 This Sunday, April 19th, at 2 pm, we're pleased to welcome Jerry Peterson and Michael Black.
Jerry Peterson's (www.jerrypetersonbooks.com) first novel is Early's Fall ($25.95). Here's how Kirkus Reviews describes it:
"Peterson's debut sends Kansas Sheriff James "Cactus" Early down some perilous paths. When he returned from World War II, Cactus Early married schoolteacher
Thelma Nelson and settled in as sheriff of Riley County. Bedeviled by
the bank-robbing son of a local rancher, he's further shaken when he's
called to the scene of schoolteacher Judith Smitts's axe murder. Her
husband Bill would be the No. 1 suspect if he hadn't been out of town
on railroad business. An investigation reveals that Judith was far from
an ordinary housewife. A Jew deeply involved in Zionism, she'd been
raising funds for the new state of Israel while conducting an affair
with an officer from Fort Riley. Taking a break from tooling his jeep
over countless dirt tracks, Cactus catches a train to Kansas City,
where casual racism moves him to complain to President Truman and
Judith's parents introduce him to an Israeli diplomat who describes
Judith's active role in the fight for the nation's independence. His
troubles back home worsen when his pregnant wife suddenly shows signs
of mental illness and Bill Smitts disappears, his alibi broken, pursued
for theft by railroad detectives. With help from several
individualistic sheriffs and a hard-bitten state trooper, Cactus slowly
pulls his case together even as his own life slips into chaos. An evocative, idiosyncratic procedural that pairs a lovingly
portrayed landscape from yesteryear with a quiet, tough hero and a
stable of appealingly down-to-earth characters."
 It's always a pleasure to have Michael Black (www.michaelablack.com) back in the store. Mike's new book is a delightful oddity: I Am Not a Cop ($24.00). This book carries the byline "Richard Belzer" but Mike is the true author. Here's how Library Journal describes it:
"What's in a name? For many browsers, the probable answer is 'a lot.'
Belzer is the equine-faced actor who has fashioned a career portraying
wisecracking yet lovable Detective John Munch on TV's popular Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit. A former stand-up comic and current
conspiracy theorist, Belzer adds another string to his bow here as a
detective novelist. With that level of name recognition, the fact that
the book delivers the goods is almost superfluous. In the story, Belzer
is busy filming the series. He's played a cop so long that maybe he
thinks he is one; he's taking self-defense classes just in case. A good
friend, a Russian emigre and New York medical examiner, gives Belz a
ticket to a fight, just before they are attacked by Ukrainian-spouting
thugs. After Rudi mysteriously disappears, Belz receives a letter that
includes four alphanumeric entries plus a cryptic message, and he's off
on a chase that involves the Russkies, the blood diamond trade, and
some similes that will make Raymond Chandler fans crack a smile as big
as the Ritz. Deft comic timing, the gruff persona, and a lively, if
predictable, story will satisfy fans and maybe even create some."
We'll also have copies of Mike's collaboration with Julie Hyzy, Dead Ringer ($25.95), and some other previous titles.
We hope you can join us!
|
