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Murder by the Bye
a more-or-less monthly newsletter from
Murder by the Book
3210 S. E. Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97214
January 2012
You’ve heard the expressions “turn over a new leaf” and “turn the page,” which are apt if you’re drawing up some resolutions for the new year ... or reading a book. We can’t help you keep your resolutions, but we certainly can point you in the direction of a new book. Ring in the old and the new with books by favorite old authors and some new ones.
Meet travel writer Hilary Davidson. The Damage Done ($7.99) is her debut novel, and her protagonist is a … travel writer. Lily Moore is called back to New York from Spain because her younger sister, Claudia, has died. However, the body in the morgue is not that of her sister. Where is she? In order to find her, Lily must turn Claudia’s troubled life inside-out. This book won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel.
Eyes of the Innocent ($14.99), by Brad Parks continues the series begun by the award-winning Faces of the Gone. Investigative reporter Carter Ross finds that a house fire in which two young boys were killed isn’t what it seems. He also finds a potentially corrupt politician and a mother forced to work two jobs in order to pay her rising mortgage. This is a cautionary tale for modern times.
We picked Red to Black as one of the best books of 2010, so we’re pleased to welcome Alex Dryden’s sequels, Moscow Sting ($9.99) and The Blind Spy (hardcover, $24.99). In Moscow Sting, ex-KGB star Anna Resnikov has survived the death of her husband, a British spy, and fled to America with her child. But now there are too many agencies and people who are interested in finding her. Can she survive this as well?
If you enjoyed the detailed foreshadowing of modern forensic science in The Alienist and In the Shadow of Gotham, then you are primed for The Anatomist’s Apprentice ($15), by Tessa Harris. In the 18th century, Dr. Thomas Silkstone has traveled from America to England to study with a renowned surgeon. Lady Lydia Farrell has heard of Silkstone’s already burgeoning reputation as a forensic scientist, so she seeks his help in solving her brother’s murder.
Did that last book pique your interest? Well, here’s another book along a similar vein. Instruments of Darkness ($15), by Imogen Robertson, will thrill you with an 18th-century gothic story set in a Sussex manor. Harriet Westerman, the mistress of the manor, joins anatomist Gabriel Crowther to investigate the death of a man discovered on the manor’s grounds.
We thought we had seen Kathy Mallory ride off into the sunset in 2006’s Find Me. Thank goodness, Carol O’Connell has brought her back in The Chalk Girl (hardcover, $25.95). A young girl is found wandering around Central Park. Her dead uncle is found in a tree. Sensing the young girl has a difficult past similar to her own, Mallory seeks to uncover the girl’s story.
Over the years, Nevada Barr has taken us on a tour of quite a few of our national parks through the adventures of park ranger Anna Pigeon. This time, The Rope (hardcover, $25.99) takes us to Glen Canyon in Arizona for a flashback to Anna’s first assignment. When she finds herself trapped by an unknown assailant in a remote area, Anna must save herself. This is the incident that formed the determined and courageous Anna Pigeon we’ve come to know.
At 624 pages, Elizabeth George’s newest book, Believing the Lie (hardcover, $29.95), will give you your money’s worth. George fills each page with detailed setting, fully realized characters, and complex plotting. Inspector Thomas Lynley, still grieving over his wife’s death, is sent to the beautiful Lake District to investigate the drowning of a man who knew a lot of secrets. He is surreptitiously helped by Barbara Havers, who has her own personal cup full with trying to help her neighbor and his daughter.
The Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais has taken a backseat lately to the Joe Pike series. Cole’s mysterious sidekick is not so mysterious anymore. In The Sentry ($9.99), we get to follow Joe on an adventure of his own. When Joe saves a man from being roughed up, he learns that the man and his niece who was with him at the time are not very grateful. Before he can say “Elvis Cole,” Pike finds himself embroiled in a violent case. Taken (hardcover, $26.95) takes Cole and Pike into a case of kidnapping.
Southern California is not just for Disneyland and surfer dudes, according to T. Jefferson Parker, who has put SoCal on the crime fiction map. The Border Lords ($15) is the latest in the Charlie Hood series. Charlie’s a good cop in a bad position when he searches for an undercover agent who has disappeared. The Jaguar (hardcover, $26.95) also stars Charlie.
EVENTS
Mixed among the author signings are a couple of unusual events we’ve scheduled for your entertainment and education. If you are interested in autographed copies of any of the books mentioned, let us know (503-232-9995 or
books@mbtb.com).
Don Sevetson
Tuesday, January 17, 7:00 p.m. Atkinson: Pioneer Oregon Educator ($14.99)
We are pleased to give a friend of Murder by the Book a place to introduce his work. Don Sevetson has written the non-fiction book, Atkinson: Pioneer Oregon Educator. Although it’s not a mystery, join us in celebrating Don’s achievement.
Sam Siciliano
Saturday, January 21, 2:00-4:00 p.m. The Web Weaver ($9.95)
This is Vancouver author Sam Siciliano’s second work in “The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” series by Titan Books. Siciliano joins authors Loren D. Estleman, Philip Jose Farmer, Daniel Stashower, and Edward B. Hanna, among others, in offering pastiches to honor the most famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. In The Web Weaver, Sherlock must contend with a deadly gypsy curse.
* * * *“Slapped in the Head by Pulp Fiction” with Johnny Shaw* * * *
Tuesday, January 24, 6:30 p.m.
Pre-registration required, $25 fee (but receive back a $10 MBTB coupon)
Local author (Dove Season), screenwriter, and college instructor Johnny Shaw is offering a talk/workshop on the hot topics of noir and pulp fiction. Johnny knows his history, talks a good game, and will work you up into a noir and pulp fiction frenzy. If you’ve ever been curious about what noir and pulp fiction are, now’s your chance to find out.
* * * * *“Jump-Start Your Mystery Novel” with Chuck Caruso* * * *
Tuesday, January 31, 6:30 p.m.
Pre-registration required, $25 fee (but receive back a $10 MBTB coupon)
MBTB’s own Chuck Caruso teaches creative writing at Marylhurst University and Clark College. His fiction has been published in Cemetery Dance, Dark Discoveries, and other national magazines, as well as in various crime and horror anthologies. “Jump-Start Your Mystery Novel” will give you tips and tricks and practical tools to help you start and finish that mystery novel you’ve been wanting to write. Make 2012 the year you really do it! (You’re welcome to join the class even if you don’t have a book lurking in your head. The process of writing can be fascinating anyway.)
(More special events will be scheduled in February. Look for your next newsletter for details!)
Join us in starting your new year off the right way – with a book!
Barbara, Carolyn, Jean, Nick, Jackie & John |
Ċ ď books@mbtb.com, Jan 4, 2012 3:33 PM
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