m.** (a brief, informal visit)
Restless in the Grave (hardcover, $25.99)

Dana will visit us briefly (10 to 20 minutes) to sign books and meet fans. Arrive promptly so you won’t miss her. You can find out more at: www.stabenow.com.
** Please note: This is a change in time!



Gerald Elias
Monday, February 20, 7:00 p.m.
Death and the Maiden (hardcover, $25.99)

Come for the music and mayhem! When members of a string quartet begin disappearing, Daniel Jacobus must temporarily put aside his violin in favor of a detective’s thinking cap. Gerald Elias, a bona fide musician, will play his violin. Joining him in a musical piece will be his friend, Andrew Ehrlich, also a violinist. Get to know him at: www.geraldelias.com.



Larry Karp
Sunday, March 4, 4:00 p.m.
A Perilous Conception (hardcover, $22.95, and trade paperback, $14.95)

Larry’s latest mystery is set in 1977, in the fictional Northwest city of Emerald. An obstetrician races to be the first one to succeed with an in vitro fertilization. However, murder intrudes, and Detective Bernie Baumgartner must untangle the who-fers and what-fers to solve the murder. Find out more at www.larrykarp.com.

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We’re beginning an additional mystery reading group at the end of March. MBTB will choose the book and the group will be led by local author Lori L. Lake. The first book will be Vermillion Drift, by William Kent Krueger. MBTB will supply books for the event – with a ten percent discount! BOOK PURCHASE AT MBTB AND REGISTRATION REQUIRED. We’ll announce details on our website and in our next newsletter.

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You make it happen! We know that what we offer – advice, opinions, and conversations about the weather and your pets – is unique. If you haven’t been to see us in a while, dress warmly and come on over. (If you already dress warmly and come in regularly, thank you!)

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In honor of Valentine's Day, here are our favorite fictional couples? Nick and Nora Charles (Dashiell Hammett), Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro (Dennis Lehane), Annie and Max Darling (Carolyn Hart), Harriet and Peter Wimsey (Dorothy Sayers), Hercule Poirot and Miss Lemon (Agatha Christie), Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (“The X-Files”), Jonathan “Darling” Hart and Jennifer “Darling” Hart (“Hart to Hart”), Buffy and Angel (“Buffy, the Vampire Slayer”), Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin (Rex Stout), Dalziel and Pascoe (Reginald Hill).

Leap into a great book today,

 Barbara, Carolyn, Jean, Nick, Jackie & Chuck

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