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Staff Picks for August/September
Lelia's Staff Picks
Slaying Is Such Sweet Sorrow by Patricia Harwin
"Librarian and former New Yorker Catherine Penny has already sleuthed out the truth behind a deadly house fire since settling in the tiny English town of Far Wychwood. But nowhere is too far for painful memories to find her when her ex-husband, who left her single in her sixties, arrives with his new lady love to attend a family affair. Catherine can't avoid him at the awards ceremony honoring their son-in-law, Peter, who is a shoo-in for a prestigious appointment at Oxford's Mercy College. But the shock of Peter not being chosen is matched only by who is: pompous, womanizing scholar Edgar Stone. And when Stone is found murdered, Peter's guilt seems hardly academic...."
$6.99
Sprayed Stiff by Laura Bradley
"Reyn is getting conditioned to normal life after untangling the murder of her beloved mentor. So she's a little frosted by a late-night call from wealthy Alexandra Barrister, desperate for Reyn's help with a hair crisis. She arrives at the imposing Barrister estate -- and wishes she was packing more than a hot brush when she finds the body of Alexandra's socialite mother, arranged with her hair standing on end, cemented into place by a killer with a macabre style sense. Reyn suspects she's being framed by Alexandra, and even handsome detective Jackson Scythe may not be able to save her scalp...unless they go undercover to undo a killer with a whole new twist on having a bad hair day."
$6.99
Better Off Wed by Laura Durham
"The murder of a particularly difficult mother-of-the-bride has cast a pall on wedding planner Annabelle Archer's latest triumph -- and suspicion falls heavily on her sometime-business partner and friend Richard Gerard. Annabelle knows that even her trusted wedding emergency kit won't be able to salvage their careers if she and Richard can't find the real culprit.
It's no easy task since the slain matron was perhaps the most hated socialite in D.C., but Annabelle navigates through the city's colorful wedding industry and powerful social scene on the deadly trail of a killer. Always the bridal consultant and never the bride, she's seen her fair share of bouquet tosses. But there's no telling what surprises a ruthless killer will throw her way if she gets too close."
$6.99
Killer Blonde by Laura Levine
"Agal with a serious Ben & Jerry's habit and credits including a tome entitled "I Was Henry Kissinger's Sex Slave" can't afford to be too picky about employment opportunities. So when Beverly Hills socialite SueEllen Kingsley offers Jaine megabucks to ghostwrite a book of hostess tips, it's time to sharpen the #2s. So what if Jaine has to take dictation from a rail-thin lady of leisure in a bubble bath? Pride doesn't feed the cat and the dubious side benefit of this particular job is an up-close, personal view of the amorous exploits of Hollywood's ladies-who-lunch. The only bright spot is sixteen-year-old Heidi, a girl after Jaine's own heart. Shy, overweight, and oppressed by her stepmother, SueEllen, Heidi could use a friend as much as Jaine could use an ally. But everything short circuits when Jaine finds SueEllen floating face down in her tub, fried by her own blow dryer. The primary suspect: Heidi, whose account of a mysterious blonde fleeing the scene is greeted with skepticism by Beverly Hills' finest. Peroxided suspects abound, including a very private masseuse, a jealous nurse, a former game show hostess...even a closet blonde with a surprising secret. One of them is hiding a murderous heart behind pricey highlights, and Jaine's out to expose the killer's dark roots. Because blondes have enough fun without getting away with murder..."
$5.99
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice--but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.
$18.00
Andrew's Staff Picks
City of the Dead by Brian Keene
"Where can you go when the dead are everywhere? Cities have become overrun with legions of the dead, all of them intent on destroying what's left of the living. Trapped inside a fortified skyscraper, a handful of survivors prepare to make their last stand against an unstoppable, undying enemy. With every hour their chances diminish and their numbers dwindle, while the numbers of the dead can only rise. Because sooner or later, everything dies. And then it comes back, ready to kill."
$6.99
King Suckerman by George P. Pelecanos
"The time is 1976. Captain Beefheart's on the eight-track. The hot new superfly flick "King Suckerman is coming to neighborhood theaters. And Washington, D.C., is a hotbed of drugs and racial tension--an easy place to turn a wrong corner and land in a whole lot of trouble.
That's what happens to Marcus Clay and Dimitri Karras when they cross paths with an ex-con and his gang of natural born killers. Walking into a drug deal gone south, Clay and Karras end up with a pile of money that isn't theirs...the sexy teenage girlfriend of the Italian dealer...and major trouble. The ex-con is soon spilling blood to get to the cash. The dealer is scheming to get his girl back. And two knockaround guys named Clay and Karras are reaching a pivotal moment--the time to take a stand, go straight, and get justice. Or maybe just sweet revenge."
$7.50
Lost Boy Lost Girl by Peter Straub
"A woman commits suicide for no apparent reason. A week later, her son- fifteen-year-old Mark Underhill-vanishes. His uncle, novelist Timothy Underhill, searches his hometown of Millhaven for clues that might help unravel this horrible dual mystery. He soon learns that a pedophilic murderer is on the loose in the vicinity, and that shortly before his mother's suicide, Mark had become obsessed with an abandoned house where he imagined the killer might have taken refuge. No mere empty building, the house whispers from attic to basement with the echoes of a long-hidden true-life horror story, and Tim Underhill comes to fear that in investigating its unspeakable history, Mark stumbled across its last and greatest secret."
$7.99
Black Echo by Michael Connelly
"For maverick LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch, the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal… because the murdered man was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who had fought side by side with him in a hellish underground war. Now Bosch is about to relive the horror of Nam. From a dangerous maze of blind alleys to a daring criminal heist beneath the city, his survival instincts will once again be tested to their limit."
$7.99
Shadows Over Baker Street edited by Michael Reaves and John Pelan
"Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is among the most famous literary figures of all time. For more than a hundred years, his adventures have stood as imperishable monuments to the ability of human reason to penetrate every mystery, solve every puzzle, and punish every crime. For nearly as long, the macabre tales of H. P. Lovecraft have haunted readers with their nightmarish glimpses into realms of cosmic chaos and undying evil. But what would happen if Conan Doyle's peerless detective and his allies were to find themselves faced with mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but of sanity itself? In this collection of all-new, all-original tales, twenty of today's most cutting edge writers provide their answers to that burning question.
- "A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman: A gruesome murder exposes a plot against the Crown, a seditious conspiracy so cunningly wrought that only one man in all London could have planned it-and only one man can hope to stop it.
- "A Case of Royal Blood" by Steven-Elliot Altman: Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells join forces to protect a princess stalked by a ghost-or perhaps something far worse than a ghost.
- "Art in the Blood" by Brian Stableford: One man's horrific affliction leads Sherlock Holmes to an ancient curse that threatens to awaken the crawling chaos slumbering in the blood of all humankind.
- "The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone" by Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson: A girl who has not eaten in more than three years teaches Holmes and Watson that sometimes the impossible "cannot be eliminated.
- "The Horror of the Many Faces" by Tim Lebbon: Dr. Watson witnesses a maniacal murder in London-andrecognizes the villain as none other than his friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
With these and fourteen other dark tales of madness, horror, and deduction, a new and terrible game is afoot."
$14.95
Laura's Staff Picks
Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard
"When daredevil Dennis Lenahan brings his motorcycle high dive act to the Tishomingo Lodge & Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, he witnesses a mob hit while atop his diving platform and becomes mixed up with murder, mayhem, wild women, and a pack of southern-fried hoods."
$7.99
The Reaper by Peter Lovesey
"Otis Joy is the handsome young rector of St. Bartholomew's Church in Foxford, England. His bishop has just accused him of embezzling church funds and ordered him to resign. But before that can happen, the bishop commits suicide. How opportune. One sudden death seems to lead to another, but then Otis Joy finds his soul mate."
$12.00
Foxmask by Juliet Marillier
"In this captivating historical fantasy, the sequel to Wolfskin (2003), Australian author Marillier sweeps the reader to Dark Age Britain's northernmost islands, where life is hard and opportunistic raiders have forced change on the peace-loving, magic-believing inhabitants. When 18-year-old Thorvald reads a letter from his unknown true father, Somerled, his world collapses. Somerled was exiled forever after slaying his chieftain brother, Ulf. Fearing that he may be subject to the same curse that afflicted his father, Thorvald decides to search for the disgraced Somerled. He persuades his friend Sam the fisherman to transport him by boat to the island where he believes his father to be. Unbeknownst to both Sam and Thorvald, a young woman, Creidhe, stows away on the boat. Creidhe becomes a key player in the stirring events that unfold when they reach the Northern Isles. (Publishers Weekly review)"
$14.95
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
"The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses..... [I]t's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayerd sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort -- and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability."
$29.99 prior to 25% new hardcover discount
The Baritone Wore Chiffon by Mark Schweizer
"Hayden Konig, a part-time Episcopal choirmaster, a full-time police detective and ana spiring whodunit novelist, returns in this uproarious adventure that takes himf rom his home I the mountains of North Carolina to the city of York in the north of England. St Barnabas Church will never be the same."
$12.95
