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See Upcoming Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Releases
See Upcoming Mystery Releases
Previous Staff Picks
Staff Picks for May/June 2006
Andrew's Staff Picks
Drama City by George Pelecanos
"An ex-con on a leash, Lorenzo Brown works a straight job for the Humane Society saving D.C.'s motley dogs. Wearing a foolish uniform, dropping an occasional urine sample, and meeting with his parole officer, Rachel Lopez, is a small price to pay for staying clean. But while Lorenzo fights indifference and cruelty on battered streets, his beautiful PO is waging her own secret war against the demons of sex and booze. Now as Lorenzo's best friend struggles to hold on to his drug kingdom and a violent kid spins out of control, Lorenzo and Rachel will be pushed onto a tragic stage-as two people who could save each other's lives…"
$6.99
The Overnight by Ramsey Campbell
"The bookstore's shelves are put in order every night, but every morning, books are found lying all over the floor, many damp and damaged beyond repair. The store's computers keep acting up, and even when the machines are off, they seem to glow with a spectral gray light.
Things soon go from bad to worse. A salesclerk abruptly loses his ability to read. One employee accuses another of making sexual advances. A hit-and-run in the parking lot claims a life. The security monitors display half-seen "things" crawling between the stacks.
Desperate to pass a company inspection, the manager musters his staff for an overnight inventory. When the last customers reluctantly depart, leaving almost-visible trails of slime shining behind them, the doors are locked, sealing the staff inside for a final orgy of shelving.
The damp, grey, silent "things "that have been lurking in the basement and hiding in the fog may move slowly, but they are inexorable. This bookstore is the doorway to a hell unlike any other."
$7.99
Sunset and Sawdust by Joe R. Lansdale
"In the middle of a cyclone, beautiful, red-haired Sunset Jones shoots her husband Pete dead when he tries to beat and rape her. To Camp Rapture's general consternation, Sunset's mother-in-law arranges for her to take over from Pete as town constable. As if that weren't hard enough to swallow in depression era east Texas, Sunset actually takes the job seriously, and her investigation into a brutal double murder pulls her into a maelstrom of greed, corruption, and unspeakable malice. It is a case that will require a well of inner strength she never knew she had. Spirited and electrifying, 'Sunset and Sawdust' is a mystery and a tale like nothing you've read before."
$13.00
The Cobweb by Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George
"When a foreign exchange student is found murdered at an Iowa University, Deputy Sheriff Clyde Banks finds that his investigation extends far beyond the small college town--all the way to the Middle East. Shady events at the school reveal that a powerful department is using federal grant money for highly dubious research. And what it's producing is a very nasty bug.
Navigating a plot that leads from his own backyard to Washington, D.C., to the Gulf, where his Army Reservist wife has been called to duty, Banks realizes he may be the only person who can stop the wholesale slaughtering of thousands of Americans. It's a lesson in foreign policy he'll never forget."
$14.00
Smax by Alan Moore and Zander Cannon
"From critically acclaimed Alan Moore, creator of 'Watchmen' and 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen', comes a magical tale of wonder and enchantment. Jeff Smax, a major character in Moore's enthralling Top10 series, must return to his home world after many years on Earth. Accompanied by his fellow Neopolis's Precinct Ten police officer Robyn "Toybox" Slinger, Jeff must face a myriad of challenges ranging from cutting through mountainous red tape to go on a quest, doing battle with the most monstrous of all dragons, and adapting to a world where the laws of physics are not only unheard of, they just plain don't work. Not to mention Jeff's sister..."
$12.99
Laura's Staff Picks
Flamingo Fatale by Jimmie Ruth Evans
"After a full day slinging hash at Kountry Kitchen and then surviving the graveyard shift at Budget Mart, the last thing Wanda Nell Culpepper needs is to to find her no-account ex-husband, Bobby Ray, flashing cash and stirring up trouble. Things can't get much worse--until the next day when she finds her missing pink flamingo stuck in his very dead body."
$6.99
Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt
"Buried 12 feet below Tom Lasker's North Dakota wheat field is a 42-foot fiberglass sailboat, complete with microwave oven. After digging it up, Tom makes the additional discovery of an object that serves as a doorway to another world--a find that will draw a far-flung collection of people with conflicting motives to the small community."
$6.99
In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson
"After the waters of a reservoir are drained, the ruins of a small Yorkshire village are revealed, along with the bones of a young woman who was murdered at the end of World War II. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks must identify the victim and unmask a killer who has escaped detection for a half century."
$7.50
The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill
"Five thousand years out of the Labyrinth, the Minotaur finds himself in the American South, living in a trailer park and working as a line cook at a steakhouse. No longer a devourer of human flesh, the Minotaur is a socially inept, lonely creature with very human needs. But over a two-week period, as his life dissolves into chaos, this broken and alienated immortal awakens to the possibility for happiness and to the capacity for love."
$14.00
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
"This story of a boy who grows to manhood, and of a tree that gives him her bounty through the years, is a moving parable about the gift of giving and the capacity to love."
$15.99
Lelia's Staff Picks
Hula Done It? by Maddy Hunter
"For travel escort Emily Andrew and her fellow Iowans, "aloha" means "hello" to all the sun, surf, and scrumptious cuisine their Hawaiian cruise has to offer. But for Professor Dorian Smoker, a renowned expert on the legendary Captain Cook, "aloha" also means "good-bye" -- as in "man overboard."
Sure, it could have been an accident. But Emily wonders if some guest with a grudge might have knocked off the opinionated professor. Or maybe it had something to do with that missing journal Nana's friend lent him -- the one with the mysterious treasure map. Emily figures the map is probably a fake. But when another copy turns up, she and her friends take off, rafting down rivers and plunging through jungles to find the treasure themselves. Unfortunately, Professor Smoker's killer just might have the same idea. And this tropical heat wave could quickly turn into a crime wave..."
$6.99
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field
"A favorite since it was first published in 1929, this Newbery Medal winner is a timeless classic about a very special doll of great charm and character.
Hitty is a very special doll who belongs to Phoebe. Phoebe is proud of her beautiful doll and brings Hitty everywhere she goes. This is thrilling for Hitty, who finds herself involved in the most wonderful adventures both on land and at sea. She meets many people and makes new friends.
This is the story of the first hundred years of Hitty's life. And that's only the beginning for a doll as special as Hitty."
$5.99
Desert Noir by Betty Webb
"At the age of four, private detective Lena Jones had been found lying unconscious by the side of an Arizona highway, a bullet robbing her of her memories. Now the scarred survivor of a dozen foster homes, Lena has vowed to find the truth about her origins -- no matter how terrible that truth might be.
In Desert Noir, the first of the Lena Jones mysteries, Lena's quest is interrupted when her friend, heiress Clarice Kobe, is beaten to death in the Western Heart Art Gallery. Lena and her Pima Indian partner Jimmy Sisiwan at first suspect the art dealer's abusive husband, but their investigations soon reveal that domestic violence was hardly the only problem in the victim's troubled life. Clarice, for all her money and beauty, had a dark side; her enemies far outnumbered her friends. Among those who wished her dead are George Haozous, the fiery Apache artist whose graphic work she once banned from her gallery. Another enemy is Dulya Albundo, the daughter of an elderly Hispanic woman whose death was directly attributable to the art dealer's greed. Even Clarice's parents -- wealthy land developers whose housing tracts have ravaged the beautiful Sonoran Desert -- appear to be oddly untroubled by their daughter's death. Lena's search for Clarice's killer brings violence back into her own life, yet it also brings her closer to the solution of her own mystery -- her real identity.
Set against the backdrop of the posh Scottsdale, Arizona art scene and the nearby Indian reservations, Desert Noir heralds the debut of a detective as wounded as her clients, a woman battling her own demons while trying to rescue others from theirs."
$14.95
The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman
"There are sneaking, creeping, crumpling noises coming from inside the walls. Lucy is sure there are wolves living in the walls of their house -- and, as everybody says, if the wolves come out of the walls, it's all over. Her family doesn't believe her. Then one day, the wolves come out.
But it's not all over. Instead, Lucy's battle with the wolves is only just beginning."
$16.99
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton
"When Mrs. Agatha Raisin decides to retire early to the English Cotswolds, she envisions herself enjoying all that country life has to offer: garden parties, tea at the vicarage, and a cozy home far from the noise and smell of London. Life in the village of Carsley is not as Agatha anticipated, however. Much to her surprise, she doesn't attract much interest among the villagers. No one comes to call; there are no invitations to tennis or tea. A miserable Agatha is forced to acknowledge that she is but another newcomer to the well-established Carsley society. Agatha didn't succeed in business by being a shrinking violet, though, so she shakes off her doubts and resolves to make her mark on the village: She will enter Carsley's Great Quiche Competition and win! The fact that Agatha has never baked so much as a potato in her life doesn't stop her; she submits a delectable store-bought quiche as her own. Having dusted off her mantlepiece to accommodate her silver cup, Agatha is stunned to see the award go to another entry. Her surprise turns to horror, however, when the contest judge drops dead - from poison the police trace to Agatha's "homemade" spinach pie. Agatha is now the talk of the town - though not exactly in the manner she had hoped. In an effort to clear her name, she turns amateur sleuth - as Beaton introduces a witty and well-crafted new mystery series peopled with quirky characters and all endearingly eccentric sleuth."
$6.50
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