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Mystery October 2009
The distance that the dead have gone
Does not at first appear;
Their coming back seems possible
For many an ardent year.
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), American poet
Upcoming Mystery Conventions and Conferences
New England Crime Bake -- Dedham, MA (Boston area,) November 13-15, 2009

Eighth annual mystery conference for writers and readers, co-sponsored by Scarlet Letters (New England Sisters in Crime) and the Mystery Writers of America New England Chapter. Guest of Honor: Sue Grafton

Men of Mystery -- Irvine, CA, November 21, 2009

Now in its 10 year. "We are hosting more than 50 male mystery writers -- everything from legal thrillers to surfer P.I.'s."  Michael Connelly and Tim Dorsey are featured authors.

Black Orchid Weekend -- New York, NY, December 4-6, 2009

Held by the members of the Wolfe Pack, devotees of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series.  "The packed schedule will include a Friday night book discussion/media viewing, Saturday's Assembly and Black Orchid Banquet, and a Sunday brunch."

New and Recently Released!


City of Silver: A Mystery - by Annamaria Alfieri
Publisher: Minotaur Books
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/04/2009
 ISBN-13: 9780312383862
 ISBN-10: 031238386X
Historical Mystery. In 1650 Peru, in the midst of the Spanish Inquisition, the city of Potosí has been minting coins that are not pure silver--leading to an upcoming visit from the Grand Inquisitor. Meanwhile, at the local convent, a young girl is dead. Even though some call it suicide, Mother Maria Santa Hilda disagrees and--controversially--allows her to be buried in sacred ground. Now, in order to save her job and her life, the abbess must prove that the girl was murdered. If you love complex historical fiction and locked-room mysteries, you'll take a shine to this debut novel.

Hemingway Deadlights - by Michael Atkinson
Publisher: Minotaur Books
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/18/2009
 ISBN-13: 9780312379711
 ISBN-10: 0312379714
Historical Mystery. Ernest "Papa" Hemingway is living in Key West in 1956, nursing booze and a broken ankle. But when the police come knocking to tell him that an old drinking buddy has been harpooned and that he tried to call Hemingway just before he died, he feels an obligation to the man. So even though he's sporting a cast, he decides to figure out what happened--this decision has him traveling to Cuba, meeting Che and Fidel, and dealing with the CIA and the FBI. This "tasty cocktail of suspense, sex, laughs, and literature" (Library Journal) is a first novel that many Hemingway fans will drink up.

The Silent Hour: A Lincoln Perry Mystery - by Michael Koryta
Publisher: Minotaur Books
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/04/2009
 ISBN-13: 9780312361570
 ISBN-10: 0312361572
Mystery. Can murderers be rehabilitated? Alexandra Cantrell, a mafia princess, and her husband, Joshua, thought that they could be--and to that end they opened up Whisper Ridge, a sort of halfway house for parolees. But the estate sits abandoned now, and the Cantrells have been missing for 12 years. So why is Parker Harrison, a former Whisper Ridge resident, contacting Cleveland, Ohio, private investigator Lincoln Perry now? In this 4th outing, the answer to that question leads to many more as the already complicated case becomes even more so. Kirkus Reviews says that The Silent Hour has "feisty plotting and the most memorable prose since Chandler."

Hardball: A V.I. Warshawski Novel - by Sara Paretsky
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/22/2009
 ISBN-13: 9780399155932
 ISBN-10: 0399155937
Mystery. Interested in learning more about Chicago, President Barack Obama's hometown? Let V.I. Warshawski show you around--as always in her outings, the toddlin' town is "vividly characterized, as are its politics and ethnic and cultural conflicts" (Booklist). In Hardball, the 14th book to feature V.I., she is hired to track down a man who disappeared 40 years ago, after the city's 1966 race riots. While working the case, V.I. unearths skeletons in the city's closet...and possibly in her own family's. If you're interested in more books in which the heroine is concerned with social issues, try Marcia Muller's well-done Sharon McCone novels.

Inherent Vice - by Thomas Pynchon
Publisher: Penguin Press
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/04/2009
 ISBN-13: 9781594202247
 ISBN-10: 1594202249
Crime Novel. You'll be forgiven for wondering what in the world a book by Thomas Pynchon, the reclusive National Book Award-winning author of Gravity's Rainbow, is doing on a list of mysteries. But his latest fits the bill admirably. In 1960s California, marijuana-smoking detective Doc Sportello agrees to help an ex-girlfriend. It seems her real estate tycoon boyfriend is being set up by his wife and her lover, who want the billionaire out of their way. Can Doc get to the bottom of a tripped-out case that is more twisted than an in-progress tie-dye t-shirt? Library Journal calls Inherent Vice "brilliant" and says that "the resolution is as crisp as Doc is laid-back."

New Tricks - by David Rosenfelt
Publisher: Grand Central
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/06/2009
 ISBN-13: 9780446505871
 ISBN-10: 0446505870
Mystery. Wealthy Paterson, New Jersey, lawyer Andy Carpenter doesn't have to work for a living--but he occasionally takes cases that interest him, and those usually involve dogs. In New Tricks, his "excellent" (Publishers Weekly) latest outing, Andy finds himself in possession of Waggy, an adorable Bernese Mountain puppy at the center of a dog custody case. Waggy's a fine dog, except that people around him seem to end up murdered. Newcomers as well as old fans (who'll enjoy seeing golden retriever Tara and girlfriend Laurie) will enjoy this 7th book in the Andy Carpenter series.
Focus on: The Supernatural


Aunt Dimity : Vampire Hunter - by Nancy Atherton
Publisher: Viking
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/21/2008
 ISBN-13: 9780670018543
 ISBN-10: 0670018546
Cozy Mystery.  Lucky #13 in the Aunt Dimity series, in which recently deceased Aunt Dimity helps Lori Shepherd solve mysteries!  Her paranoia regarding her preschooler twins' safety erupting in the face of tales about a pale, blood-stained figure lurking in the nearby woods, Lori consults with her not-quite-departed Aunt Dimity and eventually stumbles upon a charismatic vagabond, a bitter old woman, and the truth about a forty-year-old murder.  Readers who enjoy English villages and eccentric characters will relish this charming series.

Pride and Prescience, or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged: A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery - by Carrie Bebris
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2007
 ISBN-13: 9780765318435
 ISBN-10: 0765318431
Historical Mystery. Ever wondered what happened to Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy? Pride and Prescience, the 1st in a series, has them turning sleuths! When Caroline Bingley, Elizabeth's former rival for Mr. Darcy's affections, becomes engaged to an American almost overnight and begins to act oddly (she's found wandering alone in an unsavory part of town at night), Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy investigate. Austenophiles who enjoy a bit of the supernatural will delight in this visit with old friends. If you'd like to see Jane Austen herself acting as detective, check out Stephanie Barron's mystery novels.

Three Sisters: A Charlie Moon Mystery - by James D. Doss
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/30/2007
 ISBN-13: 9780312364595
 ISBN-10: 0312364598
Mystery. Ute tribal investigator Charlie Moon deals with the murder of a woman who appears to have been mauled by a bear, even though she died in bed. Interference from the victim's two sisters, one of whom is a celebrity TV psychic (who was able to predict the death of a fan but not her sister), adds to his troubles. But with the help of his Aunt Daisy--an Ute shaman who gets some of her information from spirits--and his friend, police chief Scott Parris, Charlie searches for answers as more dead bodies appear. Fans of Native American detectives and witty mysteries should check out the Moon series; this is the 12th and The Shaman Sings is the 1st.

Grave Sight - by Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Berkley
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/26/2006
 ISBN-13: 9780425212899
 ISBN-10: 0425212890
Paranormal Mystery. Though Charlaine Harris is best known as the author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels (which HBO's True Blood is based on), she also writes about another young Southern woman with supernatural talent. When Harper Connelly was 15 years old, she was struck by lightning--while she didn't die, she did gain the ability to locate dead people and "see" their last moments. Now she earns a living using her cadaver-finding skills, and aided by her stepbrother-manager Tolliver, she travels around the U.S. helping the living find answers. The 4th book to feature Harper, Grave Secret, is due out at the end of October.

Already Dead: A Novel - by Charlie Huston
Publisher: Ballantine Books
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/31/2006
 ISBN-13: 9780345478245
 ISBN-10: 034547824X
Hardboiled Fiction. New York City private detective Joe Pitt is a vampire and a bit of a loner--he's not a member of a vampire gang, and his human girlfriend doesn't even know he's an immortal. In Already Dead, it's suggested that he find the missing teenage daughter of a prominent New York family (the patriarch knows leaders of a powerful vampire cult) and figure out who's spreading a zombie virus around the city. This "irresistible and fiendishly original take on the vampire myth" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is the violent 1st in a blood-soaked series that now numbers five (the latest, My Dead Body, was published earlier this month).

Prayer of the Night Shepherd: A Merrily Watkins Mystery - by Phil Rickman
Publisher: Trafalgar Square
 Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/30/2004
 ISBN-13: 9780330490337
 ISBN-10: 0330490338
Mystery. Anglican priest and single mother Merrily Watkins lives near the Welsh border where she's also the deliverance consultant (aka exorcist) for her area (every English diocese has someone who investigates supposedly paranormal activity). In Prayer of the Night Shepherd, Jane's teenaged daughter starts her first job, as a chambermaid at a Victorian mansion-turned-hotel that has a dark history and which the owners claim inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Baskerville Hall. Though this is the 6th book in this series, readers can start here (The Wine of Angels is the 1st). Sherlock Holmes fans will salivate over this look at the Baskerville hound's beginnings.
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Events

Central Library Events

An Evening With Sarah Cortez and Lucha Corpi -- From Rhyme to Crime
Wednesday, November 4 | 7 PM



Sarah Cortez and Lucha Corpi, both Mexican-American writers, wrote poetry before turning to mystery fiction. Short stories by both women are included in Hit List: the Best of Latino Mystery. Sarah Cortez, a poet, educator, and law enforcement officer, is the author of a poetry collection, How to Undress a Cop, which won the PEN Texas Literary Award in Poetry. She edited Hit List: the Best of Latino Mystery and Windows into My World: Latino Youth Write Their Lives, which won a 2008 Skipping Stones Honor Award. She lives and works in Houston, Texas. Lucha Corpi is a poet, novelist, and children’s book author. She has written four mystery novels featuring Gloria Damasco: Death at Solstice, Black Widow's Wardrobe, Cactus Blood and Eulogy for a Brown Angel.

Hit List: the Best of Latino Mystery is a groundbreaking anthology of short fiction by Latino writers, which features an intriguing and unpredictable cast of sleuths, murderers and crime victims. The stories run the gamut of the mystery genre, from traditional to noir, from the private investigator to the police procedural, and even a “chick lit” mystery. The contributors—including Lucha Corpi, Carolina García-Aguilera, Rolando Hinojosa, and editor Sarah Cortez—are skillful guides, offering a gripping ride through their barrios where executions, vengeance and mayhem are carried out with a bang.


Central Library Mystery Book Club
**NEW DAY**
1st Saturdays | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM



Join us on Saturday, November 7th when we discuss The Circle by Peter Lovesey.

Neighborhood Library Events

Meyer Neighborhood Library
Mystery Book Club
3rd Thursdays | 1:00 - 2:00 PM



Join us Thursday, November 19th when we discuss The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe. 

Kendall Neighborhood Library
Mystery Book Club
1st Thursdays | 1:00 - 2:00 PM

Kendall Neighborhood Library will be closing November 1st and reopening at its new location, at 602 N. Eldridge Parkway, in early 2010. 

Murder by the Book

Author Events

Tuesday, November 3 | 6:30 p.m.
Lucha Corpi

Thursday, November 5 | 6:30 p.m.
Susan Kandel

Saturday, November 7 | 4:30 p.m.
Greg Herren

Friday, November 13 | 6:00 p.m.
Soho Crime fall event #2
Martin Limón

Saturday, November 14 | TWO EVENTS
Wendy Lyn Watson (4:30 p.m.)
Rachel Caine (6:30 p.m.)

Wednesday, November 18 | 6:30 p.m.
Clive Cussler

Saturday, November 21 | 4:30 p.m.
SMALL PRESS SATURDAY
Janice Law
Sam Waas

Saturday, November 28 | 5:00 p.m.
James Hime

Monday, December 7 | 6:30 p.m.
Sue Grafton

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