HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As we ring out the old and ring in the new, we send out hope for a better year. May you be blessed with good health, wealth and prosperity and find comfort in a good book.

The troubling economy of 2008 has cast some gloom on publishing...

"The profound economic pressures felt by American consumers will lead them toward buying fewer books, or even no books at all," said Michael Norris, senior analyst of Simba Information's Trade Books Group.

Lets hope that is not true...
A government bailout isn't in the cards. Booksellers don't lose enough money, however, to receive congressional attention
We don't want bookstores to die. Authors need them, and so do neighborhoods. So let's mount a book-buying splurge. Get your friends together, go to your local bookstore and have a book-buying party. Clear out the mysteries, wrap up the histories, beam up the science fiction! Round up the westerns, go crazy for self-help, say yes to the university press books! Get a load of those coffee-table books, fatten up on slim volumes of verse, and take a chance on romance! Buy Gift Cards good for books.

There will be birthdays in the next twelve months; books keep well; they're easy to wrap: buy those books now. Buy replacements for any books looking raggedy on your shelves. Stockpile children's books as gifts for friends who look like they may eventually give birth. Hold off on the flat-screen TV and the GPS (they'll be cheaper after Christmas) and buy many, many books. Then tell the grateful booksellers, who by this time will be hanging onto your legs begging you to stay and live with their cat in the stockroom: > Roy Blount Jr. > President Authors Guild

On that note here is a list of our favorite books of 2008

David S

1. Adiga, Aravind. White Tiger

2. Wrobleweski, David. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

3. Greer, Andrew Sean. The Story of a Marriage

4. Bommersbach, Jana. Bones in the Desert

5. Lamb, Wally. The Hour I First Believed

6. Harrison, Jim. The English Major

7. O'Flynn, Catherine. What Was Lost

8. Estleman, Loren. Frames

9. McMahon, Jennifer. Promise Not to Tell

10. Burke, James Lee. Swan Peak

John

1. Ferrigno, Robert. Sins of the Assassin

2. Atkins, Ace. Wicked City

3. Connolly, John. Reapers

4. Cook, Thomas H. Master of the Delta

5. Burke, James Lee. Swan Peak

6. Gischler, Victor. Go Go Girls of the Apocalypse

7. McMurtry, Larry. Books, a Memoir

8. Silva, Daniel. Moscow Rules

9. Hunter, Stephen. Night of Thunder

10. Bulow, Ernie. Uncle Ernie’s Guide to Old Time Rodeo

John Nadeau

1. Ghelfi, Brent. Volk's Shadow

2. Leather, Sephen. Dead Men

3. Burke, James Lee. Swan Peak

4. Gage, Leighton. Blood of the Wicked

5. Ludlum, Robert. Bourne Sanction

6. Demille, Nelson. Gate House

7. White, Randy Wayne. Black Widow

8. Sandford, John. Phantom Prey

9. Winslow, Don. The Dawn Patrol

10. Wambaugh, Joseph. Hollywood Crows

Lea

1. Sakey, Marcus. Good People

2. Caldwell, Joseph. Pig Did

3. Wall, Carolyn. Sweeping Up Glass

4. Floyd, Bill. Killer’s Wife

5. Cain, Chelsea. Sweetheart

6. Lamb, Wally. The Hour I First Believed

7. Grimes, Martha. Dakota

8. Baldacci, David. Divine Justice

9. Deaver, Jeffery. Bodies Left Behind

10. Piccoult, Jodi. Change of Heart

Lorri

1. Caldwell, Joseph. Pig Did It

2. Shaffer, Mary Ann. Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

3. Levitt, John. New Tricks

4. Caine, Rachel. Gale Force

5. Millar, Martin. Lonely Werewolf Girl

6. Carey, Mike. Vicious Circle

7. Kent, Kathleen. Heretic's Daughter

8. Edwards, Selden. Little Book

9. Cox, Michael. Glass of Time

10. Morton, Kate. House at Riverton

Pat King

1. Butcher, Jim. Small Favor

2. Caldwell, Joseph. Pig Did It

3. Butcher, Jim. Welcome to the Jungle

4. Hart, John. Down River

5. Johnson, Kim. Monty Pythons Tunisian Holiday

6. Meltzer, Brad. Book of Lies

7. Winspear, Jacqueline. Incomplete Revenge

8. Sakey, Marcus. Good People

9. Koryta, Michael. Envy the Night

10. Falcones, Ildefonso. Cathedral of the Sea

Patrick

1. Grant, Richard. God's Middle Finger

2. OConnell, Jack. Resurrectionist

3. McDonald, Craig. Toros and Torsos

4. Harrington, Kent. Good Physician

5. Connelly, Michael. Brass Verdict

6. Mosley, Walter. Right Mistake

7. Pelecanos, George. Turnaround

8. Revoyr, Nina. Age of Dreaming

9. Zeltserman, Dave. Small Crimes

10. Welsh, Irvine. Crime

Will

1. Bruen, Ken. Once Were Cops

2. Klinger, Leslie S. New Annotated Dracula

3. Connelly, Michael. Brass Verdict

4. Burke, James Lee. Swan Peak

5. Pelecanos, George. Turnaround

6. Ghelfi, Brent. Volk’s Shadow

7. Gischler, Victor. Go Go Girls of the Apocalypse

8. Card, Orson Scott. Ender in Exile

9. Abbott, Megan. Queenpin

10. Le Carre, John. Most Wanted Man

New British Books

Brodrick, William. A Whispered Name Signed
'To keep quiet about something so important ...well, it's almost a lie, wouldn't you say?' When Father Anselm meets Kate Seymour in the cemetery at Larkwood, he is dismayed to hear her allegation. Herbert Moore had been one of the founding fathers of the Priory, revered by all who met him, a man who'd shaped Anselm's own vocation. The idea that someone could look on his grave and speak of a lie is inconceivable. But Anselm soon learns that Herbert did indeed have secrets in his past that he kept hidden all his life. In 1917, during the terrible slaughter of the Passchendaele campaign, a soldier faced a court martial for desertion. Herbert, charged with a responsibility that would change the course of his life, sat upon the panel that judged him. In coming to understand the court martial, Anselm discovers its true significance: a secret victory that transformed the young Captain Moore and shone a light upon the horror of war.

Doherty, Paul. The Spies of Sobeck Signed
Paul Doherty's brilliant new Amerotke novel will take you on a compelling journey into the glory, splendour and corruption of Ancient Egypt. 1477 BC and once again treacherous forces are on the rise in Egypt. Fresh from her victories in the north, Pharaoh Queen Hatusu has returned to Thebes to find sinister threats emerging from neighbouring province Nubia.
The Arites, a secret murderous sect, are waging bloody war against the Pharaoh. Imperial messengers and members of the Medjay, Egypt's elite army, are disappearing around the Oasis of Sinjar and now Imothep, formerly chief scout for the Spies of Sobeck, has been found strangled in a fortified room at his mansion.
The Arites are on the hunt. Will Amerotke, Chief Judge of the Hall of Two Truths, be able to confront this boiling mist of murder and treason, and save Hatusu, before Egypt is overrun by its menacing and dangerous underworld?

Faber, Michel. The Fire Gospel Signed
Theo Griepenkerl is a modest academic with an Olympian ego. When he visits a looted museum in Iraq, looking for treasures he can ship back to Canada, he finds nine papyrus scrolls that have lain hidden for two thousand years. Once translated from Aramaic, these prove to be a fifth Gospel, written by an eye-witness of Jesus Christ's last days. But when Theo decides to share this sensational discovery with the world, he fails to imagine the impact the new Gospel will have on Christians, Arabs, homicidal maniacs and Amazon customers. Like Prometheus's gift of fire, it has incendiary consequences. The Fire Gospel is an enthralling novel about the power of words to resonate across centuries, and inspire and disrupt in equal measure. Wickedly provocative, hilarious and shocking by turns, it is a revelatory piece of storytelling.


Gregory, Susanna. Westminster Poisoner Signed
After the Puritan ban on Christmas festivities, Restoration London is awash with excess between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night, but the two men found in Westminster Hall had not died from a surfeit of gluttony, but from poison. The Lord Chancellor appoints Chaloner as his investigator into the killings, believing them to be of scant importance to the affairs of state he deals with. But Chaloner reveals a stinking seam of corruption in the Palace of White Hall, where even the Queen is a victim to the greed of courtiers and functionaries. And the pickings are so rich that men are prepared to go to any lengths to save their own skins and their stolen fortunes.

Jecks, Michael. King of Thieves Signed.
The 26th entry in his series of medieval England, now in the troubled reign of Edward II and heading towards this king's downfall.

Baldwin and Simon uncover a deadly assassination plot in Michael Jecks's latest novel in his hugely popular medieval crime series. It's 1325, and Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock are in France to join Prince Edward and Bishop Walter's entourage as they make their journey to the palace of the French king, Charles IV. The Prince must make a demeaning submission in order for the English to keep hold of their French territories. Meanwhile, Queen Isabella has been causing a scandal in the French courts with English traitor Roger Mortimer. The Prince's entourage are delivered into the Queen's custody, but it becomes clear that they have enemies within the palace walls. Simon and Baldwin soon discover a murderous plot that threatens England's future...

Our Favorite Books for December 2008

Lorri Amsden

• Charlie Huston, Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death
• Wally Lamb, Hour I First Believed
• F Paul Wilson, By the

John Goodwin

• Clive/Dirk Cussler, Arctic Drift
• Michael McGarrity, Death Song
• Ian Rankin, Exit Music

Will Hansko

• Tom Kirkbride, Gamadin
• David Muench, Arizona
• Patrick O'Brian, Surgeon's Mate

Pat King

• Clive/Dirk Cussler, Arctic Drift
• Phillipa Gregory, Other Boleyn Girl
• Robert Jordan, Great Hunt

Lea Love

• Steve Berry, Charlemagne Pursuit
• Wally Lamb, Hour I First Believed
• James Patterson, Cross Country

Patrick Millikin

• Charlie Huston, Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death
• Karl Jacoby, Shadows at Dawn: A Borderlands Massacre
• Carol O'Connell, Bone by Bone
• Sam Reaves, Mean Town Blues

My Mother

• CJ Box, Blue Heaven
• Judith Freeman, Long Embrace
• Sue Grafton, T Is for Trespass
• CS Harris, Where Serpents Sleep
• JA Jance, Cruel Intent
• Clare Matturo, Sweetheart Deal
• Carol O'Connell, Bone by Bone

Barbara Peters

• David Fulmer, Lost River
• Robert Greer, Blackbird Farewell
• John Hart, Down River
• PD James, Private Patient
• Andrea Japp, Season of the Beast
• Simon Lewis, Bad Traffic
• Mary McNamara, Oscar Season
• Eliot Pattison, Prayer of the Dragon
• Sam Reaves, Mean Town Blues
• Jeffery Siger, Murder in Mykonos

Rob Rosenwald

• David Fulmer, Lost River
• Carol O'Connell, Bone by Bone
• Jeffery Siger, Murder in Mykonos

David Strang

• Christine Barber, Replacement Child
• Wally Lamb, Hour I First Believed

Book Of Unholy Mischief

Debut author Elle Newmark has written a lovely tale in Book Of Unholy Mischief

In a world of violence and intrigue, who guards the truth?

It is 1498, the dawn of the Renaissance, and Venice teems with rumors of an ancient book that holds the secret to unimaginable power. It is an alchemist's dream, with recipes for gold, immortality, and undying love. Everyone, rich and poor alike, speculates about the long-buried secrets scrawled in its pages and where it could possibly be hidden within the labyrinthine city. But while those who seek the book will stop at nothing to get it, those who know will die to protect it.

As a storm of intrigue and desire circles the republic that grew from the sea, Luciano, a penniless orphan with a quick wit and an even faster hand, is plucked up by an illustrious chef and hired, for reasons he cannot yet begin to understand, as an apprentice in the palace kitchen. There, in the lavish home of the most powerful man in Venice, he is initiated into the chef's rich and aromatic world, with all its seductive ingredients and secrets.

Luciano's loyalty to his street friends and the passion he holds for a convent girl named Francesca remain, but it is not long before he, too, is caught up in the madness. After he witnesses a shocking murder in the Palace dining room, he realizes that nothing is as it seems and that no one, not even those he's come to rely on most, can be trusted. Armed with a precocious mind and an insatiable curiosity,

Luciano embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth. What he discovers will swing open the shutters of his mind, inflame his deepest desires, and leave an indelible mark on his soul.

Rich with the luxurious colors and textures of Venice, The Book of Unholy Mischief delights the senses and breathes fresh life into an age defined by intellectual revival and artistic vibrancy. A luminous and seductive novel, it is, at its heart, a high-spirited tribute to the fruits of knowledge and the extraordinary power of those who hold its key. In a world of violence an d in trigue, who guards the truth?

Don't miss you chance to meet this author at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore on Saturday, December 6 at 2 pm when she is discuss and sign her book.

BOOKS JUST IN

Blunt, Giles. No Such Creature
Tooling across the American Southwest in a giant Winnebago, spouting Shakespeare, Max and his nephew Owen seem slightly odd tourists. But no: old Max is a master thief and young Owen's summer vacation is his apprenticeship to a life of crime. These two Robin Hoods only rob Rich Republicans but then they run into a Vegas waitress in distress and The Subtractors-criminal bogeymen intent on ripping off other thieves-ride their tail....

Church, James. Bamboo and Blood
Cunning Inspector O "conveys the surreal conditions of modern-day life in North Korea," says the NY Times.

Set slightly earlier than Corpse in the Koryo ($14), during the frigid winter of 1997, O sees people dying of cold and famine. Why is he set to guard a mysterious foreigner who is, without precedent, allowed to wander into remote territory? "O's efforts to actually solve the crime lead to dangerous encounters with his country's special weapons program. While the espionage elements compel, the book's main strength, as with its predecessors, derives from the small details that enable the reader to imagine life in North Korea-and from O's struggles to maintain his principles and integrity."

Darwin, Emma. Secret Alchemy
Two murdered princes; a powerful queen betrayed; a nobleman riding towards his certain death... The story of the Princes in the Tower has been one of the most fascinating - and most brutal - murder mysteries in history for more than 500 years. Some think the best tale of Richard III as murderer is told by Josephine Tey in her classic The Daughter of Time ($14). Authors like Sharon Kay Penman have had their say: The Sunne in Splendour ($18). Elizabeth Peters in Murders of Richard III Murders ($7.99).

Gattis, Mark. Black Butterfly
With Queen Elizabeth II now seated on her throne, the elderly secret agent Lucifer Box, tall, dark, and like a shark, is reaching the end of his scandalous career. But he can't pass one last case. Why have pillars of the Establishment started dying in bizarrely reckless accidents? Who are the deadly pay-masters of enigmatic assassin Kingdom Kum? And who or what is the mysterious Black Butterfly? From the seedy streets of Soho to the souks of Istanbul and the sun-drenched shores of Jamaica, Box wields his artistic license to kill. The Devil in Amber ($15 Signed