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Current Newsletter

TOMORROW, TUESDAY the 8th at 7:00 PM, LISA LUTZ returns with Curse of the Spellmans (Simon & Schuster, $25.00). Publishers Weekly starred: "In the two years that have passed since the action in Lutz's hit debut, The Spellman Files (2007), zany Isabel Spellman, who works for the family PI firm in San Francisco, has become a somewhat responsible member of society. Unfortunately, she's also become obsessed with Subject (aka John Brown), a next-door neighbor who she's convinced has an evil secret she must expose, even if it means losing her PI license... Fans of The Spellman Files will laugh just as loudly at the comic antics chronicled in this sparkling sequel." And School Library Journal called this a "sequel to Lutz's side-splittingly funny debut novel... Once again, Lutz treats readers to a madcap roller-coaster ride."

FRIDAY the 11th at noon, MARY ROACH will sign Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (W.W. Norton, $24.95). "It takes one kind of skill to pack a book full of scientific information (physical, chemical, emotional) about human sex and sexuality research in the 20th century and to do it with care and thoughtfulness. And it takes another kind of talent to do it with wit, humor, and pure enjoyment. Roach's third book (after Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife) beautifully succeeds in both categories," said Library Journal. And Kirkus also raved, saying that Roach "...flings wide the closed doors behind which the scientific study of coitus has raditionally been conducted. Roach details the careers of sex researchers Alfred Kinsey, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, Marie Bonaparte (Napoleon's great-grand-niece) and porn-star-turned-Ph.D. Annie Sprinkle, among others... Apart from its considerable comic value, the book also emulates its predecessors by illustrating a precept of scientific research: The passion to know, in the face of censure and propriety, is what advances our understanding of the world. A lively, hilarious and informative look at science's dirty secrets."

On SATURDAY the 12th at 2:00 PM, JERRY KENNEALY will read from and sign Still Shot (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95). "Kennealy deals another winning hand in his second Carroll Quint mystery (after 2007's Jigsaw). Quint, an entertainment writer for the San Francisco Bulletin, reports to editor-in-chief Katherine 'the Great' Parkham, who's worried about the Bulletin's possible acquisition by Sir Charles Talbot, a media magnate and famed art collector. Hoping to prevent the paper's sale, Parkham asks poker expert Quint to uncover how Talbot's son, Charlie, cheats at cards... The murder of an art curator and the disappearance of a Picasso painting from Talbot Sr.'s collection send Quint on a wild ride for answers that will keep readers turning the pages," said Publishers Weekly. Kennealy, a native San Franciscan, is a former policeman, fireman, licensed private investigator for more than twenty years, and past Vice President of the Private Eye Writers of America. He is the author of the Nick Polo series and numerous other mysteries.

On MONDAY the 14th at 7:00 PM, JESSE KELLERMAN will make his ONLY Bay Area appearance to talk about and sign The Genius (Penguin, $24.95). Publishers Weekly starred: "Greed gets Ethan Muller, a 33-year-old Manhattan art dealer, into hot water in Kellerman's superb third stand-alone thriller (after Trouble)... Kellerman has a gift for creating compelling characters as well as for crafting an ingenious plot that grabs the reader and refuses to let go." And bestselling author Harlan Coben has high praise: "...what truly separates Kellerman from the pack is his prose. Simply put, he is a wonderful writer... Jesse Kellerman tightens the noose slowly, and we his readers can do nothing but turn the pages. I have been a fan since his debut, Sunstroke, but he's getting better and better. If you've already read Jesse Kellerman, don't waste any more time reading this review. If you haven't yet discovered his work, The Genius is the place to begin -- and not a bad description of the author." Jesse's famous parents are bestselling authors Jonathan and Faye Kellerman.

TUESDAY the 15th brings JHUMPA LAHIRI, dropping by to sign Unaccustomed Earth (Knopf, $25.00). "It's early to be proclaiming a best book of the year, but [this] gorgeous new collection of eight stories will be hard to top," said the San Francisco Chronicle. And Publishers Weekly starred: "The gulf that separates expatriate Bengali parents from their American-raised children -- and that separates the children from India -- remains Lahiri's subject for this follow-up to Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake. In this set of eight stories, the results are again stunning... Lahiri's stories of exile, identity, disappointment and maturation evince a spare and subtle mastery that has few contemporary equals." And Kirkus called the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's new book "...a collection that has a novel's thematic cohesion, narrative momentum and depth of character... The London-born, American-raised author of Indian descent returns with some of her most compelling fiction to date... An eye for detail, ear for dialogue and command of family dynamics distinguish this uncommonly rich collection."

On THURSDAY the 17th at 7:00 PM, meet DOMENIC STANSBERRY, who will discuss and sign The Ancient Rain (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95). The Edgar winner's third mystery to feature San Francisco cop-turned-PI Dante Mancuso looks at veterans of the counterculture underground caught up in paranoid post-9/11 America. "Most crime writers emphasize either plot or character in their narratives. Stansberry is mining a unique terrain, creating a series of books that have more to do with private and communal memories and how the inexorable passage of time slowly -- or brutally -- alters a place and its people," said Eddie Muller in the San Francisco Chronicle. And Publishers Weekly called it "...compelling... Equal parts contemporary crime fiction and dark, existential poetry, this novel should win Stansberry new fans." Kirkus concluded: "Stansberry has always walked on the noir side -- but this brilliantly imagined version of real events packs an emotional wallop genre fiction rarely delivers."

ANNE PERRY will drop by sometime on the 17th to sign Buckingham Palace Gardens (Random House, $26.00). Perry's 25th novel featuring Thomas Pitt (last seen in 2005's Long Spoon Lane) finds the Victorian sleuth's "detecting and diplomatic skills tested as never before," said Publishers Weekly. When a prostitute's mutilated corpse is found in a cupboard at Buckingham Palace after a stag party thrown by the prince of Wales, political disaster looms for the monarchy, and Pitt, who firmly believes in the concept of justice, has to deal with people able to make their own. "Perry," PW continues, "does a nice job with some plot twists" in this "solid" addition to her bestselling series. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer has said, "Her grasp of Victorian character and conscience still astonishes."

On FRIDAY the 18th at Noon, BARON BIRTCHER will talk about and sign Angels Fall (Iota, $23.95). "A taut and evocative thriller," reports Edgar-winner T. Jefferson Parker. When a young girl disappears, former LA cop Mike Travis (back after Birtcher's bestselling Ruby Tuesday and Roadhouse Blues) leaves his scuba charter business in Hawaii for a descent into the bowels of an underground culture driven by drugs and sex, a world built on secrets where entire lives have been built on lies. His investigation glimpses a hellish side of paradise unseen by tourists, painted with the dark brushstrokes of hard-boiled tropical noir. "Travis sails, surfs and bare-knuckles his way through a thriller that rolls like a rogue wave toward a deadly climax," says Randy Wayne White. "It's stylish, fast, soulful,'' adds Don Winslow. "You want to read this book, then you want to live in it."

PETER ABRAHAMS: Delusion (William Morrow, $24.95) SIGNED. Kirkus said that in the latest offering from this Edgar-nominated author, ''the apparent exoneration of a wrongfully convicted killer plays havoc with the people who did the convicting -- and with the convict as well. One night 20 years ago, Nell Jarreau saw her boyfriend stabbed to death by a robber whose mask slipped just enough to give a clear look at his face, enough to persuade her -- and a jury -- that the murderer was Alvin DuPree. Now a videotape, locked away in the files of a detective, gives DuPree an alibi... As the plot simmers, the real prize here is DuPree, a brutish innocent who imagines himself as Job. Abrahams succeeds in making this deeply wronged man dangerous, pitiable and scary."

NEVADA BARR: Winter Study (Putnam, $24.95) SIGNED. The 13th entry in Barr's National Park series was recommended by Library Journal: "Park ranger Anna Pigeon returns to Michigan's bitterly cold, icebound Isle Royale where wolf researcher Katherine Huff turns up dead one night, attacked by the wolves she loved. Which human let her fall victim? Barr's intense closed-room drama (how can seven people get into this much trouble?) integrates winter's forces -- blizzards and ice -- with the psychological play of ghosts and legends. Anna unearths everyone's worst secrets and ends up fighting for her own life. It's tremendously satisfying."

MICHAEL CHABON: Maps and Legends (McSweeney's, $24.00) SIGNED. [Books will be in-store on Fri., Apr. 11th.] "...Pulitzer Prize-winning author Chabon tells readers of some of the books that have helped shape his writing career. Among his loves: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Philip Roth's Goodbye, Columbus, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries, and various comic strips and ghost stories. Chabon argues that there's a place for both high and low art in literature and that what really makes a reader is a love for the story... Chabon's 16 essays ... argue the merits of reading, writing, and storytelling, breaking down the barriers between so-called genre writing and 'serious' literature. Affectionate and funny; a welcome and necessary addition to all collections," said Library Journal. The dustjacket is a work of art: not merely the usual single wrapper, but three separate wrappers, in graduated sizes, fit together to appear as one. Striking and unique.

LISA JACKSON: Lost Souls (Kensington, $22.00) SIGNED. "Kristi Bentz, having recovered from her last encounter with a sadistic monster in bestseller Jackson's Absolute Fear, faces an equally terrifying ordeal in this frantic paranormal thriller. Four female students associated with a vampire cult have gone missing at Baton Rouge's All Saints College, where Kristi is pursuing a journalism degree and plans to write about true crime... Jackson peppers the action with insights into the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies trying to solve crimes in post-Katrina Louisiana," said Publishers Weekly.

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 "M" is for Mystery Homepage

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SIGNED BOOKS | BRITISH BOOKS | PAPERBACK IMPORTS | ANTHOLOGIES

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