  This Week at "M"
86 East Third Ave., San Mateo, CA 94401 Phone: 650-401-8077
OR Toll Free outside Bay Area: 888-405-8077
October 24th, 2011 |
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Store Hours! MONDAY - SATURDAY 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM SUNDAY 12 Noon to 6:00 PM
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| Greetings! |
October wraps this week with two quite outstanding authors dropping by to sign, and then November comes rushing at us . . . with a Very Important event coming up a week from Thursday (Nov. 3rd).
Question: Why hasn't Irish born, best-selling author, JOHN CONNOLLY ever set one of his books in Ireland? A new documentary attempts to answer that question, and we have the EXCLUSIVE BAY AREA SCREENING of it! Shot mostly in Maine, the film shows the influence of the place on the writer and looks at how Connolly's oeuvre constitutes its own universe. His signature character, former NYPD officer, now P.I., Charlie Parker lives in Maine. Maine figures predominately in almost every one of his twelve books. The topography of Maine, and its bloody history, reaching back to the early settlers, are well used by Connolly. Those unfamiliar with his books will be lead on a journey of discovery through images of Maine in winter, combined with excerpts from his stories. (For more description, see the event blurb, below.)
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"M" ON THE WEB: Be sure to check out www.MforMystery.com and scroll down to the Catalogs, where ALL titles have a convenient shopping cart option.
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How to Order
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3 WAYS TO PLACE AN ORDER: BY PHONE: (650) 401-8077 or (888) 405-8077 toll free outside Bay Area EMAIL: info@mformystery.com USE the SHOPPING CART feature with PayPal!
PLEASE NOTE: All hardcovers are shipped with Brodart mylar covers to protect the integrity of the dust jacket. All packages are shipped with bubble wrap to secure the book(s) during transport to insure quality every time! COMPLETE SHIPPING INFO IS AT END OF NEWSLETTER.
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 Upcoming Author Events
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REMEMBER . . . It is never too soon to reserve your copy of ANY forthcoming book, whether the author is signing in-store or otherwise. These first editions, especially once signed, are limited in quantity. Orders may be placed by email (info@mformystery.com) any time, or telephone (650-401-8077) during store hours.
All events are free and open to the public. To be in the signing line you must buy the new book from us.
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Tues., Oct. 25th at 7:00 PM: "M" is for Mystery Bookclub
| This m onth's book is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. 
Join us every last Tuesday of the month for lively discussion about selected books! Please note: This is not an author event and the author will not be present.
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Tues., Oct. 25th DROP BY: COLSON WHITEHEAD
|  Zone One (Doubleday, $25.95).
Kirkus starred: "[Whitehead] sinks his teeth into a popular format and emerges with a literary feast, producing his most compulsively readable work to date. . . . Whitehead transforms the zombie novel into an allegory of contemporary Manhattan (and, by extension, America)." And Booklist also starred: "This diabolically smart, covertly sensitive, ruminative, and witty zombie nightmare prods us to think about how we dehumanize others, how society tramples and consumes individuals, how flimsy our notions of law and order are, and how easily deluded and profoundly vulnerable humankind is. A deft, wily, and unerving blend of pulse-elevating action and sniper-precise satire."
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Wed., Oct. 26th or Thur., Oct 27th DROP BY: CHARLES FRAZIER
|  Nightwoods (Random House, $26.00).
Booklist called it "[A] taut narrative of love and suspense, told against a gritty background of bootlegging and violence. The characters are rich and unforgettable, and the prose almost lyrical. This is Charles Frazier at his best." The Independent (UK) praised: "Frazier is a writer whose spare prose paradoxically oozes atmosphere -- you can almost smell the verdant pine trees and hear the crack of twigs underfoot. The history of the place -- Cherokee Indians turfed out by Spaniards and then American settlers -- wafts through, adding a richness and depth." And Kirkus concluded: "Where his debut (Cold Mountain, 1997) won the literary lottery as an award-winning popular blockbuster, this suggests that Frazier is more than a one-hit wonder."
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Thurs., Nov. 3rd at 7:00 PM at the: JOHN CONNOLLY
| This event features the exclusive Bay Area screening of the film "Of Blood and Lost Things", a recent documentary made for Irish television.
The film examines the sense of place and atmosphere in Connolly's work, along with dramatized readings, and includes biographical narrative of his Dublin childhood and journey toward becoming a writer. There are interviews with iconic American crime writer George Pelecanos; David Simon, creator of TV's 'The Wire'; American novelist and friend Laura Lippman, and fellow Irish crime writer Declan Hughes. During the shoot the documentary was given unique access to accompany Connolly on a research visit to Maine State Prison, a Super-Max facility housing over 900 prisoners at Warren, Maine.
 The Burning Soul (Atria, $26.00).
"An intelligent, plausible thriller, both harrowing and memorable . . . . Connolly's latest Charlie Parker thriller offers a powerful story line that weaves together suspense, mystery and a small touch of the supernatural," said Kirkus. Randall Haight has a secret: when he was a teenager, he and his friend killed a 14-year-old girl. Randall did his time and built a new life in the small Maine town of Pastor's Bay, but somebody has discovered the truth about Randall. He is being tormented by anonymous messages, haunting reminders of his past crime, and he wants private detective Charlie Parker to make it stop.
ALSO: 'The Burning Soul' (Hodder & Stoughton UK, $39.00) New. Signed.
 The Infernals (Atria, $22.00).
This is the sequel to The Gates, for young adult readers. "Brilliantly funny, often touching, with enough action to keep adventure fans on the edges of their chairs, this novel combines top-notch writing with cutting wit," said Kirkus; and PW also praised: "Connolly's graceful prose, laced with acerbically witty footnotes, is a joy to read, and he easily alternates among slapstick comedy, powerful drama, and skin-crawling horror." And Library Journal said: "The demon Mrs. Abernathy is ready to kill a lad named Samuel Johnson because he helped scotch the invasion of Earth by evil forces. So Sam's on the run with Boswell, his devoted dachshund, but they get yanked through a portal to a dark and dangerous place. The popular Connolly always did have a taste for wicked whimsy."
ALSO, buy one of the new titles plus any of the following and get 10% off!
--  'Bad Men' (Atria, 2004, $16.00) Signed. As New.
-- 'The Black Angel' (Atria, 2005, $7.50) Signed. As New.
-- 'The Book of Lost Things' (Atria, 2006, $22.00) Signed. As New. Includes CD "Voices From the Dark."
-- 'Dark Hollow' (Simon & Schuster, 2000, $17.00) Signed. F/F.
-- 'Every Dead Thing' (Simon & Schuster, 1999, $8.00) Signed. As New. Author's first novel.
-- 'The Gates' (Atria, 2009 $13.00) Signed. As New.
-- 'The Killing Kind' (Atria, 2001, $18.00) Signed. As New.
-- 'The Lovers' (Atria, 2009, $19.00) Signed. As New.
-- 'Nocturnes' (Atria, 2005, trade paperback, $12.00) Signed. First printing of the paperback edition. As New.
-- 'The Unquiet' (Atria, 2007, $13.00) Signed. As New.
-- 'The Reapers' (Atria, 2008, $16.50) Signed. As New.
-- 'The Whisperers' (Atria, 2010, $22.00) Signed. NF/F.
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Sun., Nov. 6th at 2:00 PM: DOUBLE AUTHOR EVENT!!
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 ANN PARKER - Mercury's Rise (Poisoned Pen, $24.95).
"A dazzling amount of historical detail is woven in yet never overpowers this story of deceit and greed. Laden with intrigue, this will also appeal to readers of historical Westerns. Parker's depth of knowledge coupled with an all-too-human cast leaves us eager to see what Inez will do next. Encore!" said Library Journal. And PW also praised: "Parker smoothly mixes the personal dramas and the detection in an installment that's an easy jumping-on point for newcomers."
ALSO, buy the new one plus the following and get 10% off both!:
-- 'Silver Lies' (Poisoned Pen, 2003, $22.00) Signed. F/F.
 PRISCILLA ROYAL - A Killing Season (Poisoned Pen, $24.95).
"A spooky setup worthy of John Dickson Carr highlights Royal's brilliant eighth mystery set in 13th-century England. When a party of travelers that includes Brother Thomas and Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal arrives outside Baron Herbert's isolated castle, which some call le chateau doux et dour (sweet and sour in French), Thomas witnesses a tragedy -- the fatal fall of one of the baron's sons, Gervase, from a high window. . . . rich atmosphere and well-drawn characters make this a superior historical," said PW.
ALSO, buy the new one plus the following and get 10% off both!:
-- 'The Valley of Dry Bones' (Poisoned Pen, 2010, $24.95) Signed. New.
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Fri/Sat., Nov. 11th/12th DROP BY: GREGORY MAGUIRE
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 Out of Oz (Wm. Morrow, $26.99).
Library Journal starred: "Engrossing, complex . . . continues to flip the world of Oz on its head while answering new and old questions about Oz and its denizens. Highly recommended." 'Booklist' called it "A worthy conclusion to an imaginative and emotionally searing cultural phenomenon. . . . nobody does fractured fairy tales better than Maguire." And PW concluded: "The language and imagery are rich, and the sense of love, loss, and regret palpable. For fans, this will be a revealing and satisfying end to the layered tale begun in Wicked. "
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Sun., Nov. 13th at 3:00 PM at Belmont Library - DAVID VANN
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 Last Day on Earth (Univ. of Georgia Press, $24.95).
Kirkus called it "A carefully crafted account of a descent into fatal madness." On Valentine's Day 2008, Steve Kazmierczak killed five and wounded eighteen at Northern Illinois University, then killed himself. But he was an A student, a Deans' Award winner. How could this happen? CNN could not get the story. The Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and all others came up empty because Steve's friends and professors knew very little. He had reinvented himself in his final five years. But David Vann, investigating for Esquire, went back to Steve's high school and junior high friends, found a life perfectly shaped for mass murder, and gained full access to the entire 1,500 pages of the police files.
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Tues., Nov. 15th at 7:00PM at the San Mateo Library: JAN HARWOOD
| The San Mateo Library is located just two blocks west of our store at 55 W 3rd Ave, San Mateo.
 Dangerous Women: A Raging Granny Mystery (Trade paperback original, $14.95).
The author is a founding member of the Santa Cruz WILPF Raging Grannies who have made national news by singing witty political parodies and putting their voices to good use. Now the Raging Grannies have one more role to take on -- as star characters in Ms. Harwood's new mystery. After getting the attention of a right-wing pundit on local TV, the Raging Grannies are shocked to hear that he dies the very next day. Was it a suicide as the police suggest or is there more at play? The WILPF group of Raging Grannies set off to find the real murderer, and come very close to lethal danger themselves.
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Thurs., Nov. 17th at 7:00 PM at Belmont Library - ANTHONY HOROWITZ
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 The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel
(Mulholland Books, $27.99).
Horowitz is the creator of several popular British television series, including Poirot and Foyle's War, as well as the bestselling Alex Rider series of books for children, among myriad other writing credits. "For the first time ever, the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has authorized a new Holmes story. In fact, the estate approached Horowitz. . . . A Holmes expert, Horowitz says he's steeped in 19th-century literature and will aim for authenticity in plot, language, and character. . . . No word on the content yet -- the publisher will reveal clues with tantalizing slowness, as in a good (ahem) mystery," said Library Journal.
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Coming Attractions
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| WINTER 2011/2012 PREVIEW: (Asterisk indicates name added since last week* .) | AVERY AAMES / CARA BLACK / KATE CARLISLE / * TIM DORSEY / JOHN LESCROART /
* MARTIN LIMON / * WALTER MOSLEY / CAROL O'CONNELL / SARA PARETSKY / PENNY WARNER
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| Signed First Editions - Just Arrived | back to top
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LAWRENCE BLOCK - The Night and the Music
|  (trade paperback print-on-demand, $15.00).
A complete collection of Matthew Scudder short fiction, from a pair of novelettes written in the mid-1970's to a brand-new story written less than two months ago. Includes an Appreciation of the Scudder series by screenwriter/director Brian Koppelman; and an Afterword that puts the stories in context and recounts some of the circumstances of their composition. There are eleven stories in all. Nine of them have been published in magazines and/or collected in various anthologies. One piece, "Mick Ballou Looks at the Blank Screen," has appeared only as the text of a 100-copy limited broadside. And the final story, the elegiac "One Last Night at Grogan's," was written this summer and is published here for the first time.
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JEFF LINDSAY - Double Dexter
|  (Doubleday, $25.95).
Library Journal said: "Blood splatter analyst by day, avenging angel by night, Dexter Morgan is everyone's favorite serial killer. Here the character who prompted Showtime's top-rated program discovers that some criminal out there is copying him." And Kirkus concluded: "Two sociopaths are a crowd, as Miami-Dade forensic tech Dexter Morgan realizes when he's crowded by a wannabe who seems bent on taking over his gig as the bloody scourge of Miami's worst citizens. . . . Lindsay, who remains less interested in mystery than in the archly virtuoso first-person narration of his appealingly monstrous Human Impersonator, provides another guilty pleasure. Really, really guilty."
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MARCIA MULLER - City of Whispers
|  (Grand Central, $25.99).
"An e-mailed cry for help from Sharon McCone's troubled half-brother, Darcy Blackhawk, sucks McCone into a treacherous vortex of madness, greed, and murder in bestseller Muller's exciting 30th mystery starring the no-nonsense San Francisco PI . . . . Alternating chapters narrated by different characters add to the suspense of the intricate plot, which propels readers through a San Francisco few tourists see -- from Colma, the city's necropolis, to the exclusive mansions of Sea Cliff -- and to a harrowing, haunting denouement," said PW.
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LAURA JOH ROWLAND - Ronin's Mistress
|  (Minotaur, $25.99).
Japan, 1703. On a snowy night, 47 warriors murder the man at the center of the scandal that turned them from samurai into masterless ronin two years before. Clearly this was an act of revenge -- but why did they wait so long? And is there any reason they should not immediately be ordered to commit ritual suicide? Sano Ichiro, demoted from Chamberlain to his old post as Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, has mere days to solve the greatest mystery of samurai legend -- while his own fortunes hang in the balance. " . . .Based on a true story explained in an opening historical note, Sano's 15th appearance unfolds with Rowland's typical elegance, bolstered by its roots in reality and the family drama that nicely counterpoints the sleuthing adventure," said Kirkus.
ALSO, buy the new one plus the following and get 10% off both!
-- 'The Perfumed Sleeve' (Minotaur, 2004, $8.00) NF/NF. Wrinkles at edge of spine and dustjacket wrinkling at upper edge of front panel.
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Recent Signed Arrivals
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These are the signed first editions that arrived or were signed here, in the past two weeks of which we have current stock. Complete blurbs for these titles can be found on our updated Archive ; link to it on this newsletter by clicking on the gold button above, left.
LAWRENCE BLOCK - The Night and the Music TPBO - Buy Now!
BARBARA CLEVERLY - Blood Royal - Buy Now!
LAWRENCE FRIEDMAN - Death of a Wannabe TPBO - Buy Now!
AMITAV GHOSH - River of Smoke - Buy Now!
RICHARD KADREY - Aloha From Hell - Buy Now!
DENISE MINA - The End of Wasp Season - Buy Now!
DANIEL WOODRELL - The Outlaw Album: Stories - Buy Now!
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Signed First Editions - Expected Soon
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| ANY BOOK SIGNED ONLY ON A TIPPED-IN PAGE IS SO INDICATED.
Asterisk indicates name added since last week.
LAWRENCE BLOCK (as Jill Emerson) - Getting Off - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
BEN COES - Coup d'Etat - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
MICHAEL CONNELLY - The Drop - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
* PATRICIA CORNWELL - Red Mist - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
JAMES DOSS - Coffin Man - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
R.J. ELLORY - A Simple Act of Violence - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
JANET EVANOVICH - Explosive 18 - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
SUE GRAFTON - V Is For Vengeance - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
JOHN GRISHAM - Litigator (Tip-In) - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
LENE KAABERBOL - The Boy in the Suitcase (Tip-In) Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
* LAURIE KING & LESLIE S. KLINGER - A Study in Sherlock - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
JOE & JOHN LANSDALE - Shadow West ($50.00 Subterranean Press Limited Edition)
* THOMAS MULLEN - The Revisionists - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
GEORGE PELECANOS - What It Was - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
ANDERS ROSLUND & BORGE HELLSTROM - Cell 8 - Click Here to Pre-Purchase!
DAN SIMMONS - Phases of Gravity ($60.00 Subterranean Press Limited Edition)
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DELUXE & LIMITED EDITIONS
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LAWRENCE BLOCK - Afterthoughts
|  (Mysterious Press, $35.00). Limited Edition signed by Lawrence Block! Afterthoughts contains the author's reflections on his career which spans more than fifty years. These more than forty-five essays talk about his work including the semi-autobiographical series featuring Matthew Scudder. It is a must for fans of Lawrence Block. This edition is limited to 100 copies.
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PAULO COELHO - Aleph
|  (Knopf, $60.00). Limited Edition signed by Paulo Coelho! The celebrated #1 international best seller will be available in a beautifully designed boxed hardcover edition, signed by the author. Limited to 1500 copies. Pre-order your copy today!
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Used Books Now in Stock!
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USED BOOKS NOW IN STOCK!
| Be sure to browse our Used mass market paperback section, where we've recently added a rather large selection of authors such as Mary Higgins Clark, Agatha Christie, Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Len Deighton, Barry Eisler, Erle Stanley Gardner, Carl Hiaasen, Donna Leon, Greg Rucka, Julie Smith, Rex Stout, and Donald Westlake (Richard Stark) and many more! These are all very good-condition copies, priced from $2.75 to $3.25. Not to be missed!
We also have a fine selection of trade paperback and hardcover used books, virtually $4-$5, all in fine condition. An excellent selection of titles including authors such as Andrea Camilleri, Alexander McCall Smith, Carol O'Connell, Stuart Woods, Sue Grafton, and Janet Evanovich.
Also, just in from the Swedish writing duo Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, we have 10 of the original US mass market editions priced at $5.00 each!
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Shipping Info:
We ship USPS Media mail within the US and USPS International Priority for overseas addresses
Shipping rates: Standard Media Mail (in the mainland US ONLY) - $6.00 for the first book $1.35 each additional book
Priority Mail Domestic - email us to discuss the options
Overseas - email us to discuss the options
We accept Visa, MC, Amex and checks by arrangement
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STORE HOURS:
| | MONDAY - SATURDAY from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM,
SUNDAY from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM,
and evenings until approximately 9:00PM when an author is scheduled to appear at 7:00PM.
PH.: (650) 401-8077 or Toll Free outside Bay Area: 888- 405-8077
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