New Arrival!

Do you love a good vampire story? Looking for a new series with some "bite"? Then this one's for you!

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Book Description

The visionary creator of the Academy Award-winning Pan's Labyrinth and a Hammett Award-winning author bring their imaginations to this bold, epic novel about a horrifying battle between man and vampire that threatens all humanity. It is the first installment in a thrilling trilogy and an extraordinary international publishing event.

They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come.

In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country.

In two months--the world.

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . .

So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city--a city that includes his wife and son--before it is too late.

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program...

Sorry about the break. It's been almost one week since I've updated our blog. But I'm back and I've got something for ya (don't I always?). Here's a new mystery we just ordered and you will love it!

Last Known Address by Theresa Schwegel

Summary

Detective Sloane Pearson is new to the Sex Crimes Division but no stranger to being treated like an incompetent blonde by her hardened male co-workers. She’s also no stranger to hard-to-crack cases, and her latest is as tough as they come: A rapist is on the prowl, dragging women to deserted building sites or vacant apartment buildings peppered all over downtown Chicago, and forcing them to fight---knowing, of course, that he’ll win.

When a real estate agent Sloane knows is attacked by the violent predator, Sloane finds herself taking a case that threatens her secret plans to leave her long-time lover. Her personal bond with the victim and a would-be relationship with a man she interviews along the way lead Sloane down a dangerous path---one that poisons the investigation as well as her personal life.

Sloane’s balancing act topples when her father falls ill. Between coping with his weak heart and following the few weak leads she has, her case begins to go the way that many rape cases go: The victims fall away, one by one, suddenly unsure of what they saw or unwilling to relive the horrifying moments again and again.

When Sloane helps a hungry young Sun-Times reporter declare the case serial, she loses support: Her bosses demand she get a suspect or move on. Sloane stays on the case, though---no matter how much it strains her personal relationships. Even her partner claims she’s in too deep: He doesn’t believe there’s an arrest on the planet worth a cop’s life. Sloane disagrees: Someone’s got to take up the fight.

From the worst slums of Chicago’s west side to the glittering Loop skyscrapers, Sloane finds no shortage of suspects. As she loses everything she’d called home, she can only hope to find the rapist before she also becomes a victim.

Just Arrived!

The Dope Thief by Dennis Tafoya

Are you looking for a tense, edge-of your-seat mystery from a brand new author?

Summary

Ray and his best friend, Manny, close ever since they met in juvie almost twenty years ago, have a great scam going: with a couple of fake badges and some DEA windbreakers they found at a secondhand store, they pose as federal agents and rip off small-time drug dealers, taking their money and drugs and disappearing before anyone is the wiser. It’s the perfect sting: the dealers they target are too small to look for revenge and too guilty to call the police, nobody has to die, nobody innocent gets hurt, and Ray and Manny score plenty.

But it can’t last forever. Eventually, they choose the wrong mark and walk out with hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a heavy hitter, who is more than willing to kill to get his money back, is coming after them. Now Ray couldn’t care less about the score. He wants out---out of the scam, out of a life he feels like he never chose. Whether the victim of his latest job---not to mention his partner---will let him is another question entirely.

Dennis Tafoya brings a rich, passionate, and accomplished new voice to the explosive story of a small-time crook with everything to lose in Dope Thief, his outstanding hardboiled debut.

Book of the Day!

Remember when I mentioned that we had just received a cool new book that was sent in Rhode Island? Well guess what? Here's another wonderful new book that is set in Rhody.

Teaser by Jan Brogan

From Publishers Weekly
Troubles abound for Hallie Ahern in Brogan's satisfying third mystery starring the intrepid Rhode Island reporter (after 2007's Yesterday's Fatal). A chance viewing of an online teaser featuring two teen girls on Rhode Island Buzz, a social networking Web site, prompts Ahern to pitch a story to her newspaper, the Providence Chronicle. She receives initial support from her bosses, who see it as an audience-catching exposé: Online Dangers: Your teenager is prey. That promising start is quashed when the investigation puts her in conflict with boyfriend Matt Cavanaugh, an assistant attorney general, and when the paper's editors unexpectedly decide to drop her story in favor of another. The death of one of her young contacts transforms Ahern's quest from news story to crusade, setting her on a course that could cost her job and her life. Brogan's newspaper background serves her nicely in the setup of Ahern's sleuthing, and readers should welcome further entries in the series. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Intrepid newspaper reporter Hallie Ahern returns in her third novel. When she chances upon an online video clip that seems to indicate men are picking up young girls in a chat room and filming them, Hallie pitches the story to her editors. Then the girls begin dying, and the story becomes a murder investigation. Given its subject matter, this novel is a bit darker than its predecessors, but there are still many moments of lightness and humor. Hallie is a likable protagonist, with a mixture of foibles (including a gambling addiction) that keep her from being a cookie-cutter amateur sleuth, and the author, a veteran journalist, does an excellent job of creating the environment of a newspaper. Brogan is relatively new to the mystery scene—her first novel, the stand-alone Final Copy, was published in 2001—but she displays the kind of natural talent for character, story, and suspense that should ensure a long career in the genre. --David Pitt

For more information on the author, check out her website!

COMING SOON! (On order NOW!)

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Noir master Huston (The Shotgun Rule) should win himself a whole new audience with this bizarre and utterly grotesque stand-alone, told mostly through dialogue that highlights the author's uncanny ear for the spoken word. Former Los Angeles grade school teacher Web Goodhue, now a full-time slacker suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, falls into a job on a crime scene cleanup crew, scrubbing up the remains of the recently deceased. After the crew has finished cleaning up a messy suicide scene in Malibu, Web gets a phone call from the dead man's daughter, Soledad. She and her thug half-brother have another big mess on their hands that needs cleaning, on the QT. Unable to resist the beautiful Soledad, Web soon finds himself in way over his head. Huston, one of his generation's finest and hippest talents, shows in grisly detail what cleaning up after the dead entails. This one should appeal to Chuck Palahniuk fans as well as hard-boiled crime readers. (Jan.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY!

Book of the Day!

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Do you love the new HBO television series True Blood? The new season won't begin until later this year, so why not get your fill of Sookie Stackhouse and Vampire Bill by reading the books the show is based on.

Product Description
Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea. "A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed." (Susan Sizemore)

Praise for Charlaine Harris:
"An author of rare talents." -- Publishers Weekly

"Harris writes neatly and with assurance." -- The New York Times Book Review

"One of the year's best." -- Science Fiction Chronicle

COMING SOON! (On Order Now!)

Fragile Lives by Jane A. Adams

Summary
Rina Martin returns in the second book in this new series from the author of the "Naomi Blake mysteries". When a body is washed up on a beach a short distance from Frantham, the first assumption is that it must be Edward Parker who had fallen from Marlborough Head just a couple of weeks before. When the badly battered body is examined, however, it is discovered to be the body of Pat Duggan, son of local nightclub owner Jimmy Duggan. It seems Pat had been abducted. Twice. And, to complicate matters, the missing Edward Parker had worked for Jimmy Duggan and disappeared at the same time as Duggan's son. Coincidence? Mac and Rina don't think so...Mac, following procedure as a serving police officer, and Rina, an interested outsider, soon discover that others are now at risk of meeting Pat Duggan's fate and this time they are only eight years old. Mac and Rina are both dragged into a race against time to solve the case.

Review
"Adams proves her versatility with the new series, a solid village procedural with a clever plot and skilfully drawn characters. Fans of M.C. Beaton and Clare Curzon will find Adams right up their alley"

Booklist on A Reason to Kill: Rina's kick-off emphasizes people and place, letting the reader in on secrets early and relying on psychological conflict to drive the appealing plot.

Kirkus Reviews on A Reason to Kill: The intriguing premise, combined with solid plotting, make this unusual series well worth a look.

Booklist on Legacy of Lies: The plot soon heats up, engaging the reader with its clever twists, intriguing characters and shock ending.

COMING SOON! (March 09)

Murder in the Latin Quarter by Cara Black

Summary: A Haitian woman arrives at the office of Leduc Detective and announces that she is Aimée’s sister, her father’s illegitimate daughter. Aimée is thrilled. A virtual orphan since her mother’s disappearance and her father’s death, she has always wanted a sister. Her partner, René, is wary of this stranger, but Aimée embraces her and soon finds herself involved in murky Haitian politics leading to murder. The setting is the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank of the Seine, in the old university district of Paris.

This book is part of the Aimée Leduc series.

Book of the Day!

Burn Out by Marcia Muller

From Kirkus Reviews

Sharon McCone fights depression. Nine months after escaping death by a mere five seconds (The Ever-Running Man, 2007, etc.), San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone retreats to the ranch her husband Hy Ripinsky owns in the high Sierras and contemplates closing her agency. A glimmer of her usual peskiness shows through when she spies Boz Sheppard tossing Amy Perez, the ranch manager's niece, out of his pickup shortly before Amy disappears. Offering to help look for her, McCone wanders into a series of Perez tragedies. Amy's older sister Hayley, who decamped for Vegas years ago and became a hooker, secretly returns, makes a will leaving major money to Amy and is shot dead in a trailer park. Amy's mom Miri, a bellicose drunk/slut who'd been shunned by her family after a rape when she was a teen, also disappears and dies violently. An old beau of Hayley's is shot in the back and left to rot in the desert. Bud Smith, a registered sex offender who may have taken the rap for a relative, is also killed. Tracking down people and alibis via the "moccasin telegraph," McCone sorts through the family's Paiute heritage, but it will take some serious piloting to get her out of a jam and bounce her back to normalcy. A bit more self-deprecating humor than usual from McCone and a crisply woven plot. For those readers tired of the McCone-Ripinsky romance, there's much ado about a burgeoning relationship between McCone and a snickering horse.

Book of the Day!

Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris

From Publishers Weekly
In Harris's cozy debut, budding landscaper Paula Holliday turns sleuth after the former documentary filmmaker, a New York City transplant to the suburbs, unearths a box containing a small dead body in the neglected, overgrown garden of the Springfield, Conn., house of the recently deceased Peacock sisters, Dorothy and Renata. Sgt. Michael O'Malley, who looked like he knew his way to the donut shop, leads the crime investigation, but Paula does her share of detecting, supported by such friends as Lucy Cavanaugh, a fellow filmmaker, and Wanda Babe Chinnery, the proprietor of the local diner where all and sundry come to gossip. Harris does a good job developing her characters, their friendships and romances, though the mystery itself borders on the formulaic. Still, the action builds to a satisfying denouement and gardeners will appreciate the author's insider knowledge. (Feb.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

COMING SOON! (November 2008)

The Fourth Time is Murder : a Posadas County Mystery by Steven F. Havill

Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is always busy, but more so now than ever. The sheriff is still not completely recovered from his stay in the hospital, and she is recovering from a hospital stay herself. After a long day at work, Estelle is happy to clear off her desk and drive home, where her beloved family waits. She hears her cell phone ringing as she pulls into the driveway. A truck has gone off the road and the driver’s body found near the wreck. Back on the job, Estelle drives to the scene, where she finds more questions than answers.

Was the truck’s going over the hill really an accident? And why was there a single footprint on the man’s body? An autopsy spurs further puzzles.

Steven F. Havill paints a vivid portrait of this small New Mexico town in the sixth entry of this atmospheric, entertaining series.-- From Amazon.com

COMING SOON! (November 2008)

A Dangerous Friendship by Jeffrey Ashford

Detective Constable Andy Gregg is security officer for Kent County CID, and takes his responsibilities, which include conducting security surveys for vulnerable premises. But when Querry Brade, a late fifteenth-century manor house, full with priceless antiques, is broken into just five days after Andy's most recent survey, tongues start wagging.

RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY!

Book of the Day!

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly

When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Mickey Haller (of "The Lincoln Lawyer" fame) inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next. Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.

Review
"The answer to every Connelly fan's dream: Hieronymus Bosch meets the Lincoln Lawyer....By turns wary, competitive, complementary, cooperative and mutually predatory....Connelly brings his two sleuths together in a way that honors them both" (Kirkus Reviews)

"Connelly is firing on all cylinders in this epic page-turner. The intriguing story line, the chance to view Bosch from another perspective, and Haller's reappearance as a main character add up to a fantastic read. One of the best thrillers of the year." (Library Journal, Jeff Ayers)

"A beautifully executed crime thriller....Bosch might have met his match in the wily Haller, and readers will delight in their sparring." (Publishers Weekly)

COMING SOON! (December 2008)

Chasing Smoke by Bill Cameron

Portland homicide detective Skin Kadash just wants to survive cancer treatment so he can get back to work. But when his partner tries to drag him into an unofficial investigation of a series of deaths, he's not interested, he's dead-dog sick and doesn't need the grief until she tells him the victims all suffered from cancer themselves, and all shared one grim thing in common with Skin. His doctor.

The police have closed the books on the deaths, all apparent suicides, yet a mysterious young woman, daughter of the first victim, surfaces and insists that the dead men were all murdered. Before her story can be probed more deeply, she disappears, leaving Kadash with no support from the cops and little to go on except a nagging belief the missing woman knew more than she revealed.

Kadash is left to chase elusive leads among the bitter and broken widows of the dead men. Struggling with his own illness and with a growing rift between himself and his partner, Kadash finds himself entangled in a web of resentment, jealousy, and deceit. Ultimately, he finds that not is he only seeking a missing woman and the truth about the dead men, but also the meaning of his own life in the face of his impending mortality.

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COMING SOON! (December 2008)

Without Conscience: A Johnny Hawke Novel by David Stuart Davies

Forests of the Night introduced the intrepid John Hawke, an exciting new detective operating in London during the Blitz. Now Johnny Hawke is back in this atmospheric, thrilling sequel.

Set in 1942, Without Conscience finds Rachel Howells in London for the first time, trapped in a web of violence. Her companion, army deserter Harryboy Jenkins, will stop at nothing--not even murder--to enjoy his illicit freedom. Meanwhile, private detective Johnny Hawke is involved in the bizarre murder of one of his clients. At the same time he is trying to find Peter, the runaway boy he had befriended in an earlier case.

Inexorably the paths of Harryboy and Johnny grow closer together until they collide with frightening consequences.

This is a stunning follow-up to the critically acclaimed Forests of the Night and is sure to win Davies a whole new set of fans.

RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY!